Improvise.: Scene from the Inside Out - Softcover

Napier, Mick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 032500630X ISBN 13: 9780325006307

Publisher: Heinemann Drama, 2004

Synopsis

For over 20 years Mick Napier has directed, taught and participated in improvisation, his experience has led him to offer readers helpful guidelines for bringing strength and direction to their individual improvisational journey.

About this title

About the Author:

Mick Napier is the founder of the acclaimed Annoyance Theatre in Chicago and New York, as well as a
Director and Artistic Consultant for The Second City, the most influential and prolific comedy theater in the
world. Napier is known both nationally and internationally as an innovator and creative force in comedy,
improvisation, and theater.

With the Annoyance, Mick has spent more than 25 years developing and cultivating a style of work and
production that has been both acclaimed and imitated. As a Director and Artistic Consultant for the globally
renowned Second City, he made his mark, having directed more than 10 revues there including the 40th and 50th
Anniversary revues, and Paradigm Lost, which earned him a Joseph Jefferson Award for Direction. Throughout
his career, Mick has directed such high profile actors and writers as Aidy Bryant and Vanessa Bayer (Swear Jar),
Tina Fey, Jason Sudeikis, and Stephen Colbert (The Second City), Martin Short (Martin Short & Friends,) Jeff
Garlin (I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With), and David and Amy Sedaris in their Obie Award-winning hit One
Woman Shoe.

Review:

Award-winning director and experienced improv instructor Mick Napier presents Improvise.: Scene from the Inside Out, now in an expanded and revised second edition with additional tips, tricks, and techniques as well as a full reproduction of Napier's web journal from his time directing "Paradigm Lost" for The Second City. Chapters teach the reader about the oft-misunderstood art of improvisation - creating performance art (comedy, drama, or what-have-you) on the spot with no script, whether by oneself or as part of a group. Topics covered include how to use context to one's advantage, two-person scenes, balanced large-cast scenes, advice for successful auditioning, solo exercises one can practice at home, and much more. Actors of all walks of life (whether their primary venue is improv-heavy or not) will directly benefit from Napier's expertise; comedian and talk show host Stephen Colbert certainly did, as he testifies in a brief yet hilarious foreword!

--Midwest Book Review

Mick Napier's Improvise contains excellent examples of actual development of improvisational ideas, showing how dialogue can be improvised and developed with specificity. The Wizard of Oz example is often used, and makes it easy to identify with each of the techniques as they are introduced. The book contains many practical ideas throughout and the breadth of the book is excellent, especially for those who are serious about considering entering the world of improvisation professionally or even as a hobby. Further, audition techniques and a journal from his work with Second City take us into the real world of improvisational theater and help many who are interested in moving in that direction. Mick Napier has really created an exceptional handbook for improvisation.

--Reader's Favorite

About this edition

• Publisher: Heinemann Drama
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 032500630X
• ISBN 13: 9780325006307
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144