Stand-up comedy

Stand-up comedy is a comedy performance to a live audience in which the performer, known as a comedian, comic or "stand-up", stands on a stage and delivers various humorous and satirical monologues, and occasionally physical acts, typically involving no other props except a microphone and a stool. The performance is usually a rhetorical sketch with rehearsed scripts, but many comics employ live crowd interaction as part of their routine.

Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, observations or shticks that may incorporate props, music, magic tricks, impressions or ventriloquism. It can be performed almost anywhere, including comedy clubs, comedy festivals, bars, nightclubs, colleges or theaters.