Stand-up comedy

Stand-up comedy is a comic style in which a comedian performs in front of a live audience, usually speaking directly to them. The performer is commonly known as a comic, stand-up comic, comedian, comedienne, stand-up comedian, or simply a stand-up.[1] Comedians give the illusion that they are dialoguing, but in actuality, they are monologuing a grouping of humorous stories, jokes and one-liners, typically called a shtick, routine, act, or set.[8] Some stand-up comedians use props, music or magic tricks[9] to enhance their acts. Stand-up comedy is stated to be the "freest form of comedy writing" that is regarded as a fictionalized "extension of" the person performing.[18]

"Stand-up" and "Stand Up Comedy" redirect here. For the U2 song, see Stand Up Comedy (song). For other uses, see Stand Up (disambiguation).
George Carlin performing his stand-up comedy routine in April 2008

Overview
Bridget Christie at Parkteatret. The event is part of Crap Comedy festival 2017 and took place on 28. January 2017 in Oslo.
Jinx Yeo, a Singaporean stand-up comedian, performing in Helsinki, Finland.

Some of the main types of humor in stand-up comedy include observational comedy, blue comedy, dark comedy, clean comedy, and cringe comedy. Alternative stand-up comedy deviates from the traditional, mainstream comedy by breaking either joke structure, performing in an untraditional scene, or breaking an audience's expectations; this includes the use of shaggy dog stories and anti-jokes.

Stand-up comedy is often performed in corporate events, comedy clubs, bars and pubs, nightclubs, neo-burlesques, colleges and theatres (audiences will give applause breaks more often in theaters[19]).[20] Outside live performance, stand-up is often distributed commercially via television, DVD, CD and the internet.[1][21]

It can take an amateur comedian about 10 years to perfect the technique needed to be a professional comedian;[22][23][24] this is a constant process of learning through failure.[25][26][27]

As the name implies, "stand-up" comedians usually perform their material while standing, though this is not mandatory. Similar acts performed while seated can be referred to as "sit-down comedy".

Stand-up comedy show
Tiffany Haddish, comedian, tells jokes to audience members during a performance October 21, 2013, at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.

In stand-up comedy, the feedback of the audience is instant and crucial for the comedian's act, even from the moment they enter the venue.[28] Audiences expect a stand-up comedian to provide a constant stream of laughs, calculated at four to six laughs per minute,[33] and a performer is always under pressure to deliver, especially the first two minutes.[38] The late Phyllis Diller holds the record for most laughs per minute, at twelve laughs per minute.[39][40][41]

Basic format

Opener, feature, headliner

A show begins with an opening act, known as a host, compère (UK),[42] master of ceremonies (MC/emcee), or simply "opener" who, for 10–12 minutes,[43] usually warms up the crowd, interacts with audience members, makes announcements, and then introduces the other performers;[44] this is followed by a "middle"/"feature" act that lasts 15–20 minutes but is expected to have "30 minutes of solid material"; the feature act is followed by the headliner, who performs for "an hour."[45][46] An opener can also double as a feature for travelling headliners, with the opener performing a 25-minute set.[47]

Showcase format

Showcase format has a host/MC with several other acts who perform for roughly equal lengths of time.[48]

One-person show
Main article: Solo performance

These one-hour, headlining performances focus on storytelling.[49][50] One-person, stand-up comedy shows became popular in the 1990s, with no consensus for what separates stand-up acts from one-person shows.[51]

Open mic
Main article: Open mic

Many smaller venues hold open mic events, where anyone can take the stage and perform for the audience. This offers an opportunity for amateur performers to hone their craft and perhaps to break into the profession, or for established professionals to work on their material.[52] Industry scouts will sometimes go to watch open mics.[53] Breaking into the business requires "10 minute[s]" of "A" material. Roadhouses (remote clubs) start booking people for "20 minutes of 'A' material".[45] "A" material means getting a big laugh at least "75% of the time".[54]

Bringer shows

"Bringer shows" are open mics that require amateur performers to bring a specified number of paying guests to receive stage time. Some view this as exploitation, while others disagree.[55][56] The guests usually have to pay a cover charge and there is often a minimum number of drinks that must be ordered. These shows usually have a "showcase" format. Different comedy clubs have different requirements for their bringer shows. Gotham Comedy Club in New York City, for example, usually has ten-person bringers, while Broadway Comedy Club in New York City usually has six-person bringers.[57][58] In the '90s, the New York Comedy Club had pre-shows that were bringer shows; they also had audition scams with an "accelerated pre-show program."[59]

Guest set

This is an unpaid, five-to-ten-minute time slot (during the emcee's time slot of a professional show) that is essentially an audition to get booked for paid gigs.[60]

The comedian's set

Stand-up joke

In stand-up comedy, a "canned" joke[61][62] is made of a "premise...point of view" and "twist" ending.[63][64] A joke contains the least amount of information necessary to be conveyed, understood, and laughed at;[65][66] the setup contains the information needed by the audience in order to understand the punchline.[67][68][69] Most of stand-up comedy's jokes are the juxtaposition of two incongruous things.[75] According to the founding editor of The Onion, there are eleven types of jokes.[76] Stand-up comedians will normally deliver their jokes in the form of a typical joke structure, using comedic timing to deliver the setup and then the punch line.[77] Stand-ups will normally frame their stories as having happened "recently."[78] The comedian's delivery of a joke—the pause, inflection, "ener[gy]," and look—is "everything".[79] Comedians often include taglines (dependent punchlines that follow another punchline)[80] and toppers (independent afterthoughts that follow a punchline).[81][82] Some sources may use tags, toppers, and afterthoughts as synonyms.[83]

A jokoid is a placeholder joke, which will eventually be superseded by a funnier joke.[84] Stock jokes are similar to jokoids (as placeholders) and are hack jokes that are for "specific situations".[85] A paraprosdokian is a popular method that is used by comedians, creating a surprising punchline that causes the listener to reinterpret the setup.[86] Stand-ups will often use the rule of three.[87][88][89][90] Comedians will normally include stylistic and comedic devices, such as tropes, idioms, stop consonants, and wordplay.[91][92]

A comedian's ideas and jokes will fail nine times out of ten; this may require a comedian to write hundreds of jokes to achieve enough successful ones to fill a set.[93][94][95]

The set

A traditional set is made of jokes (setup and punchline), bits (a joke or "3 or 4 jokes"), and chunks (multiple bits linked by a topic that may last "10-15 minutes").[96][97][98] Long bits must have the biggest laugh at their endings.[99] Once a setup is established for a bit, the subsequent jokes should decrease in length.[100] A segue is the link between jokes.[101][102] A callback is a reference to a previous joke.[101][103][104] Bombing refers to when a comedian has failed to get an intended laugh.[105] A stand-up comedian uses a persona or character to deliver their jokes.[106] The quality of a comedian's material is more important than their persona,[107][108] unless they are well known.[109] Other sources say that personality trumps material.[110][111][112] A good comedian will create a tendentious-like tension that the audience releases with laughter.[117] This is known as a "relief/release" laugh.[118] A comedian's stand-up persona/voice consists of the type of material they perform, the format of the material, the aggregate set, the comedian's rapport with the audience, and the comedian's "own identity."[119][120]

Crowd work

When a set is consistently bombing, most comedians will perform "crowd work" by communicating with audience members to save face; much of crowd work is prewritten with added improvisation. [121] Some comedians will use small talk that directs audience members to answer "a question" that the comedian "[has] a topper" for. Other comedians will become more intimate with their questions until they get multiple big laughs, before moving on. [122] The result of crowd work is often an inside joke.

