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Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation
Want to learn the improv techniques that helped Mike Myers, Chris Farley, John Belushi, and many others along the road to TV and film stardom? Then let two esteemed founders of long-form improvisational theatre, Del Close and Charna Halpern, teach you the "Harold." This groundbreaking acting exercise emphasizes pattern recognition and subversion of the audience's expectations, which are important factors for making people laugh without ever telling a joke. It involves six to seven players and many kinds of scenes: games, monologues, songs, skits and more, all of which are bound to keep both actors and audience members guessing. The Harold is non-linear entertainment that remembers everything and wastes nothing the key to successful improvising and has become a standard in comedy clubs and improv theatres around the globe.
150 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 214 reviews
October 10, 2012
A great intro to Harold and improv in general with some useful exercises, including helpful example scenes. I appreciate the simplicity of the idea that "the truth is funny", and that all we need to do is get out of the way to find it.
One of my favorite quotes from the book:
"There are a few squares in our society that think kung fu is about kicking people's heads in...Coming here to learn to make people laugh is equally absurd. To assume that making the audience laugh is the goal of improvisation is almost as absurd as assuming you go to a dojo to learn to kick somebody's face in. It's just not true!
"Still, they laugh. It is a side-effect of attempting to achieve something more beautiful, honest, and truthful, something that has far more to do with the theatre--which puts your attention on what is important about being a human in a community..."
I also had no idea how many of my favorite comic actors had passed through Del Close's training. For example, former students at Second City include: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, Kevin McDonald. It is pretty incredible that one person could have such a large influence on modern comedy, yet still be relatively unknown to mainstream consumers of popular culture. Perhaps encouraging, even...
One of my favorite quotes from the book:
"There are a few squares in our society that think kung fu is about kicking people's heads in...Coming here to learn to make people laugh is equally absurd. To assume that making the audience laugh is the goal of improvisation is almost as absurd as assuming you go to a dojo to learn to kick somebody's face in. It's just not true!
"Still, they laugh. It is a side-effect of attempting to achieve something more beautiful, honest, and truthful, something that has far more to do with the theatre--which puts your attention on what is important about being a human in a community..."
I also had no idea how many of my favorite comic actors had passed through Del Close's training. For example, former students at Second City include: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, Kevin McDonald. It is pretty incredible that one person could have such a large influence on modern comedy, yet still be relatively unknown to mainstream consumers of popular culture. Perhaps encouraging, even...
June 23, 2012
This is one of the books that helped shape who I am as a person. I first read it as a teenager, and now I'm re-reading it again. The idea that the truth is funny has become a key concept in my life, and one o the key reasons comedy holds the high place it does in my value system.
For improvisers and actors, this book is indispensable. Written by some of the founders of the art, it wastes no time in diving into the core concepts (yes and, support, honesty, etc.) and the fleshes itself out to discuss other topics in detail. It's also a practical guide to teaching improv, and contains many examples of the techniques the authors used to teach themselves and others the craft.
For improvisers and actors, this book is indispensable. Written by some of the founders of the art, it wastes no time in diving into the core concepts (yes and, support, honesty, etc.) and the fleshes itself out to discuss other topics in detail. It's also a practical guide to teaching improv, and contains many examples of the techniques the authors used to teach themselves and others the craft.
July 3, 2015
“Truth in Comedy” is praised as one of the classical readings for comedy. Indeed, it covers many fundamental points in comedy. Some, but not all, are:
1. Be honest in the scene, be in the moment
2. Strive to make your scene partner look good
3. No idea is a bad idea, make active choices
4. Listen to your scene partner
5. Create an environment on stage
6. Focus on relationships between partners
This book didn’t quite meet my expectations, for three reasons.
First, I read the book after I went through improv training at Second City theatre, and I was taking more improv classes at Chicago iO theatre. Most of those ideas aren’t new to me.
Second, I didn’t quite enjoy the style of writing. For example writing details on many improv games (Freeze, Cocktail party, etc.). I praise the authors for the effort, but it read more like instructions, which is hard to follow.
Lastly, having taken many improv classes, I believe that we need to participate and play to understand comedy, reading a book with comedy philosophy isn’t enough.
