Mastering Stand-Up by Stephen Rosenfield

And the second is that if, every year, you throw out all your old material and write an hour of new material, you will be forced to dig deeper and deeper into yourself to find your comedy. The first is to have the courage to speak the unspeakable onstage. Carlin’s work taught Louis the two things that became Louis’s trademark. says that studying George Carlin taught him what he needed to know to move up in the stand-up ranks from hack to comedy star. The comedians you love are the comedians you want to study.

Just because someone is onstage doing stand-up doesn’t mean that you should study that person and try to incorporate what they’re doing into your work. Watching great comedians will help you learn and improve your act. As a pioneer in the field of teaching comedy, he founded the American Comedy Institute, the premier stand-up comedy school in the United States, in 1989.Ħ. Rosenfield has directed, coached, and/or written for these and hundreds of other comedians. You will be a pro.' The New York Times heralded Stephen Rosenfield as 'probably the best known comedy teacher in the country.' His alumni include some of today's most prominent comedians and comedy writers, such as Lena Dunham, Jim Gaffigan, Eric Slovin, and Jessica Kirson. Including a 12-item 'Successful Comedian's To-Do List, ' Rosenfield states, 'Get undeniably good at each of these and you can kiss your day job good-bye. Here, Stephen Rosenfield lays out a clear plan for achieving success, candidly explaining what works, what doesn't, and why. This entertaining and sharply written guide-for both beginners breaking into comedy and professionals seeking to improve their sets and advance their careers-examines the work of great comedians such as Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Izzard, Moms Mabley, Hannibal Buress, Sarah Silverman, Richard Pryor, and more as a means of illustrating the most important techniques of performing and writing stand-up.

Mastering Stand-Up by Stephen Rosenfield