Sources & Credits
On The Spot draws on decades of collective improv knowledge. This page acknowledges the key resources that shaped our game descriptions, tools and content.
Websites
An extensive game library and practitioner resource run by an improv director with over thirty years of experience. Directly referenced for the Kick It game entry.
A community-edited wiki cataloguing hundreds of improv games, warm-ups and exercises. Referenced for the Mind Meld game entry.
A community-maintained reference of improv games and exercises, one of the earliest and most widely consulted online catalogues in the improv world.
A useful starting point for tracing the history, key figures and terminology of the form.
Books
The foundational text of modern improv, introducing status, spontaneity and the philosophy of 'yes and'. Essential reading for anyone interested in the craft.
The definitive guide to the Harold and long-form improv, written by the practitioners who developed and codified the form at iO Chicago.
A director-centred perspective on improv that challenges received wisdom and offers a rigorous alternative framework for scene work.
The UCB approach to long-form and short-form improv, including the Harold and game-of-the-scene theory that underpins much of contemporary improv teaching.
A follow-up to Impro focused on theatresports and narrative structures, with many game descriptions that influenced this library.
Explores how improv principles apply beyond the stage, drawing on the institutional knowledge of The Second City.
Community & Tradition
Many of the games and exercises in this library have been passed down through the global improv community across generations of performers, teachers and directors. Specific origins are often disputed or unknown. Where we have been able to trace a clear source we have credited it above; where we have not, we acknowledge our debt to the practitioners, ensembles and theatres — from iO Chicago and The Second City to UCB and countless independent companies worldwide — whose work and teaching have made these ideas available to everyone.