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Stand-up comedy is a comedy performance directed to a live audience in which the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues, and occasionally physical acts. The performance is usually a rhetorical sketch with rehearsed scripts, but many performers also employ varying degrees of live crowd interaction as part of their routine. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, observations or shticks that may incorporate props, music, impressions, magic tricks or ventriloquism.
A performer is known by the masculine and gender-neutral terms stand-up comedian and stand-up comic, or by the feminine term stand-up comedienne, or simply stand-up. Performances may take place anywhere, including comedy clubs, comedy festivals, bars, nightclubs, colleges or theaters.[ citation needed] [1]
Stand-up as a Western art form has its roots in the stump speech of American minstrel shows, which featured an actor in blackface delivering nonsensical monologue to the audience. While the intention of stump speeches was to mock African Americans, they also occasionally contained political and social satire. The minstrel show would later influence theatrical traditions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as vaudeville and burlesque. [2]
Charles Farrar Browne (April 26, 1834 – March 6, 1867), better known under his nom de plume, Artemus Ward, is considered to be America's first stand-up comedian. The character was portrayed as an illiterate rube with "Yankee common sense," and he was played by Browne in public performances.
The first documented use of "stand-up" as a term was in The Stage in 1911, detailing a woman named Nellie Perrier delivering 'stand-up comic ditties in a chic and charming manner,' though this was used to describe a performance of comedy songs rather than stand-up comedy in its true modern form. [3]
In The Yorkshire Evening Post on November 10, 1917, the "Stage Gossip" column described the career of a comedian named Finlay Dunn. The article stated that Dunn was "what he calls 'a stand-up comedian'" during the latter part of the 19th century, although the term may have been used retrospectively. [4]
Stand-up has multiple genres and styles with their own formats. Common ones include:
The host, compere, or emcee "warms up" the audience and introduces the other performers. This is followed by the opener, the feature, then the headliner. The host may also act as the opener for smaller shows. [9] Proven comics tend to earn regular bookings at clubs that are part of a chain and comedy venues. Jobbing stand-ups may perform sets at two or more venues on the same day.[ citation needed]
Club and small venues often run open mic events; these slots may be booked in advance or left for walk-ins. Comedians use open mics to work on material or to show off their skills to get an opener slot. [10] "Bringer shows" are shows that require amateur performers to bring a specified number of paying guests with them in order to receive stage time. [11]
As well as being a mainstay of the comedy circuit, festivals often also showcase up and coming acts, with promoters and agents using the festivals to seek out new talent. [12]
Experienced comics with a following may produce a television special or a comedy album. It may be recorded on tour or at a show advertised and performed specifically for the purpose. A TV special originally released on television, video on demand or film theaters may be re-released as an album on audio CD, LP record or audio streaming. A "half-hour special" is typically between 20 and 35 minutes in runtime excluding commercial breaks and an "hour-long special" is typically between 40 and 65 minutes excluding commercial breaks. [13]
Stand-up comedians define their craft through the development of routines, constructed and refined by jokes and interconnected "bits." These bits form an interwoven narrative, leading to the "closer," the final joke that ties the show's themes together for a satisfying conclusion.
