Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where a comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience directly is called a stand-up comic performs for a live audience, usually speaking directly to them. It is usually performed by a comedian with the aid of a microphone, either hand-held or mounted. The performer is known as a stand-up comic, stand-up comedian or simply a stand-up.

Contents

Format

Stand-up performances are usually short, where the comedian recites a fast-paced succession of humorous stories, short jokes A joke is a short story or ironic depiction of a situation communicated with the intent of being humorous. These jokes will normally have a punchline that will end the sentence to make it humorous. A joke can also be a single phrase or statement that employs sarcasm (called "bits"), and one-liners A one-liner is a joke that is delivered in a single line. Many comedians and actors have adopted this comedic method in their act. Some, including Rodney Dangerfield, Bruce Campbell, Steven Wright, Emo Philips, Henny Youngman, Mitch Hedberg, Dan Mintz, Zach Galifianakis, Demetri Martin, Jimmy Carr, Anthony Jeselnik, Tim Vine and Milton Jones have, which comprise what is typically called a monologue A monologue The character may be speaking his or her thoughts aloud, directly addressing another character, or speaking to the audience, especially the former. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media (plays, films, animation, etc.), routine or act. Some stand-up comedians use props A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is any object held or used on stage by an actor for use in furthering the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set decoration and a, music or magic tricks to enhance their acts. Stand-up comedy is often performed in comedy clubs, bars, colleges and theaters, but there is no real restriction on where the craft can be performed. Many smaller venues hold "open mic" events, where anyone can take the stage and perform for the audience, offering a way for amateur performers to hone their craft and possibly break into professionalism. In North America, many comedy clubs feature the now-iconic brick wall Where the bricks are to remain fully visible, as opposed to being covered up by plaster or stucco, this is known as face-work or facing brickwork as the backdrop for stand-up performances.

Many stand-up comedians work for years to develop 45 minutes of material, and usually perform their bits repeatedly, slowly perfecting them over time. Actor-comedian Will Ferrell John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, actor, voice actor and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Stranger than Fiction, Blades of Glory, Semi- has called stand-up comedy "hard, lonely and vicious".[1]

United Kingdom history

The United Kingdom has a long heritage of stand-up comedians.

British stand-up comedy began in the music halls Music hall in London had its origins in entertainment provided in the new style saloon bars of public houses during the 1830s. These venues replaced earlier semi-rural amusements provided by traditional fairs and suburban pleasure gardens such as Vauxhall Gardens and the Cremorne Gardens. These latter became subject to urban development and became of the 18th and 19th centuries. Notable performers who rose through the music hall circuit were Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984. They have been described as "the most illustrious, and the best-loved, double-act, Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian and Max Miller Max Miller – the Cheeky Chappie was a British front-cloth comedian who was top of the bill in variety in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. He made films, toured in revues and music hall, sang and recorded songs some of which he wrote. He was known for his flamboyant suits, his wicked charm, his risqué jokes which often got him into trouble with the, who was considered to be the quintessential music-hall comedian. 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.[2]

At the end of World War II, many members of the Armed Forces had developed a taste for comedy (stand-up or otherwise) in wartime concert parties and moved into professional entertainment. Eric Sykes Eric Sykes, CBE is an English comedy writer and actor. He is known for his BBC television sitcom with Hattie Jacques and Deryck Guyler, called Sykes. He was also known on radio during the 1950s, both behind the scenes and in front of the microphone, Peter Sellers Richard Henry Sellers, OBE , commonly known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor best known for his roles in Dr. Strangelove, as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, as Clare Quilty in the original 1962 screen version of Lolita, and as the man-child, Chance the gardener, in his penultimate film, Being There and the other Goons, and Tommy Cooper Tommy Cooper was an Anglo-Welsh prop comedian and magician. He was known for making an art of getting magic tricks wrong, although he was actually an accomplished magician all began their careers this way. The rise of the postwar comedians coincided with the rise of television and radio, and the traditional music hall circuit suffered greatly as a result. Whereas a music hall performer could work for years using just one act, television exposure created a constant demand for new material, although this may have also been responsible for the cessation of theatrical censorship in 1968.

