Stand-Up Clubs City Place Improv (Palm Beach) Coconuts (5 Locations) Comedy Zone (Jacksonville) McCurdy's Comedy Theatre (Sarasota) Miami Improv (Miami) New York Comedy Club (Boca) Side Splitters (Tampa)

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.

You can get answers to more questions by using the links above or by contacting us to ask a question, and we will try to answer.