Good quotes:
When we’re relaxing, we don’t have to entertain each other with jokes. And when we’re simply opening ourselves up to each other and being honest, we’re usually funniest.
Audience members laugh at things they can relate to, but cannot empathize if the performers are insincere.
Where do the really best laughs come from? Terrific connections made intellectually, or terrific revelations made emotionally.
Audiences appreciate a sophisticated game player. When a player listens and uses patterns that have developed in a scene, it can elicit cheers from an audience which are much more intoxicating than the laughs that result from a few jokes.
Connections are a much more sophisticated way to get laughs. When an audience sees the players start a pattern, they finish the connections in their minds.
The best way for an improviser to look good is by making his fellow players look good.
When two improvisers step on stage, neither one should know anything about the scene they are about to create — they basically start with nothing.
The games, or scenic structures, are always created on the spot as part of the improvised initiation. Picking up on the game move separates good game players from those who don’t pay attention.
Hearing and listening are two different things.
A player’s move is not complete until he sees how it affects his partner.
A relationship must exist between actors on stage.
Active choices forward the scene, passive choices keep it stagnant, there’s really no choice, is there?
Things are funnier when they happen three times.
As the players grow more experienced on stage, they discover they have an inner voice which, when followed, leads them to interesting twists in the scene. The unusual choices result in the most interesting scenes.
Everything that we perceive is truly perceived inside the head. As soon as an actor begins to see his environment on stage, the audience sees it through his eyes. The environment affects him and the choices he makes in the scene.
1. Be honest in the scene, be in the moment
2. Strive to make your scene partner look good
3. No idea is a bad idea, make active choices
4. Listen to your scene partner
5. Create an environment on stage
6. Focus on relationships between partners
This book didn’t quite meet my expectations, for three reasons.
First, I read the book after I went through improv training at Second City theatre, and I was taking more improv classes at Chicago iO theatre. Most of those ideas aren’t new to me.
Second, I didn’t quite enjoy the style of writing. For example writing details on many improv games (Freeze, Cocktail party, etc.). I praise the authors for the effort, but it read more like instructions, which is hard to follow.
Lastly, having taken many improv classes, I believe that we need to participate and play to understand comedy, reading a book with comedy philosophy isn’t enough.
Good quotes:
When we’re relaxing, we don’t have to entertain each other with jokes. And when we’re simply opening ourselves up to each other and being honest, we’re usually funniest.
Audience members laugh at things they can relate to, but cannot empathize if the performers are insincere.
Where do the really best laughs come from? Terrific connections made intellectually, or terrific revelations made emotionally.
Audiences appreciate a sophisticated game player. When a player listens and uses patterns that have developed in a scene, it can elicit cheers from an audience which are much more intoxicating than the laughs that result from a few jokes.
Connections are a much more sophisticated way to get laughs. When an audience sees the players start a pattern, they finish the connections in their minds.
The best way for an improviser to look good is by making his fellow players look good.
When two improvisers step on stage, neither one should know anything about the scene they are about to create — they basically start with nothing.
The games, or scenic structures, are always created on the spot as part of the improvised initiation. Picking up on the game move separates good game players from those who don’t pay attention.
Hearing and listening are two different things.
A player’s move is not complete until he sees how it affects his partner.
A relationship must exist between actors on stage.
Active choices forward the scene, passive choices keep it stagnant, there’s really no choice, is there?
Things are funnier when they happen three times.
As the players grow more experienced on stage, they discover they have an inner voice which, when followed, leads them to interesting twists in the scene. The unusual choices result in the most interesting scenes.
Everything that we perceive is truly perceived inside the head. As soon as an actor begins to see his environment on stage, the audience sees it through his eyes. The environment affects him and the choices he makes in the scene.
April 2, 2008
Ugh, poorly written, full of sad name-dropping, not useful. Try Mick Napier or (gasp!) Johnstone.
December 30, 2008
The joke about this book is that it's all exclamation points and name dropping. So there is some truth in comedy.
Look, Charna has done some big things for the world of comedy, and had a big hand in legitimizing improvised comedy as a theatrical art.