Tight five

A "tight five" is a five-minute stand-up routine that is well-rehearsed and consists of a stand-up comedian’s best material that reliably gets laughs.[123] It is often used for auditions or delivered when audience response is minimal.[124][125][126] A tight five is the stepping stone to getting a paid spot.[127][128]

Memory techniques

Comics memorize their jokes through the use of on-stage practice/blocking.[129] Some comedians employ a mnemonic device called the method of loci (memory palace technique) to remember their jokes.[130][131] Some write their jokes over and over, while others have a set list in front of them; for professionals, this may be on cue cards or a stage monitor. [132][133]

Terminology

The term "punching down" is sometimes used to describe jokes that are made at the expense of disenfranchised groups or their members. It carries with it the assumption that comedy should be directed at the powerful rather than the afflicted.[134] Claiming one can "smell the road" on a comic is a pejorative phrase for a comedian who has compromised their own originality to get laughs while travelling.[135][136][137] Comedian Seth Meyers coined the term "clapter": when an audience cheers or applauds for a joke that they agree with but that is not funny enough to get a laugh.[138][139]

Heckler
Main article: Heckler

In stand-up, a heckler is a person who interrupts a comedian's set. Comedians will often have a repertoire of comebacks for hecklers.[140] Comedians will sometimes get into physical altercations with hecklers.[141]

Hack
Main article: Hack (comedy)

A hack is a pejorative term for a comedian with rushed, unoriginal, low-quality, or cliché material.[147] One proposed amelioration to hackneyed material is an essay by George Orwell called "Politics and the English Language: The Six Rules".[148]

Joke theft
Main article: Joke theft

When someone is accused of stealing a joke, the accused's defense is sometimes cryptomnesia[149] or parallel thinking.[150]

Warm-up comedian
Main article: Warm-up comedian

A warm-up act (crowd warmer) performs at comedy clubs, before the filming of a television comedy in front of a studio audience, or the beginning of music concerts to prepare the crowd for the show or main act.

History of stand-up in Europe

British Isles
Bronze statue of Britain's Max Miller

Early twentieth-century front-cloth comics started in music halls, paving the way for stand-up comedy in Great Britain.[151][152][153] Notable front-cloth comics who rose through the variety theatre circuit were Morecambe and Wise, Arthur Askey, Ken Dodd and Max Miller.[154][151] Until 1968, the heavy censorship regime of the Lord Chamberlain's Office required all comedians to submit their acts for censorship. The act would be returned with unacceptable sections underlined in blue pencil (possibly giving rise to the term "blue" for a comedian whose act is considered bawdy or smutty). The comedian was then obliged not to deviate from the act in its edited form.[1]

The rise of the post-war comedians coincided with the rise of television and radio, and the traditional music hall circuit suffered greatly as a result. By the 1970s, music hall entertainment was virtually dead. Alternative circuits had evolved, such as working men's clubs.[1] Some of the more successful comedians on the working men's club circuit—including Bernard Manning, Bobby Thompson, Frank Carson and Stan Boardman—eventually made their way to television via such shows as The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club. The "alternative" comedy scene also began to evolve. Some of the earliest successes came from folk clubs, where performers such as Billy Connolly, Mike Harding and Jasper Carrott started as relatively straight musical acts whose between-song banter developed into complete comedy routines. The 1960s had also seen the satire boom, including the creation of the club, the Establishment, which, amongst other things, gave British audiences their first taste of extreme American stand-up comedy from Lenny Bruce.[155] Victoria Wood launched her stand-up career in the early 1980s, which included observational conversation mixed with comedy songs. Wood was to become one of the country's most successful comedians, in 2001 selling out the Royal Albert Hall for 15 nights in a row.

In 1979, the first American-style stand-up comedy club, the Comedy Store was opened in London by Peter Rosengard, where many alternative comedy stars of the 1980s, such as Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, Alexei Sayle, Craig Ferguson, Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson began their careers.[156] The stand-up comedy circuit rapidly expanded from London across the UK. The present British stand-up comedy circuit arose from the 'alternative' comedy revolution of the 1980s, with political and observational humor being the prominent styles to flourish. In 1983, young drama teacher Maria Kempinska created Jongleurs Comedy Clubs before it closed in 2017. Stand up comedy is believed to have been performed originally as a one-man show. Lately, this type of show started to involve a group of young comedians, especially in Europe.

Bob Hope, the United States of America's most famous stand-up comedian during World War II

Spain

Although the antecedents of this genre can be traced back to the monologues of Miguel Gila in the 1950s, the rise of live comedy in Spain took a long time in comparison with the American continent. The first generalized relationship with this comic genre occurred in 1999 with the creation of the Paramount Comedy channel, which included the New Comics program as one of its flagship programs, where monologuists such as Ángel Martín, José Juan Vaquero, David Broncano, and Joaquín Reyes stood out. Also, in 1999 began the journey of the program The club of comedy, an open adaptation of the popular comic format. In its first stage (1999-2005), it underwent several chain changes and released comedians like Luis Piedrahita, Alexis Valdes or Goyo Jiménez. In its new stage, starting in 2011 in La Sexta and presented by Eva Hache, it tries to start in the genre of comic monologue media characters from different artistic fields such as: Imanol Arias, José Luis Gil, Isabel Ordaz and Santiago Segura. Special mention deserves the Buenafuente program, started in 2005. The presenter, Andreu Buenafuente, made an initial monologue of about 9 to 11 minutes where he links current issues with everyday humorous situations. This became the most famous part of the program and made him one of the most recognized comedians in Spain, for his connection with the public and his ability to improvise. On the other hand, the comedian Ignatius Farray became one of the most representative icons of this genre today.

History of stand-up in the Americas

United States
George Carlin in 1969

Stand-up comedy in the United States got its start from monologists performing stump-speech monologues from within the minstrel shows of the early 19th century.[157] It also has roots in various traditions of popular entertainment of the late 19th century, including vaudeville, English music hall, burlesque or early variety shows, humorist monologues by personalities such as Mark Twain, and circus clown antics.[158] With the turn of the century and spread of urban and industrial living, the structure, pacing and timing, and material of American humor began to change. Comedians of this era often depended on fast-paced joke delivery, slapstick, outrageous or lewd innuendo, and donned an ethnic persona—African, Scottish, German, Jewish—and built a routine based on popular stereotypes. Jokes were generally broad and material was widely shared, or in some cases, stolen. Industrialized American audiences sought entertainment as a way to escape and confront city living.

The founders of modern American stand-up comedy include Moms Mabley, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, George Burns, Fred Allen, Milton Berle and Frank Fay, all of whom came from vaudeville or the Chitlin' Circuit.[159] They spoke directly to the audience as themselves, in front of the curtain, known as performing "in one". Frank Fay gained acclaim as a "master of ceremonies" at New York's Palace Theater. Vaudevillian Charlie Case (also spelled Charley Case) is often credited with the first form of stand-up comedy, performing humorous monologues without props or costumes. This had not been done before during a vaudeville show.

Nightclubs and resorts became the new breeding ground for stand-ups. Acts such as Alan King, Danny Thomas, Martin and Lewis, Don Rickles, Joan Rivers and Jack E. Leonard flourished in these venues.

In the 1950s and into the 1960s, stand-ups such as Mort Sahl began developing their acts in small folk clubs like San Francisco's hungry i (owned by impresario Enrico Banducci and origin of the ubiquitous "brick wall" behind comedians)[160] or New York's Bitter End. These comedians added an element of social satire and expanded both the language and boundaries of stand-up, venturing into politics, race relations, and sexual humor. Lenny Bruce became known as 'the' obscene comic when he used language that usually led to his arrest.[161] After Lenny Bruce, arrests for obscene language on stage nearly disappeared until George Carlin was arrested on 21 July 1972 at Milwaukee's Summerfest after performing the routine "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television"[162] (the case against Carlin was eventually dismissed).

