interesting, I did improv with a group and then bought Johnstone's book, and couldn't stand it. I think because it was turning something I had been 'trained' to do instinctively into rules and analysis.
Really? I'd have said Johnstone was the last person to turn improv into "rules and analysis". In fact, that's the opposite of what he's known for.
The book is as much about life in general as it is about theatre. But it's really just the first half that's great. The second half, about trance and maskwork, seems like it ought to be more interesting than it is.
Keith Johnstone, Impro