Books in English

·         Activities from Improvisation Theater to develop creativity, leadership, teambuilding, communication skills,...in organisations

·         Improvisation applied to business or to life

·         Improvisation Theater in general

·         Other related training books

More reading (articles)  

Books in Foreign languages

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Activities from Improvisation Theater to develop creativity, leadership, teambuilding, communication skills,...in organisations

58 1/2 Ways to Improvise in Training: Improvisation Games and Activities for Workshops, Courses and Team Meetings, Paul Z. Jackson
A trainer’s step-by-step guide to amazing activities which teach communication skills, leadership and creativity. Good selection of clearly-explained simple-to-run games, organized by number of participants, visual/verbal/physical matrix, degree of energy and time taken to run.

The inspirational trainer: Make Training Time Flexible, Responsive, Paul Z Jackson,Creative Kogan Page, 0-7494-3468-6
A wide-ranging handbook for trainers who aspire to inspire. Practical and provocative, tips and ideas, drawing on AL, drama, sports and psychology- wih particular reference to improvisation. Introduces concept of Rehearsals for Success, combining elements of role play, forum theatre and coaching..
(previously published in hardback as Impro Learning, Gower)

Theater Games for the Classroom: A Teacher's Handbook
Viola Spolin, Northwestern University Press
Exactly what the title says. A better organised book, with helpful bibliography and appendices.

Training to Imagine: Practical Improvisational Theatre Techniques to Enhance Creativity, Teamwork, Leadership and Learning, Kat Koppett

Working with groups to enhance Relationships : 46 interactive exercices to build communication, encourage cooperation and rekindle companionship, Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin and Sue Walden

Laugh and learn 95 Ways to Use Humor for More Effective Teaching and Training Doni Tamblyn, AMACOM/American Management Association (March 30, 2003)

The Big Book of Humorous Training Games: Games to Bring Humour, Fun and Creativity into Any Group Situation, Doni Tamblyn, McGraw-Hill Professional (April 1, 2007)

The Improvisation Playbook. Tristan MacAvery , Author House, 2006 - basics of improvisation, series of classes for exploration / growth / fun, descriptions of games, basics on the "improv attitude"

Theatre for living, the art and science of community-based dialogue. David Diamond, Trafford Publishing, 2007 - a very intersting development of the methods of Augusto Boal (Forumtheater ...), lots of examples of who and where to use it; not some many "exercises" but a lot of useful background

101 improv games for children and adults . Bob Bedore , Hunterhouse - a lot of new ideas!

Drama, Games & Improv. Games for the classroom and beyond. Justine Jones & Mary Ann Kelly , Meriwether Publishing, 2007, well described collection of games, games, games

Improvisation applied to business or to life

Competing on the Edge : Strategy as Structured Chaos, Shona L. Brown,and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, Harvard Business School Press 1998

Everything's An Offer: How to do more with less Robert Poynton and Gary Hirsch 2008

Experiencing risk, spontaneity and improvisation in organizational change: working live. Shaw Patricia, Edited with Stacey, R.D. Routledge 2006,.

Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art, Steven Nachmanovitch

GameChangers -- Improvisation for Business in the Networked World,Mike Bonifer

Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration, Keith Sawyer,

Improv Yourself: Business Spontaneity at the Speed of Thought by Joseph A. Keefe and Joe Keefe

Improv wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up, Patricia Ryan Madson, Bell Tower 2005

Improvisation, Inc.: Harnessing Spontaneity to Engage People and Groups ,Robert Lowe

Improvise This! How to Think on Your Feet So You Don't Fall on Your Face  Mark Bergren, et al

Organizational Improvisation by: Kamoche, Ken; Cunha, Miguel Pina E.; Cunha, Joao Vieira Da

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter) Garr Reynolds, New Riders 2008

The Flexible Thinker: A Guide to Creative Wealth by Michael Rosenburg (Author), Helen Bauer (Illustrator), Michael D. Rosenberg (Author)

Transcultural Experiments by: Berry, Ellen E.

“When I Say This... ...Do You Mean That?:,: Enhancing on the Job Communication Skills Using the Rules and the Tools of the Improv Comedy Player, Cherie Kerr, Julia Sweeney  1998

Improvisation Theater in general

Acting on Impulse: The Art of Making Improv Theater, Carol Hazenfield

Action Theater: The Improvisation of Presence, Ruth Zaporah, North Atlantic Books, California 1995
A 20-day course of exercises, with instructions and discussion. Plenty of intensive activities, mostly theatre, some dance. Good understanding of the heart of impro - expressed in whimsical lines.

Book on Acting: Improvisation Technique for the Professional Actor in Film, Theater, and Television , Stephen Book

Games for Actors and Non-Actors, Augusto Boal, Routledge London 1992
Political improvisation from the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed. Lots of great games, also plenty of concepts and jargon.

Group Improvisation: The Manual of Ensemble Improv Games, Peter Gwinn

Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre, Keith Johnstone, Methuen, 1979,
Still the best introduction to impro for the theatre. Very readable, funny and illuminating. A major inspiration for staged impro in UK, USA, Canada and Australia.

Improv! A handbook for the actor. Atkins, G. 1994. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

Improvisation: Use What You Know, Make Up What You Don't (2nd Edition) (Paperback), by Brad Newton

Improvisation for Actors and Writers: A Guidebook for Improv Lessons in Comedy  Bill Lynn, Kip King

Improvisation for the Theater 3E: A Handbook of Teaching and Directing Techniques, Viola Spolin, Northwestern University Press
Johnstone’s main ‘rival’ as originator of theatre games as performance. Lots of exercises, thorough explanations, and useful ideas about things like side-coaching.

Playing Boal: Theatre, Therapy, Activism, Mady Schutzman and Jan Cohen-Cruz, Routledge London 1994
Mixed bag of essays from Boal practitioners and watchers. Impro for politics and for therapy, links back to Moreno.

The Improv Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Improvising in Comedy, Theatre, and Beyond Tom Salinsky, Deborah Frances-White

Theater Games for the Lone Actor Viola Spolin, A Handbook, 2001

The Playbook: Improv Games for Performers, William Hall  www.improvplaybook.com

Truth in Comedy :The Manual of Improvisation Charna Halpern,and Del Close 1952

 Other related training books