Free Education
INTRO TO STAND-UP
Everything you need to understand comedy — from your very first joke to your first tight five. Terms, lingo, etiquette, sub-genres, and the unwritten rules of the stage.
The Landscape
COMEDY SUB-GENRES
Observational
Finds the funny in everyday life. "Have you ever noticed...?" The universal language of comedy.
Self-Deprecating
The comedian is the butt of their own joke. Vulnerable, relatable, disarming.
Absurdist
Logic gets abandoned. Reality is bent. The funnier it is, the less sense it makes.
Political / Social
Uses comedy as commentary. Sharp, provocative, and sometimes polarizing — but always intentional.
Storytelling
Long-form narrative comedy. Callbacks, act-outs, character work — building toward a big payoff.
Character Comedy
The comedian steps into fully realized characters — voices, physicality, the whole deal.
Dark Comedy
Comedy that goes to dark, uncomfortable places — death, trauma, failure. Requires precision and trust.
Improv
Completely unscripted. Crowd-driven. High risk, massive reward when it works.
Crowd Work
Real-time interaction with specific audience members. The highest-wire act in comedy — no script, all instinct. Happens live at every FBK show.
One-Liners
Single-sentence jokes. Maximum punch, minimum setup. Henny Youngman perfected it. Mitch Hedberg lived it. Precision over everything.
Parody
Imitating something familiar — a song, a film, a public figure — and twisting it for laughs. Satire's funnier cousin.
Deadpan
Zero expression, maximum weirdness. The comedian delivers absurd content completely straight-faced. The contrast IS the joke.
Unwritten Rules
COMEDY ETIQUETTE
Don't Talk Over Performers
The stage deserves silence. Side conversations kill a comedian's rhythm and disrespect the room.
Silence ≠ Failure (Always)
Not every joke lands perfectly live. Context, energy, and crowd makeup all change the equation. Give performers space to work through material.
Don't Record Without Permission
New material is intellectual property. Comedians test half-finished jokes at open mics. Don't record it and blast it — that's how new bits die.
Respect the Cutoff
At FBK, time limits exist for everyone. The clock isn't personal. Going over your time is disrespecting every other performer waiting for their turn.
Heckle at Your Own Risk
A skilled comedian will destroy you. A less skilled one might just get flustered and lose momentum. Either way — the room usually sides with the person at the mic.
Bomb with Dignity
Everyone bombs. The greats bombed. The legends bombed constantly on their way up. How you handle silence defines your character more than the laugh.
READY TO TRY IT?
Theory is good. Stage time is better. Apply to perform at Funny Bomb Kill — or come as an audience Wildcard.