In an irresistible invitation to lighten up, look around, and live an unscripted life, a master of the art of improvisation explains how to adopt the attitudes and techniques used by generations of musicians and actors.
Patricia Ryan Madson is a professor emerita at Stanford University, where she began teaching in 1977. She founded the Stanford Improvisors in 1991, and as head of the undergraduate acting program, she won the university's highest teaching prize, the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for outstanding contribution to undergraduate education. She also teaches at the Esalen Institute and for Stanford's Continuing Studies. Patricia lives with her husband, Ronald Madson, and their Himalayan cat, Buddha, in El Granada, California, where they direct the California Center for Constructive Living.
“A marvelous guide to freedom and delight. Improv has become a
wisdom tradition of its own and Patricia shows how its lessons can
bring out the best in us.” —John Tarrant, author of Bring Me the
Rhinoceros
“Patricia Ryan Madson is one of Stanford’s truly inspired teachers;
she has changed the lives of thousands of students over the past
twenty-eight years. In her smiling book, Improv Wisdom, she reminds
us that being alive is like riding a bicycle—we always feel a
little off-balance and insecure, but ‘in the act of balancing we
come alive.’ She makes you want to get up and do something—try it
out, make mistakes, laugh, play, and try it again.” —Charles
Junkerman, Associate Provost and Dean of Continuing Studies,
Stanford University
“Reading even just a few pages of Patricia Madson’s book might
change your life forever. That’s what has happened to me. These
pages are chock-full of wisdom, clarity, and helpful techniques on
enhancing spontaneity in everyday life. Read this book—you will be
glad and so will everyone else in your life.” —Nina Wise, author of
A Big New Free Happy Unusual Life
“I have witnessed Patricia Madson’s magic touch in both her classes
and her performances. Her students often describe her as a
‘goddess,’ but that may be an understatement. I rejoice that her
wisdom is now available to new audiences.” —Philip G. Zimbardo,
author of Psychology and Life and Shyness
“The premise of Patricia Madson’s book is astonishing: to practice
the basic rules of improvisational theater is to walk a path toward
a spiritually satisfying life. Her underlying claim is simple and
sound: if you are willing to be completely present, making full use
of whatever happens, you will find goodness in any situation. This
is a lucid, wise, and free-spirited book.” —Norman Fischer, founder
and teacher of the Everyday Zen Foundation
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