Review - Stand Up: A Professional Guide To Comedy Magic

http://www.iankeable.co.uk/stand_up

Price : £25

Difficulty : A tricky one. The book has no routines as such, but it’s the application of the theories that could potentially test us all.
They say : About the Book
• Ever wanted to make that leap from entertaining a few people to several hundred?
• Ever wanted to make your audience laugh so much that they remember you as much for your comedy as your magic?
• Ever wanted to earn your living as a stand-up?

Stand-up, A Professional Guide to Comedy Magic explains all the techniques required to achieve these goals. It is a step by step manual on how to combine comedy with magic, from writing original lines through to developing your stage persona to maximizing the benefits of audience participation.
But this book is no theoretical treatise; it is based on ‘real world’ experience, supported by numerous contributions from today’s top stand-ups.
I Say : What en exellent book. It’s a real book. Beautiful dust sheet, hard cover and over 250 pages. Paid on Friday and received the next day! Thank you Ian Keable.

I love this book. I actually feel that the title is a little misleading as the book offer so much more than the title suggests. Ian Keable is an astute but honest author, including quotes, theory, practical and his own anecdotal words to make what is a compelling read.

The Chapters include; Comedy, Character, Lines, Finding and Breaking in Lines, Other Patter Matters, Involving Assistants, Questioning Assistants, Selecting Assistants, Types of Assistant, More than the Sum of the Parts, Dealing with the Unexpected, Keeping Fresh, Before going on Stage, The Professional Stand-Up, Final Thoughts.

So you can see that it really is more of an A-Z of honing your act, funny or otherwise.

The book won’t quite make you funny if you are not, but it will show you how to fine tune what you do and be better prepared for the unexpected.

It’s a very practical book. The kind you read once, then read again, and begin picking out hints and tips, self evaluating and more.

Overall : I cannot fault this book. Look at the chapter headings and see how much solid material there is. There has to be something for everyone here. It’s not in your face, it’s just solid, proven, practical and thought provoking prose.

Rating : 9.5/10. Well, nothings perfect, is it ?
And see here : http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=24

I agree

I purchased this book a few weeks ago and it is a great read. Lots of informastion and advice and comedy.
This book will be of interest for anyone who wants to inject a bit of humour into their act- stand up or close up.

Paul

Nothing beats working

John Pizzi writes: "Nothing beats working".

I wouldn't argue with that but there seems to be a sort of comedy 'snobbery' around that somehow comedy can't be taught: either you've got it, or you haven't. I really don't believe that. Other skills can be learnt - like acting, singing, magic, juggling etc. So why not the art of being funny?

I emphasise over and over again in my book that nothing beats working (and in so doing also give advice about how to get work for the stand-up performer). But I have tried to give techniques that assist in fine tuning that work so that you are always thinking: how can I be funny. Whether I have succeeded or not is, of course, up to others to determine. But for someone just starting out surely it's better to have some sort of guide rather than to be working in a complete vacuum?

Will you be at Blackpool with your book Ian?

Paul.

Is there a US source for this book and what would the US dollar amount be shipped

It is a good and solid book. And praised by some famous (comedy) magicians, masters in their field. But what can they do? You should praise a book that praises you... Jan

Mike,

Hocus-Pocus sell it.

... best book I've bought this year. It has soooo much more than just comedy.

Piers.

>Nothing beats working

I'd say 3 hours reading this book will teach you more than 3 hours stand-up magic if you're in the habit of working.

Of course, there's no point in the book if you aren't going to work...

Nothing beats working
Well its the old story.If I was to have a heat bypass operation or have my tooth pulled I would really want someone who does it regularly than someone that read the book on how to.

But It sounds like Ian has a great book.Knowledge is a plan for the start of any new en devour. I would like to read Ians book. (send me one IAN)


As far as "either you've got it, or you haven't" I have to say that there is some truth to it.Look at any aspiring singer and yes they can be taught but some people just have the right pipes and some should take the pipe."Americas got talent" is a prime example. Its amazing how some people think there good and don't know there bad.

I agree with Ian to some extent but talent and the invisible charisma that is self contained with some acts is a gift.

There could be huge discussions on this sort of topic as its like talking Politics or Religion.

Again,I am not attacking Ian here.. I am just expressing how I see it..

I wish you all a great Holiday season no matter what you celebrate.
jpz
When you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

The review on the latest magic magazine wasnt nearly as positive as those given out here... Just to remember that most reviews here tend to be friends of the publisher and so on....

J-M

... For me... It is a great book.
I bought it off the back of the MagicSeen review, and am reading it again.
I certainly don't know Ian K., the publisher, him, his mother, friends, relatives, etc.

I would want someone who does it regularly and who read a few medical books while learning how. It's not an either/or proposition.

Agreed Lustig.......

I picked up a copy from Michael Finney. He highly recommended it to me and said it was a great read. So if he read it and thought it was a great book....


Todd

As I wrote: "It is a good and solid book. And praised by some famous (comedy) magicians, masters in their field. But what can they do? You should praise a book that praises you..." Jan

With regards to the "Magic" magazine review, it was interesting that on Friday evening, the reviewer, John Lovick....how shall we put this...."struggled" during his performance in the Comedy show at the International convention, and the next evening Ian Keable (the author of "Stand Up" and receiver of bad review) was awarded the Carlton Comedy prize for 2008 at the Magic Circle banquet.....

The perils of being a reviewer eh?

I just started reading this book and so far, I just can't put it down. I've always injected a fair amount of comedy in my magic, but I've never thought of myself as a comedian. Instead, the comedy is built around the routines I perform and help to add to the entertainment value. Having said this, I'll be the first to admit that I've never had any formal training in comedy. Not until now.

This book has made me THINK about what I'm already doing and it gives me a foundation for building future routines to make my show even stronger. For the first time, I'm not only succeeding as a comedic magician, but now, I also know WHY I'm succeeding.

For a theoretical treatise on how to make your magical performance stronger (assuming you want to be a comedic magician), I would rank this book along side the likes of Ken Weber's, "Maximum Entertainment". Having said this, I don't believe the book is well suited for beginners in magic. It assumes you have some performing experience to act as a frame of reference. But, if you have been performing, even for a little bit, it offers a very informative, thought provoking read.

On a scale of 10, I would give this book a solid 8.

Kent

P.S. - Please note, I have no connection or relationship with the author of the book whatsoever. I simply received an email from Denny & Lee and I ordered the book.

So many books, so little time.

I've been trying to decide which book to start next, "Stand Up" or "Ready, Aim, Fire". One is about adding more comedy to your show, and the other about being a more effective business.

Since Kent works in the same city as I do, and since I don't want him too far ahead of me in the comedic nature of our shows, I guess I'll be reading "Stand Up" next. ;-)

Brian