The Other Blocking: Teaching and Performing Improvisation, and: Theatrical Improvisation: Short Form, Long Form, and Sketch-Based Improv, and: Process: An Improviser's Journey (review)

Although improvisational theatre has exploded onto the theatrical landscape over the past fifty years, it remains relatively unknown and misunderstood. Three recent improv texts seek to clarify the art form. Tom Smith's The Other Blocking provides a basic theoretical and practical introduction to improv that is perfect for the beginning performer or instructor; Jeanne Leep's Theatrical Improvisation offers a more detailed and thorough theoretical and historical investigation of performance improvisation that is a must-have for those looking for more advanced academic or professional study; while Mary Scruggs and Michael Gellman's Process offers an advanced how-to guide geared toward the seasoned professional performer and/or teacher.

From the perspective of an experienced improviser and teacher, Tom Smith's The Other Blocking: Teaching and Performing Improvisation provides a basic introduction to teaching and performing improvisation. It attempts to mix basic improv theories and philosophies with practical application. Smith works to "bridge the gap between the practical knowledge important to performance groups and the theoretical knowledge valuable to academics" (xi).

While veteran performers and teachers won't find much new ground covered in it, the book is excellent for those just entering the field or anyone looking for a primer on improvisation. Smith charts the basic history and structure of improv, also providing applicable exercises and techniques. He mixes in several interviews with improvisers throughout, which provide a nice insight into the professional world, although one wishes that they were more extensive.

What this book does offer that many introductory books do not is a balanced look at both short form and long form improv. Furthermore, it is not simply a collection of games and "expert" advice on how to get the most laughs; instead, Smith presents the main theoretical components of improvisational theatre and examines the ways in which it functions. He also offers numerous classroom exercises, including a sample semester outline. In this way, Smith's book is most helpful to teachers of improvisation that are looking for more than just games to play, but also structural and theoretical underpinnings.

Teachers looking to incorporate improvisation into a traditional acting class or those already teaching improvisation will find useful explanations and theory written in easy-to-follow language. Beginning improvisers or those familiar with only one type of improv will also find this book enlightening. It is a quick read that will provide a basic understanding of improvisational theory and practice, and lay a nice foundation for future exploration.

Joining the small though emerging field of contemporary scholarship established by Amy Seham's Whose Improv Is It Anyway? Beyond Second City, which looks at Second City and improvisational theatre's development through the lens of race and gender, Theatrical Improvisation: Short Form, Long Form, and Sketch-Based Improv offers the first thorough "comparison of styles, forms, histories, and companies" (4). Jeanne Leep aims to clarify our understanding of improvisational theatre by analyzing performative improv in each of its three main genres: short form, long form, and sketch.

After a succinct overview of improv in performance, Leep begins with the most widespread and popular form of improv—short form. She focuses her study on performative short form improv in three main variations: team competitive format (Theatresports), individual competitive format (Whose Line), and the team noncompetitive format (River City Improv). In outlining each form, Leep is careful not to proffer one style as "better" than any other, although she does provide a critical analysis of Whose Line's impact on performative improv. Using her own experience with River City Improv, Leep offers significant insight into the unstudied area of...