Rating: 
Summary: I LOVED this book!
Review: A wonderful, insightful, fascinating read. Won't tell you much about the business end of things, but who cares? Some of the biggest names in comedy give insight into the methods behind their madness. Almost didn't want to say I liked it b/c I don't need the competition in the clubs (there are more than enough of us new hopefuls to go round as it is) but ultimately it all comes down to talent, so, read away if you think you've got the stomach to be a comedian, and read anyway if you love comedy. Thank you Mr. Ajaye!
Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC for those who love, do or want to do comedy
Review: According to author Franklyn Ajaye, he was partly inspired in his successful comedy, writing and producing careers by Larry Wilde's Great Comedians Talk About Comedy, a 1968 question & answer style interview book, reprinted in 2000 (available on Amazon.com). Wilde's book contains insightful interviews with late 20th century top comedians and Ajaye hoped his own Comic Insights would be along the same lines. In fact, Comic Insights, a book containing interviews with some of the early 21st century's comic geniuses, is as good as or even better than Wilde's wonderful and still timely book. The reason: Comic Insights contains not only great interviews but also specific and concise advice on standup comedy performance technique -- complete with easy-to-review notes at the end of key chapters. It's one of the best books ever published on the subject. Comic Insights is required reading for ANYONE remotely or seriously interested in performing comedy, key comedy techniques, the comedian's mind-set, goal-setting,
perseverance, the need to be YOU onstage and -- a crucial subject incredibly ignored in most comedy books ...TIMING. Hopefully it'll be reprinted periodically, like Wilde's
book. If it isn't and you don't have a copy then you'll be out of luck because you'll be missing a vital potential comedy tool. This book was so fascinating, easy to read, and had so much good information, facts, performing tips and inspiration that I virtually defaced it with my colored-marker underlinings and little notes written in ink. Any second the Book Police will (rightfully) arrest me ..... The first section is one of the most readable explanations of key standup tricks of the trade ever written. If an aspiring comedian uses some of these principles it could save him years of bombing. Ajaye also includes helpful review notes at the end of each of these sections. There are far too many superb tips to list here, but a few include studying WHY top comedians are funny; studying the use of timing, body language and visual effects. The importance of recording and analyzing your act. And, critically, the importance of being yourself in performance and act content: "The hacks can steal your joke but they can't steal the way you look at life," he writes. Peppered throughout are the BEST written explanations (from him and other comedians) on timing EVER published. He points to the famous (and sadly not re-run) eternal master of timing Jack Benny and notes that timing is a way to "light the fuse" on a
joke, by taking a pause to deliver a punchline. Don't "be afraid of silent moments," he advises, and wait until a laugh naturally subsides before moving to another joke.
The second section includes a wide range of the 21st century's top laugh-makers (again too many to cite here). Some key highlights include: ---LOUIE ANDERSON, a master of setting up routines, using his eyes, space and silence, inspired by Jack Benny. Anderson says: "The secret behind timing is to hold whatever you're going to say until you absolutely have to say it."
--ELAYNE BOOSLER on the importance of taping an act, listening to it, analyzing it and enhancing it..
--GEORGE CARLIN'S great explanation of how evolved from a jacket-and-tie comediandoing stock, standard jokes in front of people who he realized where his parents' friends into a comedy icon for his own and younger generations by changing his jokes, dress
(getting fired for it) his attitude -- and the way many comedians forever would do comedy.
--ELLEN DEGENERES & PAUL REISNER: The slowing down joke delivery.
--JAY LENO: The importance of learning jokes (he has no joke file) and goal setting (you should be able to make standup within 7 years work).
--CHRIS ROCK: On the importance of writing NEW jokes to take any comedy career to the next level.
--ROSEANNE & JERRY SEINFELD: The importance being disciplined to constantly write down ideas (on anything even napkins), jokes, concepts and then sit down and translate those ideas into actual performable material.
