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Comedy Improvisation: Exercises & Techniques for Young Actors

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As "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" becomes more popular, and more improv groups begin performing in high schools and colleges and bars, it's discouraging to think that many new performers will turn to books like this for guidance. Horn's guidelines promote gimmicky, self-serving, impatient, one-dimensional scenework. Audiences are better served by troupes who look to Spolin's "Improvisation for the Theatre," Johnstone's "Impro," Close & Halpern's "Truth In Comedy," and Napier's "Improvise!" for inspiration. The actors on "Whose Line?" only make it look easy-they've worked hard to get there. "Comedy Improvisation" is for troupes who's highest goal is to play for friends in a bar--not those who take making people laugh seriously.

As the title of this book suggests, it is intended to provide "Exercises and Technique for Young Actors." Everyone begins somewhere. Heaven knows I certainly did. However, if this book is all a young improv team uses to glean knowledge of the art, they will be sorely disappointed.

The book begins with a lengthy explication of what improv comedy is and why it's important, but fails to stress important points like why it's bad to force a joke, or how to constitute a themed show. The author also warns young performers away from doing full shows of improv on the grounds that it would be too overwhelming for audiences. I've never heard such a thing.

Most of the space in this book dedicated to exercises focuses on work for beginners, such as the mirror exercise. Granted, improv doyenne Viola Spolin, in the third edition of her classic "Improvisation for the Theatre," lists eleven different kinds of mirror exercise. However, each of Spolin's exercises is concise and straightforward, while Horn rambles on about why the exercise is important and how it's done correctly. Besides, compare Spolin's 416-page textbook to Horn's 144-page primer, and see which is allocating space most effectively.

Horn also gives time and space to how to form a group, find work, secure good contracts, and protect copyright. These are all important issues for young performers, especially young performers who want to get paid for their work; but this takes away copy space from the specific how-to of performance. This is really meat for a separate book. Besides, young performers don't need to be told how to form groups, they'll partner up as skills develop and similar tastes and abilities become evident. The copyright information, moreover, is a decade out of date, and vague even when it was written.

This book is not worthless. That must be stressed. Young performers who want to play at parties or for family and friends will be served well by this information, spare though it is. Too much more detail might overwhelm young performers with light goals and no outside mentor.

However, as performers begin to seek outside their limited experience to deepen their performances, or as they seek professional work or recognition, this book will fail to suit their needs, and they will have to go to other resources if they don't want to have to go it alone. Good books like "Truth in Comedy" or "Improvisation for the Theatre" are more highly recommended for those who want to stick with this art over the long haul.

While I'm sure Delton T. Horn has spent a lot of time in bars performing in front of drunks, he really doesn't seem to have a true grasp of the theatrical convention of improvisation. This book was a total waste of time and money.

If you really are interested in the art of improvisation, buy "Truth in Comedy", "Impro for Storytellers", or "Improvise: Scene from the Inside Out".

A super book for anyonw wanting to get started in stand-up or even wanting to make every-day things a bit more funny. I reccomend it to anyone.

I purchased this book for an Improvisation Acting course, and it has been invaluable.

The various different types and games of improv are really great. This is a wonderful resource to hang onto for life, let alone a career.