Going Long: The Art of Long-Form Improvisation for Stage and Screen

By: McGinley, Jo

Book Overview

GOING LONG: THE ART OF LONG-FORM IMPROVISATION FOR STAGE AND SCREEN

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1493077937
• ISBN13: 9781493077939
• Release Date: January 2025
• Publisher: Applause Books
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

"Going Long" offers insights that take narrative improvised theater to new heights

Review of: "Going Long: The Art of Long Form Improvisation for Stage and Screen" by Jo McGinley Jo McGinley’s book "Going Long: The Art of Long Form Improvisation for Stage and Screen" offers exciting insights that take narrative improvised theater to new heights. Even after decades of studying and improvising in this art form, I can’t recommend this book enough. It is a goldmine. The content so clearly lays out a powerful and innovative approach to the work, as it offers the needed tools to elevate the craft. She devotes a chapter to “The Foundational Mindset of Tangible Connection” which illuminates what it is to be in “Second Circle” a foundational practice she derived from Patsy Rodenburg, a British vocal coach and author who worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Jo encourages us to pay attention to how our body moves in space and to let this part of us take over. She writes about the neuroscience of trust, and how to enlist awareness to create an ensemble that can excel. She offers questions that provoke us to deepen our abilities in this collaborative art form. For example: “how can I immerse myself and respond without thinking while at the same time tracking the evolving narrative?” In the chapter “Creating Characters We Care About," she writes “In creating a character that an audience will want to spend two hours with, it’s imperative to have an inner world that propels you through the narrative.” She reminds us: “you speak to impact your scene partners. When you speak with purpose, the scene will be better defined than if you speak only to define the who, what and where of the scene.” There is such brilliance in this book. It is brimming with practical resources, such as information for lighting and sound improvisers, and how to bring different genres to life. This exquisite book is guaranteed to both expand and elevate the potentials and quality of the art of long-form improvisation.