Most jokes are the juxtaposition of two incongruous things and are made up of the premise, set-up, and punchline, often adding a twist, topper or tagline for an intensified or extra laugh. Delivery relies on the use of intonation, inflection, attitude and timing as well as other stylistic devices, such as the rule of three, idioms, archetypes or wordplay. [14] [15] Another popular joke structure is the paraprosdokian, a surprising punchline that changes the context or meaning of the setup. [16]
In order to falsely frame their stories as true or to free themselves of responsibility for breaking social conventions, comedians can use the jester's privilege, which is the right to discuss and mock anything freely without being punished. [17] [18] Social commentators have referred to the concepts of "punching up" and "punching down" in attempting to describe who should be the "butt of the joke". This carries the assumption that, relative to the comedian's own socio-political identity, comedy should "punch up" at the rich and powerful without "punching down" at those who are marginalized and less fortunate. [19] [20] Many comedians have criticized the cultural rhetoric concerning "punching up" and "punching down", including Colin Quinn, who described the terms as a product of activism and "not created by humorous people." [21]
Appropriation and plagiarism are considered "social crimes" by most stand-ups. There have been several high-profile accusations of joke theft, some ending in lawsuits for copyright infringement. Those accused will sometimes claim cryptomnesia or parallel thinking, [22] [23] but it is difficult to successfully sue for joke theft regardless due to the idea–expression distinction. [24]
According to Anna Spagnolli, stand-up comedy audiences "are both 'co-constructors of the situation' and 'co-responsible for it' ". [25]
In stand-up comedy, an unspoken contract with the audience allows for the exploration of unexpected, controversial, or scandalous subjects. The reception of a joke, whether met with laughter or disapproval, hinges on the audience's understanding of the premise and appreciation of the punchline.
Stand-up comedy, distinct from traditional performing arts, features a lone comedian directly engaging the audience. The success hinges on creating spontaneity, fostering intimacy, and deterring heckling.
Part of the appeal of stand up is in appreciation of the skill of the performer. Most people find the idea of standing on stage extremely daunting; research on the subject has consistently found that the fear of public speaking is more intense than the fear of dying. [26] [27]
The audience is integral to live comedy, both as a foil to the comedian and as a contributing factor to the overall experience. The use of canned laughter in television comedy reveals this, with shows often seeming "dry" or dull without it. Shows may be filmed in front of a live audience for the same reason. [28]
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (July 2022) |
Phyllis Diller holds the Guinness World Record for most laughs per minute, with 12. [33]
Taylor Goodwin holds the Guinness World Record for most jokes told in an hour with 550. [34]
Lee Evans sold £7 million worth of tickets for his 2011 tour in a day, the biggest first-day sale of a British comedy tour. [35]
British comedian Peter Kay currently holds multiple records for his 2010-2011 show The Tour That Doesn't Tour Tour...Now On Tour on a 112 date UK & Ireland arena tour.
Ricky Gervais set a new Guinness World Record for the highest gross from a single stand-up performance with his tour "Armageddon". The performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, on May 6, 2023, garnered a notable sum of £1,410,000 ($1,790,206.50) [36]
Observational comedy works by mocking 'normal' behaviours but, even as it does so, it often affirms and promotes a fixed idea of what 'normal' is.
On this circuit, shows generally consist of three to four comics: Headliner, Feature act, Opener and/or Emcee (i.e., Master of Ceremonies). The Headliner does roughly an hour of original material. The Feature act does 25-30 minutes. The Opener has a ten minute slot, and the Emcee squeezes in a joke or two between acts (if the Opener is not also acting as the Emcee)...
Open mikes are where, as a comedian [like Daniel Tosh and his controversy], you're supposed to be allowed to fuck up.
Go to festivals, because that's where you get noticed by the media ... [and] gauge [yourself against] everybody else.
Eddie Izzard states, 'it should be—establish, reaffirm, and then you kill it on the third... you can keep reaffirming before you twist.
it is useful to examine the famous paraprosdokian, 'I've had a wonderful evening, but this wasn't it.'
the comedy of the left 'punches up' at the established authorities of its time, be they governmental, cultural, or artistic. ... a joke is a joke, not a political act, and the ability to say what you like in the context of joking is held sacred.
George Carlin echoed this sentiment, observing that 'comedy has traditionally picked on people in power.' … '[Chappelle and Gervais] have done daring and subversive work on other topics, like race and religion, respectively, but punching down at an essentially powerless minority group is pure hack.'
[T]here are also cases of simple coincidence and, often in the case of observational material, parallel thinking.
Just because it is small, they call it a chi-chi room, or because they bring certain oddball forms of entertainment
If you have an all 'A' [material] 5-minute set, you'll get paid nothing.
[Phyllis Diller] still holds the Guinness Book of World Records for doling out 12 punch lines a minute.