How to think so you know what to say, and other practical tips for the short-form improv performer
NEW! Free downloadable reference sheets from ImproWISE, as well as a free preview from inside the book!
Buy a copy of ImproWISE in print or Kindle format
ALSO: Want to train players faster and better than you’ve ever believed possible? Check out “Yes, and…?” No! But… also by Mike!
Improv performers, troupes, troupe leaders, trainers, club owners, and more have long turned to a wide variety of sources to look for new games, how to improve the games they’re playing, better warmups, and other ways to improve their shows and players’ skill. Too often, though, these can’t be found in the same place or are missing important information. There wasn’t any resource that was easy to use while rehearsing, during a show, and also while teaching.
…until now.
Within these pages are:
- more than 70 games, each with a summary of how to play, suggestions to be able to play it better, gimmicks to punch up your scenes, rehearsal tips, and warmup recommendations. Also: more than 40 alternative names for those games and almost two dozen variations. Don’t know a game by the way we called it? Look up the name you know; we’ve probably got it!
- …more than 2 dozen warmups, including discussion on how to use them more powerfully for your troupe’s skills and when.
- …resources for new troupes and troupe leaders, including vocabulary, recommended games, and leadership suggestions to help your troupe snap together and get up to speed faster.
- …charts and lists of games and warmups to reference them faster and get the information you need as quickly as you need it!
- …a method to teach your players how to sing rhyming verses painlessly in under an hour!
- …tons of helpful tips and hints not in any of the places listed above to help you play better, keep your rehearsals more focused, perform better shows, and more! It’s 50,000 words to improve your improv!
If you are a short-form improv performer or work with short-form improv performers you need this book! Written by a trainer and performer with well over a decade and a half of practical, on-stage experience. From the same author as “Yes, and…?” No! But…
About the Author
Mike Peterson has performed improv for over 20 years. He has both performed and trained across the country starting with ComedySportz in Eugene, OR (where he lost his heart to short-form improv) and probably not ending until about the same time he stops breathing. His teaching style has been described as clear, concise, and packed with tidbits that help flesh out the lesson from being simply “do it this way” to “if it’s done like this then here’s what gets smoother and what the audience receives.” He brings a wealth of experience not just in performing improv as a performer, but also hosting, coordinating the technical details of the performance (including sound design), being a dedicated host for shows, and even being a live musician on-stage for improv performances.