Here is a list of the best Improvisation books, some I have read myself, some that I did research on, and all have great reviews!
- Improvisation for the Theater: A Handbook of Teaching and Directing Techniques (Drama and Performance Studies) (1999)
- Improvisation at the Speed of Life: The TJ and Dave Book (2015)
- Patterns For Improvisation (2010)
- Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre (1987)
- Truth in Comedy: The Manual for Improvisation (1994)
- Improvisation : The Drama of Christian Ethics (2004)
- Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre (2018)
- Improvisation: Its Nature And Practice In Music (1993)
- Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art (1991)
- Creative jazz improvisation (1989)
- Improvisation Starters Revised and Expanded Edition: More Than 1,000 Improvisation Scenarios for the Theater and Classroom (2016)
- How to be the Greatest Improviser on Earth (2016)
- A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America (2006)
- Improvisation For The Theater A Handbook Of Teaching And Directing Techniques by Viola Spolin (2014-03-13) ()
Improvisation for the Theater: A Handbook of Teaching and Directing Techniques (Drama and Performance Studies) (1999)
Here is the thoroughly revised third edition of the bible of improvisational theater.Viola Spolin’s improvisational techniques changed the very nature and practice of modern theater. The first two editions of Improvisation for the Theater sold more than 100,000 copies and inspired actors, directors, teachers, and writers in theater, television, film.
Improvisation at the Speed of Life: The TJ and Dave Book (2015)
T.J. and David are internationally known, award-winning, master improvisers from Chicago's legendary scene. This in-depth look at the techniques, principles, theory and ideas behind what they do is both authoritative and entertaining.
Patterns For Improvisation (2010)
One of the world’s most popular patterns books, many jazz greats have fond memories of practicing from this book! An exhaustive collection of improvisational jazz patterns in various meters and feels. Comments and suggestions by the author, a legendary composer, arranger, conductor, and instrumentalist. This is a very popular book because it helps spell out some of the basic building blocks of the jazz language.
Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre (1987)
First published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Truth in Comedy: The Manual for Improvisation (1994)
Want to learn the improv techniques that helped Mike Myers, Chris Farley, John Belushi, and many others along the road to TV and film stardom? Then let two esteemed founders of long-form improvisational theatre, Del Close and Charna Halpern, teach you the "Harold." This groundbreaking acting exercise emphasizes pattern recognition and subversion of the audience s expectations, which are important factors for making people laugh without ever telling a joke.
Improvisation : The Drama of Christian Ethics (2004)
Christian ethics presented as an act of improvisation on the Bible Sam Wells sees Christian Ethics as a matter of ‘faithfully improvising on the Christian tradition’. The Bible is not so much a script to rehearse, as it is a ‘training school’ that shapes the habits and practices of a community in action. The goal of Christian ethics is to teach Christians to ’embody their faith in the practices of discipleship at all times’.
Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre (2018)
This collection of Applied Improvisation stories and strategies draws back the curtain on an exciting, innovative, growing field of practice and research that is changing the way people lead, create, and collaborate.
Improvisation: Its Nature And Practice In Music (1993)
Derek Bailey’s Improvisation, originally published in 1980, and here updated and extended with new interviews and photographs, is the first book to deal with the nature of improvisation in all its forms–Indian music, flamenco, baroque, organ music, rock, jazz, contemporary, and “free” music.
Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art (1991)
is about the inner sources of spontaneous creation. It is about where art in the widest sense comes from. It is about why we create and what we learn when we do. It is about the flow of unhindered creative energy: the joy of making art in all its varied forms. is directed toward people in any field who want to contact, honor, and strengthen their own creative powers.
Creative jazz improvisation (1989)
For courses in Jazz Improvisation. This well-organized text integrates all of the techniques that jazz musicians practice into a comprehensive whole. It covers practice patterns and scales in all keys and tempos, transcribing solos of master improvisers, learning the jazz repertoire, and playing with other musicians.
Improvisation Starters Revised and Expanded Edition: More Than 1,000 Improvisation Scenarios for the Theater and Classroom (2016)
Improvisation is an essential and invaluable technique for the actor's repertoire: It asks you to think beyond a script–and its memorized lines, movements, and facial expressions–to deliver a performance filled with honesty, insight, nuance, and verisimilitude.Improvisation Starters Revised and Expanded provides more than 1,000 brand-new scene scenarios that will help you: From the classroom to the community theater group–and even in business, language, and