Stand-up tragedy is a style of tragic performance where a performer performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Unlike the goal of Stand-up comedy

Stand-up comedy

Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...

 which is to evoke laughter, the goal of Stand-up tragedy is to make the audience members cry.

Format

Stand-up tragedy performances are usually long and employ the use of various media such as video, audio, highly emotional monologues and rants where the performer recites a fast-paced succession of tragic and disturbing stories. Stand-up tragedy is often performed in bars, nightclubs, private homes, art museums, galleries and universities.

History

The origin of the term Stand up tragedy is unknown however the comedian Brother Theodore

Brother Theodore

Brother Theodore , born Theodore Gottlieb, was a German-American monologuist and comedian known for rambling, stream-of-consciousness dialogues which he called "stand-up tragedy".-Early years:...

 (1906–2001) used the term to describe his comedic act which was dark and had an absurdist edge. The Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Lawrence Ferlinghetti is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers...

 (1919-) often refers to himself as a "stand-up tragedian",
and performance artist Bryan Lewis Saunders

Bryan Lewis Saunders

Bryan Lewis Saunders is a performance artist, videographer, and performance poet widely known for his disturbing spoken word rants, tragic art performances and Stand up tragedy....

uses it to describe his own act in a more literal sense of the term.