Stepping on my soapbox for a sec! Improv has significantly
improved my life, and if you’re on the fence about taking a class, DO IT. It
puts you back in touch with the imaginative, vulnerable, and curious parts of
yourself that shone more readily as a child. It improves your quick-thinking
skills, teaches you how to communicate better, and allows you to comfortably
trust your impulses. Above all, it’s a blast, and you’re usually surrounded by
very funny, kind, supportive people. Alright, stepping off.
My interest
in improv led me to Improv Nation: How We
Made A Great American Art by Sam Wasson. Wasson brings us back to the roots
of improvisation before its practitioners even knew what "it" was or what to
call “it”. I use these terms loosely because the beauty of improv is that it’s
a hotbed of experimentation. It’s a uniquely nebulous form because the
possibilities are endless.
Over the
years, various improvisers have taken their interpretation of the form and
founded theaters. Improv Nation
focuses mainly on the evolution of Second City in Chicago. Wasson’s biggest
asset and biggest downfall is the number of players he’s dealing with. There
have been so many talented and pivotal performers, writers, and instructors
over the course of improv’s history, forcing the book to explode in a million
different directions simultaneously. Try talking about SCTV (Second City TV) in depth while you talk about Harold Ramis’
relationship with Bill Murray in Caddyshack,
a film largely reliant on Murray’s improvisations. Try talking about Del Close teaching
Wiccan-inspired improv classes while the UCB troupe comes together elsewhere. It’s a lot.
The
vastness of the material can come across as frantic or recycled. Sometimes I want to hear more details on a particularly interesting offshoot; sometimes I feel like I’ve grasped the gist and I don’t need to hear it again packaged in a
different person. But who can blame a guy for trying? Wasson aggregated so much information and kept the reader
up to date with how media, cultural events, and the political climate influenced
the styles of the players and the theaters every step of the way.
I’m a
sucker for inside scoop, and Improv
Nation presents hot gossip on a platter. Steve Carell brought Judd Apatow The Forty-Year Old Virgin based on a
character he gravitated towards in improv scenes. Del Closes’ infamous drug use
made Second City’s whipped cream bills outrageously high because of the nitrous
oxide. Stephen Colbert was ten when his father and two brothers died, and his
resulting insecurities helped fuel his interest in The Colbert Report. Several movies that we know and love were
created primarily through improvisational techniques. Etc.
Do any of
the following people interest you: John Belushi, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Amy Sedaris, Matt
Walsh, Adam McKay, Chris Farley? The name-dropping goes on and on. I learned plenty
about people whose names I recognized and expanded my theatrical palette by
tuning into new names I should have known all along, like Mike Nichols and
Elaine May. Thanks for the comprehensive history lesson, Wasson; Improv Nation receives 3 out
of 5 camel humps.
*Wasson, Sam. Improv
Nation: How We Made A Great American Art. New York: Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt Publishing Company, 2017. Print.
