Improv Books
The books Florida improvisers learn from, whether you are taking your first class, coaching a team or opening a theater.
Books by Florida improvisers
Written by improv teachers and theater founders right here in Florida.
The Improv Ecosystem: How to Start, Market, and Scale Your Own Comedy School and Performance Venue
A practical guide to building an improv community: starting a comedy school, filling classes, marketing shows and growing a performance venue.
See it on AmazonAccept and React: How to Play, Teach and Direct Improv
A book on playing, teaching and directing improv, built around accepting what your scene partner offers and reacting honestly to it.
See it on AmazonCar Sales On Stage: Using Improv Skills to Sell More Cars
How improv skills like listening, adapting and building on what the other person says apply to sales conversations.
See it on AmazonFunny Always Wins: A Working Guide to Stand-Up Comedy
A working guide to stand-up comedy for performers who want to write, perform and get funnier on stage.
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The Tao of Improv: A Philosophy of Creating a Scene
The first book in the Tao of Improv series, connecting improv scene work with ideas from Eastern philosophy.
See it on AmazonTao Two: Quantum Improv: Quarks, Bicycles and Cats
The second Tao of Improv book, exploring improv through playful ideas borrowed from quantum physics.
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Tao Three: Intense Improv: Randomness, Chaos and Order
The third Tao of Improv book, on randomness, chaos and the order that emerges in improvised scenes.
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Tao Four: Fractal Improv: Self-Similarity, Self-Organization and Self-Expression
The fourth Tao of Improv book, on patterns that repeat at every scale of a scene and how groups organize themselves.
See it on AmazonThe improv classics
The books improvisers everywhere learn from.
Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation
The classic guide to long-form improv and the Harold, from the founders of ImprovOlympic in Chicago.
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Art by Committee: A Guide to Advanced Improvisation
Charna Halpern’s follow-up on advanced long-form improvisation and ensemble play.
See it on AmazonThe Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual
The UCB Theatre’s step-by-step method for scene work, built around finding and playing the game of the scene.
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Pirate, Robot, Ninja: An Improv Fable
Billy Merritt’s story-driven look at three kinds of improvisers and how each one plays a scene.
See it on AmazonA Subversive’s Guide to Improvisation: Moving Beyond “Yes, And”
David Razowsky on going past the basic rules of improv toward honest, emotionally connected scene work.
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Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre
Keith Johnstone’s influential book on spontaneity, status, storytelling and masks in theatre.
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Improvise: Scene from the Inside Out
Mick Napier, founder of the Annoyance Theatre, on making bold choices and playing scenes from the inside out.
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Improv Wisdom: Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up
Patricia Ryan Madson’s maxims for bringing an improviser’s mindset into everyday life.
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