Reviews
The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual by Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts
cynicalworm's review against another edition
4.0
Very helpful, a surprising amount of sports analogies.
lauryl's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Extremely niche book, but super helpful guide to improv. Everything taught in this book (which was narrated by a bunch of fun comedians) has been part of the classes I’ve taken, but it’s super helpful reminders and examples. Would reco for anyone getting into improv.
nickdouglas's review against another edition
5.0
Does a perfect job of replicating the lessons of UCB improv training, but still valuable to graduates.
ashleyozery's review against another edition
Read this alongside a UCB improv course. Goes over the foundation, the game, and includes lots of warm ups and examples of what not to do. Plus illustrations! Would be good for aspiring teachers, not just students.
jenlamfers's review against another edition
5.0
Terrific companion book to any improv class. It helps you reflect on the improv rules and enforces why they are strong choices.
sarahjsnider's review against another edition
5.0
My book is filled with sticky notes. Everything I've tried to explain to my students and couldn't articulate, and everything else they might need to know, is in here. The authors say it's equivalent to about two years of improv class theory; that sounds about right. Now I just have to teach it.
schwalove's review
4.0
Good use of multiple examples to illustrate different elements of performance. I especially appreciated the breakdowns of heightening vs exploring in scenes.
Nitpick unrelated to content: hopefully future editions will be printed on paper with coated surface that is less reflective. That is some shiny shiny paper that is hard to read under overhead lights of any kind.
Nitpick unrelated to content: hopefully future editions will be printed on paper with coated surface that is less reflective. That is some shiny shiny paper that is hard to read under overhead lights of any kind.
ponch22's review
5.0
Took me six & a half weeks but I finally finished this... More of a review to (eventually) follow...
[This "more of a review" is being written over a year after reading the book--totally forgot to come back and write it]
Picked this book up at UCB during the Del Close Marathon last year a few weeks before it was officially released. Of course, DCM15 wasn't meant to read improv manuals, it was meant to watch a ton of improv. So I started the manual as I sat in line for shows, but didn't get far as 50+ hours of improv was too much of a distraction for me.
But I did read the novel over the next month and a half and found it interesting. I've since completed UCB 101, 201 & 301 but at the time I was in between 101 & 201. I knew about Game and the Harold and bunch of other topics taught in this Manual, but I still hadn't learned the Movie and it's always good to read and relearn the basics.
This is probably the best improv teaching book that I've read. There are great illustrations and all the basics are described with plenty of examples. [a:Matt Besser|7155487|Matt Besser|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-ccc56e79bcc2db9e6cdcd450a4940d46.png], [a:Matt Walsh|5849167|Matt Walsh|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-ccc56e79bcc2db9e6cdcd450a4940d46.png], & [a:Ian Roberts|12423567|Ian Roberts|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-ccc56e79bcc2db9e6cdcd450a4940d46.png] created a fantastic curriculum here and they don't ever get distracted with nostalgic stories of days gone by or petty arguments about which school of improv is the best. Obviously, the think the UCB style is best because it's worked for them for so long, and the present how they understand and teach it.
[This "more of a review" is being written over a year after reading the book--totally forgot to come back and write it]
Picked this book up at UCB during the Del Close Marathon last year a few weeks before it was officially released. Of course, DCM15 wasn't meant to read improv manuals, it was meant to watch a ton of improv. So I started the manual as I sat in line for shows, but didn't get far as 50+ hours of improv was too much of a distraction for me.
But I did read the novel over the next month and a half and found it interesting. I've since completed UCB 101, 201 & 301 but at the time I was in between 101 & 201. I knew about Game and the Harold and bunch of other topics taught in this Manual, but I still hadn't learned the Movie and it's always good to read and relearn the basics.
This is probably the best improv teaching book that I've read. There are great illustrations and all the basics are described with plenty of examples. [a:Matt Besser|7155487|Matt Besser|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-ccc56e79bcc2db9e6cdcd450a4940d46.png], [a:Matt Walsh|5849167|Matt Walsh|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-ccc56e79bcc2db9e6cdcd450a4940d46.png], & [a:Ian Roberts|12423567|Ian Roberts|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-ccc56e79bcc2db9e6cdcd450a4940d46.png] created a fantastic curriculum here and they don't ever get distracted with nostalgic stories of days gone by or petty arguments about which school of improv is the best. Obviously, the think the UCB style is best because it's worked for them for so long, and the present how they understand and teach it.