Posts Tagged ‘Standup’

How to Be a Working Comic: An Insider’s Guide to a Career in Stand-Up Comedy

From Library Journal

Schwensen, former talent coordinator for A&E’s An Evening at the Improv, reminds us that comedy is a business and provides specific and useful advice on basic issues such as headshots, resumes, and agents. While Schwensen sensibly advises novices to be original and to work steadily at stage time, Jay Sankey’s Zen and the Art of Stand-Up Comedy (LJ 5/1/98) offers much more on the craft of performance. Nearly half of this book is devoted to brief interviews with 12 top comedians (e.g., Drew Carey, Rhonda Shear, and Rene Hicks). While Jeff Dunham observes that “comedy has taken such a nose-dive,” Schwensen does not otherwise acknowledge that comedians face a shrinking stand-up industry. For strong performing arts collections.?Norman Oder, “Library Journal”Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This truly funny book about being funny is also a serious guide to the business of laughter and how to make it pay off. New Yor… Read more…

Who Was The Stand-up Comedian That Told The Joke About Barney The Dinosaur Being Played By An African-american?

Also, is there a video of this joke online? I’m also a comedian with a similar joke and want to make sure I’m not using any of his punchlines. Thanks!
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Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-up Comedy

If you want to build a stand-up comedy career, this book is a must read. If you want to write comedy, this book is a must read. If you simply enjoy comedy, well . . . this book is a must read. Part One offers essential advice about understanding the fundamentals of stand-up, studying other comedians, finding your own style, writing your material, working the live performance and appearing on television. Fascinating, candid, insightful interviews with today’s top comedians, who discuss at length why and how they do what they do, comprise Part Two, the bulk of the book. Interviews with: Louie Anderson, Richard Belzer, Elayne Boosler, George Carlin, Ellen DeGeneres, Rich Jeni, Jay Leno, Richard Lewis, Bill Maher, Paul Reiser, Chris Rock, Roseanne, Jerry Seinfeld, Garry Shandling, Sinbad, George Wallace, Jonathan Winters. The last part of the book addresses your stand-up career through interviews with noted comedy club owners, an agent, a personal manager and a… Read more…