Entertainment & Performing Arts

Kenan Thompson is Saturday Night Live’s longest-ever-serving cast member and a star of such pioneering sketches as “Black Jeopardy” and is hugely beloved thanks to a tidal wave of nostalgic fans who grew up on early 2000s classics All That, Good Burger, and Kenan & Kel on Nickelodeon....

The beloved star of Friends takes us behind the scenes of the hit sitcom and his struggles with addiction in this candid memoir.

Comedian Trevor Noah offers listeners a glimpse into his childhood during apartheid in South Africa in this award-winning memoir.

In the mid-70s, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up....

Before Liz Lemon, before Weekend Update, before Sarah Palin, Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: A recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV....

A wryly funny and surprisingly moving account of an extraordinary life lived almost entirely in the public eye....

Since his first performance at the legendary New York nightclub “Catch a Rising Star” as a 21-year-old college student in fall of 1975, Jerry Seinfeld has written his own material and saved everything....

Jinger Vuolo, of Duggar family fame, tells how she began to question the ideology of her youth and learned to embrace freedom in Christ.

From a massively successful stand-up comedian and co-host of chart-topping podcasts “2 Bears 1 Cave” and “Your Mom’s House,” hilarious real-life stories of parenting, celebrity encounters, youthful mistakes, misanthropy, and so much more....

A five-time Moth GrandSLAM winner and bestselling novelist shows how to tell a great story - and why doing so matters....

Beneath the streets of London there is another London. A subterranean labyrinth of sewers and abandoned tube stations. A somewhere that is Neverwhere....

From actor Cary Elwes, who played the iconic role of Westley in The Princess Bride, comes a first-person account and behind-the-scenes look at the making of the cult classic film....

Outsider. Misfit. Criminal. Convict. . . . Movie star. Family man. Comedy legend. Joey Diaz has been called every name in the book (and then some). Now, for the first time, he shares the story of his unlikely rise to fame in his own words—with no punches pulled....

Filled with empowering, easy-to-follow tips for crafting stories that forge lasting bonds with friends, family, and colleagues alike, this book will help you connect authentically with the world around you and unleash the power of story in your life.

At 95, the legendary Mel Brooks continues to set the standard for comedy across television, film, and the stage. Now, for the first time, this EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner shares his story in his own words....

The long-awaited first work of nonfiction from the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: a deliriously entertaining, wickedly intelligent cinema book as unique and creative as anything by Quentin Tarantino....

Here's what started the phenomenon: This book has been a best seller for over 15 years and has been used by screenwriters around the world! Blake Snyder tells all in this fast, funny, and candid look inside the movie business....

How do master storytellers compel us? There have been many attempts to understand what makes a good story, but few have used a scientific approach....

The Perfect Story will help you take your stories and make them perfect. Learn how to take any story and make it perfect--from storytelling expert Karen Eber, whose TED Talk on the subject has nearly two million views....

Rich in vivid detail and character, and steeped in the glamour and grit of professional ballet, The Swans of Harlem is the forgotten story of a pioneering group of five Black ballerinas and their fifty-year sisterhood, a legacy erased from history—until now....

Bob Odenkirk’s career is inexplicable. And yet he will try like hell to explicate it for you. Charting a “Homeric” decades-long “odyssey” from his origins in the seedy comedy clubs to a dramatic career full of award nominations, it’s almost like there are many Bob Odenkirks....

Beloved culture writers Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards share the unauthorized, behind-the-scenes story of the stunning rise and suddenly uncertain reign of the most transformative cultural phenomenon of our time: the Marvel Cinematic Universe....

Theater icon, award-winning film and television star, and American patriot Gary Sinise shares the never-before-told story of his journey from trouble-making Chicago kid to world-famous actor and tireless advocate for America’s veterans and first responders....

Legendary filmmaker and celebrated author Werner Herzog tells in his inimitable voice the story of his epic artistic career in a long-awaited memoir that is as inventive and daring as anything he has done before....

Surely You Can’t Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) – charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere night....

Step into the whimsical world of "The DEI Chronicles: A Humorous Fictional Journey" where Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion take center stage in the most unexpected and uproarious ways. In this fantastical realm, the fanatical agenda of DEI is turned on its head, revealing the absurdity and divisiveness lurking beneath its surface. Prepare to burst into laughter as you follow the misadventures of a pirate whose pronouns are "Trump Won," as he outsmarts the bumbling Sniffing Joe in a battle of wits. But the laughter doesn't stop there – Story after story brings to light how DEI agenda is ...

The sad truth: It takes me 8 back to back shots of 100 proof alcohol to get drunk, and my buzzing is the average persons alcohol poison. A 750 ml bottle a day (Fifth) and I didn't start drinking until I was 30 years old, I'm 42 now. How? Why? As I write this hiding in a 4X8 shed in the middle of the desert in New Mexico, I wonder myself. There is no lessons to be learned from this book, no preaching, no teaching. I'm drinking whiskey as I'm typing this. So to all my fellow Unapologetic Alcoholics, enjoy, and have a drink on me.

