This accessible and engaging text covering sketch, sitcom and comedy drama, alongside improvisation and stand-up, brings together a panoply of tools and techniques for creating short and long-form comedy narratives for live performance, TV and online. Referencing a broad range of comedy from both sides of the Atlantic, spanning several decades and including material on contemporary internet sketches, it offers all kinds of useful advice on creating comic narratives for stage and screen: using life experience as raw material; constructing comedy worlds; creating comic characters, their relationships and interactions; structuring sketches, scenes and routines; and developing and plotting stories. The book's interviewees, from the UK and the USA, feature stand-ups, sketch comics, improvisers and TV comedy producers, and include Steve Kaplan, Hollywood comedy guru and author of The Hidden Tools of Comedy, Will Hines teacher and improviser from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and Lucy Lumsden TV producer and former Controller of Comedy Commissioning for BBC. Written by “the ideal person to nurture new talent” (The Guardian), Creating Comedy Narratives for Stage & Screen includes material you won't find anywhere else and is a stimulating resource for comedy students and their teachers, with a range and a depth that will be appreciated by even the most eclectic and multi-hyphenated writers and performers.

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. Rooted in performance and performance criticism, Sidney Homan and Brian Rhinehart provide a detailed explanation of how comedy works, along with advice on how to communicate comedy from the point of view of both the performer and the audience. Combining theory and performance, the authors analyse a variety of plays, both modern and classic. Playwrights featured include Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, Christopher Durang, and Michael Frayn. Acting in Shakespeare's comedies is also covered in depth.

What would you do if everyone in the world hated you? Would you run? Would you fight? Or would you try to make them laugh? Donald Robertson has no mates and he isn't funny. But with guidance from his new mentor Gary, he hopes that this is all about to change. Donald Robertson Is Not A Stand Up Comedian is a darkly comic coming of age story that explores the need to belong and deconstructs the brutal role that humour can play in society.

High Comedy in American Movies explores the 'comedy of manners' film throughout the twentieth century, from the advent of movie sound to recent films, and shows how class comedy's inside view of the aristocratic lifestyle has been influenced by the culture and times in which the movies are produced. Outlining the conventions of class comedy, Steve Vineberg discusses its British roots and analyzes how many American filmmakers have modified the genre, creating a distinctly American approach to class. Easily accessible, High Comedy in American Movies makes an engaging supplement to courses in American film, film genre, and film studies.

Theatre & Sexuality explains the critical validity of using sexuality as a lens for examining theatre's creation and reception. The book offers clear introductions to sexual identity politics, ways of 'reading' sexuality on stage and a select history of LGBTQ theatre, including a reading of Split Britches/Bloolips' production Belle Reprieve.

Inspired by the real life post-divorce experiences of television comedy writer Danny Simon, The Odd Couple has touched multiple generations of fans. Playwright Neil Simon embellished his brother Danny's pseudo-sitcom situation and created an oil-and-water twosome with memorable characters showcasing the foibles of mankind. The original Broadway production enjoyed a run of 964 performances. The story of the cohabitation of Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison translated extremely well to the silver screen, and then in 1970 to television, where it brought weekly laughs and mirth to an even larger audience for five seasons in prime time. This thorough history details The Odd Couple in all its forms over the decades. It provides capsule biographies of the stage, film and television casts and crew, as well as an episode guide and a wealth of little-known information.

Film and Television Acting offers solid techniques for creating a natural, believable performance for film and television. The reader will discover techniques for listening and reacting, blocking and business, character, focus, the closeup, and comedy as they pertain to acting in front of a camera. The book analyzes the differences between theatre, film, and television acting, providing the theatre trained actor with specific approaches for making the transition to on-camera work. This second edition is thoroughly revised and updated. The book contains numerous scenes and exercises, including sample scenes from Cheers and Seinfeld, which provide the reader with ways to practice the specific techniques outlined by the author. Included are interviews with well-know actors and directors: Don Murray, Norman Jewison, and Emmy award winner, Glenn Jordan, to name a few. These interviews illustrate how the professionals apply their training and technique to filmed performances. There is also a chapter-length interview with John Lithgow, in which the actor provides a first-hand account of the differences of acting for the theatre and for the camera.

While comedy writers are responsible for creating clever scripts, comedic animators have a much more complicated problem to solve: What makes a physical character funny? Comedy for Animators breaks down the answer by exploring the techniques of those who have used their bodies to make others laugh. Drawing from traditions such as commedia dell’arte, pantomime, Vaudeville, the circus, and silent and modern film, animators will learn not only to create funny characters, but also how to execute gags, create a comic climate, and use environment as a character. Whether you’re creating a comic villain or a bumbling sidekick, this is the one and only guide you need to get your audience laughing! Explanation of comedic archetypes and devices will both inspire and inform your creative choices Exploration of various modes of storytelling allows you to give the right context for your story and characters Tips for creating worlds, scenarios, and casts for your characters to flourish in Companion website includes example videos and further resources to expand your skillset--check it out at www.comedyforanimators.com! Jonathan Lyons delivers simple, fun, illustrated lessons that teach readers to apply the principles of history’s greatest physical comedians to their animated characters. This isn’t stand-up comedy—it’s the falling down and jumping around sort!

A biography of Oscar Wilde, followed by a collection of his plays, novels and essays.