Other notable comics from this era include Woody Allen, Shelley Berman, Phyllis Diller, and Bob Newhart. Some Black American comedians such as Redd Foxx, George Kirby, Bill Cosby, and Dick Gregory began to cross over to white audiences during this time.

In the 1970s, several entertainers became major stars based on stand-up comedy performances. Richard Pryor and George Carlin followed Lenny Bruce's acerbic style to become icons. Stand-up expanded from clubs, resorts, and coffee houses into major concerts in sports arenas and amphitheaters. Steve Martin and Bill Cosby had levels of success with gentler comic routines. The older style of stand-up comedy (no social satire) was kept alive by Rodney Dangerfield and Buddy Hackett, who enjoyed revived careers late in life. Don Rickles, whose legendary style of relentless merciless attacks on both fellow performers and audience members alike kept him a fixture on TV and in Vegas from the 1960s all the way to the 2000s, when he appeared in the wildly popular Pixar Toy Story films as Mr Potato Head, who just happened to share Don's grouchy onstage mannerisms. Television programs such as Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show helped publicize the careers of other stand-up comedians, including Janeane Garofalo, Bill Maher and Jay Leno.

From the 1970s to the '90s, different styles of comedy began to emerge, from the madcap stylings of Robin Williams, to the odd observations of Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen DeGeneres, the ironic musings of Steven Wright, to the mimicry of Whoopi Goldberg, and Eddie Murphy. These comedians would serve to influence the next generation of comedians.

Mexico

In terms of live comedy in Mexico, the predecessors of this comic style are:

  • The Tepichines are a comic duo who were predecessors of a style consisting of parodies and double senses with creativity
  • Miguel Galván (1957-2008) Originally from Juan Aldama, Zacatecas. He dropped out of architecture at the Universidad del Valle de México to take theater classes at the "Dimitrio Sarrás Actors Studio" for three years.
  • Mara Escalante, is an actress, comedian and Mexican singer. She is known for the television series María de Todos los Ángeles, in which she has two characters, including the protagonist. She began her career in the mid-1990s.
  • Polo Polo (1944-), whose routines are characterized by a high content of sexual references, with a touch of misogyny, relayed as a personal anecdote.
  • Adal Ramones (1961-) was one of the first to transport the genre to Mexico from his nocturnal program, using the comic monologue.
  • Evelio with V Chica (Evelio Arias Ramos, 1966-2008).
  • Eugenio Derbez

The new generation of comedians decided to use their own lives as the theme of their comedy, imitating the American style:

  • Héctor Suárez Gomís, son of Mexican comedian Héctor Suárez, is currently the host of the Latin American version of the comedy program Stand Up Comedy Central Presents, broadcast by Comedy Central from 2011 until 2014.
  • Adal Ramones since 2013 leads the program called STANDparados broadcast by Comedy District before Classic TV.
  • Kikis, (1980) comedian since late 2011, openly lesbian, has participated in Comedy Central Latin America as well as with Adal Ramones in STANDparados Comedy District.
  • Luiki Wiki (1985-) began making comedy in January 2013 in Mexico City and later moved to Monterrey NL to start the first Open Mic in Monterrey (an event in which comedians can participate to try out new material with a real audience) together with other comedians of the genre. Later they created the first collective of comedy in Monterrey called For Laughter Standup Comedy. Luiki Wiki has participated in programs such as Es de Noche and I already arrived with René Franco and as with Adal Ramones in the 3rd season of the STANDparados program aired by Comedy District.
  • Franco Escamilla (1981-) Comedian, musician, radio announcer and founder of "La Diablo Squad". He is mainly known for his comedy shows, has performed throughout the Mexican Republic and Latin America, even starting his own "World Tour", arriving to have confirmed performances in Europe and the United States, including trips to Japan and Australia. Currently known as the largest representative of Stand up Comedy in this country.
  • Hugo "El Cojo Felíz" (1988-), is a comedian, radio announcer, part of the devil Squad, has the radio program "La Hora Felíz" with the "Uncle Rober" and is considered the best pen in Mexico.
  • Roberto Andrade Cerón the "Uncle Rober" (1979-) is a comedian, writer, radio announcer and has "La Cojo Feliz" the radio program "La Hora Felíz".
  • Daniel Sosa
  • Alex Fernandez

Brazil

The one-man-show genre, which is similar, but allows other approaches (enacting characters, songs and scenes) was introduced in Brazil by José Vasconcellos in the 60's. Taking a step closer to the North American format, Chico Anysio and Jô Soares maintained the format - specially in their live nation-wide talks shows, and generally, in the opening monologues - bringing to Brazil a genre more similar to what we currently know as Stand-up.

Stand-up began to be interesting news in 2005 in São Paulo, when the first club was created, called Clube de Comédia Stand-Up: composed of Marcelo Mansfield, Rafinha Bastos, Oscar Filho, Marcela Leal and Márcio Ribeiro. In São Paulo the comedy club would present in Beverly Hills, the traditional comedy venue in Moema. Shortly afterwards it migrated to Mr. Blues and Bleeker Street, in Vila Madalena. In Rio de Janeiro, Comédia em Pé, (Comedy Standing Up): composed of Cláudio Torres Gonzaga, Fábio Porchát, Fernando Caruso and Paulo Carvalho, had its debue at the venue Rio Design Leblon. These were the first stand-up performances in the country.

In 2006, the comic Jô Soares watched Clube de Comédia in São Paulo and invited the comic Diogo Portugal for an interview in his talk show. That was a definitive moment to call attention towards the genre. He mentioned many different shows that he was a part of and attracted the public attention and media coverage to the bars that held these presentations. In Curitiba, with this momentum, many other stand-up nights began opening up. In São Paulo, Danilo Gentili, that had just become a part of Clube da Comédia, invited Mário Ribeiro and gathered other young comics that were frequent spectators at the club, to create Comédia Ao Vivo (Live Comedy): composed of Dani Calabresa, Luiz França, Fábio Rabin.

With the show CQC - Custe o Que Custar, on the channel Band, a nation-wide tv outlet, in 2008, the genre took gained its permanent spot on the national stage. With bug names like Danilo Gentili, Rafinha Bastos and Oscar Filho, the curiosity grew exponentially.

Following CQC's example many channels and tv shows on Brazil's national television invested in Stand-up comedy. After this many other groups gained recognition in the clubs and live performances around the two biggest cities of Brazil.

History of stand-up in Asia

India
Kapil Sharma an Indian stand up comedian, known for comedy nights with Kapil

Modern stand-up comedy in India is a young art form, however Chakyar koothu was prominent in Trivandrum and southern Kerala during the 16th and 17th centuries. It had all the attributes of modern stand-up comedy and is widely considered to be the oldest known staged comedy act anywhere in the world.

Even though the history of live comedy performances in India traces its early roots back to 1980s, for a long time stand-up comedians were only given supporting/filler acts in various performances (dance or music).

In 1986, India's Johnny Lever performed in a charity show called "Hope 86", in front of the whole Hindi film industry as a filler and was loved by audience. His talent was recognized, and he would later be described as "the iconic comedian of his generation".[163][164]

It was not until 2005, when the TV show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge garnered huge popularity and stand-up comedy in itself started getting recognised. Thus, a lot more comedians became popular and started performing various live and TV shows. The demand for comedy content continues to increase. Some popular comedians around 2005-2008 include Raju Srivastav, Kapil Sharma, Sunil Pal etc. Most of them performed their acts in Hindi.

