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(Redirected from Stand-up comic)
'Stand-up comedy' is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience, with the absence of the theatrical fourth wall. A person who performs stand-up comedy is known as a 'stand-up comic', 'stand-up comedian' or more informally 'stand up'. It is usually performed by a single comedian, and usually with the aid of a microphone. The comedian usually recites a fast-paced succession of humorous stories, short jokes (called bits), and one-liners, typically called a ''monologue'', routine or act. Some stand-up comedians use props, music, or magic tricks in their acts. Stand-up comedy is often performed in comedy clubs, bars, colleges and theaters. However, there is no real restriction on where it can be performed. Many smaller venues hold "open mic" events where amateur comedians can perform comedy before a live audience, offering a way for the performers to hone their craft and possibly break into the business.
Many stand-up routines are similar to one man shows, with the main difference being the expectations of the audience, who, with stand-up, expect a relatively steady stream of "laughs". This in turn affects the aims of the performer, who is under great pressure to deliver those laughs. If the performer cannot coax these laughs out of the crowd, sometimes the crowd will poke fun at the comedian, a practice known as heckling.
Stand-up comedy is considered difficult to master, because the stand-up comedian is at the mercy of the audience, which is an integral element of the act. An adept stand-up comedian must nimbly play off the mood and tastes of any particular audience, and adjust his or her routine accordingly. Stand-up is a comedic art form that is openly devoted to getting and receiving laughs from an audience above any other component of the form (unlike theatrical comedy, which creates comedy within the structure of a play and with character and situation). The skills attributed to being a stand-up comic are diverse; it is often necessary for a solitary stand-up comic to simultaneously assume the roles of a writer, editor, performer, promoter, producer, and technician.
One test of a master stand-up comedian is the ability to not only face down a "heckler", but win over and entertain the rest of the crowd with a retort. Many stand-up comedians work for years to get 45 minutes of material, and usually perform their bits over and over, slowly perfecting them over time. Actor and comedian Will Ferrell has called stand-up comedy hard, lonely and vicious. [1]
Stand-up comedy has its roots in various traditions of American entertainment popular in the late 19th century, ranging from vaudeville and humorist monologues (with Mark Twain a notable master) to circus clown. Most early comedians were merely viewed as "joke tellers," who warmed up the audience as an opening act, or kept the crowds entertained during intermissions. Being a comedian was often considered a stepping stone to a proper career in show business. Jokes were generally broad and (often when not broadcast) mildly risqué, and often dwelt on stock comic themes ("mother-in-law jokes," ethnic humor). "Blue humor," or comedy that was considered indecent, was popular in many nightclubs, but working "blue" greatly limited a comedian's chance for legitimate success. Today, this type of routine is more commonly seen.
The fathers of stand up comedy were the "masters of ceremony", as they often were referred to, of the "golden age" of radio broadcasting. Jack Benny, Fred Allen, and Bob Hope all came from vaudeville and often opened their listening programs with monologues and routines. These were topical, characterized by ad-libs and discussions about anything from the latest films to a missing birthday. The programs largely were split into the opening monologue, musical number, followed by a skit or story routine. Their guests were varied and included other radio comedians of the day including Burns and Allen. A "feud" between Fred Allen and Jack Benny was used as comic material for nearly a decade.
In the late 1950s and into the 1960s, a new generation of American comedians began to explore political topics, race relations, and sexual humor. Stand-up comedy shifted from quick jokes and one-liners to monologues, often with dark humor and cutting satire. Lenny Bruce became particularly influential in pushing the boundaries of what was considered acceptable entertainment (among comedians, such "boundary pushing" dates back at least to vaudeville in a traditional joke called The Aristocrats that comedians would tell usually only to each other).The Aristocrats being the most base and worse example of this. African American comedians such as Redd Foxx, long relegated to segregated venues, also began to cross over to white audiences at this time.
Phyllis Diller ventured out as the first solo female stand up comic, opening the door to other funny women like Joan Rivers, Lily Tomlin and Roseanne Barr. In what was historically a man's domain, Diller was a stand out. She began working small clubs and eventually shared the stage with talents such as Bob Hope, Don Rickles, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Stand-up comedy exploded during the 1970s, with several entertainers becoming major stars based on stand-up comedy performances. Stand-up expanded from nightclubs and theaters to major concerts in sports arenas. Richard Pryor and George Carlin followed Lenny Bruce's acerbic style to become counterculture icons. Steve Martin and Bill Cosby had similar levels of success with gentler comic routines. The older style of stand-up comedy was kept alive by Rodney Dangerfield and Buddy Hackett, who enjoyed revived careers. Television programs such as ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Tonight Show'' launched the careers of other stand-up comedy stars.