While the standard "rules" of long-form, particularly Harold, are laid out in this volume, there a few books that teach you farm more about inprovising.
Check out Improvise by Mick Napier and Improvising Better by Jimmy Carrane and Liz Allen, although don't read them in that order.
Look, Charna has done some big things for the world of comedy, and had a big hand in legitimizing improvised comedy as a theatrical art.
While the standard "rules" of long-form, particularly Harold, are laid out in this volume, there a few books that teach you farm more about inprovising.
Check out Improvise by Mick Napier and Improvising Better by Jimmy Carrane and Liz Allen, although don't read them in that order.
February 17, 2025
I always love reading about anything comedy or improv related— I find it fascinating. Especially when said book is written by 3 of the greatest teachers in the world of comedy. Even though this book was made in 1994, there are still a lot of useful tips and tricks in here! Definitely worth the read for anyone wanting to hear from some great minds from way back when (aka, some for the voices and minds who revolutionized improv in the US).
August 28, 2022
I've read "Truth in Comedy" previously while taking improv classes, but this book is also helpful for anyone writing or performing any type of comedy. The book gives suggestions for how to create comedic scenes through improvisation, particularly in the format of the Harold, which is one of the most popular improv formats around.
There are lots of good tips in here that can help strengthen comedy creativity. Say yes to ideas you're presented with, then add to them. Be specific. Choose strong actions. Embrace the reality you're creating.
I'm grateful to re-read this book more than 10 years after I read it the first time. If you're an improviser, you should definitely read this, as it's an essential textbook with tips from the originators of improv. If you want to refresh your comedic approach in general, it can also inspire some strong ideas.
There are lots of good tips in here that can help strengthen comedy creativity. Say yes to ideas you're presented with, then add to them. Be specific. Choose strong actions. Embrace the reality you're creating.
I'm grateful to re-read this book more than 10 years after I read it the first time. If you're an improviser, you should definitely read this, as it's an essential textbook with tips from the originators of improv. If you want to refresh your comedic approach in general, it can also inspire some strong ideas.
February 22, 2018
This book is pretty nutty but I think that's probably a great way to get introduced to improv. The little maxims in the book are sincerely brilliant but it wouldn't really be improv if there wasn't strange puffery about the subculture that veers into (explicit) New Age mysticism.
January 28, 2020
Who wants to start an improv group with me?
January 22, 2021
El primer acercamiento consciente que tuve acerca del arte de la improvisación fue con una parodia de la segunda temporada de Bojack Horseman. Conforme se iba desarrollando el tema, cada vez daba más risa y pena ajena como pintaban al grupo de entusiastas del escenario que al final - spoiler alert, creo - terminaron asociados en una secta con enfoque piramidal en altamar.
La segunda ocasión que supe de la importancia de la improvisación, fue con una serie de entrevistas a varios comediantes que admiro. Kristen Wig, Steve Martin, y Dave Chapelle se adentraron al mundo de la comedia a partir del improv y me dije de lo imperativo que era leer este libro.
LAMENTABLEMENTE este libro se me hizo bien aburrido y difícil de entender, porque parte de la improvisación es improvisar, vaya, tus props en el escenario y no me alcanzaba la visión para materializar una escena así. Si no fuera porque me apoye de programas como Second City, algunos de los bits más famosos de Monty Python y unos sketchs de Bill Murray, me hubiera quedado en blanco.
Independientemente de esto que les comento, vale mucho la pena leer el libro para entender, en algún momento y si les es posible con una mayor facilidad que la mia, el arte de hacer un "Harold"
"El más simple y básico de los conceptos puede ser divertido. La verdad es graciosa"
La segunda ocasión que supe de la importancia de la improvisación, fue con una serie de entrevistas a varios comediantes que admiro. Kristen Wig, Steve Martin, y Dave Chapelle se adentraron al mundo de la comedia a partir del improv y me dije de lo imperativo que era leer este libro.