By the 1970s, music hall entertainment was virtually dead. Alternative circuits had evolved, such as Working Mens' Clubs Working men's clubs are a type of private social club founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of Great Britain, particularly the North of England, to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families. There are 3,000 working men's clubs in the UK.[2] Some of the more successful comedians on the Working Men's Club circuit - including Bernard Manning Bernard John Manning was an English stand-up comedian and nightclub owner. He was born and raised in Manchester in North West England, Bobby Thompson, Frank Carson Frank Carson is a Northern Irish comedian and actor, best known on television in series such as The Comedians and Tiswas 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 A Folk club is a regular event, permanent venue, or section of a venue devoted to folk music and traditional music. Folk clubs were primarily an urban phenomenon of 1960s and 1970s Great Britain and Ireland, and vital to the second British folk revival, but continue today there and elsewhere, where performers such as Billy Connolly William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin (The Big One). His first trade, in the early 1960s, was as a welder (specifically a boilermaker) in the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the, Mike Harding and Jasper Carrott Jasper Carrott OBE is a British comedian (declaring himself "world famous in Birmingham"), actor and TV presenter 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 The Establishment was a London nightclub which opened in October 1961, at 18 Greek Street, Soho and was famous in retrospect for satire although actually more notable at the time for jazz and other events. It was founded by Peter Cook and Nicholas Luard, both of whom were also important in the history of the magazine Private Eye. The name ", which, amongst other things, gave British audiences their first taste of extreme American stand-up comedy from Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was an extremely influential and controversial American stand-up comedian, writer, social critic and satirist of the 1950s and 1960s, whose comedy revolved heavily around the social stigmas and taboos of the era in which he lived. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was.[3] Victoria Wood launched her stand-up career in the early 1980s, which saw 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 The Royal Albert Hall is an arts venue situated in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941 for 15 nights in a row.

In 1979, the first American-style stand-up comedy club, the Comedy Store, London was opened in London by Peter Rosengard, where many alternative comedy stars of the 1980s, such as Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders is a BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning English comedienne, screenwriter and actress, Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle is an English stand-up comedian, actor and author. Sayle was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted 18th on a list of the 100 Greatest Stand Ups in a poll for Channel 4, Lee Evans Lee Evans is an English stand-up comedian, musician and actor, Rik Mayall Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English actor, writer and comedian. He is known for his comedy partnership with Adrian Edmondson, his over the top, energetic portrayal of characters, and for being one of the pioneering members of the alternative comedy scene in the early 1980s and Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He is probably best known for his comedic roles as Vyvyan Basterd in The Young Ones (1982–1984), and Eddie Hitler in Bottom (1991–1995), which he also wrote together with co-star Rik Mayall, his long-time comedy partner began their careers.[4] 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 humour being the prominent styles to flourish. In 1983 young drama teacher Maria Kempinska created Jongleurs Comedy Clubs, now the largest Stand Up Comedy chain in Europe.

United States history

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be and removed. (March 2010)

Stand-up comedy has its roots in various traditions of popular entertainment of the late 19th century including vaudeville Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill. Types of acts included popular and classical musicians, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, female, English Music Hall Music hall in London had its origins in entertainment provided in the new style saloon bars of public houses during the 1830s. These venues replaced earlier semi-rural amusements provided by traditional fairs and suburban pleasure gardens such as Vauxhall Gardens and the Cremorne Gardens. These latter became subject to urban development and became, Minstrel A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories about distant places or about real or imaginary historical events. Though minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty and high society. As the courts became more shows, humorist A humorist is a person who writes or performs humorous material. The material written and/or performed by humorists tends to be more subtle and cerebral than the material created by stand-up comedians and comedy writers. The intention is often to provoke wry smiles and amusement rather than outright belly laughs monologues (by personalities such as Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens , well known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. Twain is noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), which has been called "the Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). He is extensively quoted. Twain was a friend to presidents, artists,), and circus clown There are three basic traditional types of circus clowns, the whiteface, the auguste and the character, although a fourth is widely recognized now; the tramp or hobo clown serves as its own category, even though technically it could be considered a character clown. In circus, each of these types can wear a makeup that is either neat or grotesque ( antics. Comedians of this era often donned an ethnic persona (African, Scottish, German, Jewish, etc) and built a routine based on popular stereotypes. Jokes were generally broad and material was widely shared.

