Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers
A … See more

Stand-up comedy originated in various traditions of popular entertainment in the late 19th century. These include vaudeville, the stump-speech monologues of minstrel shows, dime museums, concert saloons, freak shows… See more

Stand-up has multiple genres and styles with their formats. Common ones include:
• Alternative: Intended to counter the established figures of mainstream comedy.
• Anecdotal comedy: Storytelling using exaggerati… See more

In a typical stand-up show, the host, compere, or emcee "warms up" the audience and introduces the other performers. This is followed by the opener, the feature, and then the headliner. The host may al… See more

Stand-up comedians define their craft through the development of routines, which they construct and refine with jokes and interconnected "bits." These bits form an interwoven narrative, leading to the "closer," th… See more

According to Anna Spagnolli, stand-up comedy audiences "are both 'co-constructors of the situation' and 'co-responsible for it'".
In stand-up comedy, an unspoken contract with the au… See more