LAMENTABLEMENTE este libro se me hizo bien aburrido y difícil de entender, porque parte de la improvisación es improvisar, vaya, tus props en el escenario y no me alcanzaba la visión para materializar una escena así. Si no fuera porque me apoye de programas como Second City, algunos de los bits más famosos de Monty Python y unos sketchs de Bill Murray, me hubiera quedado en blanco.
Independientemente de esto que les comento, vale mucho la pena leer el libro para entender, en algún momento y si les es posible con una mayor facilidad que la mia, el arte de hacer un "Harold"
"El más simple y básico de los conceptos puede ser divertido. La verdad es graciosa"
October 16, 2018
If you want to get your Improv skills to the next level, this is the book for you. Of course, you then have to put in action what you read, but the book is a great starting point.
You will learn great principles, as well as exercises to practice and internalize these.
Some of my highlights:
"Jokes tend to be employed as a last-ditch measure by insecure players when they are worried that a scene isn't funny."
"The most effective, satisfying laughs usually come from an actor making a connection to something that has gone before."
"A real character consists of the actor himself, with any additional point of view, preoccupation, or attitude that this character has."
You will learn great principles, as well as exercises to practice and internalize these.
Some of my highlights:
"Jokes tend to be employed as a last-ditch measure by insecure players when they are worried that a scene isn't funny."
"The most effective, satisfying laughs usually come from an actor making a connection to something that has gone before."
"A real character consists of the actor himself, with any additional point of view, preoccupation, or attitude that this character has."
July 20, 2021
I recommend reading this book while you're taking an improv class. And then in a few years and performance experience to read it again. It helps reinforce the lessons in the beginning and then reminds you how far you've come once you have experience. Also, you'll be reminded of all the little things you might have dropped while performing. Like in sports, you can always get better at the fundamentals.
April 1, 2025
Glad I read it but it comes across as a party you’re not invited to. I imagine taking an actual class in “the Harold” would be fun and exciting, but the book is a bit static.
April 21, 2022
Read this for my diss - interesting to get more insight into how improv works
August 24, 2022
Fast easy read through the basics of the magic of not just comedy but performance and staged creation.
April 5, 2025
Such great insights. Really makes me appreciate every improved performance I’ve ever seen so much more
I only wish I could have been reading this with a group of aspiring improv artists so I could try it myself!
I only wish I could have been reading this with a group of aspiring improv artists so I could try it myself!
November 10, 2009
I read this book as a companion to my UCB Improv class (it was on their recommended reading list), and it made for an excellent companion, indeed. I don't know how great it would be as an "improv for dummies" type of thing, though. I think you need to have a bit of a handle on what's going on to understand hte concepts discussed herein, but it makes for a great refresher/reinforcer for class, and I picked up some decent tips along the way.
A lot of reviews of this book like to focus on the "self-congratulatory" tone, or "name-dropping" done by the authors. But I have to say that this was a book published 15 years ago, that was trying to take a marginalized artform and elevate it to pop. So if you have to say Chris Farley and George Wendt's names on every page to do it, then go for it. This was pre-internet, pre-UCB, and I think it's helpful for someone reading this to discover improv to know that mastering this skill can actually take you places. So fuck all the biters. Know what I'm sayin'? I think that's all I have to say on the subject. Other than "keep an eye out for some 15-year-old photos of Matt Besser and Ian Roberts that'll blow yer mind."
A lot of reviews of this book like to focus on the "self-congratulatory" tone, or "name-dropping" done by the authors. But I have to say that this was a book published 15 years ago, that was trying to take a marginalized artform and elevate it to pop. So if you have to say Chris Farley and George Wendt's names on every page to do it, then go for it. This was pre-internet, pre-UCB, and I think it's helpful for someone reading this to discover improv to know that mastering this skill can actually take you places. So fuck all the biters. Know what I'm sayin'? I think that's all I have to say on the subject. Other than "keep an eye out for some 15-year-old photos of Matt Besser and Ian Roberts that'll blow yer mind."
November 5, 2015
Nothing a basic improv class can't teach someone. It's a good refresher if you look at it as loose guidelines to doing improv. This will help you the most if you read it without being afraid to disagree with parts depending on your natural personality traits.
