"a work on the art and craft of comedy as important in its own way as works by Stanislavski and Chekhov" – Oxford Theatre CompanionIn 1939, a young, inexperienced actor wrote to a famous actress of hi
"a work on the art and craft of comedy as important in its own way as works by Stanislavski and Chekhov" – Oxford Theatre CompanionIn 1939, a young, inexperienced actor wrote to a famous actress of hi
There is a feeling of pure delight that comes from laughing out loud while watching a hilarious movie or a TV show. Yet as funny as these lines may be, they are the work of people you will never see.
Analysing why we laugh and what we laugh at, and describing how performers can elicit this response from their audience, this book enables actors to create memorable – and hilarious – performances.Roo
Analysing why we laugh and what we laugh at, and describing how performers can elicit this response from their audience, this book enables actors to create memorable – and hilarious – performances.Roo
Playwright, composer, actor, director, and producer George M. Cohan looms large in musical theater legend. Remembered today for classic tunes like "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "Give My Regards to Broadway," he has been called "the father of musical comedy," and his statue stands in the heart of the New York theater district. Cohan's early twentieth-century shows and songs captured the spirit of an era when staggering social change gave new urgency to efforts to define Americanism. He was an Irish American who had the audacity to represent himself as the Yankee Doodle emblem of the nation, a vaudevillian who had the nerve to unapologetically climb the ranks and package his lower-brow style as Broadway. In Yankee Doodle Dandy, the first book on Cohan in fifty years, author Elizabeth T. Craft situates Cohan as a central figure of his day. Examining his multifaceted contributions and the various sociocultural identities he came to embody, Craft shows how Cohan and his works indelibly shap
It is often suggested that there are 'secrets' to comedy or that it is 'lightning in a bottle', but the craft of comedy writing can be taught. While comedic tastes change, over time and from person to
It is often suggested that there are 'secrets' to comedy or that it is 'lightning in a bottle', but the craft of comedy writing can be taught. While comedic tastes change, over time and from person to
In writing this book on the plays of New Comedy the author's aim is to fill a gap in the existing literature by concentrating on what one might look for in watching and reading these plays and why such an exercise might be pleasurable. The social comedy of Menander, Plautus and Terence provided a style of comic drama which was to prove the root of all subsequent western comedy. Dr Hunter gives a literary account of this drama, placing it in its ancient context and then ranging over a number of specific topics and themes: the dramatic craft of the poets, their exploration of how to give variety to stereotyped plots and characters, the presentation of women, the use of language and themes from tragedy, the place of moralising and philosophy. All Greek and Latin is translated.
Learn to craft smart, original stories and scripts for a variety of television formats and genres, including comedy, drama, pilots, animation, made-for-TV movies, late night, and reality television. G
The Wodehouse series continuesA-a sparkling story collection from the master of hijinks and social comedy These early stories, first published together in 1917, show Wodehouse perfecting his craft. C
Poetry. "In Mittenthal's work, it's the idea of comedy in an explosion of craft that catches you. He's quiet about it. He understands it will adhere—and it's designed to—to linger. There's almost a ba
In Yehudi Mercado's full-color middle grade graphic memoir sequel to Chunky, Hudi and his imaginary friend, Chunky, head to Jewish summer camp, where the dynamic duo meet a new friend who can see Chunky, too, and get mixed up in a prank war. This series is perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Jerry Craft. Hudi finally embraced his love of art and comedy, but his class clown antics keep getting him in trouble. After Hudi's artwork lands him in detention again, his parents decide a change is needed when summer arrives, and they sentence him to four weeks at summer camp.Hudi is hesitant about Camp Green--a Jewish sleepaway camp in the blazing Texas desert. At least he still has Chunky. Then Hudi meets Pepe, a fellow camper who's also Latinx, Jewish, and a comedian like Hudi, and who--get this--can also see Chunky! What?! The rest of Hudi's bunkmates are also a motley crew of misfits. Has Hudi finally found his people?This new friendship with Pepe leads Hudi and Chunky into all kinds o