The Comedy Bible: From Stand-up to Sitcom--The Comedy Writer's Ultimate

167 Pages·2001·2.39 MB·English

by  Judy Carter

Are you funny? Want to have a career in comedy? 'Until comedians
This book can show you how to turn your sense of can enrol in a
humour into a money-making career—and comedy 101
that's no joke! humourversity
course at the
Whether you yearn to create a killer stand-up act, write
school of hard
a sitcom, or be the star of your own one-person show,
knock-knocks,
Judy Carter will help you develop your comedy skills and
this is the next
show you how to make money from being funny.
best thing/
Written in Carter's unique, take-no-prisoners voice, The
Wil Anderson
Comedy Bible is practical, inspirational and funny. Using
a hands-on workbook format, Judy Carter offers a series
of day-by-day exercises drawn from her wide
experience as both a 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 negotiate a contract. Along with providing
additional 'insider' tips from her celebrity friends,
Carter shows you ways you can turn comedy into
cash that you have never thought of before.
Judy Carter started her career as a stand-up comic,
headlining in clubs across the U.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 the annual California Comedy Conference.
Many top Hollywood agents, managers, producers and
casting directors attend this key comedy event, and it
has become the 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.
'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
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.
THE
COMEDY
BIBLE
JUDY CARTER
From stand-up
to sitcom...
The comedy
writer's
ultimate
how-to
guide
CURRENCY PRESS, SYDNEY
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Stand-Up Comedy: The Book
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 Lit
erary 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 Chu-
pack, 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
Fortier, Lilly Walters, Mark Travis, Michael Hanel, Michelle Marx, Phyl
lis 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 AND funny Australian comic who was bril
liant in putting together the appendix for the 'Down Under' edition of
The Comedy Bible.
Content?
About This Book 19
Part One: Warm-up—Is There Any Hope for You? 2S
What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? 27
Performing Comedy 27
Writing Comedy 28
Marketing Corned)' 30
The Right Stuff—Do You Have What It Takes? 32
The Yuk Factor 32
You Are As Funny As You Think 33
Starting with Your Ideas 36
Habits: Honoring Your Ideas 39
The Funnv Zone 41
Getting into the Zone 42
Comedy ... Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid 44
Fear—It's a Good Thing 4.5
Comedy Buddies: Finding Your Fun Mate 50
Quit While You're Ahead 5 1
Commitment Contract 55
The Comedy Bible's Ten Commandments 56
Part Two: Comedy Workshop 61 Prep Step 1: Picking a Show 229
26 Days to Killer Comedy Material 63 Prep Step 2: Get Scripts and VHS Copies of Your Show 230
Day 1: Get a Gig 66 Prep Step 3: Dissect the Show 231
Day 2: Learn Joke Structure—the Setup 69 Prep Step 4: Understanding Sitcom Structure 233
Day 3: Learn Joke Structure—the Funny Part Prep Step 5: Sitcom Formatting 235
(Comedy Buddy Day) 82 Prep Step 6: Starting at the End 238
Day 4: Learn by Watching 101 Prep Step 7: Committing to Finishing 239
Day 5: Your Life Is a Joke—Finding Your Authentic Sitcom Day 1: Getting Sitcom Story Ideas 240
Topics (Comedy Ruddy Day) 111 Sitcom Day 2: Turning Life Stories into Sitcom Plots 244
Day 6: Writing More Authentic Premises 118 Sitcom Day 3: Turning Current Events into Sitcom
Day 7: More Authentic Topics (Comedy Buddy Day) 119 Stories 246
