Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21382 in Books
• Published on: 1994-04
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 150 pages

Amazon.com
Who would have ever thought that learning the finer points of improvisation could be such fun? The "Harold," an innovative improvisational tool, helped Saturday Night Live's Mike Myers and Chris Farley, George Wendt (Norm on "Cheers") and many other actors on the road to TV and film stardom. Now it is described fully in this new book for the benefit of other would-be actors and comics. The "Harold" is a form of competitive improv involving six or seven players. They take a theme suggestion from the audience and free-associate on the theme, creating a series of rapid-fire one-liners that build into totally unpredictable skits with hilarious results. The teams compete with scoring based on applause. The "Harold" is a fun way to "loosen up" and learn to think quickly, build continuity, develop characterizations and sharpen humor.

From Booklist
The brain wave of three improv gurus, this book is a complete guide to improvisation for both novice and professional actors and comics. An outgrowth of the successful curriculum initiated by two of the authors at the ImprovOlympic, it describes improvisational tools and techniques, from the "Pattern Game" and "The Hot Spot" to the innovative and sophisticated "Harold." Far from an ordinary how-to handbook, this clearly composed authority on comedic improvisation stresses intuitive thinking, listening skills, continuity, characterization, and, most important, teamwork. Numerous testimonials from reputed actors strengthen the text's credibility, already secured by the expertise of its authorship. Sample scenes and games take hilarious twists while illustrating the inevitability of connections and the importance of justification among team members. The authors' primary focus is the achievement of the group mind, and the book's chapter construction necessarily culminates with that creative misnomer known as the Harold. The manual is flexibly designed to allow for easy performance in both acting classes and professional settings and will prove a valuable reference source to actors and directors alike. Kathleen Chrysler

Midwest Book Review
The "Harold" is a form of competitive improv involving six or seven players. They take a theme suggestion from the audience and "free associate" on the theme into a series of rapid-fire one-liners that build into totally unpredictable skits with hilarious results. The Now it is described fully in Truth In Comedy for the benefit of other aspiring actors and comics. The Harold is a fun way to "loosen up" and learn to think quickly, build continuity, develop characterizations and sharpen humor -- all part of successful improvising. Its format is flexible and allows for easy performance in acting classes and a variety of other settings. An excellent book for any comedy enthusiast.

Customer Reviews

Not bad
This is the first improv book I haver ever read; as a result, I was very new to the concept of basic improv and learned pretty much the solid foundation of improv. Yet for somebody more advanced, and read other improv, they might not find this book helpful.

The downside to this book, is that it is very boring and presented in a technical way like you are reading a boring college textbook. That is what I hated about his book, but the author made up for that by providing practical examples to illustrate her point. If it weren't for that, there is no way anybody can learn anything from this book.

Overall, a great improv book.

So that is how it is done
I have been doing improv comedy for 5 years and now I know what we were doing wrong and what we were doing right. If you are thinking about starting out in improv this is the book to start with, if you are doing impov and have not yet read it, buy it.

The Manual Of Improv
Even if you're not a "long-form" improviser, this book is a must read for anyone actively working in an improv group.