By the 1980s, the great popularity of stand-up comedy led to a boom in stand-up comedy venues for both locally-based and touring comics in many cities. Many stand-up stars landed major television deals, and established television and film stars such as Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, and Billy Crystal tested their comic skills with live stand-up comedy appearances. The advent of HBO (which could present comedians uncensored) and other cable channels such as Comedy Central added to the stand-up comedy boom.
By the 1990s, a glut of stand-up comedy led to its decline, as the market became somewhat flooded with comedians of varying talent levels. Established stand-up comedians still commanded top ticket prices, however, and talented new comedians were presented with many smaller venues in which to establish themselves.
Many believe that Chris Rock's stand-up career, which took off in 1996 with his popular special ''Bring the Pain'', was influential in the revival of stand-up comedy that took place in the second half of the 1990s. By the 2000s, comedy had enjoyed a resurgence, not only because of Rock's popularity and success, but also because of newly accessible and popular media outlets such as the internet, television channels like Comedy Central and various comedy schools, troupes, and improv groups nurturing new talent through workshops and classes.
In the USA, New York City is still considered by many to be the heart of the stand-up scene, with many of the young rising stars as well as the top performers regularly trying out material at the Comedy Cellar when not on the road. Caroline's on Broadway helped pioneer the "headliner club" and is still considered to be one of the top clubs in the country for headliners, with past performers including Andrew Dice Clay, the great Bill Hicks (considered by many comedians, the greatest to ever perform live), Colin Quinn, Gilbert Gottfried, Mitch Hedberg, Jerry Seinfeld, and many others.
In New York City's Greenwich Village, comedy even flourishes outside of the stand-up club circuit. Theaters that are more known for sketch comedy, like the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCB), as well as cabarets that do not exclusively offer any kind of comedy, like Rififi, have weekly comedy shows. The UCB Theater has "Crash Test" every Monday, hosted by Aziz Ansari. Rififi has "Invite Them Up", hosted by Bobby Tisdale and Eugene Mirman.
Some might even say these places are helping develop a new form of comedy -- alternative comedy -- which involves more character-based, surreal, or absurd humor as opposed to observations of everyday life or more polemical themes. A growing number of comics (Demetri Martin, Slovin and Allen, Andres du Bouchet do not strictly get on stage and tell jokes, opting to play music or act out sketches, making their performances more similar to vaudeville than to traditional stand-up.
Los Angeles is the other major market for US stand-up comedy, being a home to much of the American entertainment industry, as well as providing stand-up comics with the greatest opportunity to branch out into television and film. The Los Angeles comedy scene consistently showcases many of the most well-known comics in the world regularly playing at major comedy venues, such as The Laugh Factory, the Hollywood Improv, and the Comedy Store. L.A.'s comedy scene is often criticized for having many comics interested in transitioning into other media, and fewer dedicated solely to stand-up as an artform. Prominent figures in the L.A. comedy scene have included Dane Cook, Kathy Griffin, Dom Irrera, Chili Challis, Jim Carrey and Jay Leno, none of whom got their start in LA. There is a newly burgeoning comedy scene in the North Hollywood and Silverlake areas of Los Angeles, as these areas have experienced an influx of artists over the past decade as the housing costs in West Los Angeles have risen. In the greater Los Angeles area, another prominent comedy night club known as The Ice House in Pasadena has also been host to many famous comedians.
Although it isn't as big as New York or LA, Boston has long been considered one of the main comedy breeding grounds in the US. Boston comics often move to New York or LA in order to achieve mainstream success. The Boston area has arguably produced more native stand-up comics than New York (although it should be noted that many comics seen as natives actually came to Boston as college students from other parts of the country). The Comedy Connection is Boston's largest club and hosts many national headliners. Another club of note is The Comedy Studio in Harvard Square which is generally seen as Boston's premiere underground club. Notable Boston-area comics include Denis Leary, Louis C.K., Lenny Clarke, Dane Cook, Steven Wright, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Doug Stanhope, Paula Poundstone, Patrice Oneal, Bill Burr and Gary Gulman. Many Boston comics have also gone on to work as writers for shows such as Dr. Katz, Home Movies, The Daily Show and The Simpsons. A number of other comedians born in New Jersey and New York got their start in the clubs of Boston, including Joe Rogan, Steven Wright, and Bobcat Goldthwait. A documentary film was made in 2003, ''When Stand Up Stood Out'' which discusses the Boston's role in the comedy boom of the mid to late 80s.
San Diego is also known in the comedy world for giving a start to many stand ups. Tony Calabrese, Darren Carter, Charlie Ayers, Mark Brazil, Bobby Lee, Dat Phan, Fred Burns, Dante, Faison Love, Rene Sandoval, Jamie Foxx, Wild Willie Parsons, Anthony Ramos, and Tommy Chun all began their careers there.
