Stand Up Comedy

One of the most challenging performance arts to master,stand up comedy has a long history.  The genre of stand up has given rise to many many famous Actors particularly in Canada.  Some of those famous names include:  Jim Carrey, Harland Williams, Shaun Majumder, Caroline Rhea, Catherine O`Hara, Dan Akroyd, Dave Thomas, Eugene Levy, Howie Mandel, John Candy, Mike Myers, Paul Shaffer, Tommy Chong to name only a select few.

As a tribute to the art, we have chosen to dedicate this blog entry to the definition of stand up comedy.   Our facts for the most part were gleaned from Wikipedia so if anyone notes any inaccuracies please feel free to comment and provide clarity.

Of course being a stand up comedy club, we favor stand up comedy above all other performance arts however where comedy is concerned there are several other equally notable genres that should be mentioned with respect.  They include Sketch, Improv and Comedy Theatre.

We hope you enjoy our entry and if you do, please feel free to comment and let us know!

The Laugh Shop Team

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 (comedienne if female) or more informally a stand-up. It is usually performed by a single comedian, with the aid of a hand-held microphone. The comedian usually recites a fast-paced succession of humorous stories, short jokes (called “bits”), and one-liners, which comprise what is typically called a monologue, routine or act. Some stand-up comedians use props, music or magic tricks to enhance their acts. Stand-up comedy is often performed in comedy clubs, bars, colleges and theaters. However, there is no real restriction on where the craft can be performed. Many smaller venues hold “open mic” events, where amateur comedians perform comedy before a live audience, offering a way for such performers to hone their craft and possibly break into the business. In North America, many comedy clubs feature the now-iconic brick wall as the backdrop for stand-up performances.

Many stand-up routines are similar to one-man shows, with the main difference being the expectations of the audience, who, in some cases, 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 laughs out of the crowd, sometimes the crowd will poke fun at the comedian, a practice known as heckling.

Stand-up comedy is difficult to master partly because the 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 an art form that is openly devoted to getting laughs from an audience above all else (unlike theatrical comedy, which creates comedy within the structure of a play and with character and situation). The skills attributed to stand-up are diverse; it is often necessary for a stand-up comic to simultaneously assume the roles of a writer, editor, performer, promoter, producer and technician.

One hallmark 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 witty retort. 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 has called stand-up comedy “hard, lonely and vicious.”

Despite the name, stand-up comedians do not always stand up. Some will sit on a stool; Martin Mull has sometimes used an easy chair. The term “sit-down comic” is usually pejorative in nature.

With more than 70,000 visitors, German comedian Mario Barth established the world record for the most visitors in a stand-up comedy show on July 12, 2008 in the olympic stadium of Berlin.

The record for longest single stand-up performance is currently held by British comedian Mark Watson who has performed a number of 24 hour shows at the Edinburgh and Melbourne comedy festivals.