Improvise. Scene from the Inside Out - Softcover

Mick Napier

Softcover

ISBN 10: 156608198X ISBN 13: 9781566081986

Publisher: Meriwether Pub, 2015

Synopsis

This expanded and revised edition has a new foreword by The Late Show host Stephen Colbert, additional advice and tips for success, and a full reproduction of Mick Napier's web journal from his time directing the famous show Paradigm Lost for The Second City that included Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, and Kevin Dorff.

Renowned improv instructor and award-winning director Mick Napier has been at the heart of the professional improvisation community for more than 25 years. The first edition of Improvise. quickly earned its position as necessary reading for improv students across the country and around the world and gave birth to a new generation of performers who questioned "The Rules" of improvisation. In this entertaining and incredibly informative book, Napier will teach you the essentials of...

· Why "The Rules" don't matter
· How to take care of yourself in a scene
· Using context to your advantage
· Effective two-person scenes
· Balanced large-cast scenes
· Successful auditioning
· Solo exercises you can practice at home

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

Napier, founder of Chicago's Annoyance Theater and a veteran Second City director, is the author of my favourite how-to improv book, Improvise: Scene from the Inside Out. --Chris Hannay, Improv Embassy, Ottowa, Canada

About this edition

• Publisher: Meriwether Pub
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 156608198X
• ISBN 13: 9781566081986
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 246