As You Like It Book

I'm definitely part of a niche audience because I'm a leader in my improv community (performer on a house team, coach of an indie team, and producer), AND I'm also an arts education and policy researcher. For me, this book is essential reading because it provides a concise history about improv in Chicago, and it examines early roots with commedia d'el arte and Spolin's theater games, then takes us on a tour of improv as we know today. The chapter about the first wave gives a clear understanding about the ways that dominant cultures (e.g., White American men in the Midwest) laid the standards (of their time) for satire and "masculine" vs. "feminine" modes of performing comedy. And subsequent chapters give a succinct tour of the ways that second and third wave theaters deviate from their predecessors and, essentially, define their own styles of improv. I find this book especially valuable because I am a man of color in a small improv community, so as I work with my peers to help build the community, I can learn from the lessons of history and promote a more inclusive theaters and educational programs. To me, improv should always be evolving, so this information about history is better helping me make informed decisions about policy in my community.