Dalebout

In a field saturated with hermeneutical accounts of why stand-up comics do as they do, how their discourse functions, and the political efficacy of their work, James M. Thomas's Working to Laugh is a welcome re-training of the scholarly lens. His focus on the behind-the-scenes contribution of the urban nightlife spaces that harbor comedians—bars, clubs, comedy shops, cafes—draws attention to the ways in which such places (and the personalities who manage, operate, and patronize them) affect which comics go on stage, the type of material performed, and how much laughter is elicited. In short, Thomas argues that venues for comedy tend to reproduce a heteronormative, racial, and gendered social order because of their relationship with capitalism. In order to sell leisure hour “good times,” as he calls the pleasure of watching stand-up, venues arrange their entire experience—from the people who are allowed into the building and what they're wearing to...