Foreworp BY JOHN RITTER FINALLY, THE BOOK ON IMPROVISATIONAL COMEDY. NDY'S REALLY CAPTURED WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT . . « UO SOW Oe Te eae aR Ld“Nobody in the world knows more about improvisational comedy than Andy.” —Bob Rosenfarb, Supervising Producer, Who’s the Boss “Improvisation is an essential teol for all actors and I was fortunate to pick up that tool working with Andy.” —Corbin Bernsen, siar of L.A. Law MPROVISATIONAL COMEDY is generating much interest and activity among all types of performers. Improv troupes are springing up all over the country as audiences for this form of theatre grow. Improv Comedy is a definitive course in the practice of this popular theatre genre. Veteran improviser and improv workshop director Andy Goldberg offers a lively presentation of the building blocks of improv comedy—characterization, plot, and enyironment—an extensive collection of progressive scene setups and exercises, and practical advice on forming and running an improv troupe. This is improv comedy from top to bottorn and from inside out. If you want to form an improv comedy workshop, sharpen your improvisational acting skills in a group setting, or simply study the subject on your own, Andy’s well-thought-out text and invaluable exercises will put you on the right track. ; Improv Comedy is also a useful text for writers or anyone else who wishes to study the basics of controlled spontaneity as a path to believable humor. Andy Goldberg is the director of and a performer with the acclaimed improvisational comedy group Off the Wall, which has been performing regularly in Los Angeles since 1975. As an actor, he has appeared in suc! movies and TV shows as The Goodbye Girl, Hill Street Blues, The Garry Shandling Show, and The Golden Girls; nis credits as a writer inclu episodes of The Love Boat and Laverne and Shirley and the ABC s — He has been teaching improvisational coSAMUEL FRENCH + HoLLywoop New York + London + Toronto