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are you funny want to have a career in comedy this book can show youhow to turn your sense of humour intoamoney making career and that s no joke whether you yearn to create a killer stand-up act writea sitcom or be the star of your o w n one-person show judy carter will help you develop your comedy skills and show youhowto make money from being funny written in carter s unique take-no-prisoners voice the comedy bible is practical inspirational and funny using a hands-on workbook format judy carter offers a series of day-by-day exercises drawnfrom her wide experience as botha comic and comedy writer learn not only how to write jokes speeches and scripts but also where to sell them how to pitch them and even how to negotiatea contract along withproviding additional insider tips from her celebrity friends carter shows you ways y o u can turn comedy into cash that you have never thought of before until comedians can enrol in a comedy 101 humourversity course at t h e school of hard knock-knocks this is t h e next best thing wil anderson judy carter started her career as a stand-up comic headlining in clubs across theu.s and being featured on over 100 tv shows she founded comedy workshops in los angeles where she trains wannabe comics as well as produces t h e annual california comedy conference many t o p hollywood agents managers producers and casting directors attend this key comedy event and it has become t h e place to get discovered she has caught the imagination of the corporate world with her novel technique of turning problems into punchlines her first book standup comedy the book has sold over 150,000 copies.[close]
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turning humor into a career is not as easy as it sounds in the comedy bible judy carter has made it much easier bernie brillstein founding partner of brillstein-grey entertainment hollywood s premier talent manager who oversaw the careers of john belushi gilda radner and dan ackroyd this is a fine book and can improve your standup comedy as long as you don t take it up on stage with you garry shandling comic i started my comedy career in judy carter s workshop tom shadyac director of bruce almighty patch adams liar liar the nutty professor and ace ventura pet detective this book is a great hands-on how-to guide for anyone considering a career in comedy it will teach you to take life s lemons and make them into laughs cindy chupack author of the between boyfriends book and award-winning writer and producer of sex and the city and everybody loves raymond[close]
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judy carter has appeared in clubs across the us as well as on many tv shows has coached over 5,000 comics in comedy workshops and has brought her message of turning problems into punchlines to fortune 500 companies she has been featured in the wall street journal and on oprah.[close]
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the comedy bible judy carter from stand-up to sitcom the comedy writer s ultimate how-to guide currency press sydney[close]
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acknowledgments i t takes a lot of people to make a book like this happen especially if the writer is someone who got a d in high school english special thanks to chuck adams my editor and friend who by this time could headline at any comedy club jandy nelson my agent at manus associates literary agency who showed me that lunch with an agent could be a lot of fun especially if you don t remember where you ve parked your car margot black for assisting in arranging interviews kathy fielding for transcribing everything and julie gardner for all her assistance in running comedy workshops and putting up with me when i m not so funny ben richardson for your talent jokes commas and breaking me out of a record-breaking writer s block gina rubinstein who next time will be more careful before saying sure i ll give it a read all of my students who taught me much more than i taught them the comedy professionals who contributed time and material to this book bernie brillstein bruce hills bruce smith carol leifer cathy ladman chris adams chris mazzilli christopher titus cindy chupack dean lewis debbie kasper delilah romos diane nichols ed yeager ellen sandler emily levine gabe adelson george wallace greg proops irene penn judi brown kathy griffen kathy anderson leigh[close]
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fortier lilly walters mark travis michael hanel michelle marx phyllis diller richard jeni richard lewis rob lotterstein robin roberts robin scruff rocky laporte steve marmel sue kolinsky susan leslie sybil adelman sage t j markvvalter tim bagley tom dreeson tom shadyac wendy kamenoff sarah levctt a gorgeous a n d funny australian comic who was brilliant in putting together the appendix for the down under edition of the comedy bible.[close]
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content about this book 19 part one warm-up is there any hope for you what do you want to be when you grow up performing comedy writing comedy marketing corned the right stuff do you have what it takes the yuk factor you are as funny as you think starting with your ideas habits honoring your ideas the funnv zone getting into the zone comedy be afraid be very afraid fear it s a good thing comedy buddies finding your fun mate quit while you re ahead commitment contract the comedy bible s ten commandments 2s 27 27 28 30 32 32 33 36 39 41 42 44 4.5 50 51 55 56[close]