In the 1950s, Mort Sahl revolutionized stand-up comedy and launched his recording career after acclaim for his satirical, observational routines at the hungry i. Stand-up comedy legend Lenny Bruce found a liberal fan base in the city, allowing him to take his act even further. At one point in the 1980s, San Francisco had nine comedy clubs running, including the Holy City Zoo, The Other Café, Cobb's Comedy Club, and The Punchline. Many comedians have spent time in San Francisco and been influenced by the liberal and intellectual atmosphere, such as Margaret Cho, Dana Carvey, Janeane Garofalo, Marc Maron, Jake Johansen, and, more recently, Rob Cantrell (of Last Comic Standing), Arj Barker, and Jim Short. San Francisco has also hosted a separate circuit of gay/queer comedy for many years at clubs like Josie's that produced Scott Capurro, Marga Gomez, and politician Tom Ammiano. It is also know for its unique and new "Commie Comics" phenomenon. The San Francisco comedy culture has a distinct leftward tilt.
Houston and Dallas have also produced many notable stand ups, perhaps most famously the legendary Bill Hicks (Houston). Steve Martin is a native of Waco. In 1959, George Carlin and Jack Burns began as a comedy team when both were working for radio station KXOL in Fort Worth. Austin also has a thriving stand-up comedy scene with two clubs dedicated to comedy performances -- Capital City Comedy and The Velveeta Room -- as well as the vaudeville-style show Esther's Follies.
An Irish festival called El Feile in Barcelona first introduced professional English language stand up comedy to Spain in 2004 with its legendary ¨Best of Irish comedy Special¨ which led to the formation of The Giggling Guiri in 2005. Firmly established now as the top club in the country it delivers has its flagship headline shows at least once a month in Madrid and Barcelona. The club plays host to some of the very best in international acts regularly featuring the stronger Edinburgh Fringe shows.
The United Kingdom has a long and rich heritage of standup comedians, which continues to this day.
English stand-up comedy began in Music Hall of the 18th and 19th Century. Notable comedians who came up through the Music-hall circuit were Morecambe and Wise, Arthur Askey and Max Miller, who was considered to be the quintessential music-hall comedian. The heavy censorship regime of the Lord Chamberlain's Office required all comedians 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 who's act is considered bawdy or smutty). The comedian was then obliged not to deviate from the act as submitted. [1]
At the end of the Second World War, many members of the Armed Forces, who had developed a taste for comedy - stand-up or otherwise - in wartime concert parties, and moved into professional entertainment - some examples being Eric Sykes, Peter Sellers and the other Goons, and Tommy Cooper. The rise of the post-war comedians coincided with the rise of broadcast media - television and radio. The traditional music-hall circuit suffered greatly as a result. Whereas a performer could work for years using just one set, television was voracious in it's demand for new material and new acts - although this may have also been responsible for the cessation of theatrical censorship in 1968.
By the 1970's music-hall was practically dead. By then, alternative circuits had evolved, such as Working Mens' 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 off as relatively straight musical acts whose between-song banter grew into complete comedy routines. The 1960's had also seen the rise of the satire boom, including the establishment of ''The Establishment (club)'', which, amongst other things, gave British audiences their first taste of extreme American stand-up comedy from Lenny Bruce. [3]
In 1979, the first American-style stand-up comedy club, the Comedy Store, London was opened in London by Peter Rosengard, and many of the stars of alternative comedy of the 1980s, such as Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, Alexei Sayle, Lee Evans, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson got their start there.[4] The stand-up comedy circuit rapidly expanded out of London and into the provinces.
Australia has a thriving stand-up comedy scene, with comedy clubs in most capital cities which stage events featuring professional comedians, and nurture and promote new talent through open mic nights.
Some of Australia's most famous stand-up comedians include 'blue' comedian, Rodney Rude, Steady Eddie and Jimoen. A more extensive list of notable Australian comedians can be found in the article List of stand-up comedians.
Each year, Melbourne, Victoria plays host to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, one of the World's largest comedy festivals. According to its official website, the festival aims to showcase local talent, bring international comedians to Australian audiences and nurture and develop new performers.[2] The third of these aims is furthered through events such as Raw Comedy, a prestigious open mic competition for amateur comedians, and MICF Class Clowns, an event for aspiring comedians who are between the ages of 14 and 17 [3]. A number of smaller festivals are also held around the country.
A number of comedians who began their careers in stand-up comedy have gone on to achieve fame in other media, such as film, radio and television. Examples of these include Rove McManus (television), Eric Bana (film), Jimoen (film and television), Tahir Bilgic (television), Wil Anderson (radio & television) and Adam Hills (television)
In Hong Kong, stand-up comedy is translated into Cantonese 'Tung Tuk Siu' (棟篤笑), Tung Tuk meaning "standing alone" and Siu meaning "laughter." The colloquial Cantonese translation was firstly introduced by Dayo Wong Tze Wah in 1990, when stand-up comedy was still fresh to the Chinese community.
