John Vorhaus, Comedy Writer-Author-Session 2-Episode #284

Storybeat with Steve Cuden

What a great deal of fun it is to chat with the dynamic John Vorhaus, who is making his second StoryBeat appearance because you never know which direction he's going to take in any answer.

John is best known for his classic comedy writing textbook, The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You’re Not. Now available in five languages, John’s “bible of comedy writing” continues to be a definitive source of information and inspiration for TV, film and fiction writers. John’s been a meaningful change-agent for tens of thousands of writers around the world.

An international consultant in television and film script development, John has worked for TV networks, film schools, production companies and film funding bodies in 37 countries on five continents. He created his own situation comedy in Romania, ran the writing staff of the Russian version of Married… with Children, and co-created two social action TV dramas in Nicaragua.

John’s scriptwriting credits run from sit-coms to episodic drama, and from web-based programming to theatrical-release screenplays, feature animation and documentaries, including the provocative Misery Loves Comedy.

His latest books include The Little Book of Standup and The Book of Practice: How to Do Better What You Want to do Well. I’ve read the Book of Practice and found it to be both thoroughly entertaining as well as greatly inspiring. If you’re looking to kick your productivity and success rate into high gear, I recommend you check it out.

John is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, a member of the WGA, and a gold-medal athlete in the sport of ultimate frisbee.