Step by Step to Stand-Up Comedy

Rating:
Summary: Comedy Unveiled!
Review: I've been reading Greg Dean's book and am thrilled at his ability to articulate the structure of Comedy. As a professional Comedian, Sometimes I get on a role and sometimes I don't. Having read his book, I'm always on a role. I always know how to get the laugh and fix a bad situation. I've learned how to related to an audience, how to rehearse the Critic out of my show, how to shift into characters and excellent joke structure. I've purchased many, many books on how to do standup comedy, joke writing and how to get laughs, etc,.. and none of them lay out clear technique or a step-by-step method to adding or improving my show. Alot of the other books just teach you how to think like the Author. I don't need to learn the Author's opinions, I have my own opinion to articulate, I just need to know how! Thanks Greg Dean, The DEAN of Comedy!

Rating:
Summary: FINALLY: A G R E A T comedy book!!!!!
Review: It's amazing how many books there are on writing and performing comedy, and how bad many of them are. I collect books on comedy and performers and I can say that FINALLY there is a book on comedy writing and performing that can TRULY make a difference. Greg Dean's system clears away a lot of the mystery and, step by step, can help you WRITE funnier, VIEW things funnier, and BE funnier. He clearly has spent years of time and thought on his system...and it W O R K S. How do I know? I'm a performer (ventriloquist -- I work with a dummy but he is not running for president...Greg is NOT responsible for that joke, folks..). His system has already helped me in countless ways. In fact, I will say it changed my whole way of looking at, writing, and performing humor. This book is not only one that I like for myself, but one that I'll be ordering for other people who are interested in comedy as GIFTS. This is NOT your usual how-to comedy book that you read and stick on a shelf. You'll use it -- and be influenced by it.

Rating:
Summary: Please avoid this 'book.
Review: Like I said, avoid this book, at all costs! I've been doing stand-up for a few months now, with a fair degree of success, and I thought I'd get this book to brush up on some basics. What a mistake.
It reads like a geometry textbook for Christ's sake!
`Create subject (a): attach Subject (b); where (b) is an opposite of (d), but only when (x) is a variant. Let's not forget (y), which goes like this: "Why did I waste money on this rotten book?" `

If you have money to spend, and want to be a stand-up, just buy some DVD's and learn by observing other comics, and not by wasting your time on a book that reads like a physics lecture.


Rating:
Summary: The stand up mafia
Review: Not an easy read. Ways to create jokes WAY TOO complicated. For your comedy collection, I say...buy it.......but buy it last. Other books out there are more helpful for creating both topics and jokes.

Rating:
Summary: Save it for last...
Review: Not an easy read. Ways to create jokes WAY TOO complicated. For your comedy collection, I say...buy it.......but buy it last. Other books out there are more helpful for creating both topics and jokes.

Rating:
Summary: Who says comedy is not pretty?
Review: Not I, after reading this book. Greg's book to comedy is what learning to read notes is to music. Without the building blocks and structure and essence of these fundamental lessons, one cannot expect to learn anything - comedy and joke writing included. I never knew how much material there was to know and how easy it is now for me to write jokes and be funnier now that I have read this book. I can't wait to take this book to my father and say, "This is why nobody laughs at your jokes anymore!" If you ever intend to try to make someone laugh again, buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Helpful Comedy Guide
Review: Step By Step is a quick read with some decent tips about writing and performing stand-up comedy. Dean outlines a great method for writing one-liners, but he uses boring language that makes it feel more like a textbook. The joke-writing chapters are definitely helpful, but where this book really shines is in its later chapters about performing your material. Dean covers everything from rehearsing to handling a microphone to overcoming stage fright and hecklers. Even experienced comics with good material could be helped greatly by Dean's tips about on-stage behaivor. Even if you're not looking to get into stand-up, Dean's book can at least help you bring some humor into your writing. Give it a shot.

Rating:
Summary: Helpful Comedy Guide
Review: Step By Step is a quick read with some decent tips about writing and performing stand-up comedy. Dean outlines a great method for writing one-liners, but he uses boring language that makes it feel more like a textbook. The joke-writing chapters are definitely helpful, but where this book really shines is in its later chapters about performing your material. Dean covers everything from rehearsing to handling a microphone to overcoming stage fright and hecklers. Even experienced comics with good material could be helped greatly by Dean's tips about on-stage behaivor. Even if you're not looking to get into stand-up, Dean's book can at least help you bring some humor into your writing. Give it a shot.

Rating:
Summary: real content on comedy
Review: There are a lot of books out there about stand up comedy that are full of opinions, and even some useful advice. Mr. Dean's book has all that PLUS actual joke writing technique based on a break through theory of joke structure that is absolutely unique.

There isn't another book out there on comedy writing and performing that can match this one for usefulness and substance. What Stanislovsky did for acting Greg Dean does for stand up.

Rating:
Summary: Wierd but Great
Review: This book is wierd but great at the same time. I was pretty skeptical that anybody could really teach somebody else to be funny. But this guy's techniques are like ... brilliant. I write commercials for a living and in the last couple of days I've already been using his approach to comedy. In fact, I'm already catching myself using this stuff without thinking about it.