--GARY SHANDLING: Persistance. He bombed for 5 years but never gave up. The third section is especially useful since managers, club owners and agents tell what they seek in a comedian. Talent Agent Irv Arthur, among other things, notes the importance of total preparation to be ready for the big break when it comes. This superb book, especially if read together with Greg Dean's wonderful Step By Stepto Standup Comedy (also available on Amazon), could save aspiring comedians years of frustration and tears....and it tips off civilians to what's really lurking behind the curtain of that comedy wizard of the Oz called "the comedy club."
Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC for those who love, do or want to do comedy
Review: According to author Franklyn Ajaye, he was partly inspired in his successful comedy, writing and producing careers by Larry Wilde's Great Comedians Talk About Comedy, a 1968 question & answer style interview book, reprinted in 2000 (available on Amazon.com). Wilde's book contains insightful interviews with late 20th century top comedians and Ajaye hoped his own Comic Insights would be along the same lines. In fact, Comic Insights, a book containing interviews with some of the early 21st century's comic geniuses, is as good as or even better than Wilde's wonderful and still timely book. The reason: Comic Insights contains not only great interviews but also specific and concise advice on standup comedy performance technique -- complete with easy-to-review notes at the end of key chapters. It's one of the best books ever published on the subject. Comic Insights is required reading for ANYONE remotely or seriously interested in performing comedy, key comedy techniques, the comedian's mind-set, goal-setting,
perseverance, the need to be YOU onstage and -- a crucial subject incredibly ignored in most comedy books ...TIMING. Hopefully it'll be reprinted periodically, like Wilde's
book. If it isn't and you don't have a copy then you'll be out of luck because you'll be missing a vital potential comedy tool. This book was so fascinating, easy to read, and had so much good information, facts, performing tips and inspiration that I virtually defaced it with my colored-marker underlinings and little notes written in ink. Any second the Book Police will (rightfully) arrest me ..... The first section is one of the most readable explanations of key standup tricks of the trade ever written. If an aspiring comedian uses some of these principles it could save him years of bombing. Ajaye also includes helpful review notes at the end of each of these sections. There are far too many superb tips to list here, but a few include studying WHY top comedians are funny; studying the use of timing, body language and visual effects. The importance of recording and analyzing your act. And, critically, the importance of being yourself in performance and act content: "The hacks can steal your joke but they can't steal the way you look at life," he writes. Peppered throughout are the BEST written explanations (from him and other comedians) on timing EVER published. He points to the famous (and sadly not re-run) eternal master of timing Jack Benny and notes that timing is a way to "light the fuse" on a
joke, by taking a pause to deliver a punchline. Don't "be afraid of silent moments," he advises, and wait until a laugh naturally subsides before moving to another joke.
The second section includes a wide range of the 21st century's top laugh-makers (again too many to cite here). Some key highlights include: ---LOUIE ANDERSON, a master of setting up routines, using his eyes, space and silence, inspired by Jack Benny. Anderson says: "The secret behind timing is to hold whatever you're going to say until you absolutely have to say it."
--ELAYNE BOOSLER on the importance of taping an act, listening to it, analyzing it and enhancing it..
--GEORGE CARLIN'S great explanation of how evolved from a jacket-and-tie comediandoing stock, standard jokes in front of people who he realized where his parents' friends into a comedy icon for his own and younger generations by changing his jokes, dress
(getting fired for it) his attitude -- and the way many comedians forever would do comedy.
--ELLEN DEGENERES & PAUL REISNER: The slowing down joke delivery.
--JAY LENO: The importance of learning jokes (he has no joke file) and goal setting (you should be able to make standup within 7 years work).
--CHRIS ROCK: On the importance of writing NEW jokes to take any comedy career to the next level.
--ROSEANNE & JERRY SEINFELD: The importance being disciplined to constantly write down ideas (on anything even napkins), jokes, concepts and then sit down and translate those ideas into actual performable material.
--GARY SHANDLING: Persistance. He bombed for 5 years but never gave up. The third section is especially useful since managers, club owners and agents tell what they seek in a comedian. Talent Agent Irv Arthur, among other things, notes the importance of total preparation to be ready for the big break when it comes. This superb book, especially if read together with Greg Dean's wonderful Step By Stepto Standup Comedy (also available on Amazon), could save aspiring comedians years of frustration and tears....and it tips off civilians to what's really lurking behind the curtain of that comedy wizard of the Oz called "the comedy club."