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part two comedy workshop 26 days to killer comedy material 61 63 prep step 1 picking a show prep step 2 get scripts and vhs copies of your show prep step 3 dissect the show prep step 4 understanding sitcom structure prep step 5 sitcom formatting prep step 6 starting at the end prep step 7 committing to finishing sitcom day 1 getting sitcom story ideas sitcom day 2 turning life stories into sitcom plots sitcom day 3 turning current events into sitcom stories sitcom day 4 honing in on your sitcom plot sitcom day 5 from joke structure to story structure sitcom day 6 t h e story arc sitcom day 7 the outline sitcom day 8 detailing your outline sitcom day 9 writing the burn draft sitcom day 10 the story pass trimming sitcom day 11 t h e story pass heighten the obstacles sitcom day 12 the story pass structure sitcom day 13 punch-up pass getting it funny sitcom day 14 getting it funnier sitcom day 15 color pass sitcom day 16 read-through sitcom day 17 rewrite sitcom day 18 getting read sitcom day 19 final rewrite other comedy fields writing for other comics writing and performing for radio shows improv t v warm-up humor essays opinion pieces and articles motivational humorist 229 230 231 233 235 238 239 240 244 246 247 249 251 254 256 257 258 259 260 260 261 261 261 262 263 264 265 265 266 267 268 269 271 day 1 get a gig day 2 learn joke structure the setup day 3 learn joke structure the funny part comedy buddy day day 4 learn by watching day 5 your life is a joke finding your authentic topics comedy ruddy day d a y 6 writing more authentic premises day 7 more authentic topics comedy buddy day day 8 fine-tuning your topics relatable topics days 9 10 1 1 getting it funny 3-day jam session with your comedy buddy d a y 12 organizing your set list d a y 13 honing your material comedy buddy day day 14 getting ready to perform comedy buddy day day 15 dress rehearsal comedy buddy day day 16 your gig day 17 celebrate d a y 18 performance review reworking material day 19 adding current-event material comedy buddy day day 20 creating cutting-edge premises day 2 1 topic runs day 2 2 honing material take two day 2 3 throwing o u t the clunkers day 24 getting ready for your second performance day 25 performance d a y 2 6 about last night h o w good were you advanced stand-up exercise living funny daily exercises to generate comedy material creating your own one-person show h o w lo pul together your own one-person show mounting a production 19 days to writing your sitcom spec script top ten reasons for writing sitcoms spec scripts preparation for writing a spec script 2 to 8 weeks 66 69 82 101 111 118 119 125 132 137 144 154 157 161 165 165 171 177 180 185 190 192 200 200 203 203 204 212 217 224 226 226 227 228 part three funnymoney carter s 3-step comedy business strategy comedy menu step 1 get good getting good tip i create a ton of material 273 275 276 282 282[close]
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getting good tip #2 for performers get as much stage time as possible getting good tip 3 study other comics and comedy writers getting good tip 4 get help getting good tip 5 set challenging goals step 2 get noticed getting noticed tip 1 highlight your persona getting noticed tip 2 have professional materials getting noticed tip 3 find your audience getting noticed tip #4 work the media getting noticed tip 5 showcasing and comedy festivals step 3 get paid 284 287 287 290 292 293 296 299 302 305 311 getting paid tip 1 represent yourself getting paid tip 2 diversify getting paid tip 3 get professional contacts getting paid tip #4 how to get big shots on the phone getting paid tip 5 negotiations and contracts getting paid tip 6 turn one lob into many and finally how to get all the attention and love you could ever want 313 320 326 329 334 335 337 i n the beginning god created heaven and earth appendix comedy agents and managers comedy rooms contacts comedy events 339 339 340 347 349 cireat opening line but unfortunately already been used and thou shalt not steal material especially from god but then that s an entirely different kind of bible at least in most respects what that bible and this bible have in common is wisdom wanna learn how to love thv neighbor read that one wanna learn how to make thy neighbor laugh read this one this version of the bible will show you how to discover your originality craft it and turn your sense of humor into a moneymaking comedy career no joke the comedy bible don t be fanny without it if you re serious about comedy then here s whv you need this book · · · · · · because you hear others say hey you re fanny vou should be a comedian because vou want to quit your day job and make money being funny because you would like to turn those ideas jotted down on scraps of paper into sitcom scripts because vou think that you re as funny as the schmucks vou see on tv because sometimes when you see a new sitcom or hear a comic tell a joke you say i thought of that because you think people are stealing your comedy ideas and vou d do something about it but vou can t get off the couch.[close]
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some of the funniest people i know are waiting tables cleaning houses temping in offices and whining about their lack of success while less gifted comics and writers are making millions w h y not you no matter what your day job is now you could make a living doing comedy although very seldom docs real success come over night even the best comics started out doing something else jay leno started out as an auto mechanic the late brilliant sam kenison was a catholic priest before he started doing stand-up writer/producer barry kemp emmy-nominated writer of taxi and producer/creator of newhart and coach started as an insurance salesman in phoenix rodney dangerfield was selling house paint before he became famous which might be why he didn t get no respect if you have a talent for making people laugh there are a lot of opportunities for fun and profit just waiting for you and a person can make it in the funny business without ever getting onstage comics express themselves in many different ways many of course do get onstage acting and doing stand-up but others write sitcoms screenplays and songs while others express themselves through cartoons advertising and more people