Michael Hui would be considered the first famous artist in Hong Kong performing similar to a stand-up comedian. However, it was Dayo Wong who started doing stand-up as a completed show for more than two hours. Popularity of Hong Kong stand-up comedies gradually increases with more than a decade effort of various artists, including Jan Lamb. The impact has even spread into Mainland China, especially to those who understand Cantonese.
Some people believe Tung Tuk Siu is not a new type of performance to China, but a kind of single Xiangsheng. However, Xiangsheng focuses more on making people laugh but not delivering an in-depth message behind the jokes.
In the Netherlands, we find two forms of comedy on stage. One is stand-up comedy and was shaped after stand-up comedy as seen in the UK and the USA. The other is what the Dutch call cabaret, albeit quite different from the English sense of the word. Stand-up comedy was first successfully introduced in Holland by Raoul Heertje, who, after performing very successfully in England and the States, founded dutch comedy collective Comedytrain in Amsterdam.
Cabaret, as known in Holland, is based on a different phenomenon known as the "conference", which is comparable to stand-up comedy, but a conference is generally one or two hours long and can containe songs, music and other diversions. The performer is called a "cabaretier". There is a decades long tradition of such "conferences" at New Year's Eve, started by Wim Kan. Other famous former cabaretiers are Toon Hermans and Wim Sonneveld. The most famous present cabaretier is Freek de Jonge, who, in the tradition of Wim Kan, made it a point to ridicule politicians. In 2006, he even had a political conference the night before the national elections. Stand-up comedy has also brought forward a number of very successful and famous "cabaretiers" of a younger generation. For instance Hans Teeuwen, Theo Maassen, Hans Sibbel and Najib Amhali, amongst many others.
In 2007 a new comedy collective was founded by the Comedytrain: The Amsterdam Underground Comedy Collective. This collective was founded to allow and train Dutch comedians to perform in English. The AUCC will have its first major gig during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the Tron.
Germany cottoned on to US-style stand-up comedy relatively late. German comedy was previously dominated by a form of Cabaret, where routines are carefully-rehearsed, politically-oriented and relatively highbrow. The typical US stand-up style did not gain a foothold until the 1990s, and, when it did, was largely due to German expatriate
workers importing the style from the US when they came back from overseas. The first notable stand-up comedy club in Germany was the ''Quatsch Comedy Club'', which was founded in 1992 in Hamburg by Thomas Herrmanns. Stand-up comedy is still experiencing rapid growth in Germany. Shows such as ''Nightwash'' - originally a standup show in a Cologne Laundromat, started by Klaus-Juergen "Knacki" Deuser - and the Quatsch Comedy Club have been snapped up by television, first by terrestrial broadcasters, then the satellite channels, including the recent addition of a german version of Comedy Central.
Another notable influence on German humour is the spread of English-language Comedy shows, where English and American comedians perform in their native language. Shows such as ''Hollywood's Comedy Nights'' in Cologne and Bonn and the ''English Comedy Club'' in Munich originally started by catering to the large english-speaking expatriate population of all three cities, and have gained a further foothold due to the high percentage of germans who speak english as a second language.
Germany features a number of comedy festivals, including the Cologne Comedy Festival, which is in part sponsored by RTL. Due to Cologne's status as a "Media Town", the festival attracts a large amount of both national and international comedy acts. Festival has taken place every October since 1991, and is considered to be one of the largest Mainland Europe Comedy Festivals.[4] The German Comedy Prize is presented as part of the festival.
Stand-up comedy is the focus of four major international festivals: the Edinburgh 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 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 (comedian) as well as several other stand-up comedians who are regularly featured on their radio show.
The festival format has proven to be quite successful at attracting attention to the art form, and is often used as a scouting and proving ground by industry professionals seeking new comedic talent.
Some stand-up comedians achieve their own television or radio programs or star in major motion pictures, reaching a level of mainstream success and recognition often unattainable in the comedy club circuit alone. Examples of this include Woody Allen, Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, Martin Lawrence, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Jon Stewart, Kathy Griffin, Margaret Cho, Ray Romano, Dave Chappelle and more recently Dane Cook. Stand-up comedy is also becoming available online. For example, the web site of Rooftop Comedy features stand-up comedy performances from various local clubs.