December 11, 2007
Charna Halpern is vastly overrated. Where's Del Close when you need him?
February 2, 2015
Great introduction into long form improvisation. The only rule is, there are no rules.
December 20, 2019
Del Close was reportedly a bit hesitant to assist in putting this together, perhaps because he sensed that it's the sort of information that doesn't make much sense without experience. At least that's why it largely falls flat for me (although the cloying testimonials on every few pages by Chris Farley, Mike Meyers, and/or Tim Kazurinsky certainly don't help either). Although it's a useful overview of the art of improvisation, it has the irritating chipper tone that I expect from self-help books and religious pamphlets, an overwhelming faith that if you just follow a few principles without question, everything will work out. Of course, this is a good way to skirt the more difficult (and interesting) questions about the strengths, and more importantly the limits, of this art form. Halpern, Close, and Johnson blithely dismiss such performance staples as characterization and conflict without really considering the consequences and the necessity of filling in what's missing. Specifically, about characters, the authors write:
Putting aside the scare quotes around one of the fundamental elements of drama (not to mention the assumed gender of the performer) there is much left unanswered here. Why is it necessary for a character I'm portraying to share my "morals"? As with any art, I can't convincingly create a person beyond the limits of my own knowledge or intelligence, but that isn't the same thing as a character sharing my mind at all. Halpern et al. warn us away from silly costumes and accents as if those are the only tools available to imagine alternative psychologies. And if I take this advice absolutely to heart, am I not going to shy away from characters of races, genders, fundamental life experiences, geographies, and historical periods different from my own? (A particularly important question given the overrepresentation of my particular "type" in improv.) Allowing yourself to reveal your own center through different characters actually isn't a terrible bit of advice, but does it really apply if a scene requires Queen Victoria or Donald Duck to appear? The thing is, when you come to this sort of conclusion based on experience, it comes with all sorts of caveats and exceptions; here in its naked form it isn't all that useful.
More fundamentally, there is little exploration of what might make a good or interesting choice in performance. It's reiterated numerous times that there are no "mistakes" in improv, because a good team turns those mistakes into the fabric of the performance. But it's also clear that there are plenty of ways that an exercise (particularly a longform one) can go awry as the result of too many wrong choices. There are some specific examples, like letting a scene go on for too long, eschewing specifics, or providing inappropriate focus, but nothing that wouldn't apply to any form of narrative art. An example of "no mistakes" at work is a player identifying a pile of presumptive pizzas on a delivery person's arm as manhole covers. This, we are told, is guaranteed to make the scene more "interesting." (73) Is it? Less routine, sure, but just as "[t]hat unexpected line could be the interesting twist that shapes the scene right before the players eyes," it could just be a directionless bit of weirdness that derails or weighs down the scene in any number of ways. If there are good reasons that playwrights don't routinely write scenes about manhole cover delivery, what makes this a good choice for improv? Perhaps it is, sometimes, but the authors don't really lay the aesthetic groundwork to make that case.
"Many potentially wonderful scenes come to a dead halt because the actor is concerned about what his 'character' is doing or saying... It is impossible for the character an actor is playing to get stuck. It isn't the character who is stuck, but the actor himself. Since this 'character' shares his mind, his intelligence, and his morals, the player must reveal himself in this person... A real character consists of the actor himself, with any additional point of view, preoccupation, or attitude that this character has." (113)
Putting aside the scare quotes around one of the fundamental elements of drama (not to mention the assumed gender of the performer) there is much left unanswered here. Why is it necessary for a character I'm portraying to share my "morals"? As with any art, I can't convincingly create a person beyond the limits of my own knowledge or intelligence, but that isn't the same thing as a character sharing my mind at all. Halpern et al. warn us away from silly costumes and accents as if those are the only tools available to imagine alternative psychologies. And if I take this advice absolutely to heart, am I not going to shy away from characters of races, genders, fundamental life experiences, geographies, and historical periods different from my own? (A particularly important question given the overrepresentation of my particular "type" in improv.) Allowing yourself to reveal your own center through different characters actually isn't a terrible bit of advice, but does it really apply if a scene requires Queen Victoria or Donald Duck to appear? The thing is, when you come to this sort of conclusion based on experience, it comes with all sorts of caveats and exceptions; here in its naked form it isn't all that useful.
