A review by sherming
An Improvised Life: A Memoir by

4.0

I've appreciated Alan Arkin's work over the years, but haven't really sought him out. This memoir is mostly insights into acting method (improvise, be yourself) overlying biographical elements (wanting to be an actor since age 5, high school, college, Second City, various movies and plays and workshops). Listening to this work has the benefit of being able to listen to Arkin perform, which on this CD he does oddly unevenly. The biographical sections are somehow a little rote, but the parts where he's talking about craft show enthusiasm and spirit.

I'm going to recommend this to my friends and family who are actors, and I'm inspired to see if a gathering of non-acting friends could have fun improvising.