New generation stand up comedian Raju Srivastav

Raju Srivastav first appeared on the comedy talent show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. He finished as second runner-up and then took part in the spin-off, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge — Champions, in which he won the title of "The King of Comedy".[165] Srivastava was a participant on season 3 of Bigg Boss. He has participated in the comedy show Comedy Ka Maha Muqabla.[166]

Kapil Sharma is ranked no. 3 at the most admired Indian personality list by The Economic Times in 2015.[167] Currently he is hosting the most popular Indian comedy show "The Kapil Sharma Show" after "Comedy Nights with Kapil".[168] Sharma had been working in the comedy show Hasde Hasande Raho on MH One, until he got his first break in The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, one of the nine reality television shows he has won. He became the winner of the show in 2007 for which he won 10 lakhs as prize money.[168]

Sharma participated in Sony Entertainment Television’s Comedy Circus.[169] He became the winner of all six seasons of "Comedy Circus" he participated in.[170] He has hosted dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 6[171] and also hosted comedy show Chhote Miyan.[172][173] Sharma also participated in the show Ustaadon Ka Ustaad.

Around 2008-2009, two other popular comedians Papa CJ and Vir Das returned to India and started making their marks on Indian comedy scene. Both of them were exposed to UK and US comedy routines and they performed mostly in English. At the same time, a few more youngsters got inspired and started taking plunge into stand-up comedy.

Since 2011, the stand-up comedy has been getting substantial appreciation. The Comedy Store from London opened an outlet in Mumbai's Palladium Mall where people would regularly enjoy comedians from UK. The Comedy Story also supported local comedians and helped them grow. This outlet eventually become Canvas Laugh Club in Mumbai.

Around 2011, people started organizing different comedy open mic events in Mumbai, Delhi (and Gurgaon), Bangalore. All of this happened in association with growth of a counterculture in Indian cities which catered to the appetite of younger generations for live events for comedy, poetry, storytelling, and music. Various stand up events were covered by popular news channels such NDTV / Aajtak etc. and were appreciated by millions of viewers.

As a result of these developments, plus the increasing penetration of YouTube (along with Internet/World Wide Web), Indian stand up comedy started reaching further masses. While the established comedians such as Vir Das, Papa CJ were independently growing through various corporate / international performances, other comedians such as Vipul Goyal, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Kenny Sebastian, Kanan Gill, Kunal Kamra grew popular through YouTube videos.

The industry, still in its early stages, now sees a lot more influx of aspiring comedians as it transforms the ecosystem around it.

Training and improvisation

Mark Twain and Jerry Seinfeld, both American masters of stand-up comedy, believe in practice and rehearsal. Twain prepared, rehearsed, revised and adapted his material for his popular humorous presentations.[174] Seinfeld says: "Most contemporary comedy is profane, outraged and disposable" but his philosophy is to give the best that he has.[175]

Festivals
Main article: Comedy festival
Janeane Garofalo performing at "Sweet" in New York City in 2008

Comedy festivals are used by industry professionals to seek out new comedians to hire.[176][177][178]

Stand-up comedy is the focus of four major international festivals: the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland; Just for Laughs in Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Ontario, and Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada; HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, CO, and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in Melbourne, Australia. [179] A number of other festivals operate around the world, including The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas, the Vancouver Comedy Festival, the New York Comedy Festival, the Boston Comedy and Film Festival, the New York Underground Film Festival, the Sydney Comedy Festival, and the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival in Kilkenny, Ireland. Radio hosts Opie and Anthony also produce a comedy tour called Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour, featuring their own co-host, Jim Norton as well as several other stand-up comedians regularly featured on their radio show. There is also a festival in Hong Kong called the HK International Comedy Festival.

Stand-up circuits

Defunct American circuits

Theatre Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.)
Main article: Theatre Owners Booking Association

This was black vaudeville that predated the Chitlin' Circuit.

Chitlin' Circuit
Main article: Chitlin' Circuit

The Chitlin' Circuit was a "collection of all-black venues, clubs, [and] theaters".[180][181] The Apollo Theater was the performers' most sought after venue.[182] Notable performers for this circuit include Richard Pryor, Moms Mabley, Dick Gregory, Redd Foxx, and the duo Tim and Tom.[183]

Borscht Belt
Main article: Borscht Belt

Also called the Jewish Alps, they hired performers that included stand-up comedians.[184] The Catskill Mountains are depicted in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.[184]

Playboy comedy circuit

Before the advent of full-fledged American comedy clubs, Hugh Hefner created a chain of Playboy Clubs and employed people like Dick Gregory,[185] Mort Sahl, Steve Martin, and Lenny Bruce.[184][186][187][188][189] Hugh Hefner ok'd Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight, which was not recorded in a Playboy club.

Contemporary circuits

Open mic circuit (UK)

The open mic scene is referred to as the open mic circuit in the United Kingdom.[190][191]

College circuit

There are two associations that lead the college circuit: the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities (APCA) (which has 200 member colleges) and the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) (which has 1,100 member colleges).[192] Comedians in the US and Canada audition for NACA to hundreds of college and university bookers,[193] first with a 90-second video submission, and then a ten-minute, in-person audition to perform hour-long sets.[194] Sets must not trigger students by "punching down", contain any denigrating material,[195] or contain dark or blue humor; it must be "intelligent humor"[194] and contain subjects that college-aged adults express contempt for.[196] Higher education, that was once seen as the bastion of free speech is now criticized by some comedians for being too PC (politically correct).[193] Some comedians no longer perform at colleges and universities.[197][198][199][200]

Cruise circuit (CLIA)

The Cruise Lines International Association contains 60 cruise liners. Comedians work an average of two days per week; this circuit is said to not aid in moving up in the field.[201] Cruiseliners have both clean comedy and blue comedy at different times during the day, but opinionated political material is frowned upon.[202] Hecklers are tolerated more in a cruise setting.[203]

Corporate circuit

Corporate circuit comedy must be clean comedy that neither swears nor references sexual acts;[204] church (or “squeaky clean”) comedy is preferred; two celebrities that perform this type of comedy are Jim Gaffigan and Brian Regan.[205] In a lecture given at the University of Oxford, Stewart Lee stated that his character is unable to do corporate gigs, because he takes on the role of being superior to his audience.[206]

Christian comedy circuit (CCA)

The Christian Comedy Association started in the 90s, in an attempt to use comedy as a "spiritual vehicle."[207] Comedian Doug Stanhope has criticized Christian comedy.[207] Heckling is almost nonexistent in the church circuit.[207] Christian comedy is clean comedy that claims to help one's soul.[208]

Salary

Many comedians have day jobs.[209] In a comedian's first five years, they will lose money from travelling and performing.[210][211][212][213] Comedians will sometimes be paid for their performances with alcoholic beverages.[214] A stand-up's first comedy job will often be emceeing.[215] While it can take around a decade to make a living at comedy,[212] unknown comedians may achieve great financial success.[216]

Hosts and MCs are paid $0-$200, depending on location and the time of week (emcees average $25[217]); showcase spots get $10-$75; features get approximately $300-$600; a headliner with no following gets $150-$1500, depending on many factors; headliners with a following or TV credits can make $1,500-$10,000 per show.[218][219][220][221] The headliner makes "10 times" more money than the feature act.[45] Famous headliners get paid from "door deals," or a percentage of the revenue, based on the number of seats sold; these comics rely on their notoriety to fill seats, which makes them more money than headliners with no following.[222][223] Comics will sell merchandise after their shows; this will make up for other expenses, like traveling.[224]

Mark Normand states that a set on Conan will pay "a couple grand" for five minutes.[225] In 2012, Comedy Central routinely offered $15,000 for a half-hour special.[226] As of 2015, Comedy Central will pay comedians about $20,000 for a thirty-minute set; an hour, Comedy Central special can be up to $150,000;[227] as of 2018, Netflix will pay comedians $26,000+ for a fifteen-minute set; Netflix pays celebrity-comedians different amounts from one another.[228][229]

The cruise-circuit comedian can make up to $10,000 per week,[201] some $85,000 per year; and, a college-circuit comedian can make six figures per year or thousands of dollars per gig.[226][230][231] Christian circuit comedy headliners make $1,500-$2,500 per show.[232] Although one source states that newer comics on the national (L.A.) circuit make $1,250-$2,500 per week, another source claims that this is very innacurate, and the amount of money one makes is closer to $20 for a spot.[233][234]

Famous comedians may pay lesser comedians thousands of dollars for jokes and hire them on as writers,[235][236] but many famous comedians do not reveal this, as it is considered a taboo to admit purchasing material for stand-up comedy sets.[237] Comedians may knowingly sell plagiarized jokes.[238]

Other media

Many of the earliest vaudeville-era stand-ups gained their greater recognition on radio. They often opened their programs with topical monologues, characterized by ad-libs and discussions about anything from the latest films to a missed birthday. Each program tended to be divided into the opening monologue, musical number, followed by a skit or story routine. A "feud" between Fred Allen and Jack Benny was used as comic material for nearly a decade.

