Stand-Up What Is Stand-Up? What Is An Open-Mic? How Did Stand-Up Start? Can You Learn To Be Funny? Who Teaches Stand-Up? Can I Be Famous? How Long Does It Take? How Long Is A Set? How Can I Get Started?

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How Did Stand-Up Start?

This is a highly debated issue, and it won't be resolved here.

Generally the concept of an individual getting up in front of an audience and getting them to laugh is as old as theater. Certainly medieval troubadoures and Shakespearean actors had a bit of stand-up in their offerings.

Vaudeville is much closer in time to our own and many of the early famous comedians got their start in Vaudeville. Will Rogers was a great stand-up comedian who simply talked and told stories in front of an audience, slowly developing his routine from rope tricks to tricks of the tongue.

The Catskills were a breeding ground for comic talent as the popular vacation area used comedians as entertainment for their seasonal audiences.

Stand-up continues to evolve and recreate itself as an artform. I guess the better question is "Where is stand-up going?" That we don't have the answer to.

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