By Philip Buuck
Since I've just started doing stand-up and am intrigued by what to expect in beginning a stand-up career, I'm very interested in finding out how other people began their careers, and to see what established comics can teach me. Comic Insights is exactly that book for me.
Comic Insights was edited by Franklyn Ajaye, a veteran comedian who has gotten to know many of the big names during his 20+ year career on stage. While I've never personally heard of him, he's written books before and released some comedy albums as well. Jerry Seinfeld, one of the many comics interviewed, says that Ajaye was one of his influences when he was beginning, and he writes well in this book. I'll keep an eye out for his material.
The first section of the book is Ajaye's advice for beginners, speaking on such topics as writing material, getting over stage fright, and what to do the first time you get dejected and want to give up. This was interesting, but I was much more interested in the second section, which is where the interviews are.
And what terrific interviewees they are! Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Chris Rock, Bill Maher, Garry Shandling, and Richard Lewis are some of the bigger names in the book, but I had heard of all of the comics interviewed, and they all have succeeded where many others have failed. Some of them interviewed during the height of their careers, like Leno. Ellen DeGeneres, on the other hand, was interviewed just before she got her show deal, and so speaks of how much she would enjoy getting the chance to put together a sitcom. Hearing her write with an obvious yearning was insightful.
I think the biggest reason I enjoyed this book so much was because I am a fan of learning by doing. I don't want a lot of theory on what makes something funny. That stuff is interesting, but I feel it is vital to practice as well as theorize, and so with anything I want to learn I focus quite a bit on practical advice and application. This book is solidly in that category, and I highly recommend it for anybody who is interested in starting a stand-up career, or is just thinking about doing so.
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