Good Improv readin'

[Corddry]

In honor of Drifter Luke's new "What are you Reading Part 2" thread let's revisit this oldie. What have you read since the last thread that you found relevant to improv?

I'm on my second pass through "How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci" and one of the chapters is called "Connessione" and is about how to identify connections. It's sometimes a little touchy feely. Bare with it.

r

 

[Dave McKeel]

Yo Rob,

That book caught my eye in a store the other day... what's the deal? Should I get it? It looked interesting, but I was in a hurry and didn't stop to peruse...

I just finished reading the first Harry Potter book. And I just bought Daniel Pinkwater's "Alan Mendelsohn, The Boy From Mars" (1979), a treasured novel from my childhood Harry Potter reminded me of. Relevant to improv only in that getting in touch with my childhood feelings kinda way... back before the self-imposed walls came up...

 

[Casey]

In the past couple of weeks:

Of Mice and Men- Steinbeck: a simple story with strong characters is incredibly involving; human nature creates its own conflicts; how to build a chain of events which occur spontaneously and irrevocably heighten tension.

Subterraneans- Kerouac: verbal improvisation; patterns reveal more about inner truth everytime they appear.

Biography of Victoria Woodhull (ran for president of the US twice before women got sufferage/spiritualist/maverick): how to be brave in the face of ignorance; tell the truth uber alles.

 

[funnyerik9]

I posted this on the other thread but...

Ayn Rand's THE ROMANTIC MANIFESTO was very good reading. She talks mainly about Drama and Literature, but her comments on a show like the AVENGERS is priceless. How it was supposed to be a satire on the "hero" values, but because everybody likes the values the heroes have, it turned into a serious success.

She also touches on the differences between portraying humanity as sad grotesque creatures who can't achieve greatness vrs. humanity as creatures who can achieve greatness. Great ideas for improv, in my book.

-Erik:up:

 

[DougMoe]

I sent this around to Dr. Awesome a few weeks ago. It's a short story called "The Unknown Soldier" by Luc Sante. You can follow the link below to either read the story or hear an audio clip (it's pretty short).

http://www.npr.org/programs/death/readings/stories/sante.html

What I think is interesting about this story is that it's very similar to the Invocation in both format and intent. By using small specific details and repetition, it invokes the universal.

 

[Owen Burke]

I've just re-discovered the "Power of Myth." It is the dialogue between the journalist, Bill Moyers and the late expert on Myth, Joseph Cmpbell. The book discusses importance of myth and the way it represents how we view the world. It refers to many myths from all over the globe and lays out some pretty cool characters and very influential ideals. There is also a 6 tape video collection to watch and audio tapes to listen to in your walkman. I listened to it one summer in my walkman when I would walk around the city. There is another set of audio tapes where Joseph Campbell breaks down James Joyce. That was a real mind chaser!

owen

 

[John_Frusciante]

'Buddhism Plain and Simple' by Steve Hagen (lent to me by Jim Festante). Buddhism is, I feel (and I'm sure I'm not alone) directly correlated w/improvisation. For instance, here's a quote from the book:

"The buddha-dharma doesn't ask us to give up control. Instead, it acknowledges that we never had it in the first place. When we can see this, the desire to control naturally begins to wane. The point is not to try to stop exerting control, or to condemn the desire to control as bad and wrong. The point is to see things as they are, to acknowledge what's really going on. Through such acknowledgemnt and recognition, we can cease to suffer." (pg. 51)

Yes sir.


John.

 

[Megan]

Three quick reads

These were required for my college design courses, but they're great books for artists, actors and improvisers. Pretty quick reads too.

The Blank Canvas: Inviting the Muse, by Anna Held Audette.

It's written from the perspective of painting and drawing, but the ideas are relevant to performing arts. It's like self-help for artists. Touchy-feely.

Ways of Seeing, by John Berger

Again, written from the perspective of an artist. A great discussion of perception and point of view. It's a nice quick read, too.

The Dramatic Imagination, by Robert Edmund Jones

This is the exact opposite of Mamet's "True & False". It's nice if you've been in a funk about acting and need some good idealogical stuff to chew
on or a little inspiration.

On a completely different note, I really like reading Isaac Asimov. Both the Robot books and the Foundation arc. He really puts a lot of science into his science fiction - very logical, very researched.