★ Improvisational theatre
★ List of stand-up comedians
★ Sitcom
★ Comedy
★ Rakugo
★ Manzai
★ Open mike
★ List of musical comedians
★ Humor
★ Stand Up Comedy collection
1. Fisher, J ''Tommy Cooper:Always Leave Them Laughing'' ISBN-13: 978-0007215119
2. Fisher, J ''Tommy Cooper:Always Leave Them Laughing'' ISBN-13: 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-13: 978-0413173904
'Stand-up comedy' is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience, with the absence of the theatrical fourth wall. A person who performs stand-up comedy is known as a 'stand-up comic', 'stand-up comedian' or more informally 'stand up'. It is usually performed by a single comedian, and usually with the aid of a microphone. The comedian usually recites a fast-paced succession of humorous stories, short jokes (called bits), and one-liners, typically called a ''monologue'', routine or act. Some stand-up comedians use props, music, or magic tricks in their acts. Stand-up comedy is often performed in comedy clubs, bars, colleges and theaters. However, there is no real restriction on where it can be performed. Many smaller venues hold "open mic" events where amateur comedians can perform comedy before a live audience, offering a way for the performers to hone their craft and possibly break into the business.
Many stand-up routines are similar to one man shows, with the main difference being the expectations of the audience, who, with stand-up, expect a relatively steady stream of "laughs". This in turn affects the aims of the performer, who is under great pressure to deliver those laughs. If the performer cannot coax these laughs out of the crowd, sometimes the crowd will poke fun at the comedian, a practice known as heckling.
Stand-up comedy is considered difficult to master, because the stand-up comedian is at the mercy of the audience, which is an integral element of the act. An adept stand-up comedian must nimbly play off the mood and tastes of any particular audience, and adjust his or her routine accordingly. Stand-up is a comedic art form that is openly devoted to getting and receiving laughs from an audience above any other component of the form (unlike theatrical comedy, which creates comedy within the structure of a play and with character and situation). The skills attributed to being a stand-up comic are diverse; it is often necessary for a solitary stand-up comic to simultaneously assume the roles of a writer, editor, performer, promoter, producer, and technician.
One test of a master stand-up comedian is the ability to not only face down a "heckler", but win over and entertain the rest of the crowd with a retort. Many stand-up comedians work for years to get 45 minutes of material, and usually perform their bits over and over, slowly perfecting them over time. Actor and comedian Will Ferrell has called stand-up comedy hard, lonely and vicious. [1]
Stand-up comedy in the USA
History
Stand-up comedy has its roots in various traditions of American entertainment popular in the late 19th century, ranging from vaudeville and humorist monologues (with Mark Twain a notable master) to circus clown. Most early comedians were merely viewed as "joke tellers," who warmed up the audience as an opening act, or kept the crowds entertained during intermissions. Being a comedian was often considered a stepping stone to a proper career in show business. Jokes were generally broad and (often when not broadcast) mildly risqué, and often dwelt on stock comic themes ("mother-in-law jokes," ethnic humor). "Blue humor," or comedy that was considered indecent, was popular in many nightclubs, but working "blue" greatly limited a comedian's chance for legitimate success. Today, this type of routine is more commonly seen.
The fathers of stand up comedy were the "masters of ceremony", as they often were referred to, of the "golden age" of radio broadcasting. Jack Benny, Fred Allen, and Bob Hope all came from vaudeville and often opened their listening programs with monologues and routines. These were topical, characterized by ad-libs and discussions about anything from the latest films to a missing birthday. The programs largely were split into the opening monologue, musical number, followed by a skit or story routine. Their guests were varied and included other radio comedians of the day including Burns and Allen. A "feud" between Fred Allen and Jack Benny was used as comic material for nearly a decade.
In the late 1950s and into the 1960s, a new generation of American comedians began to explore political topics, race relations, and sexual humor. Stand-up comedy shifted from quick jokes and one-liners to monologues, often with dark humor and cutting satire. Lenny Bruce became particularly influential in pushing the boundaries of what was considered acceptable entertainment (among comedians, such "boundary pushing" dates back at least to vaudeville in a traditional joke called The Aristocrats that comedians would tell usually only to each other).The Aristocrats being the most base and worse example of this. African American comedians such as Redd Foxx, long relegated to segregated venues, also began to cross over to white audiences at this time.
Phyllis Diller ventured out as the first solo female stand up comic, opening the door to other funny women like Joan Rivers, Lily Tomlin and Roseanne Barr. In what was historically a man's domain, Diller was a stand out. She began working small clubs and eventually shared the stage with talents such as Bob Hope, Don Rickles, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Stand-up comedy exploded during the 1970s, with several entertainers becoming major stars based on stand-up comedy performances. Stand-up expanded from nightclubs and theaters to major concerts in sports arenas. Richard Pryor and George Carlin followed Lenny Bruce's acerbic style to become counterculture icons. Steve Martin and Bill Cosby had similar levels of success with gentler comic routines. The older style of stand-up comedy was kept alive by Rodney Dangerfield and Buddy Hackett, who enjoyed revived careers. Television programs such as ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Tonight Show'' launched the careers of other stand-up comedy stars.
By the 1980s, the great popularity of stand-up comedy led to a boom in stand-up comedy venues for both locally-based and touring comics in many cities. Many stand-up stars landed major television deals, and established television and film stars such as Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, and Billy Crystal tested their comic skills with live stand-up comedy appearances. The advent of HBO (which could present comedians uncensored) and other cable channels such as Comedy Central added to the stand-up comedy boom.
