Comedy by the book
New guide to being a stand-up
Comic Logan Murray is writing a book on how to be a stand-up – after giving hundreds of hopefuls their start in the business.He says he’s already taught around 900 people through the Stand Up And Deliver comedy courses in London and Edinburgh – and the new book is likely to set hundreds more on the same path.
The title, which comes with a DVD showing the advice in action, promises to ‘help readers find their own creative streak and their funny side and build the confidence to deliver’ as well as giving advice on the way the comedy business works.
Murray’s book – due out in October – is the latest in a string of ‘how to’ volumes about comedy, most of which come from the US where the teaching of stand-up has become a lucrative business for many former acts.
His tips include ‘write for yourself – don’t try to second-guess what the audience wants you to say’, ‘don’t let nerves speed you up’, ‘don’t drink’ and ‘talk to, not at, the audience’.
It will be published on Hodder’s Teach Yourself Books imprint, which was set up just before the Second World War with subjects ranging from pig-keeping to trigonometry to help the war effort.
Click here to pre-order Teach Yourself Stand-Up from Amazon.
Published: 6 Jun 2007
