THE CLOTHING
THE BOOK
"An encouraging and witty celebration of the art, technique, and lifestyle of improvisation. 'Not the Rules of Improv' is littered with pearls of wisdom that will be helpful to anyone in the performing arts.”
Brynley Stent
(Taskmaster NZ, 7 Days, Celebrity Treasure Island)
“Improv to me has always been the funnest thing you can do, and improvisation theory has always been the most life-draining, punishing thing to talk about."
"Dan is the best kind of teacher: direct, concise, clear and actually funny himself. This book gives you what you need to do to put the book down and go have some fun.”
Eli Matthewson
(Jono & Ben, 7 Days, Dancing With the Stars)
THESE ARE NOT THE RULES OF IMPROVISATION
These are not the Rules of Improvisation is the text you turn to when you've sort of worked out how to improvise successfully in a performance context. You've learnt the rules.
Now it's time to unlearn them.
Enjoy 75 full-colour pages featuring all the things Dan's 20+ years as a professional improvisor has taught him in 10 mostly informative and generally amusing essays on the art of making things up.
From huge corporate events, motivational speaking to audiences of 5000 plus, to a bizarrely successful podcast that prides itself on being deliberately boring, via hundreds of shows on the street, Dan Bain has worked in almost every conceivable performance context. (Jelly wrestler - yes. Circus Clown - yes. Medical role-play patient - yes.)
Here are some of his thoughts on how to do it.
“If you're reading this pull-quote to decide if Dan’s book on comedy, improv, and performance is for you, then yes, it is. Do it.”
Hamish Parkinson
(Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Thor: Ragnarok, Viva La Dirt League)
“Dan writes so passionately yet practically about improvisation that he makes me want to get back into it, right now.”
Javier Jarquin
(Card Ninja, MarvelUS)
75 full colour pages, riddled with weird illustrations and featuring 10 mostly informative and generally amusing essays including:
1: The Most Important Thing.
2: Be Funny.
3: Have Knowledge.
4: Agree on Reality.
5: Find the Game (and play it).
6: Be Playful (Not Indulgent).
7: Remove Fear.
8: Don't Be Lazy.
9: Commit.
10: Bonus Thoughts.
With an introduction by Kathleen Burns and Emma Cusdin.