By the 1990s, a glut of stand-up comedy led to its decline, as the market became somewhat flooded with comedians of varying talent levels. Established stand-up comedians still commanded top ticket prices, however, and talented new comedians were presented with many smaller venues in which to establish themselves.
Many believe that Chris Rock's stand-up career, which took off in 1996 with his popular special ''Bring the Pain'', was influential in the revival of stand-up comedy that took place in the second half of the 1990s. By the 2000s, comedy had enjoyed a resurgence, not only because of Rock's popularity and success, but also because of newly accessible and popular media outlets such as the internet, television channels like Comedy Central and various comedy schools, troupes, and improv groups nurturing new talent through workshops and classes.
New York City
In the USA, New York City is still considered by many to be the heart of the stand-up scene, with many of the young rising stars as well as the top performers regularly trying out material at the Comedy Cellar when not on the road. Caroline's on Broadway helped pioneer the "headliner club" and is still considered to be one of the top clubs in the country for headliners, with past performers including Andrew Dice Clay, the great Bill Hicks (considered by many comedians, the greatest to ever perform live), Colin Quinn, Gilbert Gottfried, Mitch Hedberg, Jerry Seinfeld, and many others.
In New York City's Greenwich Village, comedy even flourishes outside of the stand-up club circuit. Theaters that are more known for sketch comedy, like the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCB), as well as cabarets that do not exclusively offer any kind of comedy, like Rififi, have weekly comedy shows. The UCB Theater has "Crash Test" every Monday, hosted by Aziz Ansari. Rififi has "Invite Them Up", hosted by Bobby Tisdale and Eugene Mirman.
Some might even say these places are helping develop a new form of comedy -- alternative comedy -- which involves more character-based, surreal, or absurd humor as opposed to observations of everyday life or more polemical themes. A growing number of comics (Demetri Martin, Slovin and Allen, Andres du Bouchet do not strictly get on stage and tell jokes, opting to play music or act out sketches, making their performances more similar to vaudeville than to traditional stand-up.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is the other major market for US stand-up comedy, being a home to much of the American entertainment industry, as well as providing stand-up comics with the greatest opportunity to branch out into television and film. The Los Angeles comedy scene consistently showcases many of the most well-known comics in the world regularly playing at major comedy venues, such as The Laugh Factory, the Hollywood Improv, and the Comedy Store. L.A.'s comedy scene is often criticized for having many comics interested in transitioning into other media, and fewer dedicated solely to stand-up as an artform. Prominent figures in the L.A. comedy scene have included Dane Cook, Kathy Griffin, Dom Irrera, Chili Challis, Jim Carrey and Jay Leno, none of whom got their start in LA. There is a newly burgeoning comedy scene in the North Hollywood and Silverlake areas of Los Angeles, as these areas have experienced an influx of artists over the past decade as the housing costs in West Los Angeles have risen. In the greater Los Angeles area, another prominent comedy night club known as The Ice House in Pasadena has also been host to many famous comedians.
Boston
Although it isn't as big as New York or LA, Boston has long been considered one of the main comedy breeding grounds in the US. Boston comics often move to New York or LA in order to achieve mainstream success. The Boston area has arguably produced more native stand-up comics than New York (although it should be noted that many comics seen as natives actually came to Boston as college students from other parts of the country). The Comedy Connection is Boston's largest club and hosts many national headliners. Another club of note is The Comedy Studio in Harvard Square which is generally seen as Boston's premiere underground club. Notable Boston-area comics include Denis Leary, Louis C.K., Lenny Clarke, Dane Cook, Steven Wright, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Doug Stanhope, Paula Poundstone, Patrice Oneal, Bill Burr and Gary Gulman. Many Boston comics have also gone on to work as writers for shows such as Dr. Katz, Home Movies, The Daily Show and The Simpsons. A number of other comedians born in New Jersey and New York got their start in the clubs of Boston, including Joe Rogan, Steven Wright, and Bobcat Goldthwait. A documentary film was made in 2003, ''When Stand Up Stood Out'' which discusses the Boston's role in the comedy boom of the mid to late 80s.
San Diego
San Diego is also known in the comedy world for giving a start to many stand ups. Tony Calabrese, Darren Carter, Charlie Ayers, Mark Brazil, Bobby Lee, Dat Phan, Fred Burns, Dante, Faison Love, Rene Sandoval, Jamie Foxx, Wild Willie Parsons, Anthony Ramos, and Tommy Chun all began their careers there.
