A history of the uniquely American art form of improv, from its beginnings during the McCarthy Era through the rise of such institutions as Second City, the Groundlings, and the Upright Citizens Brigade and such performers as Tina Fey, Steve Carell, and Bill Murray. "From the best-selling author of Fosse, a sweeping yet intimate-- and often hilarious-- history of a uniquely American art form that has never been more popular. At the height of the...

"The Physical Comedy Handbook is a one-of-a-kind resource for actors, teachers, and directors interested in physical comedy - from slapstick pratfalls to the theater of the absurd. Davis Robinson believes that the basic physical skills of comedy can be taught to anyone. His twenty years of practical experience - including workshops with Jacques LeCoq, Tony Montanaro, Bill Irwin, Avner Eisenberg, Mark Morris, and Ronlin Foreman - have taught him so....

After three decades of being a father, Clyde Edgerton, with four kids ranging in age from six to 30-is supremely qualified to give tips to dads of all ages. His fathering advice, pre-birth through schooling, involves plenty of his trademark humor, but also sound guidance enhanced by his training and experience as an educator. Papa Edgerton suggests that on occasion a father might forego reading and just point to the pictures of dogs and cats in baby...

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." There are few phrases as sobering, with the possible exceptions of "We have lift-off" and "This country is at war." Yet, as they have done for centuries, millions of courageous men and women continue to walk down the aisle every year, without so much as a job description. Now, in her most autobiographical book, Erma Bombeck puts it all in loving and laughing perspective, as she looks back on her own forty-three-year-but-who's-counting...

Authors Peter Desberg and Jeffrey Davis present 24 of Hollywood's top comedy writers with the same generic comedy premise and examine how each writer approaches the creative writing process.

He's the inventor of Past-Tense TV (featuring 'Got Smart,' 'Father Knew Best,' and 'It Was Left to Beaver'); the tireless crusader for such charities as the Center for Research into the Heebie Jeebies, Children of Parents with Bad Teeth, and the State Hospital for Those Who Felt All Right About a Year Ago; founder of the George Carlin Book Club (top titles: 'How to Act Laid-Back During a Grease Fire,' 'Fill Your Life with Croutons,' and 'The Meaning...

Grammy Award Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album!
Steve Martin's talent has always defied definition: an actor who's kept us riveted for over 25 years, a razor-sharp screenwriter, an acclaimed playwright. In this ingeniously funny collection of humorous riffs, those who thought Martin's gifts were confined to the screen will discover what readers of The New Yorker magazine already know: that Martin is a master of the written word.
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Planning a school or amateur Shakespeare production? The best way to experience the plays is to perform them, but getting started can be a challenge: The complete plays are too long and complex, while scene selections or simplified language are too limited. "The 30-Minute Shakespeare" is a new series of abridgements that tell the "story" of each play from start to finish while keeping the beauty of Shakespeare's language intact. Specific stage directions...

America's favorite home humorist, Erma Bombeck, has the uncanny ability to transform the trivialities of everyday American life into rich, witty stories that capture the imagination and tickle the funnybone. In this best-selling collection of hilarious tidbits, she turns her talents to the animal kingdom: the behavioral patterns of the creatures in the wild and the couple in the duplex next door.

"You fall down. You get hurt. You get up again. You know Jennifer Weiner as many things: a bestselling author, a Twitter phenomenon, and "an unlikely feminist enforcer" (The New Yorker). She's also a mom, a daughter, and a sister; a former rower and current runner; a best friend and a reality TV junkie. Here, in her first foray into nonfiction, she takes the raw stuff of her personal life and spins it into a collection of essays on womanhood as uproariously...