hi! fyi, there have been a few posts asking about stand-up; you can get started on these

• Were there comedians in ancient times? Rome, Greece etc. Like would people go to a theater and watch someone do "stand up"?

• I know comedy itself isn't novel, but when did our notions of stand-up comedy become a thing? Is it new-ish, or were there instances of this occurring in other periods?

• Were there any historical equivalents of stand-up comedians?

• When did professional comedians start to appear? So we have any of their jokes/routines?

• did they have stand up comedians in the 1920s?