More fundamentally, there is little exploration of what might make a good or interesting choice in performance. It's reiterated numerous times that there are no "mistakes" in improv, because a good team turns those mistakes into the fabric of the performance. But it's also clear that there are plenty of ways that an exercise (particularly a longform one) can go awry as the result of too many wrong choices. There are some specific examples, like letting a scene go on for too long, eschewing specifics, or providing inappropriate focus, but nothing that wouldn't apply to any form of narrative art. An example of "no mistakes" at work is a player identifying a pile of presumptive pizzas on a delivery person's arm as manhole covers. This, we are told, is guaranteed to make the scene more "interesting." (73) Is it? Less routine, sure, but just as "[t]hat unexpected line could be the interesting twist that shapes the scene right before the players eyes," it could just be a directionless bit of weirdness that derails or weighs down the scene in any number of ways. If there are good reasons that playwrights don't routinely write scenes about manhole cover delivery, what makes this a good choice for improv? Perhaps it is, sometimes, but the authors don't really lay the aesthetic groundwork to make that case.
February 7, 2017
A hit-or-miss book that tries to teach improv. It contains some great insights about comedy, but the book itself is not at all funny; it has a few wonderful suggestions about what it takes to succeed at improv, and some of these suggestions are equally important for succeeding in all aspects of life, but the book also spends an inordinate amount of time on a single improv game called the Harold; there are a few good examples of how various improv techniques work, but also a lot of pointless celebrity name dropping.
Overall, the book will make you appreciate improv more, and you'll probably want to watch some after reading it, but if your goal is to gain a deeper understanding of improv and comedy, I'm not sure this is the best resource.
As always, I saved a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
“The simplest and most basic concept may also be the most effective. The truth is funny. Honest discovery, observation, and reaction is better than contrived invention.”
“A truly funny scene is not the result of someone trying to steal laughs at the expense of his partner, but of generosity — of trying to make the other person (and his ideas) look as good as possible.”
“One of the biggest mistakes an improviser can make is attempting to be funny.”
“Ars est celare artem, as the ancient Romans would say: the art is in concealing the art.”
“Yes, & . . ." is the most important rule in improvisation”
Overall, the book will make you appreciate improv more, and you'll probably want to watch some after reading it, but if your goal is to gain a deeper understanding of improv and comedy, I'm not sure this is the best resource.
As always, I saved a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
“The simplest and most basic concept may also be the most effective. The truth is funny. Honest discovery, observation, and reaction is better than contrived invention.”
“A truly funny scene is not the result of someone trying to steal laughs at the expense of his partner, but of generosity — of trying to make the other person (and his ideas) look as good as possible.”
“One of the biggest mistakes an improviser can make is attempting to be funny.”
“Ars est celare artem, as the ancient Romans would say: the art is in concealing the art.”
“Yes, & . . ." is the most important rule in improvisation”
June 19, 2021
If Keith Johnstone's book Impro represents a metaphysical or even mystical approach to the topic of theatrical improvisation, then Charna Halpern and Del Close's book Truth in Comedy sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. This slim volume shows us how to do improv, starting at a simple level, and then moving into more sophisticated forms like the Harold. It is a field guy to improvisation.
This book did not move me emotionally, nor did I necessarily learn a lot of new things from it. Nonetheless, I rate it very highly. The concepts here are both foundational and profound. If you've ever done improv before,you know that improvisers must listen carefully, learn to trust each other, find agreement, play games, tell stories, and respond to the collective group mind. This book talks about all of these ideas, and suggests practical exercises on how to engage with them. I have learned many of these things piece-meal over the years, but it's nice to see them all here, in one place, put together in a thoughtful and systematic way.
Improv changed my life and my point of view. Del Close was one of the seminal figures in the field, and this short, practical book goes a long way to understanding why. For anyone wishing to be a better performer, comedian, storyteller, or human being, this book might be a good place to start.
