A must-have guide for actors both young and old.

Have you ever found yourself staring at the mirror, wondering if your reflection was actually a clown? No? Well, I certainly have. And not just in the metaphorical sense. You see, this tale is not just about the challenges of transitioning from a world of make-believe to the harsh realities of everyday life. It's about what happens when your "real world" suddenly turns into a stage, and your clown makeup refuses to come off. This story is about three clowns - let's call them Bongo, Squeaky, and Bobo - who thought they knew everything about making people laugh. They’d been doing it for decades, their faces painted with a blend of joy and absurdity. But when their beloved circus folded, their lives took a turn that was more slapstick than sublime. The question wasn't just how they would find a new career, it was how they would even make it to the job interview without drawing a crowd. I'm here to tell you, it's a wild ride, and not always a pretty one. Prepare for awkward encounters, unexpected celebrity, and the hilarious struggle to find a place to rent when your landlord has a pathological fear of clowns. This is a story for those who appreciate the absurdity of everyday life, the joy of friendship, and the occasional tickle of the funny bone.

Albert Howard Carter III, a literary scholar, presents and analyzes humor on medical topics inside and outside of the hospital; he argues that comedy can be a form of preventive medicine and should routinely be an adjunct to medical care.

Discusses comedians and the use of comedy throughout history from ancient Greek drama through traveling shows to present day radio and television.

While comedy writers are responsible for creating clever scripts, comedic animators have a much more complicated problem to solve: What makes a physical character funny? Comedy for Animators breaks down the answer by exploring the techniques of those who have used their bodies to make others laugh. Drawing from traditions such as commedia dell’arte, pantomime, Vaudeville, the circus, and silent and modern film, animators will learn not only to create funny characters, but also how to execute gags, create a comic climate, and use environment as a character. Whether you’re creating a comic villain or a bumbling sidekick, this is the one and only guide you need to get your audience laughing! Explanation of comedic archetypes and devices will both inspire and inform your creative choices Exploration of various modes of storytelling allows you to give the right context for your story and characters Tips for creating worlds, scenarios, and casts for your characters to flourish in Companion website includes example videos and further resources to expand your skillset--check it out at www.comedyforanimators.com! Jonathan Lyons delivers simple, fun, illustrated lessons that teach readers to apply the principles of history’s greatest physical comedians to their animated characters. This isn’t stand-up comedy—it’s the falling down and jumping around sort!

Step right up for the Greatest Book on Earth! For more than 70 years, Clowns International—the oldest established clowning organization—has been painting the faces of its members on eggs. Each one is a record of a clown's unique identity, preserving the unwritten rule that no clown should copy another's look. This mesmerizing volume collects more than 150 of these portraits, from 1946 to the modern day, accompanied by short personal histories of many of the clowns. Here are Tricky Nicky, Taffy, Bobo, Sammy Sunshine, the legendary Emmett Kelly, and Jolly Jack, clowning since 1977 and still performing today with a penguin puppet named Biscuit. A treasure just like the eggs it enshrines, The Clown Egg Register is an extraordinary archive of images and lives of the men and women behind the make-up.

'A lavishly illustrated, affectionate treatment by one of the finest critics of our time...Kerr is more than a brilliant master of verbal description; he is a penetrating, lucid theorist. This book is as much about comedy as about movies, about eyes and ears and how and why we laugh.'-Thomas Wills, Chicago Tribune Book World