HBO presented comedians uncensored for the first time, beginning with Robert Klein in 1975, and was instrumental in reaching larger audiences. George Carlin was a perennial favorite, who appeared in 14 HBO comedy specials.

Continuing that tradition, most modern stand-up comedians use television or motion pictures to reach a level of success and recognition unattainable in the comedy-club circuit alone.

Late-night talk shows and award show ceremonies are commonly hosted by comedians, delivering monologues similar to stand-up.

Since the mid-2000s, online video-sharing sites such as YouTube have also provided a venue for stand-up comedians, and many comedians' performances can be viewed online.[239]

An Amazon TV show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, depicts the fictional life of a woman comedian, set in the late 1950s. She often interacts with Lenny Bruce.

List of comedians

Other types of stand-up
  • Macchietta — Italian 19th century comedy act
  • Manzai — style of Double act comedy in Japan
  • Mandan — style of stand-up comedy in Japan
  • Rakugo — Japanese verbal solo entertainment similar to stand-up comedy, but kneeling instead of standing.[240]
  • Xiangsheng — Chinese traditional stand-up comedy

See also

References
  1. Fisher, J Tommy Cooper: Always Leave Them Laughing ISBN 978-0-00-721511-9
  2. Wayne Federman (9 July 2019). "S2 Ep. 06: Meltdown". The History of Standup (Podcast). Dana Gould. The Podglomerate. Event occurs at 21:40-21:54. Retrieved 27 August 2019. A low ceiling and proximity to the stage is important because standup comedy is not a performance. It is a conversation in which the comedian does all of the talking.
  3. Morris, Andrea (26 July 2018). "A Robot Stand-Up Comedian Learns The Nuts And Bolts Of Comedy". Forbes. Forbes Media LLC. Retrieved 25 March 2019. [A lot of] stand-up comedy…as a general art form…is pre-scripted
  4. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 16. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. Jerry Seinfeld explains: ‘Comedy is a dialogue, not a monologue—that’s what makes an act click. The laughter becomes the audience’s part, and the comedian responds’
  5. Stewart Lee (3 July 2013). On Not Writing (Lecture) (YouTube). St Edmund Hall: University of Oxford. Event occurs at 48:54-48:58. Retrieved 13 February 2019. On the whole, you have to give the illusion that it’s a dialogue
  6. Dean, Greg (2000). Step by Step to Stand-up Comedy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. p. 190. ISBN 0-325-00179-0.
  7. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 90. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. A comic's material about his life may have some connection to reality, but basically an act is just that, an act—it’s a fictionalized account with a few actual facts thrown in to make the act believable and, perhaps, more relevant to people’s lives.
  8. [2][3][4][5][6][7]
  9. Martin, Steve (2007). Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life. New York: Scribner. pp. 40–42. ISBN 978-1-4165-5364-9. I was demonstrating tricks eight to twelve hours a day
  10. Ajaye, Franklyn (2002). Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-up Comedy. Jerry Seinfeld. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press. p. 199. ISBN 1-879505-54-1. That’s the goal—to become yourself.
  11. Mendrinos, James (2004). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Comedy. NY, New York: ALPHA: A member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. p. 12. ISBN 1-59257-231-6.
  12. Munro, David (2018). "The Art of the Joke". CRAFTSMANSHIP Quarterly: The Architecture of Excellence. The Craftsmanship Initiative. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  13. Evans, Bradford (7 August 2012). "Stand-Up Comedians and Their Alternate On-Stage Personas". Vulture: Devouring Culture. NEW YORK MEDIA LLC. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  14. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Simon & Schuster, Inc. pp. 90–91. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. [A stand-up’s] act [is a] fictionalized account with a few actual facts thrown in to make the act believable and, perhaps more relevant to people’s lives...Every stand-up goes onstage as a character to some extent. Some may adopt a persona that’s very similar to their own personality, but it’s still a separate entity...even observational comics...use truth...as a foundation on which to build jokes by taking the truth to its farthest [sic] extreme.
  15. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 262. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. (loosely) autobiographical comedy is the dominant form of stand-up today.
  16. Ajaye, Franklyn (2002). Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-up Comedy. Gary Shandling. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press. p. 209. ISBN 1-879505-54-1. I [Gary Shandling] think you can only be on stage what you are in real life.
  17. Katzif, Mike (16 November 2018). "Mo Amer: Working The Classroom Comedy Circuit". NPR. Retrieved 11 September 2019. [I]f you're not real…people will sniff that out.
  18. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
  19. Louis C.K. (22 April 2011). Talking Funny (Film). Event occurs at 11:55-12:12.
  20. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Chris Dipetta. Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 68. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. The average club seats [250] people
  21. Fearless delivery sets Will Ferrell apart. The Denver Post, 24 June 2005. Accessed on 29 March 2010.
  22. Ajaye, Franklyn (2002). Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-up Comedy. George Wallace. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press. p. 240. ISBN 1-879505-54-1. How did you answer them? 'By being George Wallace, and finding out who you are as a comedian. And that takes between seven and eleven years.'
  23. Ajaye, Franklyn (2002). Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-up Comedy. Jerry Seinfeld. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press. p. 200. ISBN 1-879505-54-1. How long did it take you to figure out your individual comedic essence? 'I'd [Jerry Seinfeld] say ten years.'
  24. Louis C.K., Charlie Rose (7 May 2014). Louis C.K. (Interview) (TV Show). HBO. Event occurs at 3:59-4:03. Retrieved 3 February 2019. A stage presence comes pretty quickly [but] how to write jokes and how to generate material and know it’s going to work; [concerning these, the] first ten years are building the [base] skills
  25. Bobby Lee (interviewee) (2017). Dying Laughing (Motion picture). Gravitas Ventures. Event occurs at 1:02:38-1:02:48. Bombing is a necessary event. It’s the only way one gets better, but every time it happens, it’s very painful.
  26. John Thomson (interviewee) (2017). Dying Laughing (Motion picture). Gravitas Ventures. Event occurs at 1:02:52-1:02:55. You’ve got to die to get good.
  27. Seabaugh, Julie (18 March 2014). "Hannibal Buress: 'Bombing Can Be Good'". The Village VOICE. Hannibal Buress. VILLAGE VOICE, LLC. Retrieved 4 February 2019. Yeah, bombing can be good…you grow up and realize it’s about continuing to work. It’s about making progress.
  28. Lee, Stewart (2010). How I Escaped My Certain Fate: The Life and Deaths of a Stand-up Comedian. London, UK: faber and faber Ltd. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-571-25481-1. A show begins the moment the audience walk into a venue.
  29. Chris Rock (interviewee) (2017). Dying Laughing (Motion picture). Gravitas Ventures. Event occurs at 11:24-11:31. A lot of comedians just want laugh, laugh, laugh…every, what is it, 15 seconds they say?
  30. Nevins, Jake (4 October 2017). "Learning laughter: an expert's guide on how to master standup comedy". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2019. Comedy club audiences...expect upwards of four laughs per minute.
  31. Roye, Steve. "How Many Jokes Are In A Minute Of Stand-up Comedy Material?". Stand-up Comedy Tips. Retrieved 26 January 2019. If a comedian wants to generate headliner laughter levels, they need to average 4-6+ laughs per minute.
  32. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Simon & Schuster, Inc. pp. 253–254. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. As each comic’s usage of material varies (some say they use as few as two jokes a minute, other comics say they need a laugh every fifteen seconds or the act goes ‘in the toilet’)
  33. [29][30][31][32]
  34. Frances-White, Deborah; Shandur, Marsha (2016). Off the Mic: The World's Best Stand-up Comedians Get Serious About Comedy. Stephen K Amos. NY, New York: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-4725-2638-0. The first two minutes is very important with a stand-up
