How important is performing on a stage to being a stand up comedian?

Is it a nice to have or a need to have?

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Here I am, playing my flying V ukulele on stage somewhere, with cut arms

The quintessential stand up show looks something like this: there’s a person standing in front of a brick wall holding a microphone with the mic stand near by, and they telling jokes with a spotlight on them, while people drink overpriced booze.

When I first started performing stand up in the early 2000s, I couldn’t really imagine performing anywhere else but a scene that resembled the above — on a stage at a comedy club. There were “alternative shows” also popping up around town in back rooms of bars, but this was not the traditional way to see or perform stand up, and in fact, it was looked down upon by a lot of the older comedians who were leading the way, as well as bookers and industry.

As the alternative shows began to get bigger audiences,