This paper reviews the development of stand-up comedy in Finland, with its focus on the origins of the art form, including its brief Finnish history. It will also give insight into the particularities and recurrent themes of Finnish stand-up comedy, and review the current state and the projected future of the art form in Finland.

Stand-up comedy began to take form in the US towards the end of the 19^th century, but — almost a hundred years later — is only now becoming a well-known form of performing art to Finns. How did stand-up comedy come into existence? Which performing traditions could be considered its ancestors? What happened during the hundred years the art form took to journey from the United States to Finland? How, why and when has it developed in Finland? How does the Finnish version of stand-up comedy compare to its American precursor? Are there some distinctive particularities or themes that can be distinguished in Finnish stand-up?

Stand-up Comedy: From Ascetics to 'Connections'

How is stand-up comedy different from other performing arts? Which particularities make it different from (or similar to) plays, musical acts, vaudeville shows or any number of other forms of stage activities?

In general, the stage of a performing stand-up comedian is extremely plain, even ascetic. The basic equipment consists of a microphone and possibly a microphone stand, a tall stool and a spotlight. That is all. The wall behind the comedian is stereotypically built of red brick. The room is usually dim and has no or very little decoration. There might be a (grand) piano on the stage (Toikka and Vento 97).

The essential tools of the trade. Image Source: Premise Punch Tag

There are exceptions, of course. For instance, almost all of the episodes of the well-known American television series Comedy Central Presents¹ have some kind of elaborate set behind the comedian, usually related to (one of) the theme(s) of the routine.² However, even these shows keep the basic composition on the stage itself: the comedian, the microphone and the spotlight.

The most important factor in stand-up comedy is the ‘connection’ — between the individuals in the audience as well as between the audience and the comedian. The lack of props or 'extra' equipment aims to bolster this connection, which is the prerequisite, the main resource and the purpose of any stand-up show (Toikka and Vento 97).

The success of the comic is always measured by the response of the audience; in other words, a stand-up comedian is always at the mercy of his/her audience. On the other hand, the audience can also be seen as a resource: As André Wickström, one of the most successful Finnish stand-up artists, points out, stand-up comedy should be based on a dialogue between the performer and the audience. Stand-up comedy is not a monologue by the performing artist; the reactions of the audience show the comic where to go next. Wickström further explains that a comedian should always have respect for the audience and understand that every audience is different. In his opinion, taboo subjects as such do not exist; any kind of subject can be ridiculed, but one should also remember that there is no joke that everyone in any audience would find amusing (Savola, TAUSTA: Stand up!).

Stand-up comedy as an art form owes much to show types such as the minstrel show, vaudeville and burlesque.³ Each of these art forms generally included musical acts and singing, dancing, sometimes elements from magical shows, or the circus (see Toikka and Vento 79–84). In other words, they were variety shows. Stand-up comedy was usually only one part of these shows, but was eventually separated from them and recognized as an art form in its own right.

Musical acts and music could be considered to have at least two things in common with stand-up: First, according to Richard Fields, the former part-owner of the Catch a Rising Star comedy club in New York, since the 1980s, stand-up comedians have taken the role of counterculture rock stars, as rock has become increasingly commercial (in Toikka and Vento 95). Secondly, some comedians perform with instruments or incorporate music in their routines, thus being part musicians, part comedians. Examples include the popular New Zealand-based guitar duo Flight of the Conchords, and the Americans Stephen Lynch and Zack Galifianakis.⁴

The Origins of Stand-up Comedy

Laughing, being funny and making others laugh seem to be inherent characteristics of human nature. André Wickström proposes (17) that entertainers must have existed since the beginning of human history simply because of mankind’s fundamental need for laughter.

The origins of stand-up comedy per se could be traced at least back to the Middle Ages, to the Jewish badhan tradition⁵, which is still very much alive. A badhan is a comedian of sorts whose job is to entertain people in Jewish events, very often weddings, for instance by making fun of important guests, such as the father of the bride (Wickström 18).

Some of the more recent influences can be found from the three ancestors of stand-up comedy mentioned above, the minstrel show, vaudeville and burlesque. Stand-up comedy thus does not stem from only one performing tradition, but instead is a mixture of influences from various cultural backgrounds. Its roots extend from the history of American entertainment to the performing traditions of European comedy (Toikka and Vento 76). The English satire of the 19^th century was based on brutal mockery and ruthless skepticism; this had a strong influence on American humor, which, in turn, was vicious by nature and usually included a lot of foul language. According to Toikka and Vento, it constituted the opposing force to spirituality and intellect, and reinforced dissenting views against the intolerance and the religious puritanism of the small communities of the time (75).⁶

The Jewish roots may also be seen in the fact that in the 1980s eight out of ten U.S. comedians had a Jewish background. For instance, comedians such as the Marx Brothers, Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce and Jerry Lewis were all of Jewish background.⁷ Jewish humor was considered fierce by nature, and it was not bound to any specific nation; Jewish culture in the United States had been in a state of perpetual change since colonial times.⁸ Due to its aggressive nature, and its marginal status, it was perfectly suited for its function of protesting against the prevailing social conditions. This underlines one of the most important functions of stand-up: social, political and cultural criticism. Stand-up comedy aims to disarm (false) prejudices, to bring the foreign closer to the familiar, and to relieve tensions between groups of people from different (cultural) backgrounds (Toikka and Vento 77–78); its objective is to break fixed ways of thinking and established rules of conduct, and to ridicule hypocrisy and double standards (Väre).

Before proceeding with the development of stand-up comedy during the 20^th century, the three important ancestors of the art form will be briefly discussed below.