Day 8: Fine-Tuning Your Topics—Relatable Topics 125 Sitcom Day 4: Honing in on Your Sitcom Plot 247
Days 9, 10, 11: Getting It Funny (3-Day jam Session Sitcom Day 5: From Joke Structure to Story Structure 249
with Your Comedy Buddy) 132 Sitcom Day 6: The Story Arc 251
Day 12: Organizing Your Set List 137 Sitcom Day 7: The Outline 254
Day 13: Honing Your Material (Comedy Buddy Day) 144 Sitcom Day 8: Detailing Your Outline 256
Day 14: Getting Ready to Perform (Comedy Buddy Day) 154 Sitcom Day 9: Writing the Burn Draft 257
Day 15: Dress Rehearsal (Comedy Buddy Day) 157 Sitcom Day 10: The Story Pass—Trimming 258
Day 16: Your Gig 161 Sitcom Day 11: The Story Pass—Heighten the Obstacles 259
Day 17: Celebrate 165 Sitcom Day 12: The Story Pass—Structure 260
Day 18: Performance Review—Reworking Material 165 Sitcom Day 13: Punch-up Pass—Getting It Funny 260
Day 19: Adding Current-Event Material (Comedy Sitcom Day 14: Getting It Funnier 261
Buddy Day) 171 Sitcom Day 15: Color Pass 261
Day 20: Creating Cutting-Edge Premises 177 Sitcom Day 16: Read-through 261
Day 21: Topic Runs 180 Sitcom Day 17: Rewrite 262
Day 22: Honing Material—"Take Two" 185 Sitcom Day 18: Getting Read 263
Day 23: Throwing Out the Clunkers 190 Sitcom Day 19: Final Rewrite 264
Day 24: Getting Ready for Your Second Performance 192 Other Comedy Fields 265
Day 25: Performance 200 Writing for Other Comics 265
Day 26: About Last Night . . . How Good Were You? 200 Writing and Performing for Radio Shows 266
Advanced Stand-up Exercise: 203 Improv 267
Living Funny 203 TV Warm-up 268
Daily Exercises to Generate Comedy Material 204 Humor Essays, Opinion Pieces, and Articles 269
Creating Your Own One-Person Show 212 Motivational Humorist 271
How lo Pul Together Your Own One-Person Show 217
Mounting a Production 224 Part Three: funny Money 273
19 Days to Writing Your Sitcom Spec Script 226 Carter's 3-Step Comedy Business Strategy 275
Top Ten Reasons for Writing Sitcoms 226 Comedy Menu 276
Spec Scripts 227 Step 1: Get Good 282
Preparation for Writing a Spec Script—2 to 8 Weeks 228 Getting Good Tip # I: Create a Ton of Material 282
Getting Good Tip #2 (for Performers): Get As Much
Stage Time As Possible 284
Getting Good Tip #3: Study Other Comics and
Comedy Writers 287
Getting Good Tip #4: Get Help 287
Getting Good Tip #5: Set Challenging Goals 290
Step 2: Get Noticed 292
Getting Noticed Tip #1: Highlight Your Persona 293
Getting Noticed Tip #2: Have Professional Materials 296
Getting Noticed Tip #3: Find Your Audience 299
Getting Noticed Tip #4: Work the Media 302
Getting Noticed Tip #5: Showcasing and
Comedy Festivals 305
Step 3: Get Paid 311
Getting Paid Tip # 1: Represent Yourself 313
Getting Paid Tip #2: Diversify 320
Getting Paid Tip #3: Get Professional Contacts 326
Getting Paid Tip #4: How to Get Big Shots on the Phone 329
I
Getting Paid Tip #5: Negotiations and Contracts 334 n the beginning, God created heaven and earth.
Getting Paid Tip #6: Turn One lob into Many 335 Cireat opening line—but unfortunately, already been used. And
And Finally . . . How to Get All the Attention and thou shalt not steal material, especially from God. But then, that's an
Love You Could Ever Want 337 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
Appendix 339 thv neighbor? Read that one. Wanna learn how to make thy neighbor
Comedy Agents and Managers 339 laugh? Read this one. This version of the bible will show you how to dis
Comedy Rooms 340 cover your originality, craft it, and turn your sense of humor into a mon-
Contacts 347 eymaking comedy career—no joke! The Comedy Bible—don't be fanny
Comedy Events 349 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 come
dian."
• 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.