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Title: Stand-Up Comedy : The Book by Judy Carter ISBN: 0-440-50243-8 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 05 August, 1989 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (20 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Finally--a Writing How-To That Really Works!
Comment: This book must surely be one of the few writing how-to texts I've purchased that's really worth the money. Though too narrow in focus to work for prose writers, this text actually gets down into the nitty-gritty of creating material that is on-target, marketable, and interesting. Though incomplete in its examination of the potentials of comedy, it gives students a thorough grounding in the creation of humorous content for the stage.
Carter shies away from telling you too much on how to do topical material, instead coaching the novice comic to focus on the one thing you know more about than anyone else--your own fool self. By simply starting with having you talk about what's on your mind, she presents you with an inexhaustable source of content. This is mother's milk comedy, of course, but if you want something punchy like Foxworthy's "Redneck" routine or Margaret Cho's ethnic commentary, that will come with experience.
The stand-up comedy Carter coaches you on in this book has little to do with the joke-telling of Jack Benny or Henny Youngman. Instead, you're presented with what seems a modern form of Native American storytelling, with the focus on the self. This will not appeal to all up-and-coming comics, and some might find this book rather trying. Starting out, however, most new comics will find good grounding in the stylistic tactics of this book.
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent How To Book on Comedy and Speaking
Comment: A truly incredible book, Carter breaks down comedy performance into very tiny pieces so we ought to be able to produce outstanding material. It leaves me awestruck. With everybody near and far, high and low, saying you either have it or you don't... along comes Carter and says if you want to learn how to do it follow through with the work in this book. There are lots of projects, lists of things to do and exercises. Her blindingly insightful advise to not try to be funny is very helpful. Instead, you work on your experiences to turn them into entertaining commentary, routines or speeches. Eventually, you work you way though the process of getting laughs allowing yourself to be surprised by the positive reception. If there are no laughs you just move on having told them an interesting story. You keep working on your stories until the laughs come. It is a cross between a textbook with assignments and a highly motivational book. Carter breaks down into fine detail what makes people laugh. Even if you are not going to shoot for being a famous stand up comedian, you can learn how to spice up you speeches and conversations-to lighten up. The author does not talk down to the reader. Reading Carter, it feels like she is in the room with constant encourage that it will happen. Carter must be a wonderful caring person.
She is not saying your life has to be messed up to have a source of comedy from your experiences. She is saying it is not a negative--exploit it. She shows how humility and self deprecation can work with out bringing you down. The book is impressively easy to read, but the exercises are not easy. You will need to set aside a lot of time for the projects and exercises to make the book work for you. It must be a good cheap initial substitute for going to her school. In a relative's, guest bedroom I spotted this book that was acquired at one of her seminars. I read it and promptly ordered another of her books from Amazon. Even if I don't become very funny I will be a better speaker in the future from working through this book. Even though I have read the book carefully, I have a lot of work to do with this book yet.
At the end is a list of comedy clubs, comedy publications, and agents. The list of comedy schools is very short. It only lists her school. After doing such a great book it is exceeding easy for me to accept this touch of self promotion.
Rating: 5
Summary: Comedy skills that don't stop at stand-up
Comment: This book was a fun read that I finished the day after my order arrived.
Humor is something we could all use more of in our lives. I'm guessing most people who get this book aren't really going to quit their day job and try to make it in stand-up; this book is worth it anyway. Anybody who deals with other people, in your work or otherwise, will find humor a useful skill to develop. I teach and do radio work, both of which require trying to keep my audience awake, and humor, even if it isn't quite ready for "Seinfeld", is one of the best ways to achieve that.
In this book you'll learn about the structure of humor, and how to use any experience from your own life, good or bad, to be funny - or to develop other kinds of material, like short stories or radio drama, though you will have to make these kinds of connections yourself.
I find Carter's approach much more useful than just trying to memorize and retell jokes from a book - which very likely don't apply to yourself and your potential audience anyway. If you live in another country and culture, for example, jokes assuming you grew up in the United States are likely to be puzzling to your listeners at best - in any case not funny. Shared experience is an essential for any kind of writing and humor, and identifying and drawing on that shared experience requires the kind of specific skills you can learn about in this book.
To be honest, I didn't laugh at all the jokes in the book, but my admiration for Carter as an effective *teacher* grew as I read on. Her approach is strictly hands-on - she includes practical exercises in each section - and she makes each step perfectly clear along the way. Not everybody who can do something can teach it (and the reverse applies as well!), but Carter's pedagogy is solid.
I especially liked the parts on comparisons, similes and mimicking - all of which my students respond to warmly in class. Learning the importance of "attitude" in joke telling was a useful insight; also why one should avoid "telling stories", regardless of how funny *you* think they are. Though Carter says it can't be taught, she does offer some good hints regarding timing, which is at the core of every successful joke. Other useful topics include how to develop a persona, the importance of feedback, and how to deal with failure.
I enjoyed the comments, with photos, by big names in the field, some of whom I didn't know before, like Margaret Smith, Dale Gonyea, Paula Poundstone, and Richard Lewis, along with more familiar ones, like Ellen DeGeneres, Roseanne Barr, Jerry Seinfeld, and Steven Wright.
One thing I would have appreciated in this book is an *index*. I found myself thumbing through the whole book to find bits I wanted to reread. The table of contents helps, but isn't quite enough.
If you want more specific and detailed information on how to really do comedy professionally, I'd suggest Carter's _The Comedy Bible_, which took me a bit longer to read, but is correspondingly richer in solid information. For a sample of what to expect in both books and to hear what Carter sounds like in person, there's a recorded interview with her at talktotara.com.
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Title: The Comedy Bible : From Stand-up to Sitcom--The Comedy Writer's Ultimate "How To" Guide by Judy Carter ISBN: 0743201256 Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: 05 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Step by Step to Stand-Up Comedy by Greg Dean ISBN: 0325001790 Publisher: Heinemann Publishing Pub. Date: 15 July, 2000 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Zen and the Art of Stand-Up Comedy by Jay Sankey ISBN: 0878300740 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: June, 1998 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You're Not by John Vorhaus ISBN: 1879505215 Publisher: Silman-James Press Pub. Date: July, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: How to Be a Working Comic: An Insider's Guide to a Career in Stand-Up Comedy by Dave Schwensen ISBN: 0823088146 Publisher: Back Stage Books Pub. Date: October, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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