Minstrelsies typically included cross-dressing and artificially colored faces. Minstrel show performers Rollin Howard (left) and George Griffin. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

The minstrel show (or minstrelsy) was made popular during the 19^th century and reached the apogee of its popularity around the middle part of the century (Minstrel). It was the first art form that could genuinely be called "American", and the first to consciously avoid elitist style, favoring an audience consisting of ordinary people. The shows presented black people talking, singing, dancing and telling jokes. The twist was, though, that the black people were performed by whites. The performers would color their faces with burnt cork, exaggerating the facial features of the black people they parodied, and in this way, reflecting the racism of the 19^th century (Parker). The shows included stereotypes, word play, riddles and jokes, including obscenities, and a lot of cross-dressing as well.⁹

The minstrel show tradition was of great importance to the development of the other two ancestors, vaudeville and burlesque (Toikka and Vento 80). As an important downside though, according to Richard Zolten, associate professor of Communication Arts & Sciences and American Studies at Penn State Altoona, "minstrelsy was also a source for much of the stereotype that still lingers today about African Americans, a group more maligned in the name of entertainment than any other" (in Parker).

The vaudeville tradition (in Britain also known as 'Music Hall'¹⁰) originally comes from the Parisian streets and market places, where talented individuals exhibited their skills in unique productions which included jokes, word play, riddles, mockery (similar to a minstrel show) and so-called vaudeville monologues¹¹ — even elements from the circus. The shows were aggressive and hard by nature. The content was ethnic, sometimes sexual and usually sardonic, taunting the 'civilized' community (Toikka and Vento 80–81).

The beginning of the 20^th century saw the zenith of vaudeville, as the art form had become the most popular form of entertainment in the United States during the 1890s. As technology continued to develop rapidly towards the turn of the century, people had more free time. In this context, vaudeville, instead of being considered a mere form of entertainment, was seen as an instrument to affect people's thoughts and beliefs: it was eventually harnessed to increase people's faith in technology, industrialization and urbanization. The idea that the shows incorporated a great opportunity to influence people's moral views and opinions takes us to an important insight: the vaudeville comedians can be regarded as the ancestors of stand-up performers also because of the strong social criticism that the shows included (Toikka and Vento 80–81).

Before the emergence of stand-up comedy per se, performances similar to present-day stand-up routines were used as transitions in the variety shows, because of the multitude of various acts such as circus tricks, dancing and singing. Someone needed to keep the show alive during these transitions, and that someone was usually a comedian, a storyteller, a host of sorts, later known also as an MC (short for Master of Ceremonies). Eventually, the ideas of an MC and a badhan were merged to give rise to the early stand-up comedian (Wickström 19).

Lenny Bruce started in burlesque and was later a big name in socially critical stand-up. Image Source: Squidoo

The counterpart of vaudeville (which was targeted more to children and families than uniquely to adults) was the burlesque theater, a more fierce and indecent form of stage entertainment (Wickström 19). Burlesque was influenced by a number of earlier traditions, for instance circuses, medicine shows, dime museums, minstrel shows, and venues like concert saloons and beerhouses.¹² In addition to musical acts, jokes and stories, the shows contained a lot of slapstick comedy and striptease, the atmosphere was extremely vulgar and the audience uneducated.

Burlesque took big steps towards stand-up comedy as the role of the comedian in the shows became increasingly important during the first thirty years of the 20^th century. Burlesque theater was for budding comedians a stepping-stone of sorts (Toikka and Vento 82). For instance, one of the most well known socially critical stand-up comedians, Lenny Bruce, started out in burlesque theaters (Biography).

The Birth of Stand-up Comedy in the United States

Following the historical division by Toikka and Vento (84), the development of stand-up comedy as an art form in its own right can be divided into four distinct periods during the 20^th century: (1) the beginning; (2) the concerts; (3) new wave comedy and amateur experiments; and (4) professionalization and commercialization.

The Beginning (late 1800s to 1930)

In addition to vaudeville, burlesque and minstrelsies, satirical and humorous lecturers of the late 19^th century, notably by Mark Twain have had a substantial influence on modern stand-up comedy.¹³ The aim of these entertaining, yet informational lectures set around the United States was mainly to criticize and ridicule prevailing customs and beliefs.

19th-century lectures by Mark Twain influenced the development of modern stand-up performances. Image Source: Sierra CP

It is important, however, to take note that humor and the light style used by these lecturers was a mere instrument, not the objective of the performance. They were operating completely outside the framework of the entertainment business (Toikka and Vento 84–85). In any case, the connection between the present-day stand-up — especially the socially critical style — and these lectures can clearly be seen.

According to Toikka and Vento (85), the first performer who could actually be compared to modern stand-up comedians was Charlie Case. Will Rogers¹⁴ describes Case as "a famous African American monologue comedian" who "wrote his own routines and was known for [his] quiet and intimate style of delivery" (Rogers 256).

The Concerts (1930–1950)

With the vaudeville and burlesque traditions slowly fading to the background¹⁵ and radio technology developing rapidly during the early 20^th century, performers would now have new types of venues and new kinds of audiences at their disposal. In addition to the radio, nightclubs became more and more popular as venues for stand-up comedy. Clubs would normally only hire professionals, who had gained experience already during the beginning of the century in resorts of New York or Pennsylvania (e.g. The Adirondack Mountains, Pocono Mountains, Borscht Belt).¹⁶ Since the comedian was the main event of the night, however, young performers who managed to get themselves time on stage gained crucial experience and visibility for the future. During this era, stand-up comedians were not very highly esteemed; even the pioneers performing on radio (Bob Hope, Jack Benny, George Burns, etc.)¹⁷ had relatively low incomes at the time (Toikka and Vento 85–86).