This book did not move me emotionally, nor did I necessarily learn a lot of new things from it. Nonetheless, I rate it very highly. The concepts here are both foundational and profound. If you've ever done improv before,you know that improvisers must listen carefully, learn to trust each other, find agreement, play games, tell stories, and respond to the collective group mind. This book talks about all of these ideas, and suggests practical exercises on how to engage with them. I have learned many of these things piece-meal over the years, but it's nice to see them all here, in one place, put together in a thoughtful and systematic way.
Improv changed my life and my point of view. Del Close was one of the seminal figures in the field, and this short, practical book goes a long way to understanding why. For anyone wishing to be a better performer, comedian, storyteller, or human being, this book might be a good place to start.
August 3, 2023
as for the co-author
Del Close (March 9, 1934 – March 4, 1999) was an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century.[1] In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was one of the influences on modern improvisational theater.
Notable students
Dan Aykroyd
Ike Barinholtz
James Belushi
John Belushi
Matt Besser
Stephen Burrows
Heather Anne Campbell
John Candy
Jay Chandrasekhar
Stephen Colbert
Andy Dick
Brian Doyle-Murray
Rachel Dratch
Ali Farahnakian
Chris Farley
Alex Baze
Jon Favreau
Tina Fey
Neil Flynn
Aaron Freeman
Pete Gardner
Jon Glaser
TJ Jagodowski
Tim Kazurinsky
David Koechner
Shelley Long
Adam McKay
Tim Meadows
Susan Messing
Jerry Minor
Bill Murray
Joel Murray
Mike Myers
Bob Odenkirk
Tim O'Malley
David Pasquesi
Amy Poehler
Gilda Radner
Harold Ramis
Andy Richter
Ian Roberts
Hugh Romney (Wavy Gravy)
Mitch Rouse
Horatio Sanz
Amy Sedaris
Jason Sudeikis
Brian Stack
Eric Stonestreet
Dave Thomas
Vince Vaughn
Matt Walsh
Stephnie Weir
George Wendt
Del Close (March 9, 1934 – March 4, 1999) was an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century.[1] In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was one of the influences on modern improvisational theater.
Notable students
Dan Aykroyd
Ike Barinholtz
James Belushi
John Belushi
Matt Besser
Stephen Burrows
Heather Anne Campbell
John Candy
Jay Chandrasekhar
Stephen Colbert
Andy Dick
Brian Doyle-Murray
Rachel Dratch
Ali Farahnakian
Chris Farley
Alex Baze
Jon Favreau
Tina Fey
Neil Flynn
Aaron Freeman
Pete Gardner
Jon Glaser
TJ Jagodowski
Tim Kazurinsky
David Koechner
Shelley Long
Adam McKay
Tim Meadows
Susan Messing
Jerry Minor
Bill Murray
Joel Murray
Mike Myers
Bob Odenkirk
Tim O'Malley
David Pasquesi
Amy Poehler
Gilda Radner
Harold Ramis
Andy Richter
Ian Roberts
Hugh Romney (Wavy Gravy)
Mitch Rouse
Horatio Sanz
Amy Sedaris
Jason Sudeikis
Brian Stack
Eric Stonestreet
Dave Thomas
Vince Vaughn
Matt Walsh
Stephnie Weir
George Wendt
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December 2, 2024coming back to this after becoming infinitely more knowledgeable about the people name-dropped and involved is really odd. i read this when i was first learning improv and getting my ass kicked. still very much getting my assed kicked, but now i can see that even as styles diverge amongst the Chicago improv community, usually the solve is in grounding yourself in one of the tenets laid out here. before, it was just a matter of keeping all the ideas in my head at once.
reading it back, truth and comedy feels like a relic of a bygone era—where people were really committed to the harold and building connections & groupthink. the examples used for the ending heralds are baffling; i want nothing more than to see those scenes and how and why they worked…something about it all seems so distant from the guidelines hawked by coaches now and the types of longforms popular at the moment. & thank god to the college seniors that handed me a copy of this when i was 17, since every time i hear the joan rivers story in the wild i can be like…we all read that book bro.
reading it back, truth and comedy feels like a relic of a bygone era—where people were really committed to the harold and building connections & groupthink. the examples used for the ending heralds are baffling; i want nothing more than to see those scenes and how and why they worked…something about it all seems so distant from the guidelines hawked by coaches now and the types of longforms popular at the moment. & thank god to the college seniors that handed me a copy of this when i was 17, since every time i hear the joan rivers story in the wild i can be like…we all read that book bro.
