About the Author

For years, Steve Kaplan has been the industry's most respected and sought-after expert on comedy. The artists he's taught, directed or produced have gone on to be nominated or won 43 Emmy Awards, 1 Academy Award, 3 Golden Globe Awards, 1 American Comedy Award, 6 Writers' Guild of America Awards and several others. In addition to having taught at UCLA, NYU, Yale and other top universities, Steve Kaplan created the HBO Workspace, the HBO New Writers Program and was co-founder and Artistic Director of Manhattan Punch Line Theatre. He has served as a consultant to such companies as DreamWorks, Disney, Aardman Animation, HBO and others.