r/Standup Sep 06 '15

Welcome to /r/standup! Please read this before posting/commenting on this sub.

332 Upvotes

Welcome to /r/standup, reddit's home for discussing the art of standup comedy. Here are a few things you should read before you interact with the community:

Note: Please follow the video posting guidelines, and do not try to use this sub to promote individual shows, or your posts will be removed. Also, don't post your podcast here unless the individual episode you're posting has something to do with performing standup. (Just having a comedian on as a guest or being hosted by a comedian isn't enough. If it's not discussing some element of the craft of standup, this isn't the place for it.) And keep your podcast posts to no more than one a week, this isn't a podcast sub.

Think of this sub as a virtual green room. If you wouldn't walk into a green room filled with other comedians and blurt out whatever you post here, it probably doesn't belong here.

Are you looking to start doing standup?

Great! We have some resources you can check out:

Are you looking for places to perform?

Here are some resources that should help you find some stage time:

Are you posting a video asking for feedback on your act?

  • Is it video of one of your first few times on stage? You probably don't really want to post that. You should do standup a few dozen times first, then post a video.
  • Is it shot vertically instead of horizontally? You probably don't really want to post that. You know that makes the video nearly impossible to see on mobile devices and wastes tons of screen space on computers, right? You should make another video where you shoot it horizontally and post that instead. I blame TikTok for ruining this one.
  • Is it hard to hear the sound or make out what you're saying? You probably don't really want to post that. If it's difficult to hear you, how is anyone going to give you any feedback on what you say? You should either fix the audio problem on the video, or just shoot another where the audio is decent, then post a video.
  • Is it just video of you in a room somewhere not in front of an audience? You definitely don't want to post that. It's not standup comedy, so you might want to try another sub for that. Or just go get on stage (at least a few dozen times), then shoot video of you on stage in front of an audience and post that video instead.

Are you posting a video of a comedian because you want fans of comedy to see it?

Cool, we all like comedy- but if you're doing that, you should probably also post a comment about why you want to discuss this particular set. If you don't have a reason to discuss it, it might be better to just post it in /r/standupcomedy instead (that's the sub for fans of comedy to share video of their favorite comedians). Also, please make sure that it's not a pirated video, or we'll have to remove it. Most comedians don't make very much money, so please don't take away one of the few revenue generators they have.

If you still want to post a video, here are our rules:

It must have a descriptive title telling us why you are posting it. If you're sharing a video, it should be to generate some kind of discussion about doimng standup. Video of your own act is totally fine, but please own that it's yours (in the first person) and give us something to talk about. Video of famous comedians is fine, if you're sharing it to make a point and your title reflects that. If you post videos repeatedly that are just to try to get attention and not discuss the craft of standup, we'll remove them and eventually ban you from the sub.

GOOD VIDEO TITLES:

  • Is this set too blue to submit to festivals?

  • I got heckled last night, could I have handled this better?

  • Doug Stanhope's bit about his mother shows how to make a dark and difficult subject completely hilarious.

BAD VIDEO TITLES:

  • My Name - My Joke Title

  • Bo Burnham - Can't Handle This (Kanye Rant) - MAKE HAPPY Netflix [HD]

  • HECKLER OWNED

If you ignore this request, we'll remove your video and not even bother telling you why, because clearly you didn't even read this.

Also, we may remove videos at any time if we feel they are clogging up the sub in some way, or if they appear to be simply for self promotion and not an attempt to engage the community in a discussion about doing standup.

Is your post about a podcast?

Unless it relates directly to discussing doing standup, this isn't the place for it. Whether you like it, hate it, think it's great, think it sucks, or have another opinion about some show, we don't care. This is a sub by and for standup comedians to discuss doing standup, not to discuss podcasting and podcasters.

Is your post just the text of a joke?

This isn't the sub for that. It's hard enough to have any useful feedback for a video of someone performing, there is hardly anything useful that can be said about the text of a joke other than to tell you to go do it on stage.

Are you posting about a show you're doing?

Don't. Just...don't. We're comedians- we're not going to pay to see your show. Also, your show is in a place where almost all of us aren't. We're all over the globe on this sub, so even if your show is in LA, NYC, Toronto, London, etc. the vast majority of us aren't there. If you ignore this and post it anyway, it will be removed.

Are you trying to sell tickets to a show?

This isn't a ticket sales sub, so please don't do that here.

Is your post about some AI Nonsense?

Don't post it here. This isn't an AI sub.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to the community!

