Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehearsed scripts but often include varying degrees of live crowd interaction. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, observations, or shticks that can employ props, music, impressions, magic tricks, or ventriloquism.
Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe content that was an "alternative" to the mainstream stand-up of the day which took place in working men's clubs, and was characterised by unoriginal gags often containing elements of sexism and racism. In other contexts, it is the nature of the form that is "alternative", avoiding reliance on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt has defined it as "comedy where the audience has no pre-set expectations about the crowd, and vice versa. In comedy clubs, there tends to be a certain vibe—alternative comedy explores different types of material."
The Glee Club is a chain of independent live stand-up comedy and live music venues in the UK. The first Glee Club was opened by Mark Tughan in Birmingham's Chinese Quarter in 1994, the first dedicated comedy club to open in the United Kingdom outside London.
Austin's official motto is the "Live Music Capital of the World" due to the high volume of live music venues in the city. Austin is known internationally for the South by Southwest (SXSW) and the Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festivals which feature eclectic international lineups. The greatest concentrations of music venues in Austin are around 6th Street, Central East Austin, the Red River Cultural District, the Warehouse District, the University of Texas, South Congress, and South Lamar.
Luna Lounge was a bar and music club located at 171 Ludlow Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Opened in 1995 by Dianne Galliano and Robert Sacher, it was a popular venue for local bands and stand-up comics. Luna Lounge is notable as the place where Elliott Smith wrote the songs for his first major label release, XO.
An open mic or open mike is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, often taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether they are amateurs or professionals, often for the first time or to promote an upcoming performance. As the name suggests, performers are usually provided with a microphone plugged into a PA system so that they can be heard by the audience.
Nicholas Rocco Di Paolo is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, radio personality and podcast host. He is the host of The Nick Di Paolo Show podcast, and is best known for his appearances as a regular on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, the Comedy Central Roasts, The Chris Rock Show, Opie and Anthony, and The Howard Stern Show, as well as recurring roles on Louie, Grace Under Fire, Tru TV's World's Dumbest, and Horace and Pete.
Kristin Key is an American comedian who has appeared at The Improv, and on the series Last Comic Standing and Bring the Funny. She favors a self-deprecating, physical, and improvisational style of comedy and incorporates the guitar to create original musical comedy.
The Ritz is a historic theater in the 6th Street district in Austin, Texas. The building's history includes use as a movie theater, music hall, club, and comedy house. It reopened after renovations in fall 2007 as the new downtown location for the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. The venue temporarily closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was permanently closed in 2021 when the Alamo Drafthouse filed for bankruptcy. It now serves as Joe Rogan’s comedy club, Comedy Mothership.
The original Vulcan Gas Company was the first successful psychedelic music venue in Austin, Texas. The Vulcan opened its doors at 316 Congress Avenue in the fall of 1967, and closed in the summer of 1970. Gary Scanlon, Houston White, Don Hyde, and Sandy Lockett started the VGC. By 1969, management was primarily by White and Lockett, along with Jim Franklin. There was a substantial sound system installed by Sandy Lockett. Charlie Sauer was the principal audio engineer for the last year of operation. Bobby Hedderman and Marty McDermott managed the club for the last few months. Underground cartoonist Gilbert Shelton became their art director in 1967 and drew their weekly posters.
Sarah Noel Colonna is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and comedy writer. She appeared as a roundtable regular on the hit E! cable TV network comedy/talk show Chelsea Lately.
Brendon Michael Walsh is an American stand-up comedian and podcaster originally from Philadelphia.
High Plains Comedy Festival is a comedy festival held each August in Denver, Colorado. It was founded in 2013 by Denver comedian/writer Adam Cayton-Holland and comedian/producer Andy Juett. The festival features a mix of local and national comics in venues throughout Denver's Baker neighborhood. Starting in 2016, Juett parted ways with the festival and Karen Wachtel became executive producer. As of 2019, the production team includes Cayton-Holland, Wachtel, Jessi Whitten, Ron Doyle, Carlos Madrid, and Will Hancock.
Stand Up NY is a comedy club located in Manhattan’s Upper West Side on 236 West 78th street. Founded in 1986, the club is one of New York City’s oldest, always featuring diverse lineups of well-known and local comedians. Comedians Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, and Jon Stewart performed here. Past performers at Stand-Up New York include: Louis C.K., Susie Essman, Mike Birbiglia, Lewis Black, Judah Friedlander, John Oliver, Jay Oakerson, Hannibal Buress, Godfrey, Dave Attell, Anthony Jeselnik, Aziz Ansari, and Amy Schumer.
Sexpot Comedy is a comedy collective, producing or sponsoring nine podcasts and more than a dozen weekly or monthly live events in Denver, Colorado. It is run by partners Kayvan Soorena Tyler Khalatbari-Limaki, a local entrepreneur, and Andy Juett, a local comedian and producer.
Nore Davis is an American stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared on Comedy Central and MTV television programming.
Tony Hinchcliffe is an American comedian. Since 2013, he has hosted the live comedy podcast Kill Tony, a showcase of professional and amateur comedians who take turns doing one-minute sets. Hinchcliffe is known primarily for roast comedy, having been on the writing staff of the Comedy Central Roast series, and appearing at the All Def Digital Roast of Snoop Dogg in 2016 and The Roast of Tom Brady in 2024. He has released two comedy specials, One Shot on Netflix in 2016 and Making Friends on YouTube in 2020.
Cum Town was a comedy podcast that was hosted by New York City-based comedians Nick Mullen, Stavros Halkias, and Adam Friedland, and produced between 2016 and 2022. During its run, it was consistently one of the most popular podcasts on Patreon and concluded as one of the top 25 comedy podcasts on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. In July 2022, it was succeeded by Mullen and Friedland's spin-off podcast and interview show The Adam Friedland Show.
Lashonda Lester was an American stand-up comedian from Austin, Texas. Her posthumous debut album, Shondee Superstar, was released by Dan Schlissel's Stand Up! Records in 2019, and was critically praised. John-Michael Bond of Paste magazine called her "a rare talent with a preternatural gift for razor-sharp storytelling." Marc Maron called her a "funny, authentic, hard-working comic who had her own voice... That’s an honest comic. The best kind."
Aaron Aryanpur is an American stand-up comedian, artist, and voice actor from Dallas, Texas.