San Francisco
In the 1950s, Mort Sahl revolutionized stand-up comedy and launched his recording career after acclaim for his satirical, observational routines at the hungry i. Stand-up comedy legend Lenny Bruce found a liberal fan base in the city, allowing him to take his act even further. At one point in the 1980s, San Francisco had nine comedy clubs running, including the Holy City Zoo, The Other Café, Cobb's Comedy Club, and The Punchline. Many comedians have spent time in San Francisco and been influenced by the liberal and intellectual atmosphere, such as Margaret Cho, Dana Carvey, Janeane Garofalo, Marc Maron, Jake Johansen, and, more recently, Rob Cantrell (of Last Comic Standing), Arj Barker, and Jim Short. San Francisco has also hosted a separate circuit of gay/queer comedy for many years at clubs like Josie's that produced Scott Capurro, Marga Gomez, and politician Tom Ammiano. It is also know for its unique and new "Commie Comics" phenomenon. The San Francisco comedy culture has a distinct leftward tilt.
Texas
Houston and Dallas have also produced many notable stand ups, perhaps most famously the legendary Bill Hicks (Houston). Steve Martin is a native of Waco. In 1959, George Carlin and Jack Burns began as a comedy team when both were working for radio station KXOL in Fort Worth. Austin also has a thriving stand-up comedy scene with two clubs dedicated to comedy performances -- Capital City Comedy and The Velveeta Room -- as well as the vaudeville-style show Esther's Follies.
Spain
An Irish festival called El Feile in Barcelona first introduced professional English language stand up comedy to Spain in 2004 with its legendary ¨Best of Irish comedy Special¨ which led to the formation of The Giggling Guiri in 2005. Firmly established now as the top club in the country it delivers has its flagship headline shows at least once a month in Madrid and Barcelona. The club plays host to some of the very best in international acts regularly featuring the stronger Edinburgh Fringe shows.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has a long and rich heritage of standup comedians, which continues to this day.
English stand-up comedy began in Music Hall of the 18th and 19th Century. Notable comedians who came up through the Music-hall circuit were Morecambe and Wise, Arthur Askey and Max Miller, who was considered to be the quintessential music-hall comedian. The heavy censorship regime of the Lord Chamberlain's Office required all comedians 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 who's act is considered bawdy or smutty). The comedian was then obliged not to deviate from the act as submitted. [1]
At the end of the Second World War, many members of the Armed Forces, who had developed a taste for comedy - stand-up or otherwise - in wartime concert parties, and moved into professional entertainment - some examples being Eric Sykes, Peter Sellers and the other Goons, and Tommy Cooper. The rise of the post-war comedians coincided with the rise of broadcast media - television and radio. The traditional music-hall circuit suffered greatly as a result. Whereas a performer could work for years using just one set, television was voracious in it's demand for new material and new acts - although this may have also been responsible for the cessation of theatrical censorship in 1968.
By the 1970's music-hall was practically dead. By then, alternative circuits had evolved, such as Working Mens' 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 off as relatively straight musical acts whose between-song banter grew into complete comedy routines. The 1960's had also seen the rise of the satire boom, including the establishment of ''The Establishment (club)'', which, amongst other things, gave British audiences their first taste of extreme American stand-up comedy from Lenny Bruce. [3]
In 1979, the first American-style stand-up comedy club, the Comedy Store, London was opened in London by Peter Rosengard, and many of the stars of alternative comedy of the 1980s, such as Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, Alexei Sayle, Lee Evans, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson got their start there.[4] The stand-up comedy circuit rapidly expanded out of London and into the provinces.
Australia
Australia has a thriving stand-up comedy scene, with comedy clubs in most capital cities which stage events featuring professional comedians, and nurture and promote new talent through open mic nights.
Some of Australia's most famous stand-up comedians include 'blue' comedian, Rodney Rude, Steady Eddie and Jimoen. A more extensive list of notable Australian comedians can be found in the article List of stand-up comedians.
Each year, Melbourne, Victoria plays host to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, one of the World's largest comedy festivals. According to its official website, the festival aims to showcase local talent, bring international comedians to Australian audiences and nurture and develop new performers.[2] The third of these aims is furthered through events such as Raw Comedy, a prestigious open mic competition for amateur comedians, and MICF Class Clowns, an event for aspiring comedians who are between the ages of 14 and 17 [3]. A number of smaller festivals are also held around the country.
A number of comedians who began their careers in stand-up comedy have gone on to achieve fame in other media, such as film, radio and television. Examples of these include Rove McManus (television), Eric Bana (film), Jimoen (film and television), Tahir Bilgic (television), Wil Anderson (radio & television) and Adam Hills (television)
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, stand-up comedy is translated into Cantonese 'Tung Tuk Siu' (棟篤笑), Tung Tuk meaning "standing alone" and Siu meaning "laughter." The colloquial Cantonese translation was firstly introduced by Dayo Wong Tze Wah in 1990, when stand-up comedy was still fresh to the Chinese community.