  35. Pete Lee (2017). I Need You To Kill (Motion picture). Comedy Dynamics. Event occurs at 31:27-31:56. I call the first two minutes, your flash. And that’s where you…go up there and…hook them with whatever material it is, so that they know exactly what’s funny about you and they trust you and they’ll come along with you for everything.
  36. MacInnes, Paul (15 August 2004). "How can he show his face?". The Guardian. Karen Koren. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 22 March 2019. If you don't make them laugh in the first two minutes, you're fucked
  37. Neill, Geoffrey (22 December 2015). Hitting Your Funny Bone: Writing Stand-up Comedy, and Other Things That Make You Swear. San Bernardino, CA. p. Chapter 5. ISBN 9781515180661. If you have a strong first minute…the minutes that follow will be great, too.
  38. [34][35][36][37]
  39. Carter, Judy (2001). The Comedy Bible. Quote from Phyllis Diller, 'who is listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as having gotten the most laughs per minute of any comic alive or dead'. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-7432-0125-4. I [Phyllis Diller] actually got twelve laughs in one minute from an audience…Most comics do setup, payoff, setup, payoff, in other words six jokes per minute. In my case of twelve, one setup got twelve payoffs.
  40. Gorman, Steve (20 August 2012). "Pioneering comedian Phyllis Diller dies at age 95". Reuters. Retrieved 28 March 2020. Diller prided herself on keeping her jokes tightly written and boasted that she held a world record for getting 12 laughs a minute.
  41. King, Susan (22 December 2006). "Diller can still pack a punch line". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 March 2020. [Phyllis Diller] still holds the Guinness Book of World Records for doling out 12 punch lines a minute.
  42. Rutter, Jason (1997). "Stand-up as interaction: Performance and Audience in Comedy Venues" (PDF). Department of Sociology. CORE. University of Saford: Institute for Social Research. pp. 149–150. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  43. Malone, Michael. "8 Rules to Emceeing a Comedy Show". Malone Comedy. Wav Records. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  44. Durham, Rob (2011). Don't Wear Shorts on Stage: the stand-up guide to comedy. Middletown, DE. pp. 67–68. ISBN 9781468004847.
  45. Rosenfield, Stephen (2018). Mastering Stand-Up: The Complete Guide to Becoming a Successful Comedian. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-61373-692-0.
  46. Ron White (2018). Ron White: If you Quit Listening, I’ll Shut Up (Motion Picture). Event occurs at 39:21-39:41. Retrieved 15 April 2020. [T]raditionally in American comedy clubs, there’s three acts: there’s an opening act...a feature act…and [then] a headliner
  47. Martin, Steve (2007). Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life. New York: Scribner. pp. 136, 139. ISBN 978-1-4165-5364-9. One week, I opened for a show...I was now capable of doing two different twenty-five-minute sets per evening
  48. Shydner, Ritch; Schiff, Mark, eds. (2006). "A Little Comedy From The Audience: Vic Henley". I Killed: True Stories of the Road From America’s Top Comics. Vic Henley (First Paperback ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-307-38229-0. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2020. The Comedy Store in London…[is] a showcase format, with a host and five comics doing sets, with…[a] guest thrown in from time to time.
  49. Carter, Judy (2001). The Comedy Bible. Quote by Mark Travis. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-7432-0125-4. A one-person show has a story line. While a stand-up comic focuses on getting an immediate reaction from the audience after every joke, a person doing a solo show takes the audience on a journey.
  50. Carter, Judy (2001). The Comedy Bible. Quote by Christopher Titus. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-7432-0125-4. A one-person show is not just an hour of stand-up. It has to be dramatic and funny.
  51. Fox, Jesse David (28 February 2017). "Mike Birbiglia's New One-Man Show: Stories About Jokes; Jokes About Stories". Vulture: Devouring Culture. NEW YORK MEDIA LLC. Retrieved 28 March 2020. Though there have been one-person shows for ages, the first comedian to do a one-person show in a big way was Lily Tomlin…However, it wasn’t until the ‘90s, correlating with the rise of storytelling, that the stand-up one-person show really blew up…for the shows that consisted of thematically stringing funny stories together, it was always hard to decide what exactly made them one-man shows and not stand-up acts.
  52. Oswalt, Patton (14 June 2014). "A Closed Letter to Myself About Thievery, Heckling and Rape Jokes". Patton Oswalt. Patton Oswalt. Retrieved 3 February 2019. Open mikes are where, as a comedian [like Daniel Tosh and his controversy], you’re supposed to be allowed to fuck up.
  53. Schaefer, Sara (16 March 2012). "Advice to a Young Comedian (& Myself)". Sara Schaefer. Retrieved 1 February 2019. the next day, my friend who was also on the show [in a theatre above a porn shop across from the Port Authority], told me a scout from casting at Fox was in the audience and they wanted to meet with him.
  54. Rosenfield, Stephen (2018). Mastering Stand-Up: The Complete Guide to Becoming a Successful Comedian. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-61373-692-0.
  55. Dunican, Angus (10 September 2012). "What do 'bringer' shows REALLY bring to the circuit?". Chortle. Retrieved 28 January 2019. it gets tarred with the brush of new-act exploitation and lumped in with less scrupulous nights and the insidious blight of pay-to-play...[but] I, personally, have found it to be a very nice room.
  56. Kelly-Clyne, Luke (20 September 2018). "I Want Out How to Leave the Boring Job You Don't Like and Start Your Comedy Career". Vulture: Devouring Culture. NEW YORK MEDIA LLC. In order to get stage time at [bringer shows]…you [have to] bring…5 to 15 friends, each of whom must show up and agree to buy at least two drinks…Some people think bringers are a scam, and they kind of are. They’re a cash grab for club owners
  57. Richardson, Jim (11 December 2013). "Evil "Bringer Shows" & "Pay-to-Play Shows" Are even worse Than the already discredited Open Mic system". Jim Richardson's Organized Comedy. Retrieved 28 January 2019. Some clubs require 10 bringers/show. If you show up with 9 people, you will not get on and your friends will not get their money back.
  58. Strauss, Neil (24 January 1999). "My Brief, Weird Life as a Stand-Up Comic". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2 February 2019. Clubs like Caroline's will ask for 15 people.
  59. Strauss, Neil (24 January 1999). "My Brief, Weird Life as a Stand-Up Comic". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  60. Durham, Rob (2011). Don't Wear Shorts on Stage: the stand-up guide to comedy. Middletown, DE. p. 63. ISBN 9781468004847.
  61. Salvatore Attardo, ed. (2014). Encyclopedia of Humor Studies. SAGE Publications, Inc. p. 417. ISBN 978-1-4129-9909-0. A canned joke is a generally short narrative ending in a punchline…[that] the speaker has memorized.
  62. Rutter, Jason (1997). "Stand-up as interaction: Performance and Audience in Comedy Venues" (PDF). Department of Sociology. CORE. University of Saford: Institute for Social Research. pp. 188–189. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  63. Mendrinos, James (2004). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Comedy. NY, New York: ALPHA: A member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. p. 46. ISBN 1-59257-231-6. [T]he Universal Joke Formula: Premise + Point of View + Twist = Joke
  64. Vorhaus, John (1994). The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You're Not. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press. p. 104. ISBN 1-879505-21-5. we can craft a joke just by creating and then defeating that specific expectation...introduction, validation, violation
  65. Martin, Rod A. (2007) [2006]. The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative Approach. Department of Psychology: University of Western Ontario (Interactive Online Book). Ontario, Canada: Burlington, MA : Elsevier Academic Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0123725646. Retrieved 18 February 2019 – via Internet Archive. a joke is a context-free and self-contained unit of humor that carries within itself all the information needed for it to be understood and enjoyed.
