ABOUT
Stand-up comedy began in the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom. Performances were held in beautiful music halls where hundreds of people watched. This kind of comedy migrated to the Western world, mostly in New York City. Instead of performances being in music halls, they were now in luxurious vaudeville theaters.
The jokes that were made then are quite different than what is seen in modern stand-up. Performers used props and skits in their performances. Their jokes flowed like the chaotic and fast pace of the city.
So when did the use of monologues and stories become incorporated in performances? Some scholars give the credit to a man named Charley Case as the man who pioneered these ideas in 1880s and 1890s. The cool thing about this was the fact that he was African American, and there weren't many African American comedians at this time. He got up on a stage in a vaudeville theater and did something nobody saw before him; he used a monologue style in his performance and changed the industry.
