Impro for Storytellers

Impro for Storytellers teaches improvisation techniques through exercises and games designed for performers and teachers. The book compiles methods developed by Keith Johnstone during his work at the Royal Court Theatre and University of Calgary. The text outlines specific routines and warm-ups that help actors develop spontaneity and overcome performance anxiety. Johnstone includes personal observations from his teaching experience, explaining how different exercises work and why certain approaches succeed or fail. The book breaks down storytelling and character work into practical components, with sections focused on status, blocking, narrative development, and spontaneous comedy. Each chapter provides step-by-step instructions for group activities that build these fundamental skills. Beyond its function as a manual for improvisational theater, the book reveals insights about human behavior and social interaction through the lens of performance. The exercises demonstrate how status transactions and storytelling principles operate in both staged scenes and everyday life.

Readers describe this as a practical follow-up to Johnstone's earlier book Impro, with specific exercises and techniques for improvisation teachers and students. Readers valued: - Clear instructions for classroom activities and games - Real examples of what can go wrong in scenes - Troubleshooting tips for common improv problems - Focus on teaching methods rather than theory Common criticisms: - More technical and less philosophical than Impro - Some exercises feel dated or culturally insensitive - Writing style can be repetitive - Organization could be clearer One reader noted: "The book gives you tools to actually teach improv rather than just pontificating about it." Another wrote: "Sometimes gets lost in detailed examples that don't translate well to text." Ratings: Goodreads: 4.22/5 (486 ratings) Amazon: 4.6/5 (89 reviews) Most reviewers recommend reading Impro first to understand Johnstone's fundamental concepts before tackling this more practical manual.

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🎭 Keith Johnstone developed many of his improvisational techniques while working as a teacher, after noticing that telling students to "be more obvious" paradoxically led to more creative and interesting scenes. 🎬 The book introduces the concept of "status transactions" - subtle physical and verbal cues that people unconsciously use to establish hierarchy in social situations, which became a cornerstone of modern improv training. 🌟 Despite being published in 1999, this book was actually written as a follow-up to Johnstone's 1979 classic "Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre," responding to questions and expanding on concepts from the first book. 🎪 The exercises in the book were developed and tested through Johnstone's work with his theatre company, The Loose Moose Theatre Company in Calgary, which he founded in 1977. 🎓 Many of the techniques described in the book are now used beyond theatre - in business training, therapy, and education - to help people become better communicators and more spontaneous thinkers.