How old is stand up comedy

They eventually exit stage left and leave a lot of laughing folks in their wake. In coming up with our version of a comic canon, we weighed artistic merit, technical proficiency and sense of timing, quality of their written material, their delivery and degree of influence — and often, their sense of what makes something, anything, funny.

No disrespect to the foundational figures who shaped the earliest incarnations, but this list tiptoes past some of the early craftsmen and focuses on the unique voices who have helped to push stand-up forward in more recent days. These 50 stand-ups best embody what we have come to expect of our modern-day comedians: Someone who can wake us up to the weird, wonderful possibilities of the world around us, impel us to think differently about our own lives — and most of all, make us howl like blithering idiots.

Newswire Powered by. Close the menu. Rolling Stone. It not only was performed on television and in comedy clubs, but became a pastime for amateurs, becoming an actual activity at colleges, community centers and the like. And although more and more stand-up comedians are leaving stand-up for more scripted professions like TV shows and movies, the art is still booming with popularity.

And practicing stand-up in preparation for a scripted role can actually help your overall performance. You must be logged in to post a comment. Hosted by Sites At Penn State. RSS Feed. Laugh like You Mean it. A brief timeline of how stand-up comedy evolved through time. Being a stand-up comedian requires learning the stand-up comedy inside and out.

This is actually opposite of reality. Audiences crave originality. They enjoy hearing different points of view from comedians. As a comedian younger than 18 or 21, you have a very unique point of view. You can talk about subjects differently than other comedians, which makes you more unique to the audience.

Learn more about the importance of being original in stand-up comedy here. The biggest challenge I hear again and again from underage comedians is that they are unsure if they are even allowed to perform. Most shows at the open mic level occur at bars or comedy clubs.

Neither venue tends to be too keen on minors.