The nightclubs generally controlled the routines and did not accept any kind of profound messages to be included in the material. The jokes were meant to be shallow but funny, short gags and witty one-liners. This underlined the importance of the performer's character and charisma (Toikka and Vento 86).

New Wave Comedy and Amateur Experiments (1950–1970)

The period starting from the early 1950s and ending at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s was probably the most important period in the development of the art form, as it could be regarded as the era of emancipation of stand-up comedy. In the 1950s, the amateurs finally found their home in the nightclubs of the bohemian districts of New York (most importantly Greenwich Village¹⁸), and those of the major entertainment capitals of the United States, such as Las Vegas and Miami Beach. Coffee houses of the bohemian districts offered the perfect place for the trailblazers, as the atmosphere was very favorable to experimental styles and material (Toikka and Vento 86–87). Thus these venues quickly became the epicenters for testing and spreading new artistic ideas and influences.

Vaudeville monologues were well thought out and prewritten. So were most of the stand-up comedy routines until the so-called "new wave comedy" of the 1950s. People were getting tired of the old ways of expression and were open to completely new kinds of performances and themes. The new wave comedy was more pitiless, more impudent and more shocking than the traditional style. It was also more dialogic and spontaneous. As stand-up comedy was finally really beginning to stand on its own feet, the routines were considerably more independent than during the 1930s and 1940s. The focus was heavily on social criticism and relieving social tensions (Toikka and Vento 91). One of pioneers of this era was the already mentioned Lenny Bruce. Richard Zolten (in Parker) describes Bruce in a way that appositely captures the essence of new wave comedy as well: "Lenny Bruce, in the fifties, was one of the first to really push the envelope, addressing head-on our prejudices and skewed views of things ... Bruce was a catalyst for what would come in the '60s, a warrior on the frontline of the free speech movement; a comedian who used humor to provoke thought and hopefully change minds."

The beginnings of new wave comedy also coincided with the build-up of the celebrity cult. The comedians were expected to reveal parts of their personal life to the audience. These types of anecdotes were also meant to boost the 'connection' between the performer and the audience (Toikka and Vento 87).

Professor Maurice Charney from Rutgers University proposes that the new wave comedians "revolutionized stand-up, not America" (581). By this he is referring to their novel style and themes, which, however, did not reach their full goal of social and political change. Charney also points out that while new wave comedy left traditional stand-up comedy in its shade for the most part, the one-liners and quips did not disappear completely.

The development of new wave comedy and the rise of the amateurs were conveniently going on simultaneously with the rapid improvement of distribution technology, including LPs, radio and TV. This meant that the need for new material and new comedians was also increasing.

Professionalization and Commercialization (1970–1990)

The final period of the division presents three revolutionary elements in the history of stand-up comedy: (1) the establishment of the comedy rooms (early 1960s onwards), (2) the rapid rise of TV technology (late 1950s onwards), and (3) the Comedy Store strike of 1979.

The Improv later became a nation-wide chain of comedy clubs. Damon Wayans at Houston Improv. Image Source: iStopOver

The 1960s saw the establishment of the very first comedy rooms, places reserved especially for stand-up performances. One of the first comedy rooms was the famous Improvisation Café, or Improv, in New York.¹⁹ The TV industry sent out their headhunters to the comedy clubs in order to look for new talents to perform on television — and the comedians knew this. The possibility of getting nation-wide airtime was an opportunity they could not afford to miss. Any comedian wishing to reach that objective, however, needed to have material suited for TV distribution, i.e. neutral and conservative routines, which were sometimes quite different from the ones they were presenting in the clubs (Toikka and Vento 88).

The importance of TV to the diffusion of the art form cannot be stressed enough. Via popular and nationwide late-night television shows like Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show, the comedians had a chance of becoming popular extremely quickly and getting a career in the TV business, but the situation was not exactly balanced, financially at least. It was very lucrative for the comedy club owners, who had a lot of money coming in, but kept the checks going out to the comedians relatively small. As for the audience, they would have the chance to a live show from a number of potential stars of the (near) future for little or no money at all (Toikka and Vento 88). The comedians, on the other hand, were not doing very well financially and in March of 1979, the time had come for the them to go on strike (Zoglin).

The labor movement started at the Comedy Store, the number one comedy club in Los Angeles at the time. Mitzi Shore, the club's owner, felt no need to pay the comedians anything; she considered the club to be beneficial to the performers in other ways, notably as a means for newcomers to get crucial experience and to "grow as artists" (in Zoglin).

Comedy Store West. Left to right: Mitzi Shore, Jay Leno, Billy Braver and Ed Bluestone. 24 Jan. 1978. Image Source: LA Weekly Blogs

In his Time Magazine article The First Comedy Strike from January 2008, Richard Zoglin explains that the comedians succumbed until Shore "opened a second, larger showroom at her club, where she paid big-time headliners — but not the younger comics who also appeared there". The inequality of the situation was too much, regardless of the shaky solidarity of the comics.

After a sudden and violent outburst of tension between the strikers and the nonstrikers, a settlement was finally reached in May 1979. The club agreed to pay $25 per set to the performers (Zoglin). More importantly, however, the settlement had more far-reaching consequences. With TV becoming more and more common in U.S. households²⁰ and the working conditions of comics improving nationwide, a quickly increasing number of new clubs were opened, and hundreds — or even thousands — of new comics gradually appeared on the scene. The comedy boom of the 1980s saw the number of comedy clubs grow from a dozen to some three hundred, and the group of professional stand-up comedians in the United States to increase to about 2,000 members, or according to the wildest estimates, up to 10,000 (Toikka and Vento 94).