who know the craft of comedy writing are pursued and paid well for their talent from politicians to manufacturers everyone has got something to sell and comedy sells it best it s no wonder then that many politicians have a staff of comedy writers working for them so that they don t become big jokes themselves they know also that ideas presented with humor become the sound biles that make the six o clock news and of course advertisers know that commercials that make a jaded tv audience laugh will move merchandise more effectively than any other method even hallmark employs comedy writers to write their humorous cards humor can even get you dates just look at the personal ads sense of humor is the number one requirement of many people seeking a mate but the big question is how do you go from being one of the guys who gets drunk at parties and lights his farts to being a jim carrey who gets paid over $50 million a year to light his farts after ten years of running comedy workshops coaching over live thousand comics and doing stand-up at thousands of events myself 1 have developed an understanding of what it takes to be successful in comedy and it isn t luck relatives in the business or a boob job those things may get you in the door but they aren t going to make people laugh unless of course it was a really bad boob job what it takes to make it as a comic or as a comedy writer is a combination of talent and craft if you have a gift for comedy then 1 can show you how to shape your gift into the sort of funny that will get you noticed and paid the proof after taking my eight-week course many beginning stand-up comics have been signed often after their first performance by some of the biggest and most powerful agents managers and studios and some stand-up students who have gone on to become successful writers found that their scripts read more humorously and sold more easily because diey could pitch funny of course just as there are specific things you can do to make your career happen there also are things that will kill and sabotage your success this book will tell you which is which believe me i know because i ve done it all the good the bad and the unfunny i have been very fortunate to make a living doing what i love most comedy i ve worked at only one nine-to-five job in my life teaching theater for two years at a private boys school in los angeles other than that for twenty-five years i ve made a living performing writing and teaching comedy all of which is not bad for a twenty-nine-year-old for the first ten years of my career i did clubs and television shows at the height of my performing career i was on the tube even week and on the road forty weeks a vear as a headliner in comedy clubs and concert venues i was nominated lor atlantic city s entertainer of the year award for my performances ai caesars palace i have produced and written television shows i ve written books that have won awards ok one book that won one award seen my film scripts optioned and my plays produced sometimes i look at the things i own and marvel this outfit cost me three jokes this home cost me one script but ten drafts after all these years i still am amazed at being able to make a living off my sense of humor but this book is based only partially on my successes in fact it s based mostly on my mistakes and failures like when i had too much t me in the greenroom before going on national tv and decided at the as t minute to throw all my material out the window and do something new and unfunny like the time i spent doing material that i didn t h-lieve in because i wanted to be what i thought was commercial the tone i didn t sign with a major manager because i was seared of success h e time i finally had an audition with a top television producer and let[close]
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when adults ask kids what do you want to be when you grow up they re just looking for clues themselves paula poundstone there are a lot of ways to make a living from comedy you can perform it write it draw it or manage if from the list below check which ones you re interested in or think you know you re good at q stand-up comic depending on the quality of your act you can work at comedy clubs hotels concert venues colleges or corporate meetings on cruise ships at open mikes or at your aunt thelma s eightieth birthday party -i improviser sketch tv shows such as saturday night live and mad tv scout improvisers from improv troupes such as second city in chicago and toronto and the groundlings in los angeles as well as improv festivals austin fexas montreal canada improvisers are in demand for acting and tv commercials as well as for voice-over work feature animation and game shows.[close]
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commercial actor funny people who can add sizzle to ad copv are cast in high-paying tv commercials u voice-over performer comedy timing and technique are required in this field which needs comics to add funny character voices to cartoons tv commercials and feature animation jwarm u p for tv shows most tv shows hire a comic to warm up t h e live studio audience before a n d during the taping of tv shows and infomercials d radio comedy funny song parodies turned unknown weird al yankovic into a famous and rich man radio stations buy prerecorded song parodies impersonations and other comedy bits produced by small production houses that specialize in creating this type of material · radio talk show host as more talk shows fill the am a n d fm airwaves radio producers are turning to comics to keep their listeners laughing and listening · cruise ship entertainer imagine doing your act for your grandmother that s the kind of act you need to work cruise ships if you ve got four different twenty-minute clean sets and don t mind living with your audience for a few weeks then this could be for vou · corporate humorist if you can make people laugh with clean material then