stand-up comedy

Jerry Seinfeld (Smilling) TV Poster Print - 11" X 17"
$19.99
This exceptional quality print is made directly from the hand drawn artwork done in pastel by the well-known artist Haiyan. This print measures approx. 11" X 17". The color tone, contrast, and brightness are based on the your monitor settings. They vary from one computer to another, but the actual portraits are MUCH better in person. This piece is printed directly by the artist, and the paper it comes on is somewhat thin. However, the print looks amazing, especially when framed. Each print is perfect, unused, and rolled in a plastic protective tube. It is perfect for framing or hanging on the wall and a handy size for framing and/or as a gift.

Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity
$14.99
Jeff Dunham and his socially reckless "suitcase posse" are back in this highly anticipated follow-up to Arguing with Myself, his breakthrough television special and multi-platinum selling DVD release! What's next? An ALL NEW show that is Bigger... Better... and Funnier than ever! This time, Dunham welcomes two never-before-seen partners "Achmed the Dead Terrorist," and "Melvin the Superhero." Long-time favorites "Peanut," "Walter" and Jose Jalapeno...On a STEEK! are back in an entirely original show for everyone! Taped at the historic Warner Theater in Washington D.C., this sold out concert is twice the length of the Comedy Central broadcast, with exclusive extras, featuring "The Making of Melvin," "What Would You Put on a Stick?" and a surprise political announcement from Walter! "Spark of Insanity" is the ultimate event special from one of comedy's most inventive minds.

Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation
$17.95
Who would have ever thought that learning the finer points of improvisation could be such fun? The "Harold," an innovative improvisational tool, helped Saturday Night Live's Mike Myers and Chris Farley, George Wendt (Norm on "Cheers") and many other actors on the road to TV and film stardom. Now it is described fully in this new book for the benefit of other would-be actors and comics. The "Harold" is a form of competitive improv involving six or seven players. They take a theme suggestion from the audience and free-associate on the theme, creating a series of rapid-fire one-liners that build into totally unpredictable skits with hilarious results. The teams compete with scoring based on applause. The "Harold" is a fun way to "loosen up" and learn to think quickly, build continuity, develop characterizations and sharpen humor.

Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America
$45.00
From the most popular routines and the most ingenious physical shtick to the snappiest wisecracks and the most biting satire of the last century, MAKE 'EM LAUGH illuminates who we are as a nation by exploring what makes us laugh, and why. Authors Laurence Maslon and Michael Kantor draw on countless sources to chronicle the past century of American comedy and the geniuses who created and performed it-melding biography, American history, and a lotta laughs into an exuberant, important book. Each of the six chapters focuses a different style or archetype of comedy, from the slapstick pratfalls of Buster Keaton and Lucille Ball through the wiseguy put-downs of Groucho Marx and Larry David, to the incendiary bombshells of Mae West and Richard Pryor . And at every turn the significance of these comedians-smashing social boundaries, challenging the definition of good taste, speaking the truth to the powerful-is vividly tangible. MAKE 'EM LAUGH is more than a compendium of American comic genius; it is a window onto the way comedy both reflects the world and changes it-one laugh at a time. Starting from the groundbreaking PBS series, the authors have gone deeper into the works and lives of America's great comic artists, with biographical portraits, archival materials, cultural overviews, and rare photos. Brilliantly illustrated, with insights (and jokes) from comedians, writers and producers, along with film, radio, television, and theater historians, MAKE 'EM LAUGH is an indispensible, definitive book about comedy in America.