The huge increase in the number of comedians naturally spurred the founding of dozens of agencies and management businesses. As the working conditions along with the fees paid to the performers were now at a reasonable level, and stand-up comedy had actually become a paying profession, the division between the professionals and the amateurs was considerably easier to be made (Toikka and Vento 89).

The 1980s also changed the nature of stand-up comedy. Tom Shales, a Pulitzer-winning TV critic, argues that "when baby boomers became yuppies", they wanted to leave behind the "disillusion that had set in when the Sixties fizzled and the Seventies congealed". They wanted to see comedy that was about better and more balanced times, "not Vietnam and Watergate and political assassinations" (in Reinelt and Roach 201). The comedy of the 1980s has, as a matter of fact, been appositely called "feel-good comedy". During the 1990s, however, the yuppie movement lost its momentum as the recession of the early 1990s²¹ changed living conditions all over the world; as a consequence stand-up was steered back towards social criticism. Even though the art form is undeniably and intrinsically tied to the capitalistic system, it has its foundations in the will to find an antithesis to a cynical and commercialized popular culture (Toikka and Vento 96).

A Brief History of Finnish Stand-up Comedy

What about the Finnish side of things? When could Finnish stand-up be said to have burst into existence? Or was it a slow and subtle process? The history of stand-up in Finland is, for the most part, still to be written. Yet how did it begin?

Esa Pakarinen (L), Reino Helismaa and Jorma Ikävalko were among the most popular artists of the Finnish kupletti era. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Finnish performing tradition includes a number of groups and individuals whose style could be considered as similar to stand-up comedy. These include the revue theaters Iloinen Teatteri (Happy Theater) and Punainen Mylly (Red Mill), which were active in the mid 20^th century, and the kupletti tradition (humoristic and satirical ditties) performed for instance by Esa Pakarinen and Reino Helismaa²² (Toikka and Vento 104).

Training is not originally a concept intrinsically bound to stand-up comedy, but some of the recognition for the present state of Finnish comedy goes undoubtedly to Teatterikorkeakoulu (TeaK, Theater Academy Helsinki) and to NÄTY (Department of Acting of the University of Tampere). These institutions are mostly responsible for the diffusion of knowledge related to stand-up comedy during the early stages of the development of the art form in Finland. As early as in 1985, Pentti Järvinen and Kari Franck from NÄTY organized a course in stage performance focusing on a style of expression relative to stand-up comedy. TeaK introduced stand-up studies during the 90s with three courses led by people like Ron Roth, Neil Hardwick and Markku Toikka.²³ The courses were held in 1992, 1993 and 1997 (Toikka and Vento 108–112).

The American stand-up comedians' performances have been available to the Finnish audience already since the 1980s through cable television, but the beginnings of Finnish stand-up tradition can be traced back to the early 1990s. According to André Wickström (25), Finnish stand-up comedy was born on 5 November 1991 at Vanha Ylioppilastalo²⁴ in Helsinki, although seemingly no one except the performer, Stan Saanila, understood the historical value of the event.

Stan Saanila has a been a key figure in the development of Finnish stand-up. Image Source: MTV3

Among the first and the most important regularly organized Finnish stand up shows were the performances organized by Stan Saanila and Paul Olin at the Åbo Nation²⁵ in the University of Helsinki. The shows, under the name Hus med skoj (Swedish for The House of Fun), gained popularity very quickly during 1992 and the group was almost immediately contacted by the Viirus Theater²⁶, which offered larger premises (Toikka and Vento 105). The shows also piqued the interest of the National Broadcasting Company (YLE), and Saanila eventually ended up broadcasting hour-long round-ups of the shows on a national Swedish speaking radio channel (Savola, TAUSTA: Stand-up kehittyi).

The early Finnish stand-up was heavily influenced by the Swedish comedy tradition, and performed usually in Swedish by Finland-Swedes. This included the performances at Åbo Nation and Viirus, although some of the shows at the Viirus Theater were performed in Finnish (Toikka and Vento 105; Wickström 26–27).

In 1994, two important stand-up groups were initiated, one in Helsinki, the other in Tampere. The former was a group called Huumoria ja nujakkaa (Humor and scuffles) at the Q-theater²⁷, organized by Heikki Kujanpää²⁸; the latter was organized by Tuomas Parkkinen²⁹ and called Liukas gägi (Slippery Gag). The main problem for both of these enterprises was the scarcity of new material and new performers, which is interestingly enough the opposite of the main problem of early American stand-up comedy (Toikka and Vento 108, 110).

Liukas gägi also incorporated open mike nights, which eventually helped bring out key persons in Finnish stand-up, such as Riku Suokas³⁰. He was the person responsible for the next prominent stand-up initiative, Club Act!one, established in Hämeenlinna in 1996 (Toikka and Vento 113). In 2001, a group called Wettex & Latex set up shop in Åbo Svenska Teater in Turku, and the following year, the once fallen Club Viirus was resurrected by André Wickström (Wickström 28–29).

The above-mentioned enterprises were the first of their kind, and in this way, crucial to the development of the scene, even though the recurrent story of virtually all of them seems to be that they were active only for a few years and that they were relatively small and marginal. On the other hand, when clubs died out, others were established to continue the development of the art form; the Finnish stand-up comedy scene was obstinately growing. According to Suokas, the slow development of the 1990s could also be seen as a positive thing: it has given the comics time to polish their routines and get ready for bigger audiences (in Väre).

