Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation by Charna Halpern, Kim Howard Johnson, Close, Del Close

Who would have ever thought that learning the finer points of improvisation could be such fun? The "Harold, " an innovative improvisational tool, helped Saturday Night Live's Mike Myers and Chris Farley, George Wendt ("Norm" on Cheers) and many other actors on the road to TV and film stardom. Now it is described fully in this new book for the benefit of other would-be actors and comics. The "Harold" is a form of competitive improv involving six or seven players. They take a theme suggestion from the audience and "free associate" on the theme into a series of rapid-fire one-liners that build into totally unpredictable skits with hilarious results. The teams compete with scoring based on applause. The "Harold" is a fun way to "loosen up" and learn to think quickly, build continulty, develop characterizations and sharpen humor—all part of successful improvising.