January 26, 2025
When I started reading, the book was so rudimentary I considered quitting. I'm glad I kept reading. Some good, practical advice in here, some of which I knew and some of which are good reminders.
January 11, 2022
I'm reading a few improv books nowadays as I learn the craft, and this one is a well-organized composition of exercises, instruction, and history that will help the reader understand the fundamentals of long-form improv comedy (specifically the Harold). What's fun is many of the exercises mentioned are ones I've done in my short-form classes; with that experience I better understand how those games can map to the larger-scale themes of long-form work. The book relies a lot on older examples (e.g. from the 1960s or 1990s) which include well-known names (e.g. Mike Meyers, Bill Murray). Rather than impressing me this felt like a name-dropping scenario and I'd rather see stronger illustrative examples that underscored the chapters' themes. My biggest takeaway? This book has the perfect title: the main thesis is nothing is funnier than the truth and so improv should be grounded in the truth.
March 10, 2023
I have not watched an improv (other than the first few minutes of one). Yet this book greatly opened my eyes. I believe the concepts are not limited to improv plays and they could be applied to other areas as well, one sample being workplaces.
The book was written quite a while ago and it was still fresh, straightforward and relatable. It explained how the gist of improv is truth: that's where the interesting topics come to the surface. I learned how in improv you will not win by shining, but by helping your fellow players to shine.
I am reading another book at the same time (Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives). It had a chapter on improv and how improvisation could bring creativity to the surface, how it could be a great tool in working with dementia patients and how it can be advantageous in working with children.
The book was written quite a while ago and it was still fresh, straightforward and relatable. It explained how the gist of improv is truth: that's where the interesting topics come to the surface. I learned how in improv you will not win by shining, but by helping your fellow players to shine.
I am reading another book at the same time (Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives). It had a chapter on improv and how improvisation could bring creativity to the surface, how it could be a great tool in working with dementia patients and how it can be advantageous in working with children.
April 16, 2018
Although this book is usually referred to as having been written by Del Close, or maybe by Del Close and Charna Halpern, it was pretty clearly written by Kim "Howard" Johnson, the third and least famous co-author. Although I'm actually pretty familiar with Johnson's other work, since I'm the kind of nerd who used to read books of Monty Python trivia.
There's really good information in Truth in Comedy, but I kept getting distracted by the way it was written. Since Del is listed as a co-author, we could have just been told things, but instead we got told that George Wendt said in an interview that Del told him that thing. That George Wendt interview makes up a pretty big chunk of the book once it's been chopped up and put in several different chapters.
There's really good information in Truth in Comedy, but I kept getting distracted by the way it was written. Since Del is listed as a co-author, we could have just been told things, but instead we got told that George Wendt said in an interview that Del told him that thing. That George Wendt interview makes up a pretty big chunk of the book once it's been chopped up and put in several different chapters.
March 18, 2024
Sure, it's where a lot of folk started. To ignore our foundation is to ignore SO much, so in that, it has value. But I feel like so much of what was discussed in this has been expounded on greatly in the years since it came out, and you have to review a book based on when you read it, not when it came out.
So many times, it feels like a book trying to convince you that Del Close was a genius. And was he a genius? Sure! But it definitely feels like it was pushing that at times, to the point of very often having quotes from celebrities like Mike Myers and George Wendt talk about their times with Del, and it was...just distracting!
Read it so you know where we came from, then find another, newer book, and explore those ideas even further and better.
So many times, it feels like a book trying to convince you that Del Close was a genius. And was he a genius? Sure! But it definitely feels like it was pushing that at times, to the point of very often having quotes from celebrities like Mike Myers and George Wendt talk about their times with Del, and it was...just distracting!
Read it so you know where we came from, then find another, newer book, and explore those ideas even further and better.
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