Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-up Comedy
by Franklyn Ajaye
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Book Summary Information
Author: Franklyn AjayeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2002-11
ISBN: 1879505541
Number of pages: 280
Publisher: Silman-James Press
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9781879505544
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Book Reviews of Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-up Comedy
Book Review: I certainly wish I wrote this
Summary: 5 Stars
I have never been a big fan of books that try to theorize something as ambigous and subjective as a form of art. I am a comedy writer, I write a late show that airs through Latin America and before that I was wirting a cartoon for adults that was censored because it made fun of local politicians. I state this, not to brag, but to prove that I was used to worked with spicy humour, and had a high standard for this book.
The thing is that because of all the censorship issues I was kind of depressed and felt that the comedy I was writing that made it to the final program was completely inane and empty, and a lot of friends told me that my show lacked that edge that late shows from the USA have. So, after I realized that I had too little power to battle the network, I decided to start a stand up show where I would say everything that this guys didn't let me say. The thing was, I've never performed anything on stage. So, logically, all the material I prepared for my firs show ended up in the bigges bombing since Hiroshima, they didn't throw food at me because they didn't serve it at that bar. I was so puzzled, my material was good and I knew it, they were jokes that had worked with friends of mine... But then I realized, by watching the tape, that I was so nervous that I talked to fast and sucked pretty badly. Of course, I had never perform anything on stage, no even on elementary school.
So, as always, I went online looking for tips, and found this book, and this book alone about stand up. As I said before, I don't believe in this kind of books but I was desperate for guidance so I ordered it. All I can say is that, not only is Franklyn Ajaye a genious, he interviews nothing but.
In here you will not find Ajaye's method for stand up, you will find the biggest comedians' method for doing their wide variety of sets. From the I-never-bombed-and-always-improvise style of Simbad, to the extremely organized and hard working style of Jerry Seinfeld. You won't believe how many of this comedians failed when they began, and you will laugh and cry when you here how they found the real funny in them. Like George Wallace, who prefered to work as and advertiser and ensure his future before pursuing his true dream of becoming a comedian.
This are very unique interviews made by a comedian, to comedians and for comedians (wich makes them answer concrete and amazing things), Ajaye also list a very wide range of subjects that when you read them you feel you always knew them but never frased them, and that's the beauty of it, you are never imposed with a method for making your routines, he encourages you to find your own way of getting to it, essentially by paying attention to the holy trinity of comedy: Your material, your timing, and your delivery. It's so simple, yet so rich and so well supported by the testimony of the greatest of them all (Except for Klein, Pryor and Bruce, but they all talk about them), that it will really help you if you're starting out, I can say, my last performance didn't bomb, it wasn't a blast either but at least I'm starting to see the road I must take, and I don't like a loser because, if Paul Reiser, Ellen Degeneres, Richerd Lewis and Garry Shandling, all bombed for a year or two, then I'm doing ok.
This is an unlikely book about comedy, it is something that every person interested in this, the greates subject of them all, should have.
Summary of 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 television talent coordinator. Crammed with the wisdom of today's finest stand-up comics, this book is without peer in quality, quantity and timeliness of information.
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