entertaining at corporate events might be just your thing seinfeld became billionaires when they turned their stand-up acts into one of the most successful sitcoms ever seinfeld · punch-up tv a n d film producers hire comics for the important job of punching up or adding laughs to a script · screcnwriting a n d directing comedy directors often start their careers with live performances betty thomas started in an improv troupe a n d went on to direct features such as die brady bunch movie tom shadyac director of patch adams liar liar and tlie nutty professor actually started o u t in my stand-up workshop two years later he directed his first feature ace ventura · literary writing funny can also translate into books magazine articles and newspaper columns george carlin turned his unused stand-up material into the book brain droppings comedy director/screenwriter nora ephron you ve jot mail sleepless in seattle wrote short funny magazine pieces that later became a popular book mixed nuts dave barry expresses his funny in a nationally syndicated column a n d in books · development and producing funny ideas often translate into projects for commercial tv and film paul reubens s character pee-wee herman started out as a character in an improv show at the groundlings it turned into an h b o special two feature films and an award-winning children s tv series · animation writing all major studios actively look for funny people to write and punch up their tv and feature animation projects irene mecchi began as a comedy writer writing comedy material for lily tomlin now she works for disney animation and was the screenwriter of tlie lion king · internet work because a good laugh can stop an internet surfer at a web site companies such as excite yahoo and aol hire comics to write catchy copy q speechwriting many ceos and politicians turn to comedy writers to provide sound bites so that they get noticed win over their audiences and don t get stuck with their foot in their mouth i know what they say about me that i m so stiff that racks buy their suits · customized stand-up material some stand-up comics who perform supplement their income by writing for other comics and then there are those funny people who have never done stand-up themselves but who write it for others such as funnyman bruce vilanch who writes for betle midler and the academy awards show · tv sitcoms comics are hired to staff sitcoms or develop sitcoms for stand-up comics who have development deals many of the most successful sitcoms are based on stand-up comedy acts stand-up comics larry david a n d jerry off me a l g0re 1 9 9 8 written by mark katz[close]
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· merchandising runny ideas can turn into funny products such as pet rocks screen savers or greeting cards skyler thomas who started writing jokes in my class put his jokes on t-shirts they became major sellers and he now runs a multimillion-dollar t-shirt business called don t panic with stores throughout america · ad copy who do you think writes those funny bits in ads that gel your attention comedy writers most relationships don t last as long as the la marathon l a billboard becomes a sitcom mash suddenly susan even jokes have become merchandise rosie o donnell s slingshot toy has sold over 2 million units i became a stand-up comic thanks to united airlines i started off as a funny magician working at the magic castle in hollywood i levitated celery sawed a man in half and performed a death-defying escape from my grandmother s girdle united airlines changed the course of my career when i arrived in cincinnati and my act arrived in newark that night i walked onstage without my tricks without an act i was so scared that 1 just started babbling about what happened and to my surprise i got laughs i then ranted about all the humiliations of my life and the laughs got bigger and before i knew it my twenty-minute set ended it was then that i learned the biggest lesson about comedy truth is funny and shows up even when your luggage doesn t 1 became a stand-up comic because why schlepp around a bunch of props when people will pay you just for your ideas recently i ve added to my work schedule by doing funny motivational speaking at fortune 500 companies w h o knew the bottom line is funny people are not limited to one field oi comedv and many of them overlap for right now you don t need to know what you want to be when you grow up all you need is your sense of humor but first let s make sure vou have one · managing and booking many agents and managers started by putting shows together for themselves and ended up booking others right now of course you don t need to make a commitment to any specific comedy field actually no matter which field of comedy you are interested in at the start of this book be open to the possibility of shifting winds you might be totally committed to performing stand-up until someone offers you a $50,000-a-year job writing funny ads for toilet cleaners it could happen you might start off thinking you want to be a stand-up comic and end up discovering thai you have a lot of ideas that can work as sitcoms billy riback started out doing stand-up at the improv at $25 a night and now he produces comedy tv shows making millions conan o brien and garry shandling were both sitcom writers before they became comedy stars in 1978 david letterman was a joke writer for jimmie dy-no-mite walker the zucker brothers and itn abrahams who created and directed the movies airplane naked gun and ghost began their careers in a comedy improv troupe in madison wisconsin called kentucky fried theater and then there s gary coleman who started off as a comedy actor starring in his own sitcom and ended up as a security guard go figure the various fields of comedy can morph into one another sometimes a comic s act becomes the basis for a sitcom roseanne or a screenplay[close]
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