Stand up comedy is a comedy style wherein one performs and speaks directly in front of a live audience.
Stand up comedy performances are generally short and the comedian usually delivers a succession of funny or humorous stories, one-liners, bits or jokes usually called an act or a monologue.
A few stand up comedians utilize magic tricks, props or incorporate music to their act for added effect. Stand up comedy is generally performed in bars, comedy clubs, theaters and colleges. Some small venues also hold open mic events – where anyone could go on stage and perform.
Online, there are numerous sites where free stand up comedy could be viewed. The following are the top 10 sites to see free stand up comedy.
Seasoned stand up comedians takes years to develop their material and so usually do their bits repeatedly and slowly albeit surely perfecting their act over time.
1. Youtube – http://www.youtube.com
YouTube is the largest video-sharing site online where registered users can share, view and upload video content as well as television clips, movie clips, music videos as well as amateur content, original videos and video blogs. It also holds a slew of stand up comedy acts from Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Dave Chappelle, George Carlin and even new acts from the current roster of comedians. Simply type in “stand up comedy” on the search bar and a list of videos from popular and new stand up comedians will appear for your viewing pleasure.
2. Quicksilverscreen – http://quicksilverscreen.com/videos?c=137
Similar to YouTube, QuickSilverScreen is an internet video streaming service which allows members to view as well as add video links. Though not as popular or its content not as large as YouTube’s, Quicksilverscreen currently has 227,574 videos available online and is nearing 500,000 members. There are 86 stand up comedy videos available for viewing in Quicksilverscreen.
3. Comedians Jokes – http://comedians.jokes.com/
The Comedians.jokes.com site is a part of Comedy Central where new and different stand up comedians and their performances are featured. A few of these performances include Anjelah Johnson, Russell Brand, Aziz Ansari, Dane Cook, George Lopez, Demetri Martin, Russell Peters, Katt Williams. A comedian is also spotlighted each month and viewers are given a chance to upload their own stand up video via an “Open-mic-like” contest with a specific monthly theme.
4. Killer comedy online – http://www.killercomedyonline.com/
Killer Comedy Online is a website that is specially dedicated to the best free comedy videos and stand up comedy clips. The site has made it easy for those who want to view the clips as one simply needs to click on the image of the comedians listed on the site’s left navigation bar. The site made sure it removed all types of graphics and flash as they focus solely on the comedians The site has similarly compiled numerous comedy videos from authentic A-list headliners.
5. Rhapsody – http://www.rhapsody.com/comedy-spoken-word/comedy/stand-up-comedy
Rhapsody.com has made it easy to view stand up comedians from the likes of popular entertainers such as Dana Carvey, Jerry Seinfeld and Gilda Radner, just to name a few. Similarly listed on Rhapsody.com are key tracks from selected performances of comedians such as Bill Cosby, Robin Williams, Ray Romano.
6. Comedy Central – http://www.comedycentral.com
Comedy Central is a cable and satellite television channel in America which mainly carries original and syndicated comedy programming. The site contains video clips of comedy movies, bits from TV shows such as The Colbert Report, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as well as stand up comedy acts and jokes.
7. Comedy-zone – http://www.comedy-zone.net/standup/index.htm
Comedy-zone.net is a site which provides an alphabetical index of stand up comedians. Currently, it has profiles of approximately 300 comics from all over the world. Included in the profile are the comic’s biographies, info, facts and their personal and work lives either on stage, the movies or TV. If you have a comedian in mind who is not yet on their list, the site encourages you to send them an email and they’ll add your favorite comedian on their list.
8. Looklaugh Comedy – http://www.looklaugh.com/funniest-comedians-in-the-world.html
Looklaugh Comedy features highly organized stand up comedy videos from different comics. Currently, Looklaugh is featuring Jamie Foxx.
9. Acme comedy – http://www.acmecomedy.com/livebroadcast.shtml
Acmecomedy.com is the online home of the Acme Comedy Theatre – a 99-seat Hollywood venue that is home to improv and sketch performance companies who have been entertaining audiences since 1989. The site features live broadcast of performances from the Acmecomedy theatre and offers videos of celebrities who have guested and performed at Acme Comedy.
10. The comedy videos – http://thecomedyvideos.com/
Thecomedyvideos.com is another free site that provides a compilation of the best stand up comedy performances of various stand up comics, with their names alphabetically listed on the right hand bar of the site. Though the videos are all culled from YouTube, the clips are properly organized for your easy viewing pleasure.
