Reviewed by: Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre ed. by Theresa Robbins Dudeck and Caitlin McClure Jenny Toutant Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre. Edited by Theresa Robbins Dudeck and Caitlin McClure. Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2018. Cloth $79.20, Paperback $26.96, eBook $21.56. 304 pages. Applied Improvisation (AI) is a practice of using improvisational techniques for skill development in non-theatrical fields. AI is a relatively new field, different from Applied Theatre, that specifically uses improv as a tool to practice leadership and teambuilding skills, build empathy, explore creativity and innovation, heal from trauma, and much more. Theresa Robbins Dudeck and Caitlin McClure collaboratively bring their own expertise in Applied Improvisation to gather twelve essays by renowned AI facilitators, each of which uses case studies to illustrate the implementation of AI. With a goal of "establishing] AI as a field of study worthy of independent investigation," Applied Improvisation is an essential text for anyone interested in embarking in AI (3). From the opening dedication, "To our teachers and to our students, who are the best teachers of all," Dudeck and McClure set the book up to endorse learning as a collaborative process. Each essay demonstrates the specific structure, framework, and intended goals for their approach to AI. Smart, workable suggestions are included on how to implement lessons learned from AI trainings within the structure of the workplace, allowing a world in which creativity and innovation can flourish through improvisation in any field. Phelim McDermott and Lee Simpson provide an engaging foreword that contextualizes the need for and potential impact of this work inside and outside of theatre. They detail [End Page 150] how, when they realized the misalignment between improv skills onstage and their own theatrical business operations, they sought to adjust practices using improv. The twelve essays are organized into four parts: "Bringing Brands to Life," "Resilience and Connection," "Leadership Development," and "Higher Education." Part 1 provides great specificity on infusing improvisation into the workplace, from leadership and staff training to hiring practices. Faris Khalid's essay, "Candy in Karachi: Sweetening Market Research through Play," examines a case study on using AI in market research at a candy shop in Pakistan, outlining tactical strategies for folks entering this work, and considerations of site-specific challenges. The second part of the book provides an eclectic compilation of workshop structures and curricular activities. Brad Fortier's essay, "Creating a Spontaneous Village: Community from Play," demonstrates intentionality in a curriculum structure that allows participants in a refugee camp to explore their needs—familiarity, trust, routine, and community—through building skills to reestablish these vital necessities in order to heal and move forward in their lives. I also appreciated the Heroic Improv Cycle framework used in Mary Tyszkiewicz's essay, "Practicing for the Unimaginable: The Heroic Improv Cycle." The writer is not an improviser by trade, but rather discovered the power of theatre's innate collaboration skills and saw an opportunity to explore the connection between disaster readiness and improv. As with other case studies, she outlines the need for adaptation depending on the makeup of the participants, adapting both the structure of the workshops as well as the curricular activities to meet the goals of the workshop with cultural competency and inclusivity. In the leadership development section, both small group professional development and one-on-one coaching is explored, demonstrating the flexibility of the work. The volume closes with an inspiring conversation between Keith Sawyer and Neil Mullarkey focused on the cyclical effect of how the theory informs the practice of AI and vice versa. This conversation astutely demonstrates how AI is grounded in research and effective practice, which is useful for both researchers and practitioners. One theme that emerges across essays is the need to celebrate mistakes to create safety, encourage risk-taking, and build confidence. We learn how AI practitioners understand and employ business rhetoric to establish relevance and gain access to clients who may not perceive improvisation and theatre as easily accessible or effective in the business world. Another emerging theme is how AI facilitators go beyond implementation of their own training to provide tools for their clients to continue the...