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Title: The Art of Chicago Improv : Short Cuts to Long-Form Improvisation by Rob Kozlowski ISBN: 0-325-00384-X Publisher: Heinemann Pub. Date: 26 February, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: There IS improv outside of IO and Second City in Chicago...
Comment: ...and Rob Kozlowski does a great job of showing how improv spread outside of these two venerable institutions during the late 80's throughout the 90's. Granted, it's an easier read for people who either live in Chicago or are familiar with the Chicago scene, but I have heard several improvisors who've recently moved here reference this book as a great guide to help them figure out where they want to study and where they want to perform.
Rating: 3
Summary: Detail Soup
Comment: This is a theatre by theatre, person by person account of long form improv productions in Chicago. We're talking date by date, address by address, show by show, location by location, director by director, actor by actor, ticket price by ticket price, lease by lease!
There are an ENORMOUS number of personal pronouns in this thing. I mean, every page has seven or eight names of actors or directors associated with a particular theatre or show. I kept reading it, thinking, "Who? Who? WHO? I guess the name doesn't matter, it's the gist of the thing... Who? Who? Who? Where? A basement theatre? An angry landlord? Who? Where?"
To me, the murky throughline is what's important: the growth of the improv community, the innovations, the development of the art form.
I think this book would have benefitted readers if it had *synthesized* the changes in the art form over time, rather than miring itself in the "description of the crack in the wall" detail. I mean, hasn't videotape been invented yet?
When a chapter featurs an interview, or some kind of summary or encapsulation, it's wonderful. It overcomes its inferiority complex about Chicago theatre for a brief insightful moment, abandoning its chip-on-the-shoulder need for name-dropping minutiae.
Rating: 4
Summary: History and theory of Chicago improvisation
Comment: Rob's book covers the history of Chicago improv rather well. The only other book that does it is "Whose Improv Is It Anyway?: Beyond Second City" by Amy Seham. Her book is more historical/sociological than this one. His book is rather brief, and it almost assumes that you've read other books on improv before you picked it up. It has brief descriptions of several different long form structures, which makes it and "Truth in Comedy" by Close, Halpern, and Johnson the only two books that discuss long form. While it does offer some good advice on performance, it should be a supplement to your library and not your only source of information.
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Title: Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation by Charna Halpern, Del Close, Kim Howard Johnson ISBN: 1566080037 Publisher: Meriwether Pub Pub. Date: April, 1994 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Improvise. : Scene from the Inside Out by Mick Napier ISBN: 032500630X Publisher: Heinemann Pub. Date: 15 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Group Improvisation: The Manual of Ensemble Improv Games by Peter Campbell Gwinn, Charna Halpern ISBN: 156608086X Publisher: Meriwether Pub Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Something Wonderful Right Away: An Oral History of the Second City and The Compass Players by Jeffrey Sweet ISBN: 0879100737 Publisher: Limelight Editions Pub. Date: May, 1987 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
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Title: Days and Nights at the Second City: A Memoir, With Notes on Staging Review Theatre by Bernard Sahlins ISBN: 1566634318 Publisher: Ivan R Dee, Inc. Pub. Date: February, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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