Improvisation: A Practical Guide (Crowood Theatre Companions)

Improvisation is a highly creative and collaborative art form, encompassing the skills of storytelling, character creation and stage presence all in the moment. However, with an array of styles and techniques to choose from, it can be hard for new practitioners to negotiate the moving parts and find their own individuality. In this practical guide, Artistic Director and improv expert Jason Moran explores the basic pillars of improvisation and explains how to practically apply these in an improvised scene, game or situation. Each chapter showcases a different pillar and offers a practical checklist to make each scene interesting and robust. This helpful book unpacks and analyses real-life improvised examples from the stage, rehearsal room and classroom, illustrating to the reader what works well and what could work better, making it essential reading for actors, presenters and anyone who wants to increase their confidence in public performances.

Jason Moran is the Artistic Director of LIVEWIRED Comedy Improvisation troupe, based in London. Having trained at the Gaiety School of Acting and The Dublin School of Acting, he began to focus solely on improvisation in 2011 and has since performed and taught at The London Improv Theatre and City Academy, London.