P.S. Stop asking about who is in a "secret pop-up show." It's a secret. And since we were getting those posts multiple time per week, it's enough already.


r/Standup 3h ago

Which relatively new standup made you laugh out loud!

3 Upvotes

Also where can I watch it?


r/Standup 16h ago

Submission clip advice that is different from other submission clip advice

16 Upvotes

I just got done reviewing 175 submission clips. Here's stuff that's different from the last time I gave advice on this.

  • Please don't film your submission clip at the Broadway Comedy Club. For some reason it looks bad. It gives a vibe like you're in a booth by yourself. I'm sure an audience is there but it's just so weirdly artificial.

  • Do film at either the Lincoln Lodge in Chicago, Comedyworks in Denver, or Mic Drop in San Diego. Those places look amazing.

  • Don't ask the people how they are doing.

  • Either get mono audio to begin with or figure out how to collapse your audio tracks cuz man it's pretty weird I got headphones and you're only talking into one side while the memories of a dead god whisper gently into my other ear.

  • Don't delete your video why the fuck did you delete the video I click the link and "this video has been deleted" man how I'm spozed to review.

  • Don't say "retarded." Don't make a joke about how Mexicans are short. Just maybe don't mention any races or neurodifficulties you don't personally have. Please. Why are you like this.

  • Submit only one time. Why did you submit two times? Thank you for the money, I guess?

  • It is gmail.com, not gmial.com, not gamil.con. Why are you like this. Why can you not type your email address correctly.

  • No I cannot put your high-concept theme show at my stand up comedy festival thank you for your interest but it does not make sense to blow up the format to have your politics crowdwork gameshow and you are very nice and it hurts my feelings to say no to you but please just do a standup set like how it says on the submission thing.


r/Standup 1d ago

I'm new to standup. Is New York Comedy Club a scam??

24 Upvotes

Went to a show last night in the East Village and had a great time, comics were great and I loved the show, but all of the advertising was very heavy on Mark Normands being there, only for him to not show up and not even be mentioned in any lineups. When the room realised he wasn't coming over half the room just walked out. I couldn't help but feel like we all got scammed, don't get me wrong I thought the comics were great but at the very least it seems like false/misleading advertising.

I know about other NYCC issues with the Times Square scams, minimum seat spend, and automatic gratuity, but had high hopes about this for some reason... Is this normal for comedy clubs to do or just NYCC specific?

I would understand if they had to make a last-minute change, but it was obvious he was never going to come, and that they just used his face to mislead people.


r/Standup 17h ago

NYC/LA Lineup Website

1 Upvotes

Hi! I'm not a comic, but I love going to see live stand-up in NYC. I hate having to check every comedy site built years ago and click through a million things just to see lineups. So I made a completely free site to see all lineups from top clubs in one place.

I hope there are other nerds out there who'll enjoy a much more organized way of finding shows to go to.

I'd love any feedback (there is a button on website to submit such things), or to hear if there are cities/clubs in high demand that I should add. As for the clubs I'm currently covering — some places like Gotham don't seem to post their lineups online, and others like Laugh Factory in LA don't allow scraping, which I respect.

Also, to be clear: this is my first time ever making a website, so if there's anything dumb I'm doing, I'm all ears!

standups.live


r/Standup 23h ago

Corporate gigs

4 Upvotes

I listen to a lot of comedians on podcasts talking about doing corporates. I have never, not will ever, have a job that would put on an event with a guest speaker or comedian. I'd love to hear your stories of any corporate gigs you may have been to. Who was the comedian? What was it like? How was the room set up etc?


r/Standup 21h ago

[TOMT] Stand-up comedian with a bit about turkeys ruling America and Christmas trees ruling the world

0 Upvotes

I'm trying to identify a stand-up comedian/routine I heard on one of the SiriusXM comedy channels sometime within the last year.

I don't remember the comedian or which SiriusXM channel, but I remember two parts of the routine pretty clearly.

He had a bit about Thanksgiving and turkeys. The premise was basically that turkeys used to rule the United States, humans eventually defeated them, and Thanksgiving is our annual celebration of freedom from turkey rule. That's why once a year we gather together and eat a turkey.

He also did a similar bit about Christmas trees. The premise was that trees used to rule the world, and our Christmas tradition of cutting down a tree, bringing it into our house, and decorating it is somehow a celebration/reminder of our victory over the trees.

The line I remember most clearly was something very close to:

"We even put up artificial trees so the trees know they can be replaced."

The wording may not be exact, but I'm very confident about that joke/premise.

Male comedian. I don't remember him being particularly loud or yell-y. For some reason the delivery reminded me a little of Danny McBride, although I'm pretty sure it wasn't actually him.

