Improv Comedy

Rating:
Summary: Goes for the funny too often
Review: Andy Goldberg's book contains some good suggestions for rehearsals and performances, and there is also information on starting a troupe. If you are more interested in perfecting your art, you would be better off reading "Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre" by Keith Johnstone or "Improvisation for the Theater" by Viola Spolin. He goes for the funny too often, which shows he has little experience in the technical aspects of improvisation.

Rating:
Summary: Good for comics
Review: Andy's book sticks to what he knows best, improvisational comedy, so he doesn't allow the performer much depth. Good basic improv rules and comedy exercises. Also look at "Improv! A Handbook for the Actor" by Greg Atkins and "Improvisational Theater" by Viola Spolin.

Rating:
Summary: Nope.
Review: Goldberg's book is geared entirely towards 'being funny', creating stock characters to be used over and over, and using tired jokes time and time again... basically everything improvisation speaks AGAINST. I was sad to have spent money on this book, and refer to it mainly as "How NOT to Improvise."

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best
Review: Goldbergs book Improv Comedy is the premiere book on improv comedy. Using all his experience in his 20+ years in the buisness he pulled it all together for this book. As an actor I'd recommend this book to anyone looking to take thier acting to the next level.

Rating:
Summary: If you want to learn about improv... DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!
Review: What a complete waste of time and money. The author may have been teaching since 1978, but what he's been teaching, I don't know. It certainly isn't improv. I would be horrified to see a group perform after they studied this material.

If you want to learn about improvisation, I would suggest Halpern's "Truth in Comedy" or Kozlowski's "The Art of Chicago Improv: Short Cuts to Long-Form Improvisation."

Rating:
Summary: Boo.
Review: Worthless piece of crap. This guy doesn't know jack.