BOOKSTORE

Want to know more about improvisation, the history of improv, or enhance your improv education?

You can buy books on improvisation and sketch comedy here at Just The Funny's Bookstore!  JTF has teamed up with Amazon.com to bring you an extensive library of books on improv and sketch comedy.  By buying your books through Just The Funny, you can save up to 30% on the top titles in improv and sketch comedy, and may even be eligible for free shipping!

All titles have been selected, and are recommended by Just The Funny.  Suggested Reading titles are available in conjunction with Just The Funny's Improv Acting Classes.  

Don't see an improv or sketch related title in our store?  Help us serve you, and suggest a title!

Improvisation for the Theater
Viola Spolin, Paul Sills

Suggested reading for Just The Funny's Improv Acting 1 class, Improvisation for the Theater provides a comprehensive introduction to basic improvisation technique and structure, and includes an extensive list of exercises and games.

Truth In Comedy
Charna Halpern, Del Close, Kim Johnson

Suggested reading for Just The Funny's Improv Acting 2 class, Truth In Comedy is a great resource for advanced improvised scene work, and is the foundation of the Harold longform format.  Truth In Comedy also gives a brief history of improvisation.

Improvise
Mick Napier

Suggested reading for Just The Funny's Improv Acting 3 class, Improvise is a well written text incorporating the Annoyance Theatre approach, based on making connections.  The more experience you have as an improviser the more you will get out of this book.

The Art of Chicago Improv
Rob Kozlowski

In The Art of Chicago Improv, Rob Kozlowski traces the history of improvisational acting in Chicago from the days of Viola Spolin, to the appearance of the Compass, Second City, and today's practitioners.

Impro
Keith Johnstone

Impro has influenced countless acting classes. Many artists are doing exercises based on his experiments in England with actors using improvisation to discover status operations within a scene, narrative structure, and the importance of structure and process over "content."

Impro for Storytellers
Keith Johnstone

Impro for Storytellers is the follow-up to Keith Johnstone's classic Impro, one of the best-selling books ever published on improvisation. In this book, Johnstone takes a further decade of experience as a teacher and coach and explores how an individual's potential can be released in group settings.

Musical Improv Comedy
Michael Pollock, Jason Alexander

The best comedy improv singers know every trick in this book, a great addition to any performer's library. Clear, everyday language explains each element of an improvised song. Simple building blocks are combined with performance tips to raise a performer's musical improvisation to its highest level. The included CD provides examples, exercises, and practice accompaniments.

Group Improvisation
Peter Campbell Gwinn, Charna Halpern, Peter Gwinn

Group Improvisaton provides great, thorough descriptions of lots of great group warm-ups and scene exercises.  Seen as a "clear map" of the very tricky terrain of group dynamics, which can make or break a performance group.

Improv for Actors
Dan Diggles

Through 28 lessons, each of which includes warm-ups, points of concentration, and improvisation exercises, Improv for Actors provides insights into thinking and reacting with fluidity, exploring a character's social status, using the voice and body as effective tools of storytelling, and more.

The Second City Almanac of Improvisation
Anne Libera, Second City, Inc.

The Second City Almanac of Improvisation - like the theatre itself - is a collection of diverse ideas, viewpoints, and memories, written by a vast array of teachers, actors, and directors who all got their start at the legendary comedy theatre.

The Second City
Sheldon Patinkin, Robert Klein

Many of comedy's biggest stars cut their teeth at The Second City. Learn all of the backstage details - the laughs, loves, struggles, successes, fights and failures that have made Second City such a fertile ground for comedy over the years. And hear Second City's most outrageous and hilarious live performances on two audio CDs narrated by Robert Klein.

Improv Yourself
Joseph A. Keefe, Joe Keefe

Because business can change faster than you can keep up, you need the ability to think on your feet and turn on a dime. You may not know it, but the skill you need to achieve in business is the same ability comedians have in spades–the skill of improv.

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