Performing Arts : Comedy

In the mid-seventies, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up. In 1981 he quit forever. This book is, in his own words, the story of "why I did stand-up and why I walked away.". Emmy and Grammy Award winner, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker, Martin has always been awriter. His memoir of his years in stand-up is candid, spectacularly amusing, and beautifully written. Martin illuminates the sacrifice, discipline, and originality that made him an icon and informs his work to this day. To be this good, to perform so frequently, was isolating and lonely. It took Martin decades to reconnect with his parents and sister, and he tells that story with great tenderness. Born Standing Up is a superb testament to the sheer tenacity, focus, and daring of one of the greatest and most iconoclastic comedians of all time. more...

Price: $15.00

If you want to write stand-up comedy, sketches, sitcoms or even a comic novel or film, How to be a Comedy Writer tells you all you need to know and more about the business, the structure of jokes and the nuts and bolts of a craft that can be learnt. more...

Price: $9.99

Taking as his starting point the 1999 biopic Man on the Moon, Florian Keller explores Andy Kaufman's career within a broader discussion of the ideology of the American Dream, grasping Kaufman's radical agenda beyond avant-garde theories of transgression. Presenting readings of Kaufman's most significant performances, Keller shows how he mounted a critique of America's obsession with celebrity and individualism. more...

Price: $58.50

This book teaches the building blocks of constructing, crafting and refining joke writing. It provides the tools and techniques needed for writing and becomes to comedians and writers what a book on music theory is to musicians. more...

Price: $16.95

They say that comedy is a serious business; and Bob (R. W.) Klamm is really serious about comedy. ‘Get More Laughs from Your Laughs’ was written for those who want to create laughter, to study and cherish, on stage or in life, no matter if you are a professional or just adding a special touch of zest to a meeting of friends.  Every topic has been analyzed and explained with accuracy and precision, and in an entertaining, example-filled manner. You'll find: Comedy Contradiction, Exaggeration, Rules of Physical Action, Punch-line Sentence Structure, Dual Reality, Innocence and Believability, Timing and the Pause, Building your own comedy characterization, plus much more. You will find comic devices with funny examples and you'll have fun with the game-like exercises included with each chapter. Whether you become a stand-up comedian with an HBO special of your own or not, you'll learn how to use humor to light up the shadows in your life, heal the spirit, lower your blood pressure, fight the traffic and face every day problems with a smile. Laughter is the best medicine. With this book you’ll create a lot of smiles and heal a lot of hearts. more...

Price: $9.95