  66. Neill, Geoffrey (22 December 2015). Hitting Your Funny Bone: Writing Stand-up Comedy, and Other Things That Make You Swear. San Bernardino, CA. p. Chapter 4. ISBN 9781515180661. A setup is the information a person needs to get the joke.
  67. Rosenfield, Stephen (2018). Mastering Stand-Up: The Complete Guide to Becoming a Successful Comedian. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-61373-692-0. The setup is the essential information the audience needs in order to get the punchline
  68. Murray, Logan (25 June 2010). Be A Great Stand-Up (2nd ed.). London, Great Britain: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-444-10726-5. A joke…must have all the information implicit in the setup, so…the punchline…makes sense.
  69. Jeff McBride, Harrison Tweed. "Episode 48 The Setup". Let’s Talk About Sets (Podcast). Geoffrey Asmus. Event occurs at 12:45-13:05. Retrieved 29 August 2019. It’s the first half of the joke…It’s the first part…I’ve seen it said that it’s the part that gives all the information you need, so that people understand the joke, but I would take it a step a little bit to the side of that…[the setup] is whatever is needed to make the joke work.
  70. Mendrinos, James (2004). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Comedy. Bret Watson. NY, New York: ALPHA: A member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. p. 51. ISBN 1-59257-231-6. It seems like 99% of comedy comes from juxtaposing two things that don't seem to go together
  71. Corley, Jerry. "The Most Powerful Tool for Your Joke Writing". standupcomedyclinic. Retrieved 27 January 2019. You turn it into a juxtaposition of two ideas and create jokes.
  72. Martin, Rod A. (2007) [2006]. The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative Approach. Department of Psychology: University of Western Ontario (Interactive Online Book). Ontario, Canada: Burlington, MA : Elsevier Academic Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0123725646. Retrieved 18 February 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  73. Rutter, Jason (1997). "Stand-up as interaction: Performance and Audience in Comedy Venues" (PDF). Department of Sociology. CORE. University of Saford: Institute for Social Research. p. 17. Retrieved 8 March 2019. Incongruity has been and remains the most influential approach to the study of humour even though superiority predates it by approximately two thousand years.
  74. Luu, Chi (12 June 2019). "The Dubious Art of the Dad Joke". JSTOR. ITHAKA. Retrieved 15 June 2019. At its core, humor seems to be all about incongruity.
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  76. Johnson, Stephen (24 March 2017). "Every Joke Falls in One of 11 Categories, Says Founding Editor of The Onion". Big Think. The Big Think, Inc. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  77. Dean, Greg (2000). Step by Step to Stand-up Comedy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. p. 1. ISBN 0-325-00179-0.
  78. Raga, Suzanne (27 October 2016). "11 Wisecracking Secrets of Stand-Up Comedians". Mental Floss. Minute Media. Retrieved 22 March 2019. [C]omedians will often say that something happened to them recently when it really happened years ago—or may have never happened at all.
  79. George Carlin, Charlie Rose (26 March 1996). George Carlin (Interview) (TV Show). HBO. Event occurs at 7:29-7:37. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  80. Durham, Rob (2011). Don't Wear Shorts on Stage: the stand-up guide to comedy. Middletown, DE. p. 38. ISBN 9781468004847. Taglines are...very short [jokes that are]...delivered right as the original laughter from the punchline is dying down.
  81. Mendrinos, James (2004). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Comedy. Bret Watson. NY, New York: ALPHA: A member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. p. 93. ISBN 1-59257-231-6.
  82. Dean, Greg (2000). Step by Step to Stand-up Comedy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. p. 61. ISBN 0-325-00179-0.
  83. Andrew (24 September 2010). "Writing for stand up part 3: Refining Jokes". thenakedspeaker: a public speaking blog. WordPress. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  84. Vorhaus, John (1994). The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You're Not. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press. p. 106. ISBN 1-879505-21-5. A jokoid fills the place on the page where a genuinely funny joke will eventually go
  85. Durham, Rob (2011). Don't Wear Shorts on Stage: the stand-up guide to comedy. Middletown, DE. p. 36. ISBN 9781468004847. Stock jokes are jokes that a comic has...that are pretty much hack jokes used for specific situations...they should only be used in certain situations until you can think of something better.
  86. Leighton, H. Vernon (2020). "A Theory of Humor (Abridged) and the Comic Mechanisms of John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces". In Marsh, Leslie (ed.). Theology and Geometry: Essays on John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces (Politics, Literature, & Film). United Kingdom: Lexington Books (published 29 January 2020). pp. 2–4. ISBN 978-1-4985-8547-7. Retrieved 27 March 2020. it is useful to examine the famous paraprosdokian, ‘I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.’…Within the cognitive incongruity aspect of humor…Comedians often rely on shared knowledge with the audience to provide the second interpretation toward which the joke will pivot…As the paraprosdokian above illustrates, in some humor events, the brain begins tentatively to assign the event of one interpretation but then is forced in surprise to reassign the event to a second interpretation.
  87. Simon Amstell, Eddie Izzard (2011). The Art of Stand-Up (TV). United Kingdom: BBC: One. Simon Amstell states, 'I transcribed a couple of the tapes just to figure out what he [Eddie Izzard] was doing cause it just seemed so (pause) It wasn’t like setup-punch. I would sort of underline words…is that the rule of three? I don’t know what that is.' Eddie Izzard states, 'it should be—establish, reaffirm, and then you kill it on the third...you can keep reaffirming before you twist.
  88. Hannibal Buress, Marcus Raboy (2014). Live from Chicago (Audio). COMEDY CENTRAL. They have a parades department. New Orleans police department has a parades department. There’s homicide, there’s narcotics, and there’s parades. There’s other departments too, but you know, rule of three, for comedy.
  89. Helitzer, Mel; Shatz, Mark (2005). Comedy Writing secrets: the best-selling book on how to think funny, write funny, act funny, and get paid for it (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-58297-357-9. [Three is the] cadence [that makes] it the most important number in comedy.
  90. Murray, Logan (25 June 2010). Be A Great Stand-Up (2nd ed.). London, Great Britain: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-1-444-10726-5.
  91. Helitzer, Mel; Shatz, Mark (2005). Comedy Writing secrets: the best-selling book on how to think funny, write funny, act funny, and get paid for it (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-58297-357-9.
  92. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 249. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. Seinfeld adds, ‘any k sound is good—it’s a very strong letter that impinges on people.'
  93. Vorhaus, John (1994). The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You're Not. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 1-879505-21-5. For every ten jokes you tell, nine will be trash…you’ll need hundreds and hundreds of failed jokes to build a decent body of work.
  94. Louis C.K., Charlie Rose (7 May 2014). Louis C.K. (Interview) (TV Show). HBO. Event occurs at 2:20-2:38. Retrieved 3 February 2019. failure is the road to being a great comic…failure is not succeeding in the moment
  95. Helitzer, Mel; Shatz, Mark (2005). Comedy Writing secrets: the best-selling book on how to think funny, write funny, act funny, and get paid for it (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-58297-357-9. For every ten jokes written, only one might be acceptable
  96. WAITHE, ELSA. "How to Write a 5-Minute Comedy Set". Gold Comedy. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  97. Craig Anton (28 January 2010). I Am Comic (film). IFC Films. Event occurs at 3:42-4:53. a bit, 3 or 4 jokes in and around one central theme or idea…[and then] 10-15 minutes, we call that a chunk
  98. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Abby Stein. Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 248. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. A ‘bit,’ Reiser explains, ‘is a group of words used to incorporate a premise and all variations thereof’
