In this engaging and disarmingly frank book, comic Jay Sankey spills the beans, explaining not only how to write and perform stand-up comedy, but how to improve and perfect your work. Much more than a how-to manual Zen and the Art of Stand-Up Comedy is the most detailed and comprehensive book on the subject to date.

Jay Sankey--stand-up comic, magician, and cartoonist--is back with another book for performers. Building on the success of his Zen and the Art of Stand-up Comedy, Jay is moving further into the uncharted wilds of solo performance.

In an irresistible invitation to lighten up, look around, and live an unscripted life, a master of the art of improvisation explains how to adopt the attitudes and techniques used by generations of musicians and actors.Let’s face it: Life is something we all make up as we go along. No matter how carefully we formulate a “script,” it is bound to change when we interact with people with scripts of their own. Improv Wisdom shows how to apply the maxims of imp...

When Hugh MacLeod was a struggling young copywriter, living in a YMCA, he started to doodle on the backs of business cards while sitting at a bar. Those cartoons eventually led to a popular blog - gapingvoid.com - and a reputation for pithy insight and humor, in both words and pictures.MacLeod has opinions on everything from marketing to the meaning of life, but one of his main subjects is creativity. How do new ideas emerge in a cynical, risk-averse world? Where does inspiration c...

“Jo Weldon is the gold-standard for New Burlesque. I am proud to call her my friend, and unashamed to admit she’s my idol.” — Lily Burana, author of Strip City: A Stripper's Farewell Journey Across AmericaFrom one of the stars of the New Burlesque scene, Jo Weldon, comes a definitive, easy-to-use, and indispensable guide to the art form, with a foreword by superstar comedian and burlesque enthusiast Margaret Cho. Fans of Dita Von Teese—as well as performers of every stripe—will lov...

"A practical, fascinating, and funny guidebook. I've already begun applying hints from Improvisation for the Spirit, and I'm hoping that from now on, when people point and laugh at me, it will be for more appropriate reasons. A delightful read, filled with wonderful strategies." — Martha Beck, Life Coach Columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine, and author of Steering by StarlightWish you could gag your Inner Critic? Feeling blocked creatively? Want to...

Young people and improvisational theater should be a natural combination—so why do we so rarely find this combo in today's classrooms? According to Elizabeth Swados—playwright, director, composer, poet, author of children's books and of an acclaimed family memoir—improvisational theater is the perfect creative outlet for junior-high and high-school students . . . if only they can be given the tools and the guidance to make the most of this natural yet rigorous art form.Drawing on he...

The “beautifully written” (The New York Times) autobiography of Michael Nesmith, from his star-making role on The Monkees and his invention of the music video to his critical contributions to movies, comedy, and the world of virtual reality“Reads like the chronicle of a relentless seeker.”—Los Angeles TimesMichael Nesmith’s eclectic, electric life spanned his star-making role on The Monkees, his invention...

Raise the bar to become the best version of youMost of us set the bar too low in our lives, both personally and professionally. Bob Deutsch, a cognitive neuroscientist/anthropologist turned entrepreneur, has spent a lifetime studying people and found that we choose not to pursue our greatest ambitions because we feel we are incapable of reaching them. But he has also found that we are each born with the fundamental abilities to live the full, creative, dynamic lives we dream about....

Do You Experience Writer's Block on Your Blogs, Scripts or Stories?These 1,000 Writing Prompts Can Help You Move Forward.When you finally have the opportunity to sit down and write, you want absolutely nothing to get in your way. In an ideal world, the ideas would flow from head to pen quickly and easily. You would have thousands of ideas at your fingertips. This idea-generating book makes that dream a reality. With exactly one thousand prompts, 1,0...

"Full of anecdotes, personal and professional life as well as motivational tips," the New York Times–bestselling memoir from the candid tv personality ( People.com).Media maven Kelly Cutrone spills her secrets for success without selling out. She combines personal and professional stories from her high-profile gigs as Whitney Port and Lauren Conrad's boss on The Hills, star of Bravo's Kell on Earth, judge on America's Next Top...

The Follow-up to Steven Pressfield's bestselling THE WAR OF ART"You don't need to take a course or buy a product. All you have to do is change your mind." -- Steven PressfieldTURNING PRO IS FREE, BUT IT'S NOT EASYWhen we turn pro, we give up a life that we may have become extremely comfortable with. WE give up a self that we have come to identify with and to call our own.TURNING PRO IS FREE, BUT IT DEMANDS SACRIFICEThe passage from amateur to profess...