Megan

 

[Corddry]

Holy fuck.

Daniel Pinkwater's "Alan Mendelsohn, The Boy From Mars" was easily the best book I ever read as a child and I have spent the last 15 years trying to remember the title/author. I have asked Everyone...and along comes McKeel.

Tomorrow I will own it.

r

 

[JohnBowie]

mything you

Word is bond, Owen.
We all need to read more about myth -- its all about the collective unconcious and synchronicty and in turn, the group mind and fuck me life is a deconstruction that takes forever to be edited.

but, yes. Campbell. Hero with a Thousand Faces.

 

[funnyerik9]

Hey!

<I><B>"The buddha-dharma doesn't ask us to give up control. Instead, it acknowledges that we never had it in the first place. When we can see this, the desire to control naturally begins to wane. The point is not to try to stop exerting control, or to condemn the desire to control as bad and wrong. The point is to see things as they are, to acknowledge what's really going on. Through such acknowledgemnt and recognition, we can cease to suffer." </I></B>

I just read that to my Boss and she first yelled at me then sent me back to my desk with a lot of busy work. Thanks a lot!

-Erik:up:

 

[Owen Burke]

John! Good call on the Buddhist tip.

Another great read on that is "Zen and The Art of Archery" by Eugen Herrigel. About the author going to Japan to study archery for 7 years. Great!

Also, it's a movie but I don't care: "Fast, Cheap, And Out Of Control." Errol Morris Documentary. Just see it. Youn want to see the Harold in movie form?. . .


Anybody want to buy some pants that I found?

owen

 

[funnyerik9]

When I was in College:

We had to write a paper on "Zen and the Art of Archery" about what Zen means and how it applies to Stage Combat.

Isn't that the opposite of what Zen means? How can you write about Zen? Or am I now by not writing about Zen actually writing about Zen?

-Erik:up:

 

[Jabor]

Narcissus with Pen and Paper

Yes Bowie and Owen!

Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces (as problematic as it may be) has most influenced my view of the brain's desire to create stories.
However, I argue that the common myths which span time represent less the journeys of peoples and cultures than they represent the chemical development of the brain itself, dealing with it's bodily capsule. The collective unconcious is merely biology. Take that Jung, you horrid antisemite with Little-man complex.

If myths are farts of our conciousness, then, Oh, how the fart has come, in turn, to define the ass from whence it came.

 

[Bernie]

Owen, Rob:


I'm going to the book store today.

 

[John_Frusciante]

Owen, Rob:


I'm going to bed soon.

 

[Spiro]

<u>The Banquet Years</u> by Roger Shattuck. Great summary of the Parisian Avant-garde from 1880-1910 or so. Alfred Jarry and Erik Satie lived their lives as art, and you can too.

Also I recommend any book by the NYC-resident and Canadian transplant Gordon Korman. If you want to recapture your prankish, childlike spirit, read any of his books, the Bruno and Boots series, or Who Is Bugs Potter?, Don't Care High, I Want to Go Home, No Coins Please... these books are great.

Also check out <u>From A to B and Back Again: The Philosophy of Andy Warhol</u>

 

[Ivan Lerner]

Hey Photog!

I *heart* Alfred Jarry!

(Does anybody realize that The Simpson's episode where Homer has a pet lobster was a tribute to Jarry, who also had a pet lobster?)

I *heart* pet lobsters!

 

[tanouye]

The 5 Books thread...

...reminded me of Lorrie Moore's <b>Anagrams</b>.

It's a work of fiction, but the format is very interesting.

It starts off as a series of short stories featuring the same characters, but in what appear to be parallel universes. It's not in a science-fiction sort of way, but just that the events and details of their lives are slightly different. Eventually, one of the stories doesn't end and becomes a novel-length work.

The book as a whole explores some cool ideas about character and community.

She can also be a very funny writer when she wants.

 

[macoule30]

Anything...

by Mark Leyner. I realize he's got a lot more time to find connections, but the flow of his writing and the depth of his references reminds me a great deal of you wonderful Respecto folks. Read Tooth Imprints On A Corndog , Et Tu Babe , My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist,The Tetherballs of Bouganvilla and I Smell Esther Williams...in that order...Now.