Rating:
Summary: Incisive and jam packed with gems
Review: After reading Franklyn Ajaye's incisive guide to the stand-up's art, you might wonder why anyone would ever want to put themselves through the relentless routine of writing, performing and honing material that it takes to become a successful comedian. Alternatively, if that craving to make 'em laugh still proves irresistible after all 289 pages, at least you'll have picked up a wealth of practical tips along the way. Comic Insights is clearly aimed as a manual for the aspiring stand-up, and the aspiring American stand-up at that. Given the indefinable nature of comedy, Ajaye sensibly steers well clear of providing advice on how to be funny, concentrating instead on how to be more funny. It's a book of three unequal thirds, starting with a definitive 'how to' guide for the would-be stand-up. This section is jam-packed with invaluable pearls of wisdom about the mechanics of the craft. These basic tips are often common sense, and are generally regarded as universal truths among performers, but they do need to be said, especially for the rookie. Mostly, the key is self-awareness: knowing what makes your voice and persona uniquely funny; knowing how your delivery, stage presence and timing went,; and knowing how that affected the laughs you get. Sensibly, Ajaye recommends aspiring stand-ups study their comedy idols to find out what makes them funny (though definitely not trying to blindly emulate them) and suggests you always record your faltering efforts on stage to analyse what went wrong - or right. The book's crammed full of such fundamental tips, which no rookie should take to the stage without knowing. Occasionally the language veers into the unfortunate buzzwords of the training industry, but there's no diluting the rock-solid advice at the heart of it. A lot of these interviews are fairly old but the advice is pretty timeless, and comes from a collection of interview subjects that covers a wide range of comedy styles. Ajaye isn't always the best inteviewer nonetheless, the gems of truth always do emerge. In the brief third portion of the book, Ajaye also talks to a small cross-sections industry folk - agents, managers, promoters - to provide a glimpse from that side of the business, too. For anyone interested in being a comedian or just interested in what makes a comic tick, this valuable book will satisfy on both counts.
Rating:
Summary: Must Read for Standup Practitioners
Review: Any comedy junkie knows that most of the books written on standup just plain stink. Whereas Judy Carter's "Standup Comedy-The Book" is a decent read, it is of course extremely dated now (screams 1980s homogeneous comedy club standup!) and is far too formulaic for most comics. Greg Dean's book is far better than Carter's; however, Dean suffers from being too quantitative in his approach to and understanding of comedy. His book can help one appreciate joke theory, but will do little--practically speaking--to help polish a mediocre comic. My favorite book on standup generally is definitely Jay Sankey's "Zen and the Art of Standup Comedy." It is an excellent read, jam packed with highly practical insights and suggestions about how to truly become a good comic. That said, what Sankey's book lacks in terms of insights from the living comedic masters themselves Ajaye's book more than makes up for. Larry Wilde did it in 1968 with the greatest comic legends of the 1950s and 1960s, and Ajaye did it again with the greatest comics of the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, Ajaye's book is superior to Wilde's in at least two respects. First, Ajaye has included his own highly refined tips and suggestions about how to become a good comic, which Wilde has no trace of. Ajaye's thoughts are so highly structured and logically organized that it is no wonder he is putting that NYU law school education to good use after all. Secondly, Ajaye's interviews are, at times, more revealing and more helpful than Wilde's because Ajaye is a serious practitioner of the art of standup himself, whereas Wilde--though he is undoubtedly America's best-selling humorist--is still just a humorist. A humorist does not a comedian make. If you want to know what makes good comedians become great, read Franklyn Ajaye's book. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Truthful, inspirational and an answered prayer
Review: As a young stand up comic I have always wished I could meet all of my comic idols and ask them how they did it and how they continue to do it...and be succesful at it. This book says it all. Stand up comedy is often a tough gig, but reading this book which shows how the "greats" made it through the hard times, mastered their craft and keep things new shows that it's all worthwhile. Franklyn Ajaye has a way breaking things down and painting a perfect picture of what creating your own individual comic point of view is about. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who has ever considered doing stand up, who has a respect for stand up, who is in awe of stand up, who has never done stand up, who has done stand up for 20 years, and for those who have secretly always dreamed of being a successful stand up comic. Hell, I recommend it to anyone who hates stand up comedy...it may open some doors. I have read many "comedy" books, some written by complete unknowns. The author is a very successful stand up comedian himself...that should tell you something.