Enter the world of director and producer Don Mischer, who has notched a lifetime of history-making moments with Beyoncé and Baryshnikov, Willie Nelson and Muhammad Ali, Olympic flames, inaugurations, and Prince in the rain.

At the height of the Civil Rights movement, Lydia Abarca was a Black prima ballerina with a major international dance company—the Dance Theatre of Harlem, a troupe of women and men who became each other’s chosen family. She performed in some of ballet’s most iconic works with other trailblazing ballerinas, including the young women who became her closest friends—founding Dance Theatre of Harlem members Gayle McKinney-Griffith and Sheila Rohan, as well as first-generation dancers Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells. The Swans of Harlem is a riveting account of these five accomplished women.

This book is an invaluable and inspirational material for the film, television and theater professional. It helps directors, actors, writers, designers, producers and executives tap into their imagination and instincts, in turn helping them create the films they’ve always dreamed of creating.

Do you love to write, but aren't sure what to do with it? Wondering how to approach the industry, find a market, or get an in with the right folks? Stephan Bugaj (Pixar, Telltale Games) and Justin Sloan (Roku's Cypher, the Reclaiming Honor novels) have come together to share advice on living the writer dream. Let them show you exactly what it takes to make it in the world of creative writing. What follows is a collection of their advice and interviews with the experts. This includes screenwriters, video game writers, and authors of books and comics. In this book you'll read interviews with ...

"Lenny Bruce Live at the Curran Theatre, San Francisco, Nov 19th 1961" captures the raw, unfiltered brilliance of one of the most influential and controversial comedians of the 20th century. On that historic night in 1961, Lenny Bruce took the stage at the Curran Theatre and unleashed his sharp wit, incisive social commentary, and fearless exploration of taboo topics.

Gerard Hoffnung at the Oxford Union, Dec 4th 1958 presents an unforgettable evening of wit, whimsy, and musical merriment courtesy of the beloved humorist and musician, Gerard Hoffnung. Taking center stage at the prestigious Oxford Union on December 4th, 1958, Hoffnung charmed and delighted audiences with his unique blend of comedic brilliance and musical talent.

Harlem 1969; it's the height of the Civil Rights era and the community is still reeling from the assassination of Martin Luther King. Arthur Mitchell, the first Black principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, takes his protest to the stage and establishes the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Here begins the story of the five extraordinary women at the heart of this book. This is a book about ballet, the enduring allure of ballet for young girls, and about how these pioneers broke into a world that was closed to them and changed ideas of what a classical dancer could be.

Continuing the series begun three years prior, David Keyes publishes his sixth anthology of writing from the Cinemaphile blog. Contained in this new book is 91 essays penned during the 2016 calendar year, including a larger selection of current releases.

"Heartbeat Dance" creates an exquisite tapestry of life's intricate dance. It depicts Emily and Mark's journey as each step, and misstep brings them closer to an unthinkable harmony that neither could have imagined before they met. Change provides them with their dance floor, challenging their musical accompaniment. Together, they dance - not always in perfect unison, but always united. At the core of their movements and within the unpredictable twists and turns of life, a symphony of love begins to unfold - an unexpected yet tender melody that fills their hearts with an unforgettable ...

I can’t believe I gave my v-card to a hot billionaire old enough to be my dad. I was only going out to celebrate my friend’s birthday. Next thing I know, I’m sweaty and tangled up in the sheets - happily giving my v-card to this gorgeous grump of a man. To make matters worse, I had to sneak past his adorable little girl on my walk of shame the morning after. But he never asked for my number, so I thought for sure I would never see him again. Until the nausea started. Now I have nine months to figure this out. That is until he showed up at my doorstep with an offer I couldn’t refuse.

With these great representatives of comedy, Dan Leno need not fear comparison. In petticoats, and as a representative of various women of the lodging-house and slavey Class, he would have beaten Jimmy Rogers at his own game. When we see Dan Leno as a woman, and hear his delightful patter, it never strikes us that it is a man imitating a woman. 'It is a woman who stands before us, the veritable Mrs. Kelly, not a burlesque of the sex, but the actual thing. He catches every expression, every trick, every attitude, every in?

The animations of Japan's Studio Ghibli are among the most respected in the movie industry. Their delightful films rank alongside the most popular non-English language films ever made, with each new eagerly anticipated release a guaranteed box-office hit. Yet this highly profitable studio has remained fiercely independent, producing a stream of imaginative and individual animations. The studio's founders, the late Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, have created timeless masterpieces. Although their films are distinctly Japanese, their themes are universal.

From the Emmy Award-winning Squid Game to streaming sensations like The Glory and Crash Landing on You, Korean television has emerged onto the global pop culture scene as compelling television—but what exactly makes these shows so irresistibly bingeable? And what can we learn about our societies and ourselves from watching them? From stand-up comedian and media studies PhD Grace Jung comes a rollicking deep dive into the cultural significance of Korean television.