Improvisation Starters

by Philip Bernardi

Book Overview

Most beginning actors assume that rehearsing a play or scene involves taking home the script, memorizing lines, and rehearsing scenes over and over until everything--timing, movement, facial... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558702334
• ISBN13: 9781558702332
• Release Date: April 1992
• Publisher: Betterway Books
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Theater Teacher's Life Preserver

As a high school theater arts teacher, this is one of my best resource books. This is the book I grab when we've completed our lesson and there is only 5 to 15 minute left to class. Grab a couple of volunteer actors and give them a conflict from this book and they're off. The scenes provide the basic elements of improv and acting. This is not a book on how to learn improv. However, it is a great book that provides good setups necessary for good acting and improv scenes.

Simply the Best!

This book has a HUGE variety of improvisation starters which not only provide a scenario, but also provide the actors with an objective toward which to work. This has really helped my students focus their work and stay on track with their improvisations. The only thing that would make this book better is if there were some scenes set up for more than two actors, which would make it more useful for larger group/class sizes (it takes an awfully long time to get through a class full of students two at a time!), but some of the two person scenes can be adjusted to allow for four actors instead, so I would not rule out this book simply for that reason. This is a great resource for anyone teaching improvisation!

An excellent foundation for improvisation...

Philip Bernardi's "Improvisation Starters" is a fantastic collection of scenes, moments, and games that will provide an excellent foundation for improvisational work, rehearsal, and performance. A must have for actors, teachers, and improvisors.

A Fantastic Resource

This book is an incredible value. There are, as the title indicates, hundreds of different improvisations. There are improvisations between coworkers, spouses, friends, salespeople/customers, managers/subordinates, and many more. There are also sections where scenes for one individual are introduced. In addition to the different improv situations, the author also includes instructions for teachers or instructors. I am not all that experienced with improvisation but this book makes it easy. Two thumbs up to Philip Bernardi for his excellent contribution to this area.

A most valuable resource for actors, directors, and teachers

In my twenty-one years as a teacher of theater, I have found few books as valuable as this one. The book provides hundreds of interesting and challenging improvisation situations which have functioned to tap the most creative impulses my students have to offer. The situations have inspired my student actors to explore complexities of character conflict and motivational objectives that they don't often realize exist. I also found the chapter on using improvisation in play direction very worthwhile. I now use the author's suggestions during rehearsals for every play I direct, and my actors benefit greatly. No collection of books on acting, directing, or teaching theater is complete without this one. I give it my highest recommendation.