The influence of television for the diffusion of Finnish stand-up comedy should also be acknowledged: since the early 2000s shows like W-tyyli (W-Style), Get Up Stand Up, Komiikkatehdas (Comedy Factory), Club Act!One and Hupiklubi (Fun Club) have been an important part of Finnish stand-up history (Savola, TAUSTA: Stand-up kehittyi).

The foundations of Finnish stand-up having been presented in this section, the following will address the present status and situation of stand-up comedy in Finland, as well as project the future of the field.

Looking at the Present and into the Future

Finland currently presents an increasing number of talented and successful (male) stand-up comedians: Riku Suokas, André Wickström, Ilari Johansson, Pekka Jalava, Stan Saanila, Niko Kivelä, Sami Hedberg, Ismo Leikola, Arimo Mustonen, Mika Eirtovaara, Riku Sottinen, Teemu Vesterinen, Tuomas Parkkinen and Markku Toikka are some of the performers who could be regarded as the pioneers of the steadily growing stand-up comedy scene of Finland. According to André Wickström, there is a lot of talent "bubbling under" as well (in Savola, TAUSTA: Stand-up kehittyi).

Heli Sutela representing the feminine side of Finnish stand-up. Image Source: Club Act!one

Although the scene is still quite heavily dominated by men, there are a lot of active female comics as well; these include well-known performers like Heli Sutela, Pirjo Heikkilä, Krisse Salminen and Anitta Ahonen. The number of non-native performers is quite low, but there are also some foreign stand-up comedians actively performing in Finland, such as the Americans Phil Schwarzmann and Rich Lyons.³¹ Ethnic minorities (other than Swedish-speaking Finns) are currently not represented, or at least, compared to the United States, are extremely rarely seen on a stand-up stage in Finland.

It is difficult to say precisely how many active stand-up comedians there are in Finland, but according to Antti Virtanen, CEO of the Finnish Stand Up Club, roughly thirty stand-up comedians in Finland do stand-up for a living (in Salminen). It is obvious, however, that the actual number of people performing as stand-up artists is far greater. The amount of stand-up offered in Finnish bars, restaurants, theaters, night clubs, etc. is staggering and on the increase. The scene is centered around Helsinki, but a lot of shows are offered in other cities (Turku, Tampere, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Hämeenlinna, etc.) as well.³²

André Wickström states (in Savola, TAUSTA: Stand-up kehittyi) that for many Finnish comedians, stand-up is currently a secondary source of livelihood. As the shows take place mainly during the evenings, the comics have time to do other things during the day. Some work for television, for radio, or as actors in theaters; some work as directors, some write columns for newspapers and magazines, etc. The top Finnish stage comedians have the opportunity to gain relatively good profits. The average fee for a club gig is around €350; for a private gig some €1,000–€1,500; and for a TV commercial approximately €2,000–€3,000. Krisse Salminen, for example, had an annual income (in 2009) of almost €200,000 (Salminen).

What about the audience's side of things? The entrance fees of Finnish stand-up shows range from €0 to some €30, the average being around €10–20. Especially in Helsinki and Tampere, free shows are also organized almost every week. The shows are mainly advertised on-line and by posters around the city and public bulletin boards, but some of the publicity comes from radio, magazines and classified ads in newspapers. TV advertising is, for the time being, marginal.

Even though the industry is developing slowly towards a more established status, there are difficulties as well. As Toikka and Vento adeptly describe (105), the scene is still so small that the development and the popularity of the art form are heavily influenced by certain individuals and by their level of commitment. They further explain that the two main problems are (1) the shortage of venues that could genuinely be called comedy clubs, and (2) the scarcity of entertainment agencies that would focus solely on organizing stand-up events and booking comics on stage.

Organizing a stand-up event in Finland is thus financially precarious and more complicated than it perhaps should be. A stand-up event is fairly difficult to orchestrate as there are no comedy clubs per se or agencies that focus solely on stand-up comedy. The field is not exactly unified either, but because the scene is still so small, people understand the value of cooperation and solidarity (Toikka and Vento 113). There seems to be no labor union for stand-up comedians in Finland. Thus organizing professionally could be the key to significantly improving the working conditions of the field.

Traditional Finnish comedy is based on people wearing silly costumes. Still photo from a Finnish TV series from the early 1990s, Pulttibois. A. Kalliala (left) and Pirkka-Pekka Petelius. Image Source: Video-hned

Wickström suggests (29–30) a recent shift in the attitudes of the Finnish audience. He argues that stand-up comedy is becoming increasingly popular among the Finns because of the urbanization of the nation, since stand-up essentially is a very urban form of entertainment. He describes that Finnish audiences have for long been accustomed to the rural form of entertainment, i.e. performers dressing in silly costumes, wearing funny hats, having blackened teeth and, what is pivotal here, essentially taking no risks on stage. Everything has been premeditated and prewritten. Toikka and Vento also justify (109) the conventional problems of presenting entertainment based on stand-up format in Finland with the fact that the Finnish entertainment has for decades been based on prewritten material.

Ilari Johansson, a successful Finnish stand-up comedian who started his career in the 1990s, states that during the first decade of Finnish stand-up comedy comics were employed by people who had never heard of the art form and almost without exception had no knowledge of its nature (in Oinaanvaara). Johansson further explains that people were usually expecting a joke-teller or "some kind of a funny guy", and were very often disappointed, because no actual (i.e. traditional) jokes were told. Another well-known Finnish stand-up artist, Ismo Leikola, explains that, instead of old jokes that the audience knows already, a stand-up performance is actually based on totally new material written preferably by the comedian himself/herself (in Oinaanvaara). Stand-up could thus be considered to be opposing the conventional joke-telling tradition.