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  106. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 91. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. Every stand-up goes onstage as a character to some extent. Some may adopt a persona that’s very similar to their own personality, but it’s still a separate entity—a person telling jokes as opposed to telling the truth, which no ‘real’ person does. Even observational comics, who base their material in reality, use the truth not as an end but as a foundation on which to build jokes by taking the truth to its farthest [sic] extreme.
  107. Ajaye, Franklyn (2002). Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-up Comedy. Budd Friedman. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press. p. 261. ISBN 1-879505-54-1. [W]hat’s more important, material or delivery? I had to say it’s the material.
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  112. Carter, Judy (2001). The Comedy Bible. Quote from Johnny Carson, quoted from The Great Comedians, by Larry Wilde (1972). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-7432-0125-4. Your delivery can save you if the material isn’t up to par.
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  132. Frances-White, Deborah; Shandur, Marsha (2016). Off the Mic: The World's Best Stand-up Comedians Get Serious About Comedy. Hannibal Buress. NY, New York: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-4725-2638-0. I will put a set list on the stage monitor
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  215. Durham, Rob (2011). Don't Wear Shorts on Stage: the stand-up guide to comedy. Middletown, DE. p. 12. ISBN 9781468004847. The first paying position a comic can land is to emcee or host a show.
  216. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Chris Dipetta. Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 67. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. People like Leno and Wright can make ten thousand dollars a show now—that’s not shocking. What’s shocking is that I’m a virtually unknown comic and I make about one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars a year.
  217. Durham, Rob (2011). Don't Wear Shorts on Stage: the stand-up guide to comedy. Middletown, DE. p. 79. ISBN 9781468004847. An emcee will make usually from $10-$35 a show. It's usually $25.
  218. Ron White (2018). Ron White: If you Quit Listening, I’ll Shut Up (Motion Picture). Event occurs at 39:21-39:41. Retrieved 29 March 2020. I was the feature act at The Punchline Comedy Club in Sacramento, California. And…traditionally in American comedy clubs, there’s three acts: there’s an opening act that makes between a hundred and two hundred [dollars] a week for nine shows, there's a feature act…makes between four and five hundred bucks a week for nine shows, and a headliner, who can make absolutely anything depending on who they are.
  219. Strauss, Duncan (3 November 1988). "Comedy: The Clubbing of America: The rise of comedy club chains". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 September 2019. At the better chains, middle acts earn a weekly salary of $600 and up; headliners, anywhere from $2000 to $10,000, plus air fare and lodging – usually at the club's 'comedy condo' in town...The chief variable is drawing power, based on accumulated TV and movie credits.
  220. Hofstetter, Steve (2 July 2015). "What to Expect when You're Expecting...to be Paid at a Club". Comedy Hints: Helping Comedians Help Themselves. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  221. O’Brien, Jane (21 October 2015). "No laughing matter: The secrets behind comedy success". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 March 2019. If it's somebody starting off in the business it could be $1,500 a show. For somebody who's had some TV credits you could go from $4,500 to $7,500.
  222. Durham, Rob (2011). Don't Wear Shorts on Stage: the stand-up guide to comedy. Middletown, DE. p. 87. ISBN 9781468004847. the famous comics have what’s called a “door deal” and get paid based on the amount of people in the crowd.
  223. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Rick Messina. Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 68. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. It depends on the TV exposure of the comic, whether the comic draws and if he can command a higher ticket price.
  224. Breidbart, Shaun Eli (2018-07-09). "13 Things a Stand-Up Comedian Won't Tell You". Reader’s Digest. Trusted Media Brands, Inc. Retrieved 22 March 2019. Those T-shirts and CDs we sell are what we make our real money on...And when we do book a paying gig? We spend most of the money on transportation to get there.
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  226. Zinoman, Jason; Megan, Angelo (2012-11-02). "Clever, How They Earn That Laugh". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  227. mattoo, Priyanka (22 September 2015). "What Comedy Pays". Vulture: Devouring Culture. NEW YORK MEDIA LLC. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  228. Simons, Seth (24 January 2018). "How Much Does Netflix Pay for 15 Minutes of Stand-Up?". PASTE. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  229. Abramovitch, Seth (15 June 2018). "'I Sold the Same Special Twice!' How Netflix Is Driving an L.A. Comedy Gold Rush". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media, LLC. Retrieved 25 March 2019. Netflix is wooing superstar comics with eight-figure deals, including Dave Chappelle (a reported $60 million), Louis C.K. ($26 million), Amy Schumer ($20 million) and Jim Gaffigan ($10 million).
  230. Holm, Heather (26 March 2009). "'Quick-witted' Burress set for laughs". Daily Eastern News: Tell the truth and don’t be afraid. The Daily Eastern News. Retrieved 8 February 2019. Hannibal Burress was the most popular comedian in Caponera’s (2009) price range of $2,000.
  231. Flanagan, Caitlin (September 2015). "That's Not Funny! Today's college students can't seem to take a joke". The Atlantic. Retrieved 26 January 2019. Keith is one of the kings of the college circuit. A few years ago, he was the most-booked college comic, playing 120 campuses. He charges $2,300 for a single performance.
  232. Leon, Harmon (1 July 2015). "God's Comics: Inside the World of Christian Stand-Up". VICE. VICE MEDIA LLC. Retrieved 18 February 2019. Headliners can reap $1,500 to $2,500 per church comedy show
  233. Abramovitch, Seth (15 June 2018). "'I Sold the Same Special Twice!' How Netflix Is Driving an L.A. Comedy Gold Rush". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media, LLC. Retrieved 25 March 2019. A newer comic on the national circuit can earn anywhere from $1,250 to $2,500 per week, according to one prominent touring agent; more established names can pull in anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 in the same period.
  234. Caffir, Justin (20 June 2018). "Comedians Reveal What the L.A. Stand-up Scene Actually Pays". Vulture: Devouring Culture. NEW YORK MEDIA LLC. Retrieved 25 March 2019. it’s very hard to make that amount even on the road…To mislead someone with a figure that is beyond an exaggeration and just ridiculous.
  235. Durham, Rob (2011). Don't Wear Shorts on Stage: the stand-up guide to comedy. Middletown, DE. p. 36. ISBN 9781468004847. Bigger name comics have been known to pay thousands for jokes and hire writers...After a famous comic has an HBO Special, they almost always hire writers to help them pump out more material.
  236. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Barry Sand. Simon & Schuster, Inc. pp. 239–240. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. Comics need material badly, especially once they get to be in demand—they’ve got to keep coming up with the stuff...Often, once a comic becomes successful, his requirements for material begin to exceed his ability to create it—particularly in the case of TV spots, which ‘eat’ it instantly.
  237. Hesse, Josiah (25 September 2014). "Should All Standup Comics Write Their Own Jokes?". Vulture: Devouring Culture. NEW YORK MEDIA LLC. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  238. Borns, Betsy (1987). Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy. Rita Rudner. Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 241. ISBN 0-671-62620-5. [T]hat’s another thing people do—write down jokes they see on TV, then sell them to other comics who don’t realize what they’re doing.
  239. "Watch Stand Up Comedians on YouTube". Daniel Scocco. Dailybits.com. 2008-09-23. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
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