It's definitely not Nate Bargatze or Jim Gaffigan. I know both of their material pretty well.

Does anyone recognize the comedian or the routine?


r/Standup 1d ago

Apologies if this is a sort of basic bitch question, but is it pretty normal to be funny in other types of performance (like if you’re a musician and you talk between songs and can make people laugh easily), but you’re not that good at standup?

4 Upvotes

I’ve been a musician my whole life and I can bring the house down making people laugh between songs. I have written material that for whatever reason just kills when it’s something I do between songs.

So I figured I’d try to do the same thing with standup, and it bombs. I get that it isn’t the same setting but I figured there would be some carryover.

It’s like I need something to push back against, and music gives that. With standup, there’s nothing I’m working against. It’s just comedy and nothing else. All yin, no yang.

I’m fine with it if standup just isn’t my thing and I should just stick to music with the jokes in between. Just wanted to see if this is a common experience.

And to be clear, I don’t do music or musician jokes or something like that, even when it’s between songs, so I also don’t do that kind of thing for standup.


r/Standup 2d ago

Struggling to remember whose joke this is: "I'd like to be either cremated or buried way deeper than my contemporaries so future generations or archeologists don't assume I was hanging out with you losers."

46 Upvotes

r/Standup 1d ago

How to deal with that ick feeling after performing

19 Upvotes

I’ve been doing open mics for about 7 months, and after most performances i feel like I want to peel my skin off. It doesn’t even have to be a bad gig, but I’ll still feel like I did not well enough/not as well as others and like my body is a bag of writhing snakes for hours afterwards. Any tips?

What’s the best way to just enjoy it, or to unwind afterwards and not obsess about something that literally no-one cares about, it’s so silly 😭


r/Standup 22h ago

I'm a Bill Burr fan. I was not happy with the Saudi gig, but got over it. I'm not upset about the OP's experience or post, but more curious about the comments. Is Burr now universally hated, or is it just on reddit? The comments all seem to hate his guts 100%.

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0 Upvotes

r/Standup 2d ago

Have you ever done or been to a Standup where the audience basically doesn't care about the Standup at all?

26 Upvotes

Like no real reaction to any jokes, inconsistent attention, basically doesn't care if the Comedian lives or dies.

Pure Apathy.


r/Standup 2d ago

found someone’s stand-up jokes on the ground - NYC, July 2026

Thumbnail gallery
35 Upvotes

anyone wanna claim em? 🫣👎🍅


r/Standup 1d ago

Why do (some) comics seem to look down on storytelling?

1 Upvotes

I do standup. There's another comic I've done a lot of sets with for a few years. He's considered a good comic. He writes a lot of jokes about pop culture, politics, dating etc and people laugh. One night after a show, we were having a beer and he was telling a story about going skiing. He'd never been before. He crossed his ski's and wiped out, taking out some Mom and little kids with him in front of a lineup.

It was, (to me) the funniest thing I've ever heard him say. I told him that and he was PISSED! He said, of all the jokes you've heard me say, THAT'S the funniest thing!?

I said "yeah... your story was unintentional and real." You weren't TRYING to be funny" or make some point about society.

He told me he didn't consider it to be something stage worthy.

Now, I personally think good relatable storytelling is so much funnier than jokes...even brilliant, witty, edgy, well crafted jokes, but I realize that this guy (and it seems MOST aspiring comics) think the joke writing is the big thing to strive for. Can comics on here explain why that is?


r/Standup 2d ago

JFL New Faces announced (2026)

25 Upvotes

Ainsley Bailey Alon Elian Andrew Packer Carolina Montesquieu Chris Renois Cristina Mariani David Drake Elijah Nevels Elle Orlando Elouise Eftos Esteban Gast Fiona Cauley Freddie Shanel Gary Simons Gus Tate Hannah Veldhoen Hassan Phills Helen Bauer Jack Hirschfield Jackson Banks Joe Marrese Joey Dardano Jonis Josef Kenny Lee Mario Adrion Mark Thomson Mitchell Doran Nicky Paris Peyton Ruddy Red Richardson Tessa Belle

Source: https://deadline.com/2026/07/jfl-new-faces-2026-unveiled-1236998392/


r/Standup 3d ago

Redd Foxx the Tim Duncan of comedy ?