However, according to Ilari Johansson and Heli Sutela, most Finns are currently up-to-date with the existence and the concept of stand-up comedy. Johansson and Sutela confirm that a radical change in people's attitudes has taken place (cf. the theory on Finnish urbanization by Wickström). Sutela states that professional stand-up in Finland is starting to be at a very high level, and that during the last half of the 2000s Finnish stand-up has taken giant leaps. According to Sutela, as many as several thousands of tickets can be expected to be sold for a weekend event. She admits, however, that the majority of the audience is still very often composed of first-timers (in Oinaanvaara). On the other hand, according to Antti Virtanen, the risks are still enormous and profits remain small for organizers of these types of events (in Salminen).

Bill Burr, a well-known stand-up comedian from Canton, Massachusetts, believes that the Internet, as a facilitator for spreading influence (Youtube, Myspace, Vimeo, Facebook, etc.), is starting to affect the international stand-up comedy scene as well. He performed in Finland for the first time in October 2011, and was amazed at the turnout, as it was a full house. He stated that there would have been little point travelling to the Nordic countries a few years before, since nobody would have known him, and thus probably would not have come see his show. He believes that, due to the effects of the Internet, international stand-up tours and sharing influences with an international audience and colleagues from all around the world is becoming increasingly feasible all the time.

This logically means that stand-up comedy is becoming more and more popular in Finland as well, both from an international and a national point of view. This way the Finnish performers are able to get valuable information and influences from the (more) experienced foreign comedians, and, as the popularity of stand-up in Finland grows, bigger audiences become possible, more producers and venues become available, and finally, the esteem of the performers should be expected to develop as well.

Is Finnish stand-up going to develop further in the future, remain a relatively marginal form of entertainment, or eventually die out? No one will be able to answer this question with certainty, but according to the pioneer of Finnish comedy, André Wickström, stand-up comedy has come to Finland to stay. He presents a simple but watertight argument (31) to support his claim: "if a comedian is able to make the audience laugh, they will want to see him/her again." Stan Saanila shares similar beliefs with Wickström by stating that Finnish stand-up cannot die out, because the number of people actively supporting the art form has surpassed the critical threshold. Wickström admits, however, that the status of Finnish stand-up can only be considered to be 'established' after there is a club (i.e. venue) strictly for stand-up purposes in the center of Helsinki and also in some other Finnish city (in Savola, TAUSTA: Stand-up kehittyi).

The Building Blocks of Finnish Comedy

What, then, makes Finns laugh and have fun? Is Finnish stand-up socially conscious? Does it aim to change society? What kinds of themes and approaches could be associated especially to the Finnish style of performing on a stand-up stage? Does a Finnish comedian face the same basic challenges as his American colleague? This chapter's objective is to look at some of the characteristics that define Finnish stand-up comedy especially, and also to describe possible differences between the native forms of stand-up and their Finnish counterparts.

First of all, stand-up comedy can be roughly divided into two types: (1) socially critical stand-up, and (2) feel-good comedy. Although any stand-up performance will have other (latent) functions than simply making people laugh, the socially critical stand-up is, out of these two, the one that emphasizes these 'other functions' more clearly. Whereas feel-good comedy aims to build a concensus with the audience by reinforcing shared opinions and by dealing with familiar (everyday) phenomena that most people would agree on, socially critical stand-up's objective is to ridicule more controversial subjects by means of satire, sarcasm and parody; it aims to expose, provoke, defy and mock people's (bad) habits, established beliefs and social phenomena, or the state of affairs in society.

George Carlin (1937–2008) was one of the most important socially critical stand-up artists. Image Source: Righteous Prick

In stand-up comedy, the form does not define the content: serious issues can be discussed through comedy, and with criticism comes hope for change (Toikka and Vento 74).

The first twenty years of Finnish stand-up has heavily centered around feel-good comedy, which could be considered completely natural. In comparison, social criticism clearly became an integral part of American stand-up tradition only during the 1950s and 1960s as a part of the new wave ideology; this was in fact several decades after stand-up had taken its modern form. Riku Suokas states that some of the guaranteed-to-work themes in Finland include such commonplace subjects as the differences between men and women, sexuality, alcohol, cats and dogs, national stereotypes, and scandals in politics and entertainment. The challenge thus far has been finding new perspectives on these very familiar themes. Suokas believes, however, that social criticism in Finnish stand-up routines will become much more recurrent in the near future (in Väre).

Connected to the possible increase of this type of material, one of the few active foreign stand-up comedians in Finland, Phil Schwarzmann, thinks that Finnish audiences are actually very receptive to any kinds of subjects and are not afraid of any particular themes. In a recent TV interview he stated that "Finns have such a great sense of humor. Finns are dark; Finns don't take themselves too seriously. You can pretty much say anything, and Finns never get offended ... You wouldn't find that in maybe Sweden, or Great Britain, or parts of the United States ... So, it's kind of free reign. We can kind of explore some very touchy subjects, things that are taboo" (Schwartzmann).

Schwarzmann's American colleague, Rich Lyons, also performing actively in Finland, approaches the matter with much more prudence. He thinks that "Finns are clearly more sensitive than Americans, and one has to be very cautious about how to approach certain issues". He adds that taboo subjects include themes like racial issues and terrorism (Väre).

