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The rebellious spirit of improv rests at the heart of Improv Nation: How We Made a Great American Art, Sam Wasson's sprawling history of the genre. For Wasson, not only is the improv performance onstage made up, but so too was the form itself. Refuting the idea that improvisation has always existed in some form or another, he states that improv needed to be "invented," and that it was done so "in America, by young, mostly middle-class amateurs, performers and producers, who, in the true spirit of the form, were making it up as they went along" (xi). Indeed, Wasson frames the development of improv as the story of contemporary American comedic entertainment, going so far as to say that improv is an extension of American democracy—created by, for, and of the people. He positions improv as the quintessential American art, calling it "America's farthest-reaching indigenous art form" (ibid.). While at times Wasson stretches to prove his point about the singular Americanness of improv, both in terms of influence and its democratic values, the overall narrative that he weaves demonstrates the vast and growing influence of improv on the last half-century of American comedy.
Wasson structures the book around three major movements: "We the Jews (1940–1968)," "We the Punks (1969–1984)," and "We the Nerds (1984–)." While the book has an overarching chronological structure, he highlights and investigates individuals and trends with great depth rather than adhering to a strict timeline. For instance, in "We the Jews," Wasson frames much of the early development and expansion of improvisation around the comic duo of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, focusing at times almost exclusively on the career trajectory of Nichols. While Wasson naturally spends a good deal of time with many of improv's most famous practitioners—Viola Spolin, Mike Nichols, Del Close—he also digs deeper into the influence of lesser known improvisers, such as Severn Darden and Ted Flicker.
In "We the Jews" Wasson charts...