Michael Hui would be considered the first famous artist in Hong Kong performing similar to a stand-up comedian. However, it was Dayo Wong who started doing stand-up as a completed show for more than two hours. Popularity of Hong Kong stand-up comedies gradually increases with more than a decade effort of various artists, including Jan Lamb. The impact has even spread into Mainland China, especially to those who understand Cantonese.
Some people believe Tung Tuk Siu is not a new type of performance to China, but a kind of single Xiangsheng. However, Xiangsheng focuses more on making people laugh but not delivering an in-depth message behind the jokes.
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, we find two forms of comedy on stage. One is stand-up comedy and was shaped after stand-up comedy as seen in the UK and the USA. The other is what the Dutch call cabaret, albeit quite different from the English sense of the word. Stand-up comedy was first successfully introduced in Holland by Raoul Heertje, who, after performing very successfully in England and the States, founded dutch comedy collective Comedytrain in Amsterdam.
Cabaret, as known in Holland, is based on a different phenomenon known as the "conference", which is comparable to stand-up comedy, but a conference is generally one or two hours long and can containe songs, music and other diversions. The performer is called a "cabaretier". There is a decades long tradition of such "conferences" at New Year's Eve, started by Wim Kan. Other famous former cabaretiers are Toon Hermans and Wim Sonneveld. The most famous present cabaretier is Freek de Jonge, who, in the tradition of Wim Kan, made it a point to ridicule politicians. In 2006, he even had a political conference the night before the national elections. Stand-up comedy has also brought forward a number of very successful and famous "cabaretiers" of a younger generation. For instance Hans Teeuwen, Theo Maassen, Hans Sibbel and Najib Amhali, amongst many others.
In 2007 a new comedy collective was founded by the Comedytrain: The Amsterdam Underground Comedy Collective. This collective was founded to allow and train Dutch comedians to perform in English. The AUCC will have its first major gig during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the Tron.
Germany
Germany cottoned on to US-style stand-up comedy relatively late. German comedy was previously dominated by a form of Cabaret, where routines are carefully-rehearsed, politically-oriented and relatively highbrow. The typical US stand-up style did not gain a foothold until the 1990s, and, when it did, was largely due to German expatriate
workers importing the style from the US when they came back from overseas. The first notable stand-up comedy club in Germany was the ''Quatsch Comedy Club'', which was founded in 1992 in Hamburg by Thomas Herrmanns. Stand-up comedy is still experiencing rapid growth in Germany. Shows such as ''Nightwash'' - originally a standup show in a Cologne Laundromat, started by Klaus-Juergen "Knacki" Deuser - and the Quatsch Comedy Club have been snapped up by television, first by terrestrial broadcasters, then the satellite channels, including the recent addition of a german version of Comedy Central.
English-Speaking Stand-up Comedy
Another notable influence on German humour is the spread of English-language Comedy shows, where English and American comedians perform in their native language. Shows such as ''Hollywood's Comedy Nights'' in Cologne and Bonn and the ''English Comedy Club'' in Munich originally started by catering to the large english-speaking expatriate population of all three cities, and have gained a further foothold due to the high percentage of germans who speak english as a second language.
Stand-Up Comedy Festivals in Germany
Germany features a number of comedy festivals, including the Cologne Comedy Festival, which is in part sponsored by RTL. Due to Cologne's status as a "Media Town", the festival attracts a large amount of both national and international comedy acts. Festival has taken place every October since 1991, and is considered to be one of the largest Mainland Europe Comedy Festivals.[4] The German Comedy Prize is presented as part of the festival.
Comedy festivals
Stand-up comedy is the focus of four major international festivals: the Edinburgh 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 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 (comedian) as well as several other stand-up comedians who are regularly featured on their radio show.
The festival format has proven to be quite successful at attracting attention to the art form, and is often used as a scouting and proving ground by industry professionals seeking new comedic talent.
Other media
Some stand-up comedians achieve their own television or radio programs or star in major motion pictures, reaching a level of mainstream success and recognition often unattainable in the comedy club circuit alone. Examples of this include Woody Allen, Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, Martin Lawrence, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Jon Stewart, Kathy Griffin, Margaret Cho, Ray Romano, Dave Chappelle and more recently Dane Cook. Stand-up comedy is also becoming available online. For example, the web site of Rooftop Comedy features stand-up comedy performances from various local clubs.
See also
★ Improvisational theatre
★ List of stand-up comedians
★ Sitcom
★ Comedy
★ Rakugo
★ Manzai
★ Open mike
★ List of musical comedians
★ Humor
★ Stand Up Comedy collection
References
1. Fisher, J ''Tommy Cooper:Always Leave Them Laughing'' ISBN-13: 978-0007215119
2. Fisher, J ''Tommy Cooper:Always Leave Them Laughing'' ISBN-13: 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-13: 978-0413173904
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