Riku Suokas is of like mind with Lyons: "I went to a [stand-up] club in L.A. only a week after the attacks of September 11," he describes, "and almost every one of the comics was discussing the tragedy on stage." He continues that, for instance, mentioning the Estonia incident³³ on stage causes, without fail, a long and cold silence in a Finnish audience. Suokas concludes that Finnish people are not accustomed to dealing with [these kind of] subjects by way of humor (Väre).

One way to explain these conflicting assertions by Schwarzmann on one hand, and by Lyons and Suokas on the other, is to assume that there has been a fundamental change in the Finnish audiences' attitudes, not only in the form of recognizing the art form, but also towards the themes and the content of Finnish stand-up performances. Schwarzmann's observation is from 2011, whereas the statements by Lyons and Suokas come from a 2003 news article. There is thus a gap of eight years between the assertions.

Harri Lagström believes Finnish audiences are ready for more socially critical stand-up. Image Source: W&T Comedy

Harri Lagström, an up-and-coming Finnish stand-up performer, strongly believes that Finnish audiences are nevertheless ready to embrace socially critical stand-up comedy, even though according to his observations, people usually [and mistakenly] tend to think that there is actually no need for social criticism in Finnish society. He adds that, as the point of comparison is usually the United States, the flaws of Finnish society seem more latent and more difficult to point out (in Oinaanvaara). Social criticism in Finnish stand-up is thus a big challenge, but not by any means an impossible feat.

One very important aspect to take into consideration at this point is the fact that stand-up comedy, among other art, is intrinsically connected to its cultural context. Compared to the United States, Finland presents a far smaller population of ethnic minorities, which is actually a very important factor related to the content prepared and performed for the stand-up audiences of the two nations.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 reports, the percentage (of total population) of people in the U.S. who identify themselves as 'white alone or in combination' has actually decreased between 2000 and 2010 from 77.1 to 74.8 percent; simultaneously, the percentage of 'Hispanics' or 'Latinos' in the U.S. has increased by a tremendous 43 percent. In total, there is a non-white population of almost 78 million people in the U.S., which represents over one quarter of the total population of the nation (White; Hispanic). This minority is also actively represented on the nation's stand-up scene.³⁴

In Finland, on the other hand, there are some 168 thousand foreigners plus approximately 55 thousand people with dual citizenship, which together represent roughly four percent of total Finnish population (Official). This, along with the brevity of Finnish stand-up tradition, partly explains the scarcity of ethnic minorities on Finnish stand-up stages — with the exception of Swedish-speaking Finns, of course.

Twenty Years of Feel-good Comedy: A New Era Ahead?

Stand-up comedy rose from the ashes of the variety shows (e.g. minstrelsies, vaudeville and burlesque) during the first half of the 20^th century. It presented influences from a variety of performing traditions, including elements from both Europe and America, but being essentially different from all of those and eventually being established as an art form in its own right. One of the most important attributes that distinguishes stand-up from other stage activities is the ascetic setting of a stand-up stage, which aims to form a strong, dialogical connection between the audience and the comedian — a connection that is the prerequisite, the main resource and the purpose of any stand-up performance. The art form grew in popularity throughout the 20^th century, gained independence from the new wave comedy movement and the 1960s coffee houses, and substantial visibility in the 1930s, and especially from the 1950s onwards as radio and television became everyday technologies.

American stand-up comedy became available in Finland during the 1980s via cable television, but the Finnish stand-up scene did not began developing until the early 1990s. Training was provided by the Theater Academy Helsinki (TeaK) and the Department of Acting of the University of Tampere (NÄTY) from 1985 onwards, but mainly during the 1990s. The first stand-up initiatives began to take form in 1992 and new groups were steadily introduced during the 1990s, but the scene remained very small, the conditions precarious, and the art form relatively marginal.

Stand-up in Finland has steadily become bigger and more mainstream, but the lack of specialized stand-up entertainment agencies and the scarcity of comedy clubs (i.e. stand-up focused venues) hinder the professional organization of the field. Despite the growing number of successful stage comics, the Finnish stand-up scene is still slowly developing, and the majority of its history remains to be written.

The Internet, which obviously did not exist when the American stand-up scene was at its beginning, has facilitated the promotion of Finnish stand-up as well as the diffusion of influences, even internationally. The Finnish scene is opening up to foreign influences and international performers, and in this way, also becoming more notable in Finnish culture.

Even though it is impossible to predict the future of the scene, several Finnish professionals have genuine faith in the growth of the industry. Finnish stand-up comedy has during its first 20 years centered mostly around feel-good comedy, but as society changes — and as people possibly become more aware of what is going on in the society — the content performed on Finnish stand-up stages will most likely diversify to also include more socially critical stand-up comedy.

---

Notes:

