Stand-Up Comedy: The Book

I’m a fairly seasoned stand-up comedian, but this book is a really helpful jumping off point when I’m feeling stumped on writing new material. I loved it when I was a beginner and I still come back to it years later. Definitely recommend this book. It is still relevant, and helpful to all skill levels.

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.

It’s all here. If you’re funny... I mean if other people have validated your notion of being funny, and you wanted to try to gain some insight... this is the book for you. There are some dated references to be found, but it doesn’t detract from some solid advice. If I wasn’t such a slow reader, and had I retained the first half of the book, I’d be well on my way to hard earned stardom. Probably time for me to read it again, and maybe take notes. Great book.

Great book, practical application exercises, excellent lessons and discussions on comedy, and the book itself is pretty hilarious in its own right. If you want a good beginner's guide to comedy this is it.

This is brilliant for budding comedians in their first year - it lays out a simple process for building your own routine, based on your own life experiences and perspectives; it also explains what not to do (and debunks some common pitfalls for beginners). Within two weeks I had 10-15 new minutes of great new material, which might otherwise have taken me months.It's an old book (published in 1989) and the comedians she uses as examples are either dated or dead (Bobcat Goldthwaite, anyone?), but the structure and format are still totally relevant and it's written in a light, easy conversational style.A rare must-read!

I give this book 5 stars because Judy pulls no punches with the fact that you, the reader, have to do all the work. The exercises are broad enough to get you talking and on the right track toward whatever may be funny in your life. As a person who is dragging his feet regarding stand up performing, this book was great, because I am exactly the kind of scared, lazy yet hopefully talented person that needs this kind of kick in the tuckus. There's a reason this book is a long-time hit. Buy it.

This was recommended reading. I am certainly glad to have read through it. I love the approach and the insights offered. I like the exercises and it is written so that you can take what you want from it. I simply want to offer more humor in my presentations. I can see a lot of great ideas in this book. I also have some clear ideas about how to improve my presentations in the future. Don't hesitate to read this one even if you have no intention of even attempting stand up comedy.

For those looking up for a technique, newsflash, there isn't.I felt reading a series of bullets points intercalated with some reviews and cases of old times comediants.

I took Judy's course, bought the book, and it pretty much spoon feeds you on how to be a comedian. Creating material. And makes no promises about success.It takes work, dedication, and stage time.This book is a huge asset.

Pra quem quer ser um comediante ou fazer boas piadas.... Recomendo ler todos os livros dessa autora. Obrigado por nos ensinar tão bem.

It’s a great book to help you understand comedy at its core. Buy it

Un básico de la literatura de comedia

this book has tasks and it is very fun to do them