The Improv Comedy Musician

Learn musical improv from Laura Hall of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" Are you a musician who performs with an improv comedy group? If so, this book is for you! You'll also greatly benefit if you are a music director, improv team leader, improv teacher or coach, improv actor or singer, or just a hardcore Whose Line fan. From the Foreword by Colin Mochrie: "On Whose Line, Laura supplies note-perfect music styles for Wayne Brady, Brad Sherwood, Chip Esten, Jeff Davis, et al, to shine on. But Laura's true genius is that she can make caterwaulers like me sound good and, more important, makes caterwaulers like me feel safe enough to try. "Laura Hall is a damn fine musician, period. There is no musical style she isn't well versed in. With Laura you get experience, knowledge, and a teacher you can trust. What more could you ask for? So get reading, start playing, and have more fun than you're ready for." "I'm a Laura Hall-ic!" -Chip Esten, Nashville, Whose Line Is It Anyway? "I know and highly respect both Laura and Bob. I can't think of a better pair to teach you the fundamentals of musical improv." -Bill Chott, actor and founder of the Improv Trick Laura Hall is an accomplished musician best known as the pianist on Whose Line Is It Anyway? She also stays busy recording film scores, writing musicals, leading improv workshops with her husband Rick, and performing with her Americana music trio, The Sweet Potatoes. Bob Baker is a prolific author, musician, artist and actor, as well as an improv teacher and performer. Through his books and workshops Bob teaches creative people of all kinds how to get exposure, connect with fans, and increase their incomes.

Masteryear Publishing is proud to present this unique guide to a musical skill long considered mysterious and practically un-teachable. Step by step, author Michael Pollock explains the thinking process behind comedy accompaniment and musical direction in clear, simple language. Each concept is illustrated by audio examples, featuring actors from The Second City Los Angeles and Michael at the keys. The best comedy troupes in the world have live keyboard accompaniment, and musicians who can provide this kind of clever, spontaneous underscore are relatively rare. This book and CD leads the way to rapid progress for anyone who would like to learn.

Clear, everyday language explains each element of an improvised song. Simple building blocks are combined with performance tips to raise a performer's musical improvisation to its highest level. The included CD, featuring cast members from ImprovOlympic West's hilarious Opening Night, The Improvised Musical, provides- examples- exercises- practice accompaniments

A complete improvisation curriculum in twenty-four class-length units. This comprehensive resource who shows the who, what, when, why and how of comedy improvisation. Main topics: What is improv?; Improvisational skills; Structuring; Strategies; How to start your own improvisation team. Includes many games and exercises.

The Improv Handbook is the most comprehensive, smart, helpful and inspiring guide to improv available today. Applicable to comedians, actors, public speakers and anyone who needs to think on their toes, it features a range of games, interviews, descriptions and exercises that illuminate and illustrate the exciting world of improvised performance. First published in 2008, this second edition features a new foreword by comedian Mike McShane, as well as new exercises on endings, managing blind offers and master-servant games, plus new and expanded interviews with Keith Johnstone, Neil Mullarkey, Jeffrey Sweet and Paul Rogan. The Improv Handbook is a one-stop guide to the exciting world of improvisation. Whether you're a beginner, an expert, or would just love to try it if you weren't too scared, The Improv Handbook will guide you every step of the way.

"A practical, fascinating, and funny guidebook. I've already begun applying hints from Improvisation for the Spirit, and I'm hoping that from now on, when people point and laugh at me, it will be for more appropriate reasons. A delightful read, filled with wonderful strategies." - Martha Beck, Life Coach Columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine, and author of Steering by Starlight Wish you could gag your Inner Critic? Feeling blocked creatively? Want to make a big change, but fear taking the leap? Comedy improv requires quick thinking, collaboration, getting out of your own way, and being in the moment without being a perfectionist. Katie Goodman, an internationally touring improv comedian and comedy writer, uses her witty and encouraging style to show you how to acquire the skills of improv comedy and apply them to every aspect of daily life. Along the way Goodman shares hilarious and insightful stories from her experiences onstage, as well as step-by-step exercises from her popular self-discovery workshops and retreats. Packed with creative, original, and, most importantly, fun exercises, Improvisation for the Spirit offers a truly transformational guide for anyone wanting to get more out of life. "Bottom line: Katie is funny. She teaches you to live your life like an improv scene - no fear and fully committed." - Wayne Brady, improv comedian, Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Don't Forget the Lyrics "Katie Goodman's writing fl ows and then jumps with anecdotes and prescriptions for finding courage. Fun to read, hard to put down." - Lesley Stahl, 60 Minutes "If you feel that something is holding you back, that the life you are meant to live is out there somewhere if only you could fi nd it, then this book should go straight to the top of your reading list." - Carl Honore, author of In Praise of Slowness and Under Pressure

Over the last few decades, the notion of improvisation has enriched and dynamized research on traditional philosophies of music, theatre, dance, poetry, and even visual art. This Handbook offers readers an authoritative collection of accessible articles on the philosophy of improvisation, synthesizing and explaining various subjects and issues from the growing wave of journal articles and monographs in the field. Its 48 chapters, written specifically for this volume by an international team of scholars, are accessible for students and researchers alike. The volume is organized into four main sections: I Art and Improvisation: Theoretical Perspectives II Art and Improvisation: Aesthetical, Ethical, and Political Perspectives III Improvisation in Musical Practices IV Improvisation in the Visual, Narrative, Dramatic, and Interactive Arts Key Features: Treats improvisation not only as a stylistic feature, but also as an aesthetic property of artworks and performances as well as a core element of artistic creativity. Spells out multiple aspects of the concept of improvisation, emphasizing its relevance in understanding the nature of art. Covers improvisation in a wide spectrum of artistic domains, including unexpected ones such as literature, visual arts, games, and cooking. Addresses key questions, such as: - How can improvisation be defined and what is its role in different art forms? - Can improvisation be perceived as such, and how can it be aesthetically evaluated? - What is the relationship between improvisation and notions such as action, composition, expressivity, and authenticity? - What is the ethical and political significance of improvisation?

Keith Johnstone's involvement with the theatre began when George Devine and Tony Richardson, artistic directors of the Royal Court Theatre, commissioned a play from him. This was in 1956. A few years later he was himself Associate Artistic Director, working as a play-reader and director, in particular helping to run the Writers' Group. The improvisatory techniques and exercises evolved there to foster spontaneity and narrative skills were developed further in the actors' studio then in demonstrations to schools and colleges and ultimately in the founding of a company of performers, called The Theatre Machine. Divided into four sections, 'Status', 'Spontaneity', 'Narrative Skills', and 'Masks and Trance', arranged more or less in the order a group might approach them, the book sets out the specific techniques and exercises which Johnstone has himself found most useful and most stimulating. The result is both an ideas book and a fascinating exploration of the nature of spontaneous creativity.