1. Comedy Central Presents is stand-up show on American cable TV that showcases famous comics living in the U.S. For video examples, visit their video section.
2. See e.g. Pablo Francisco on techno clubs.
3. These art forms will be discussed in further detail later in the text. For more information on-line, see Encyclopædia Britannica on minstrel show, vaudeville and burlesque.
4. See e.g. The Humans Are Dead by The Flight of the Conchords, Craig by Stephen Lynch and Zack Galifianakis performing with a piano.
5. For more information on-line, see the Jewish Encyclopedia article on 'badhan'.
6. This article by Kenneth C. Davis on religious (in)tolerance in America reflects quite well this idea. See especially page four for examples.
7. See the Wikipedia articles for the Marx Brothers and Woody Allen, and the condensed biographies of Lenny Bruce and Jerry Lewis.
8. For more information and additional sources, see the Wikipedia article on the history of the Jewish culture in the United States.
9. Virtually no women nor black people were allowed on stage. See e.g. What was Jim Crow? by Dr. David Pilgrim and Women in 19^th century America by Kathleen Steele and Jessica Brislen.
10. See the Wikipedia article on Music Hall tradition for more information.
11. Some examples on vaudeville monologues can be found here.
12. See these linked articles for more information on the mentioned events and venues: medicine show, dime museum, concert saloons and beer houses
13. See e.g. The Trouble Will Begin at Eight.
14. Another well-known entertainer from the late 19^th century (1859–1935).
15. For more information on these locations, see these Wikipedia articles for the Adirondack Mountains, the Poconos and Borscht Belt.
16. See biographies for Bob Hope, Jack Benny and George Burns.
17. From the late 19^th century onwards, Greenwich Village was considered a sort of bohemian capital of the East Coast, a safe haven for budding artists. For more information, see e.g. Greenwich Village Since the 1960s on Wikipedia.
18. As new inventions like microphones, records and radios "allowed for a new fast-paced style that depended on words and timing", many vaudeville performers transitioned into broadcast comedy before the start of the Second World War. For more information on the decline of vaudeville and burlesque, see this section of the Wikipedia article on Vaudeville and The Decline of Burleque by The People Say Project.
19. More details on Improvisation Café can be found on their website.
20. See television related statistics by TVhistory. This table shows the growth of TV households in America from 1950 to 1978.
21. For more information on the 1990s recession, see this Wikipedia article.
22. Esa Pakarinen and Reino Helismaa were both famous Finnish musicians of the kupletti era. See this recording for an example of a kupletti style song (in Finnish).
23. Ron Roth is an American actor and stand-up comedian; Neil Hardwick is a well known British-born Finnish theater and TV director and writer; and Markku Toikka is a Finnish actor and stand-up performer who has been involved in Finnish stand-up scene since its early years.
24. The former student house of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki.
25. Åbo Nation is one of the 15 — and one of the four Swedish speaking — student nations of the University of Helsinki.
26. Viirus Theater is a Swedish speaking professional theater in Helsinki, Finland. The theater was founded in 1987.
27. For more information on the theater, see the brief English history on Q-theater's web page.
28. Heikki Kujanpää is a Finnish actor, director, writer and theater manager.
29. Tuomas Parkkinen is a Finnish stand-up performer, playwright and director.
30. Riku Suokas is a Finnish actor, stand-up comedian and theater manager.
31. Schwarzmann recently published a humorous book about Finland and the Finnish people. See the book's promotional website.
32. See for instance the show calendar of one of the most important stand-up comedy internet sites of Finland. The calendar is in Finnish only, but nonetheless depicting for English speakers as well. The site lists over 70 stand-up comedians already.
33. M/S Estonia was an Estonian cruise ship that sank in 28 September 1994 en route from Tallinn to Stockholm with 989 people on board. The tragic accident claimed 852 lives. For more details, see this article.
34. For examples, see e.g. these YouTube clips of Dave Chappelle, Russell Peters, Dean Obeidallah and Carlos Mencia.

Works Cited

• Annual Review 2010, Review of the population structure of Finland 2010. Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Population structure. Helsinki: Statistics Finland. Consulted 23 November 2011.
• Biography of Lenny Bruce. ResearchOver. Consulted 26 Oct. 2011.
• Burr, Bill. A Night With Bill Burr. Stand-up Comedy Performance. Helsinki Music Centre, Black Box. 21 Oct. 2011.
• Charney, Maurice, ed. Comedy: A Geographic and Historical Guide: Volume Two. Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2005.
• The Hispanic Population: 2010. United States Census 2010. U.S. Census Bureau. Consulted 23 November 2011.
• Minstrel Show. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Consulted 25 Oct. 2011.
• Oinaanvaara, Angelika. Stand-upin oppitunnit. Video documentary. YouTube. 2009.
• Parker, Bethany. What are the roots of stand-up comedy? Research/Penn State. Consulted 15 Novermber 2011.
• Reinelt, Janelle G., and Joseph R. Roach. Critical Theory and Performance. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992.
• Rogers, Will. The papers of Will Rogers. Volume 3, From vaudeville to Broadway, September 1908-August 1915. Eds. Arthur Frank Wertheim, and Barbara Bair. Oklahoma: Oklahoma University Press, 2001.
• Salminen, Vesa. Huumori ei kuole taantumassa. Helsingin Sanomat 31 October 2011: B3.
• Savola, Heli. TAUSTA: Stand-up kehittyi pääosin Yhdysvalloissa. YLE24. Last updated 29 October 2008, 18:54 UTC. Consulted 15 November 2011.
• - - - . TAUSTA: Stand up!. YLE24. Last updated 29 October 2008, 18:54 UTC. Consulted 15 November 2011.
• Schwarzmann, Phil. Puoli seitsemän. YLE TV1, Helsinki. 10 November 2011.
• Toikka, Markku, and Maritta Vento. Ala Naurattaa! Stand Up -komedian käsikirja. Helsinki: Like, 2000.
• Väre, Anna. Hah-hah-hah! City 19 (2003).
• The White Population: 2010. United States Census 2010. U.S. Census Bureau. Consulted 23 November 2011.
• Wickström, André. Das humoristische Manifest: Kirja stand up -komiikasta. Helsinki: WSOY, 2005.
• Zoglin, Richard. The First Comedy Strike. Time Magazine 31 Jan. 2008. Consulted 30 Oct. 2011.

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