The fathers of modern American stand-up comedy, Jack Benny Jack Benny , born Benjamin Kubelsky, was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film. Widely recognized as one of the leading American entertainers of the 20th century, Benny played the role of the comic penny-pinching miser, insisting on remaining 39 years old on stage despite his actual age, and often playing, Bob Hope Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG was an American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO tours entertaining American military personnel. Throughout his career, he was honored for his humanitarian work. In 1996, the U.S. Congress, Fred Allen Fred Allen was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio, Milton Berle Milton Berle was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater (1948–55), in 1948 he was the first major star of US television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr. Television to millions during TV's golden age, and Frank Fay Frank Patrick Fay III was a movie and stage actor, comedian, master of ceremonies, and most famous for playing 'Elwood P. Dowd' (whose friend is an invisible 6-foot rabbit) in the play Harvey by the American playwright Mary Coyle Chase on Broadway. James Stewart would play the role in the film version all came from vaudeville. They spoke directly to the audience as themselves, in front of the curtain, known as performing "in one". Frank Fay Frank Patrick Fay III was a movie and stage actor, comedian, master of ceremonies, and most famous for playing 'Elwood P. Dowd' (whose friend is an invisible 6-foot rabbit) in the play Harvey by the American playwright Mary Coyle Chase on Broadway. James Stewart would play the role in the film version gained acclaim as a "master of ceremonies A master of ceremonies, or MC , is the host of an official public or private staged event or other performance. The MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving. An MC may also tell jokes or anecdotes. The MC sometimes also acts as the protocol officer during an official state function. In hip-hop" at New York's Palace Theater and is credited with creating the style of 20th century stand-up.

Nightclubs and resorts became the new breeding ground for stand-ups. Acts like Alan King Alan King was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well-known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious actor who appeared in a number of movies and television shows. King wrote several books, produced films, and appeared in plays. In later years, he helped many, Danny Thomas Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy, or The Danny Thomas Show. He is also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Don Rickles Donald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American stand-up comedian and actor. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic. However, unlike many insult comics who only find short-lived success, Rickles has enjoyed a sustained career in insult, and Jack E. Leonard flourished in these new arenas.

In the 1950s and into the 1960s, led by Mort Sahl, stand-ups began developing their acts in small folk clubs (like San Francisco's hungry i 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 The sociology of race and of ethnic relations is the area of the discipline that studies the social, political, and economic relations between races and ethnicities at all levels of society. This area encompasses the study of racism and of complex political interactions between members of different groups. The sociological analysis of race and, and sexual humor The term off-color humor is an Americanism used to describe jokes, prose, poems, black comedy, blue comedy and skits that deal with topics that are considered to be in poor taste or overly vulgar by the prevailing morality of a culture. Most commonly labeled as "off-color" are acts concerned with sex, a particular ethnic group, or gender. Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was an extremely influential and controversial American stand-up comedian, writer, social critic and satirist of the 1950s and 1960s, whose comedy revolved heavily around the social stigmas and taboos of the era in which he lived. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was became known as a "sick" comic when he used language that sometimes led to his arrest. Other notable comics from this era include Woody Allen Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, comedian, writer, musician, and playwright, Shelley Berman Sheldon Leonard "Shelley" Berman is an American comedian, writer, teacher, and actor, and Bob Newhart George Robert "Bob" Newhart is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart is best known for playing psychologist Dr. Robert "Bob" Hartley on the 1970s sitcom The Bob Newhart Show and as innkeeper Dick Loudon on the 1980s sitcom Newhart. Some African-American comedians such as Redd Foxx, George Kirby, Bill Cosby, and Dick Gregory began to cross over to white audiences during this time.

Stand-up in the 1970s saw several entertainers becoming 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. Television programs such as Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show launched the careers of other stand-up comedians.

In 2005, Bill Dana, a graduate of Emerson College in Boston Massachusetts and stand-up comedian, approached his Alma Mater about establishing an archive of comedy to help preserve the lush history of the ground-breaking comics of the last century. Hundreds of interviews were conducted and a vast database of comedic information is now on record at Emerson College.[5]

Stand-up comedy around the world

Ireland

Ireland has produced many successful and influential stand-up comedians, including Dave Allen, Spike Milligan, Dylan Moran, Dara Ó Briain, Ardal O'Hanlon, Sean Hughes and Ed Byrne. Irish and British standups tend to be well-known in the general culture of both nations.[citation needed]

Hong Kong

Stand-up comedy in China is an emerging art form. Hong Kong is the only city in China to offer a fulltime comedy club, The TakeOut Comedy Club Hong Kong, which features both local comics as well as leading international comedians such as Tom Cotter.[6] The Punchline Comedy Club also hosts international comedians once per month.

Malaysia

Malaysia in 2009 revitalized the stand-up comedy scene with the introduction of 2 regular monthly shows. Timeout Comedy Thursday hosts monthly shows, which features young comedians and open mics. The Comedy Club KL, the counterpart of The Comedy Club Asia, offers monthly shows and features some of the best stand-up comedians from around the world with the likes of Greg Fleet, Akmal Saleh and Jeff Green. Local stand-up comedians including Harith Iskander, Douglas Lim, Joanne Kam and Andrew Netto who are regular performers and have had shows in The Comedy Club KL. The stand-up comedy scene is new and limited to Kuala Lumpur, but is growing rapidly.