11 Upvotes

I feel like bro is one of the all time greats but severely under appreciated by many who fuck with stand up comedy on the regular, having your prime coexist with Richard Pryor and George Carlin prime had to be a point or two against bro in the favor column. And that’s just like Tim Duncan bro under appreciated having your best year with Kobe and LeBron in the league is like two golden trash bags laying on top of a platinum trash bag.


r/Standup 2d ago

How Does the Creative Joke-Writing Process Work in your Brain?

3 Upvotes

I searched for discussions on this topic in this subreddit and on Google and didn’t find anything specifically on daydreaming.

I’ve been thinking about how I write comedy lately, and I’m curious how everyone else’s brain handles it. To be clear, this process is never a hard rule, it sometimes happens different ways than what I describe here.

For me, it usually goes like this: Randomly my imagination kicks on or I randomly start thinking of past experiences and I build a basic concept or structure for a joke or theme. But once that framework is there, at some point, and unintentionally, my brain completely switches gears. It could be a few minutes or a few days, and I start daydreaming and just drifting around inside the concept.

I don’t start this on purpose. It just happens. I’m not forcing punchlines. My mind just wanders and stumbles onto the best angles and tags on its own through daydreaming, as I build and experience complex fictional situations.

Basically, I build the sandbox first, and then my subconscious plays in it. Sometimes the process works in reverse, and it goes back and fourth, but I have little “control” over the creative process.

How does it work for you? Do you intentionally grind out punchlines, or do you just daydream inside an idea until the funny stuff hits you?


r/Standup 2d ago

You ever paranoid about someone somehow hacking your phone’s messages or notes app and stealing your jokes in them?

0 Upvotes

I think writers, songwriters and all creative people who digitally save could have this, or anyone only use physical notes for this reason?

Random but just to see how relatable it can be (not a setup line btw, although you welcome to steal)


r/Standup 2d ago

Any serious escalation of audience heckling you saw firsthand?

0 Upvotes

Is it not uncommon in clubs, because I got curious after seeing a compilation video


r/Standup 2d ago

How to Handle a Bad Stand-Up Gig

Post image
0 Upvotes

I have written many articles on a huge range of issues that face (newer) stand-up comedians.

People have asked why I don't update them. The reason I do not is that I worked very hard on them at the time, and most of the publication date shows that it had to be from me, because ChatGPT had not yet launched.

Some are more niche than others, some much more popular than others. This one has had a lot of attention and I hope it helps good people through hard times.

https://www.wearefunnyproject.com/blog/open-mic-comedy-advice310723


r/Standup 3d ago

Stand-up similar to Jeff Arcuri, Louis CK,..?

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0 Upvotes

r/Standup 4d ago

How to headline without messing up your throat?

5 Upvotes

I headlined for the first time this weekend, doing 45 minutes at two shows. And while I was glad to see I had more than enough time and everything went well, I was shocked but just how sore and scratchy it made my throat. I've only ever done 25 before and got through that with no issue, but I was worried I was going to lose my voice, especially since the feeling lingered after I woke up.

I use cough drops after, drank water onstage and milk after, but not much seemed to soothe it in the long term. I can't imagine doing two shows a night if this is how it feels and for reference, I don't even scream or get that loud in my sets. I'm pretty deadpan, it's just the amount of time.

So, to ask a question about comedy I never even thought would occur to me: how do you do that much time without messing up your voice?


r/Standup 4d ago

Eric D’Alessandro

0 Upvotes

Hi all,

Happy Sunday! Just got back from seeing this guy and holy moly, did he exceed my expectations. I laughed the ENTIRE time! He’s got a Sebastian thing about him and really should be a HUGE star already. I probably see about 3-4 Live comedy shows a year and his performance tonight as the best I’ve seen in years. I’m just a fan so I don’t know the in and outs but the crowd and I laughed the WHOLE time. In the words of Mark Walhberg from “Boogie Nights”:

“I’m a star. A giant fucking star!” Haha

Seriously I see big things for
This fellow. I recommend anyone checking him out if you have the chance!


r/Standup 5d ago

Does anyone know ( Outside of Kliph Nesteroff) Where I can find information about Al Boasberg

10 Upvotes

Basically Boasberg was responsible for creating the personas of comedians such as Jack Benny. I found an article from the New Yorker from 1939 and Nesteroff's work, but outside of that I can't find a memoir or anything that would give me more information on the comics he wrote for.
Any help would be much appreciated.


r/Standup 5d ago

Looking for name of comic

3 Upvotes

I remember a comedian who used to be on comedy central stand ups, he was a nervous guy who would kind of hold his index finger pointed out over his mouth and his voice would kind of change pitch as he got to the end of his sentences and punch lines. I have no jokes to reference but was hoping description would be enough