Finding Your Funny: Exploring the Art, Science and Business of Stand Up Comedy

Finding Your Funny is the new book by award-winning comedian, comedy coach and filmmaker Don Barnhart that explores the Art, Science and Business of Stand Up Comedy.

With a humorous and heartfelt forward by Comedy Legend George Wallace, Finding Your Funny goes beyond Barnhart’s own journey and shares the brutal, often overlooked experience and advice of other comedians, entertainers, managers, agents and bookers.

The book includes a no holds barred assessment about what clubs, venues and agents are really looking for as well as many of the things you need to do and avoid if you’re looking into making comedy a career.

With over 25 yeas of road experience as a comedian, comedy coach and booker, Don Barnhart’s book offers great for the open mic comic, professional comedian and comedy fan. It includes personal tragedies, anecdotes and stories one can only get from living a life on the road.

Barnhart, who founded The Las Vegas Comedy Institute where he teaches stand up, improv and comedy writing was inspired to write the book after the success of the documentary on his stand up comedy class, Finding The Funny directed by John Bizarre.

“The book, Finding Your Funny began as an outline for my comedy class”, said Barnhart in a recent phone interview where was performing overseas for the troops with his Battle Comics World Tour.

Some of the topics covered in Finding Your Funny are: Can You Teach Funny?, The 'High' Cost of Fame, Getting Booked, Hurdles and Pitfalls, The Truth About Managers, Agents and Other Oddities, The Joke Police and When To Throw In The Towel.

Barnhart added, “I tried to answer all the questions I wish I had when I was first starting out. I wanted to give a variety of opinions as there is no one, hard set rule but there are some guidelines to success.”

You may not know Don Barnhart by name but you should as he performs over 300 day a year on the road and over the last year, Barnhart's film career has really been gaining steam as he stars in the documentary, Finding The Funny with Brad Garret and Louie Anderson and plays a rather disgruntled, road weary and carefree comedian in the upcoming comedy film, Tribute To Fluffy. Don can also be seen playing a psychotic mad man in the new web series Max Justice.

Earlier this year, Barnhart wrapped production on the cannabis comedy Reefer Rendum and is currently in preproduction on the new comedy film, The Freeloader, which he wrote and stars in. The movie will begin shooting in Las Vegas at the end of 2015 and is based on Barnhart's book of the same name. Barnhart's character, a returning Vet, becomes the Robin Hood of the Homeless as he finds his way back into society.

Don is a graduate of the Second City Conservatory and in 2000; Barnhart relocated to Las Vegas and founded The Las Vegas Comedy Institute where he teaches stand up, improv and comedy writing. The LVCI also conducts acting and voice over classes.

Barnhart was selected as one of the celebrity judges in this year's Laughlin Comedy Fest and in 2014 he was one of the featured headline acts alongside Larry The Cable Guy, Dana Carvey, Tim Meadows, MaryEllen Hooper and Felipe Esparza.

Barnhart also joined a star-studded panel of industry heavyweights at the Laughlin Fest and has been featured as the guest speaker at several other prominent comedy festivals across the country with his Business of Comedy and Entertaining The Troops Seminars.

Barnhart's stand up includes part of his DeEvolution of Man Comedy Tour which is as entertaining as it is poignant. Barnhart has been meeting with venues in Las Vegas about becoming a resident headliner to fill in the void left after comedy legends George Wallace and Louie Anderson both wrapped up their shows earlier in the year.

Don Barnhart's DeEvolution of Man takes audiences on a comedy thrill ride exploring the waning tide of male gender identification and man's declining role in modern day society in a way that is hysterical, highly entertaining and thought provoking. Barnhart's videos have close to a million hits on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLOwp6p-9TE