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. 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. In this entertaining and incredibly informative book, Napier will teach you the essentials of...
PLEASE NOTE: Contains occasional adult language.
(272 pages, 5½ x 8½, paperback)
Hardcover edition also available. Please call for pricing and details.
Parts available
- 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
PLEASE NOTE: Contains occasional adult language.
(272 pages, 5½ x 8½, paperback)
Hardcover edition also available. Please call for pricing and details.
Parts available
| Textbook | 978-1-56608-198-6 | $22.95 |
Hear what directors and critics are saying:
The book contains many practical ideas throughout and the breadth of the book is excellent.... 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. Reader’s Favorite
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
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, Ottawa, Canada