Alan Alda, the actor whose TV achievements start with M*A*S*H, include great work on The West Wing, and – hey, really, who needs more than that? – guides six very lucky young students through a master class in improv acting, and also gives some valuable advice about how to pursue an acting profession. (Regarding the unavoidable string of rejections after auditions, his simple but key advice is to bend, not break.) And the improv exercises, which he both takes very seriously and enjoys immensely, clearly come naturally to him, and could well be responsible for his own success: He started out on stage in Second City, where improv is everything.