Mexico

Mexican stand-up and much of the country's other comedy formats come down from the carpas (tents), which were traveling variety shows similar to American vaudeville but with their own roots and traditions; added to this were the traditions of the pícaro (rogue) and Spanish theatre comedy. Stand-up in Mexico includes original material but consists mainly on telling a standard repertoire of many jokes which have remained basically the same over the decades. Rather than the freshness of the material what is important is the style and manner in which the comedian delivers these old jokes. Among the most famous stand-up comedians are Polo Polo and Jorge Falcón.

Singapore

Singapore has a growing stand-up comedy scene with three active venues. The Comedy Pimp Singapore is the newest contender bringing over award-winning headline acts every month - the first Friday and Saturday of the month. http://www.thecomedypimp.com/index.html shows take place at The Social House, Liang Court, Clarke Quay. TakeOut Comedy hosts a weekly open mic to help develop local comics.[7] The Comedy Club Asia at DXO offers shows one weekend per month primarily featuring leading international comics such as Paul Ogata.[7] Kumar, a drag queen who has performed in Singapore for more than 17 years, is Singapore's leading stand-up comedian.[8]

Philippines

Philippines stand-up comedy scene[9] was mainly composed before of comedians who would engage in popular forms of humor in the country. This would include performers re-telling well-known jokes with more exaggerated situations, poking fun at audience members, celebrity mimicry and comedic song and dance routines. Bars like Zirco, that feature this kind of comedy, are very popular and have a very big following. Of late, however, the western style of stand up comedy, has been catching on and a group known as Comedy Cartel are at the forefront of this movement. The group is composed of seasoned comedians such as Tim Tayag[10],Allan Manalo and Mike Unson. The Leader of the pack being Red Ollero. The star of this group is the Laffapalooza 2 Champion and loser of contests such as "tawag ng tawanan" and the International Comedy Contest in Hong Kong, Emmanuel Gascon.

Comedy festivals

Stand-up comedy is the focus of four major international festivals: the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland; Just for Laughs in Montreal, Canada; HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, CO, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in Melbourne, Australia, and a number of other festivals, most prominently The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas, the Vancouver Comedy Festival, the Boston Comedy and Film Festival, the New York Underground Film 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. The festival format has proven quite successful at attracting attention to the art of stand-up, and is often used as a scouting and proving ground by industry professionals seeking new comedic talent.

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. Their guests were varied and included other comedians, including Burns and Allen. A "feud" between Fred Allen and Jack Benny was used as comic material for nearly a decade.

HBO (which, for the first time, presented comedians uncensored), beginning with Robert Klein in 1975, was instrumental in reaching larger audiences.

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.

Since the mid-2000s, online video-sharing sites such as YouTube have also provided a venue for stand-up comedy, and many comedians' performances can be viewed online.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Booth, Michael: Fearless delivery sets Will Ferrell apart. The Denver Post, 24 June 2005. Accessed on 29 March 2010.
  2. ^ a b Fisher, J Tommy Cooper: Always Leave Them Laughing ISBN 978-0007215119
  3. ^ "So Farewell Then: The Untold Life of Peter Cook" Cook, Wendy E. ISBN 0 00 722893 7, p. 139-144
  4. ^ Wilmut, R and Rosengard, P Didn't You Kill My Mother-In-Law : The Story Of Alternative Comedy In Britain. ISBN 978-0413173904
  5. ^ Dana, Bill (2008). "American Comedy Archives". Emerson College Boston, Massachusetts. http://www.emerson.edu/comedy. Retrieved March 6, 2009.
  6. ^ "Stand-up comedy around the world: a glance at China's and Africa's scenes". Punchline Magazine. 2008-07-14. http://punchlinemagazine.com/blog/stand-up-comedy-around-the-world-a-glance-at-china%E2%80%99s-and-africa%E2%80%99s-scenes. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  7. ^ a b Chee, Frankie. "Stand-up is back", The Straits Times, 2009-07-12.
  8. ^ "Meet Singapore's Leading Comic: A Drag Queen Named Kumar", "ABC News" 14 February 2008
  9. ^ "The Filipino stand up comedy scene"
  10. ^ "The Filipino pioneer of point of view stand up comedy: Tim Tayag"
  11. ^ "Watch Stand Up Comedians on YouTube". Daniel Scocco. Dailybits.com. 2008-09-23. http://www.dailybits.com/watch-stand-up-comedians-on-youtube/. Retrieved 2008-09-27.

Bibliography

Categories: Comedy | Comedy genres | Stand-up comedy | Performing arts

 

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