Written by Ian Keable, the 2008 winner of the prestigious Magic Circle Comedy Award....What do Mac King, Michael Finney, Jeff Hobson, John Carney, David Williamson and The Amazing Johnathan have in common?
Answer:
- they are all brilliant stand-up comedy magicians
- they were all voted as one of the top ten Funniest Acts in Magic Today in a recent issue of MAGIC magazine
- they are all featured in Stand-Up, A Professional Guide To Comedy Magic
Stand-Up looks in detail at the performance skills which these, and other top comedy magicians, have used in order to bring them to the top of their profession. Methods which you too can apply to improve your own stand-up act; or indeed make that leap from entertaining a few to an audience of several hundred.
Just some of the subjects covered in this step-by-step manual are:
- Finding your character
- The underlying techniques of audience participation
- The crucial difference between "lines" and "jokes"
- The five ways to S-C-R-A-P all unfunny lines
- Refining patter with the use of call backs, topping the gag, converting laughter to magic etc
- Selecting the right assistants and using them correctly
- Structuring an act
- Coping with heckling and "dying the death" on stage
- How to find work and earn a living from Stand-up
288 pages of solid advice, 16 pages of photographs of the world's top stand-ups, hardback with Dust jacket - this is a book you must have if you are serious about being funny with your magic.
Ian Keable is a Member of the Inner Magic Circle. He has won the British Magical Champion of Comedy. He has made numerous appearances on television with his comedy magic and has worked at the Magic Castle. Ian has written two books for the general public on magic and was also the first editor of the well-respected OPUS magic magazine. At present Ian is touring his one man show in the UK called Conjuring Up Comedy, where he is putting into practise everything which is in this book.
You have done well to create a practical book rather than the usual intellectual studies that, in truth, do not further the art of laughter at all. I really enjoyed visiting other acts and studying how they have created what they do. Thank you for bringing them to life in your pages.
Paul Daniels, Top TV Magician
This book takes all the guessing out of how to become a complete comedy magician. I am pleased and proud to be included with all these great comic performers!
Michael Finney, Top US Stand-Up
Invaluable reading for anyone with an interest in becoming a better comedy performer - or a better performer of any kind for that matter.
Andrew O'Connor, Top TV Producer
The advice in your book is excellent, anybody aspiring to be a stand-up magician will gain a huge amount from it.
Noel Britten, Top UK Stand-Up
In stand-up you are either going well or struggling, there isn't much gray area. Ian's book stormed it!
Pete Firman, Top UK Stand-Up
You were really funny and I laughed my face off.
Levent, Top US Stand-Up
