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For too many years, local comics have sacrificed their pride and even their bodies for laughs. Falling down, looking deformed, making a cheap sexual innuendo or just calling somebody an idiot are what usually passes for mass-market comedy in Indonesia.

But there is an alternative. Indonesian stand-up. One comic, a microphone and no breakable props to bust over a sidekick’s head. All these comedians have are jokes, observations and an increasingly large audience to impress.

On television, the “Stand-Up Comedy Show” on Metro TV and “Stand Up Comedy Indonesia” on Kompas TV, along with increasing media coverage and a booming live circuit, attest to the trend. Personalities such as Pandji Pragiwaksono, Ernest Prakasa, Soleh Solihun, Raditya Dika, and Iwel Sastra are all harbingers of this new movement, building a name in comedy off the back of their already established careers in the entertainment industry.

New Order Fun

Like most cultural trends, it isn’t clear just how stand-up became a hot commodity. The seeds go back to the 1970s, when legendary comedy troupe “Warkop DKI” was founded. Theirs was an era when politically charged university students relied on humor to express opposition to the authoritarian Suharto regime.

“It was a medium students used to criticize the government,” said Denny Sakrie, a keen observer of cultural trends. Warkop DKI and others “came out of that scene, and often took intellectual comedic jabs at the New Order government.

“But then the smart jokes stopped,” Denny said, referring to an era that began in the late 1980s and continues into the present as sight gags and slapstick reign supreme.

“That is why stand-up comedy connects with audiences today. There are so many social and political issues to make ‘jokes’ about. Stand-up comedy provides a kind of oasis for the public.” Denny said.

In the West, of course, stand-up has been a staple for generations and edgy comedians like Lenny Bruce in the 1950s and Richard Pryor in the 1970s expanded the boundaries of acceptable humor. But Indonesian comics want to build their own niche in an expanding scene, and they also know that there are some limits and compromises along the way as society adjusts to this kind of humor.

“Technically speaking, there’s no significant difference between Western and local stand-up comedy. What’s different, though, are the moral boundaries. We are not accustomed to talking freely about sensitive issues. That’s why comics in Indonesia must be careful about what issue they’re discussing,” said Ernest Prakasa, a Chinese Indonesian whose riskier routines often poke fun at racial stereotypes.

Ernest is one of the few Indonesian comics who strays outside safe territory. One of his most famous routines involves a scathing observation about Chinese-Indonesians checking out the amount of money given in envelopes by guests at wedding parties. His observations – and also Pandji’s droll campaign to legalize marijuana – are sometimes greeted with self-righteous controversy. But most local stand up is safe — more Dane Cook than Richard Pryor.

Playing it Safe

Comic Soleh Solihun knows this. That is why the 32-year-old former journalist for Rolling Stone Indonesia plays off personal expectations, fears and failures. “I’ve always wanted to be a rocker,” he said as he strutted the stage in a denim jacket. “But I failed and now I just dress like one.” He also noted a relationship between guitar solos and masturbation: “When two guitarists start playing with each other’s guitar frets during a dueling solo, it is really uncomfortable to watch.”

Soleh’s comedy career began barely a year ago after he was asked by a friend from Global Radio to fill a slot on a new program focused on stand-up comedy. Until then, Soleh’s comedic turns had been limited to emceeing at music gigs and parties. Everybody, including Soleh himself, knew he was a funny guy; it was only a matter of sustaining that for a full set. Soleh asked a friend to videotape his radio performance and upload it to YouTube. The debut was a success.

Soleh’s routine and budding Internet fame [YouTube is a hotbed of comedy in all languages] reached the eyes and ears of Ernest, Pandji and others who were in the early stages of setting up “Stand Up Nite,” a weekly event at the Comedy Cafe in Kemang. They asked Soleh to perform and help spread the word about stand up.

Booming Scene

“The growth of stand-up comedy in Indonesia is nothing less than phenomenal,” said Ernest.

“It’s barely seven months since its revival, but things are going rapidly. Of course, then come the doubts, saying that this is a trend that will pass. To that we say, ‘This is not trend.’ This is the birth of a new genre that will grow bigger and stronger as it progresses,” he said.

“There’s a huge increase in the number of people today who aspire to be stand-up comedians,” said Iwel Sastra, a well-known comic whose extensive resume extends back to the late 1980s.

Iwel, who counts Jerry Seinfeld and Bob Hope as his biggest influences, points to stand-up TV shows and open-mic nights around the country as evidence of the comedy boom.

Soleh agreed, saying that through television stand-up is reaching beyond the hip urban audience to a broader public. “The guy who fixes my car, the security guys I regularly meet, even a PR officer at a government-owned company have all said they like to watch my performances,” Soleh said.

Iwel said he is just overjoyed at the explosion of the humor business, but wary of how the stand-up trend might lure performers who don’t have a clue.

“Stand up is not the same thing as solo comedy. The difference lies in the material, which can only be discerned when someone truly fathoms stand-up comedy,” he said.

Iwel said that it is important for a comic to rehearse and work at the craft, not just rely on passable jokes.

“For instance, I might be at a restaurant, and observe another customer. I scrutinize the process he or she goes through from the moment they walk through the door,” Iwel said. He literally writes down everything he sees, searching for humor in mundane experiences.

“I hope that comedy can become an industry of sorts,” said Soleh, instead of a part-time thing as it is now for most performers.

For Ernest, stand-up is already much more than a hobby, it is an art form. He loves the jokes and the laughter, but most of all, he loves the challenge.

“It’s a very intricate and difficult art,” he said. “Stand-up has one unique trait that sets it apart from most performing arts, which is the audience factor. Have you ever seen a stand-up comedy show in which the audience doesn’t laugh? How did the comic look? Super stupid, right? Different material harvests different feedback. That’s the beauty of it.”