Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Book
Review: An excellent book but not as good as: The Comedy Bible From Stand-Up to Sitcom : The Comedy Writer's Ultimate How-To-Guide by Judy Carter. It is still worth reading after or with the Carter book. Both books breakdown joke structure (Setup +Attitude +Topic +Premise +Act out) but Carter does a dramatically better job-especially on attitude. Carter's book is twice as big and at a lower price. It has more content or specificity page for page. There is more energy and conversational feel to the Carter Book. Dean regularly gets wordy and does not have Carter's to the point and hard hitting style. There are plenty of reasons to buy both books. Dean has an excellent chapter on playing points of view and two good chapters on rehearsal. Initially, it feels like his method turns rehearsal into an ordeal. His goal is to help separate your internal critic from the creative flow. For those that have used a microphone sparingly, that chapter may be helpful. Excellent chapters on performing and improving your act read well. The book ends with an upbeat emphasis that in comedy-rehearsal, editing and performing (with or with out compensation) are the enduring keys to success.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book
Review: An excellent book but not as good as: The Comedy Bible From Stand-Up to Sitcom : The Comedy Writer's Ultimate How-To-Guide by Judy Carter. It is still worth reading after or with the Carter book. Both books breakdown joke structure (Setup +Attitude +Topic +Premise +Act out) but Carter does a dramatically better job-especially on attitude. Carter's book is twice as big and at a lower price. It has more content or specificity page for page. There is more energy and conversational feel to the Carter Book. Dean regularly gets wordy and does not have Carter's to the point and hard hitting style. There are plenty of reasons to buy both books. Dean has an excellent chapter on playing points of view and two good chapters on rehearsal. Initially, it feels like his method turns rehearsal into an ordeal. His goal is to help separate your internal critic from the creative flow. For those that have used a microphone sparingly, that chapter may be helpful. Excellent chapters on performing and improving your act read well. The book ends with an upbeat emphasis that in comedy-rehearsal, editing and performing (with or with out compensation) are the enduring keys to success.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly the 'Dean of Comedy!'
Review: As someone who has been a lifelong stand-up comedy aficionado - either as an audience member or on-stage performer - I am very thrilled to have finally found a resource which offers a viable, understandable method for creating new stand-up material, on any premise of your choosing. As an added bonus, Greg Dean's method has also helped me to understand WHY funny material I 'happened' to come up with previously IS indeed funny, making me feel more in control of the process, and providing the inspiration to create a wealth of new material I never otherwise would have. (So much so, in fact, that my index card and legal pad purchases are probably keeping Staples in business!)Specifically, what I have found most helpful are: Greg Dean's instructions on how to perform material both from your own point of view (the 'narrator POV') and from other characters' POVs, and how to keep the various POVs clear and distinct when performing; his explanation of how best to rehearse your material, so that during a show, you're not just aping material form a script memorized verbatim, but are instead recounting real, vivid experiences as though they were actually happening - much more liberating for the comic, and far more interesting and funny for the audience. The rehearsal process also allows you to modify or add to your routines as you rehearse, or even ON STAGE. To paraphrase an old adage, Greg Dean truly does teach you HOW to fish, unlike so many other books on stand-up which just toss fish at you, or - worse still - merely describe what a fish looks like, and how to differentiate the various species of gilled ichthyic vertebrates. O Dean of Comedy, thank you!
Rating: 
Summary: The stand up mafia
Review: Dean has a fairly good web site with samples from his book. To his credit he doesn't try and be funny, but sticks to teaching. He does tend to overcomplicate things, for example by coming up with terms for various elements of stand up comedy, and it ends up sounding like a manual at times. He has some good advice here and there, even though some of it may seem obvious to all but a very naive beginner. But then again, this is for beginners I guess....P>And it's funny that all these stand up comedy coaches are folks you've never heard of, but maybe that's because they realized early that they could do better teaching comedy than doing comedy themselves. Do I sound cynical? You bet, but just for the record, I'm not in the business (yet), I have no personal grudges against Dean or Johnson, and I've never met them. I just wanted to point out a few things.
Rating:
Summary: Comedy is both an art and a science
Review: Finally a serious study of humor! Whether your looking to polish your material for stage or just want to be the life of the party, this book unlocks the keys to what makes people bust a gut. Excellent examples and a clear, concise step by step break down of the art of comedy.
Rating:
Summary: HOW TO BE FUNNY - the book
Review: Greg Dean has been at the stand-up comedy business for some time, and obviously has learned a great deal about how to teach this elusive subject. The book contains much of the material Dean has used to teach stand-up classes in Los Angeles for many years. In addition to giving the reader insights into how humor is created, and delivered on stage (two different subjects), the book is also very funny - lots of jokes. Well worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: The Secret Ingredient!
Review: Greg Dean has figured out the secret ingredient to writing, rehersing, and performing stand-up comedy like the pros! Everyone has a sense of humor, and this book helps each person to develop their own into jokes that they will remember as experiences that they can share over and over again. I highly recommend this book to everyone with a hyper-active funnybone!
Rating:
Summary: Great Stand-Up Book, and More!
Review: Greg Dean has written a great book for stand-up comics. First he shows you how to create jokes on any topic without having to wait for inspiration. Then you learn to assemble the material into a smooth, logical routine. Next he helps you rehearse and finally, he gets you up on stage to give the performance of your life - night after night! As if that weren't enough, Greg has done two more things. First, he's defined a process for creating humor that works not just for stand-up but for all kinds of humor writing. Second, he's provided performance guides that apply equally well to speakers who "just" want to deliver a humorous presentation. Now, if you're one of those purely intuitive, wait-for-the-thunderbolt-of-inspiration types, then maybe you won't find this book of as much value as the rest of us poor humorists do. But for anyone who's a serious student of the art and who wants to learn more about making funny, this book is a must have. Darn Good Job, Greg Dean!
Rating:
Summary: Stand-Up Comedy No Laughing Matter
Review: Greg Dean is the dean of comedy! In this concise and well written book, he shows how anyone can use his tested and proven steps to come up with original jokes and be funny. It's a godsend for anyone who has ever wanted some hard and fast rules to figure out how to be amusing. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Bright Light on Even Dark Subjects
Review: Greg Dean's "Step By Step To Stand Up Comedy" is like good-tasting yet powerful medicine. His uncommonly simple and sensical way of explaining the structure of comedy and the strategy for creating great comedy, is brilliant. I find this book an instant and constant idea-generator for me. As the author of the book, "Jack and Jill, Why They Kill," my subject--kids killing kids--could be perceived by those not wearing sunglasses as a dark topic. However, with "Step By Step To Stand Up Comedy" as my constant coach, I have been able to illuminate and elevate my topic so much that people don't exodus the hall when I am introduced but actually stay for my entire presentations, as much for the jokes they contain, as for the vital message of how to rear violence-free, bully-free, and gun-free children. Bravo, Greg Dean...and thank you!
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