Description
Discover the behind-the-scenes story of how The Second City theatre created a generation of world class great actors, directors, and writers.
In the late Fifties and Sixties, iconoclastic young rebels in Chicago opened two tiny theatres-The Compass and The Second City-where they satirised politics, religion and sex. Developing scenes by improvising based on audience suggestions turned out to be a fine way to develop great actors, directors, and writers. Alumni went on to create such ground-breaking works as The Graduate, Groundhog Day, and Don't Look Up. Many of them also became stars on Saturday Night Live. Something Wonderful Right Away features the pioneers who founded the empire that transformed American comedy.
This new edition tells even more of the story. Included for the first time is an interview with Viola Spolin, the genius who invented theatre games that were the foundation of improvisational theatre. Also included are dozens of follow-up stories about Mike Nichols, Barbara Harris, Del Close, Joan Rivers, Alan Arkin, and Gilda Radner, plus "You Only Shoot the Ones You Love," the story of how this book's author, playwright Jeffrey Sweet, ended up being so involved in the community he covered that he was captured by it.
About the Author
Jeffrey Sweet is a founding resident writer of Chicago's Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theater, where many of his plays (including The Value of Names, Porch, Flyovers, The Action Against Sol Schumann, and Court-Martial at Fort Devens) have premiered before playing on stages around the world. His book, The Dramatist's Toolkit, is a widely-used text on playwriting, and The O'Neill is a history of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Among the actors who have starred in his scripts are Ellen Burstyn, Alan Bates, Richard Kind, Nathan Lane, Jon Cryer, William Petersen, Amy Morton, Gary Cole, Jack Klugman, and Megan Mullally.
Reviews
"Jeffrey Sweet's history of improv has been a primary source for anyone serious about comedy. It chronicles a time that changed how acting and sketch comedy performing coalesced and influenced generations. It's also as authentic as you can get. For anyone who wants to understand modern humor, it's essential."
-Ben Stiller
"Something Wonderful Right Away is the Rosetta Stone of modern comedy. Nearly every comedian, actor, show, or movie that's made you laugh in the last fifty years can trace their roots somehow to the crazy magic that Jeffrey Sweet captures in this book."
-Thomas Dyja, bestselling author of The Third Coast and New York, New York, New York
"For anyone who wants to understand the birth and development of improv as told by its brilliant, contentious creators and innovators, Jeffrey Sweet's book is the bible. He talked to everyone; he got everything. And the addition of essen tial new material makes Something Wonderful Right Away even more vivid and valuable now than it was the day it was first published."
-Mark Harris, bestselling author of Mike Nichols: A Life
"Intriguing! Shop-talk-with its mixture of practical philosophy, anecdotes and just plain gossip-is always interesting. But Something Wonderful Right Away has all that and something else besides. A fascinating story of creativity and conflict."
-Chicago Tribune
"If you are interested in the theater, films or television, or if you just like to laugh, don't miss it."
-Newsday
"An important book about the most important American theatrical endeavor since the Group Theater. Plus, it's fun to read."
-David Mamet
"I could not put it down. It brought back all the sweet, tender, funny, horren dous, angry and exhilarating moments that I still have concerning Second City."
-Joan Rivers
Book Information
ISBN 9781621538240
Author Jeffrey Sweet
Format Paperback
Page Count 456
Imprint Allworth Press,U.S.
Publisher Skyhorse Publishing
Weight(grams) 658g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 36mm
In the late Fifties and Sixties, iconoclastic young rebels in Chicago opened two tiny theatres-The Compass and The Second City-where they satirised politics, religion and sex. Developing scenes by improvising based on audience suggestions turned out to be a fine way to develop great actors, directors, and writers. Alumni went on to create such ground-breaking works as The Graduate, Groundhog Day, and Don't Look Up. Many of them also became stars on Saturday Night Live. Something Wonderful Right Away features the pioneers who founded the empire that transformed American comedy.
This new edition tells even more of the story. Included for the first time is an interview with Viola Spolin, the genius who invented theatre games that were the foundation of improvisational theatre. Also included are dozens of follow-up stories about Mike Nichols, Barbara Harris, Del Close, Joan Rivers, Alan Arkin, and Gilda Radner, plus "You Only Shoot the Ones You Love," the story of how this book's author, playwright Jeffrey Sweet, ended up being so involved in the community he covered that he was captured by it.
About the Author
Jeffrey Sweet is a founding resident writer of Chicago's Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theater, where many of his plays (including The Value of Names, Porch, Flyovers, The Action Against Sol Schumann, and Court-Martial at Fort Devens) have premiered before playing on stages around the world. His book, The Dramatist's Toolkit, is a widely-used text on playwriting, and The O'Neill is a history of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Among the actors who have starred in his scripts are Ellen Burstyn, Alan Bates, Richard Kind, Nathan Lane, Jon Cryer, William Petersen, Amy Morton, Gary Cole, Jack Klugman, and Megan Mullally.
Reviews
"Jeffrey Sweet's history of improv has been a primary source for anyone serious about comedy. It chronicles a time that changed how acting and sketch comedy performing coalesced and influenced generations. It's also as authentic as you can get. For anyone who wants to understand modern humor, it's essential."
-Ben Stiller
"Something Wonderful Right Away is the Rosetta Stone of modern comedy. Nearly every comedian, actor, show, or movie that's made you laugh in the last fifty years can trace their roots somehow to the crazy magic that Jeffrey Sweet captures in this book."
-Thomas Dyja, bestselling author of The Third Coast and New York, New York, New York
"For anyone who wants to understand the birth and development of improv as told by its brilliant, contentious creators and innovators, Jeffrey Sweet's book is the bible. He talked to everyone; he got everything. And the addition of essen tial new material makes Something Wonderful Right Away even more vivid and valuable now than it was the day it was first published."
-Mark Harris, bestselling author of Mike Nichols: A Life
"Intriguing! Shop-talk-with its mixture of practical philosophy, anecdotes and just plain gossip-is always interesting. But Something Wonderful Right Away has all that and something else besides. A fascinating story of creativity and conflict."
-Chicago Tribune
"If you are interested in the theater, films or television, or if you just like to laugh, don't miss it."
-Newsday
"An important book about the most important American theatrical endeavor since the Group Theater. Plus, it's fun to read."
-David Mamet
"I could not put it down. It brought back all the sweet, tender, funny, horren dous, angry and exhilarating moments that I still have concerning Second City."
-Joan Rivers
Book Information
ISBN 9781621538240
Author Jeffrey Sweet
Format Paperback
Page Count 456
Imprint Allworth Press,U.S.
Publisher Skyhorse Publishing
Weight(grams) 658g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 36mm
