The Ultimate Green Room: 100 Stand-Up Comics Talk about Learning Their Craft Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Comedy "how to" books come in many flavors. They all seem to contain the same information but they differ on where they put their emphasis. This book emphasizes the "social" aspect of becoming a stand-up comedian. The book even encourages young comedians to join the staff of a comedy club or attach oneself to a more experienced comedian as a way of advancing your comedy career. In my experience, these activities lead to derivative, cookie cutter, mediocre comedians.
The book also creates artificial time tables, locking comedians' skill to the number of years they've been doing stand-up, not the number and diversity of the audience they have experienced.
Factual errors exist as well, including the claim that the Ice House is the oldest comedy club in the United States. (Heck, I know 1 club in Ohio that has been in business far longer, and I don't get out very much).
I don't know if it was the fact that the author was female or that so many of the quotes from comedians came from a female comedian, but to me, the book reads more like "Chicken Soup for the Comedian's Soul" than anything which is likely to help you understand the comedy business.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Ultimate Green Room: 100 Stand-Up Comics Talk about Learning Their Craft

Entertaining and insightful, The Ultimate Green Room takes you behind-the-scenes of the 'green room" at every comedy club across the country. Relevant to stand-up comics, aspiring performers, comedy lovers, and entertainment executives, this unique journey into the world of the stand-up comic provides an insider's look at the comedian's career path. Author Barbara Corry interviewed over one hundred comics at all career stages, detailing their early influences and wise directives on precisely how one learns the craft. Each chapter also features humorous anecdotes that reveal the funniest, scariest, and most embarrassing moments of performing live. These 'war stories" round out the portrait of the comedian and, ultimately, the headliner. More than just a 'how-to" guide, Corry weaves valuable insights about a uniquely American craft and offers sociology students an all-encompassing look at a fascinating subculture and the process of professional socialization.