Rating:
Summary: Inside Information on the Most Demanding Art Form.
Review: As someone who loves comedy but would never dream of taking the stage myself, I found Franklyn's book fascinating. Going to comedy clubs has been a hobby of mine for twenty years. Everyone loves the headliners, but I also follow aspiring comics who are trying to learn the incredibly difficult skill of making people laugh consistently. My main attraction to this book was the quality of the people interviewed. Several are icons in the entertainment world. I also bought the book because I remember Franklyn's stand-up days and saw him perform live a few times. The book begins with an instructional section. This isn't what I bought the book for, but I found it much more entertaining than I thought. Franklyn uses his own careeer as a format to provide the instruction. He was a failing law student looking for another way to earn a living. He talks about how he developed his writing style, managing his material, dealing with stage fright as well as hecklers. This section reads like a story rather than a dry, how-to manual. I realy felt the drama involved with trying to succeed in a business where so many fail. The interviews are very good. After reading the first part of the book, I already had new insight into the art of stand-up. The interviews covered the topics that had been introduced previously. They work well because the interviewer is a veteran comedian himself and because he has known many of the interviewees for many years. I particularly enjoyed the interviews with George Carlin, Elaine Boosler, Richard Lewis, Sinbad and George Wallace. In many of the interviews you get a sense of how they worked their way up from nowhere to become successful. I was very impressed at the amount of work that goes into putting together an act. This is undoubtedly a must-read for an aspiring comedian. But for someone like myself, who will never have the courage to take to the stage, it is a chance to get to know several great comedians who I have enjoyed and admired for years. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Character and Comedy
Review: Comic Insights, by Franklyn Ajaye is a great read. The heart of the book for me, is the series of interviews with many of the top comedians working today. While I think a young comedian wanting to start in the business would find the book invaluable, general readers interested in comedy, and life, would also enjoy it. One gets a good sense about the people these comedians are in these interviews. I wish they were longer. It is clear that Ajaye knows these fellow comedians well and that knowledge made a more intimate conversation possible. There is so much insight into the practice of stand up comedy, that I experienced moments when I wanted to give it a try! Of course I know better, but one begins to fully appreciate the discipline, intelligence, and creativity that great comedians bring to their work. Not incidentally, there are some very thoughtful perspectives on life, gems of thought, offered by these gifted people, some funny and sad, poignant, witty, and wise. It was clear to me that the comedians interviewed also shared an appreciation for the comedic gifts of Ajaye, whom I have heard and seen perform, to my great delight, over the years.
Rating:
Summary: Not so much a comedy 'how-to' book but very worthwhile
Review: I liked this book. I bought several at the same time. All the others were comedy 'how-to' books. I found them useful to varying degrees. This kind of surprised me in that it wasn't such a 'how-to' book. If I'd spent more time reading the preview, I'd have seen that it didn't pretend to be anything other than what it is - a collection of summarised experience from an indisputedly star-studded list of comedy noteables. A staggeringly varied list of comedians etc but with common themes running through their advice. I recommend this book to comedians who are serious about sticking at this for the long-term.
Rating:
Summary: Not so much a comedy 'how-to' book but very worthwhile
Review: I liked this book. I bought several at the same time. All the others were comedy 'how-to' books. I found them useful to varying degrees. This kind of surprised me in that it wasn't such a 'how-to' book. If I'd spent more time reading the preview, I'd have seen that it didn't pretend to be anything other than what it is - a collection of summarised experience from an indisputedly star-studded list of comedy noteables. A staggeringly varied list of comedians etc but with common themes running through their advice. I recommend this book to comedians who are serious about sticking at this for the long-term.
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