---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Standup is really the only thing in the…"
description: "\"Standup is really the only thing in the entertainment business that you do totally alone.\" — Brad Garrett"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/brad-garrett-13890_alone_standup-is-really-the-only-thing-in-the_90699.jpg"
---

#  Standup is really the only thing in the entertainment…

![“Standup is really the only thing in the entertainment business that you do totally alone.” quote by Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/brad-garrett-13890_alone_standup-is-really-the-only-thing-in-the_90699.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/brad-garrett-13890_alone_standup-is-really-the-only-thing-in-the_90699.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/brad-garrett-13890_alone_standup-is-really-the-only-thing-in-the_90699.jpg)

> “Standup is really the only thing in the entertainment business that you do totally alone.”

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Stand‑up comedy is uniquely solitary: the performer writes, rehearses, and delivers alone, even though the audience is present.

**In simple terms:** Comedy is a solo act.

Key Takeaway

Loneliness underlies performance.

Themes

solitude performance entertainment creative process

Mood

wry introspective

Type

humorous observational

When to use this quote

- stand‑up gigs
- writing workshops
- solo performance coaching

Key Concepts

authoring delivery

Practical Applications

- comedy writing courses
- mental health talks about isolation

Questions to Reflect On

- What does solitude enable in a comic's voice?
- How does audience feedback affect the solo nature?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Entertainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainment/) [Entertainment business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainment-business/)

## Related quotes

> [It's the sad thing about entertainment, it's not always about who is the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-roberts/it-s-the-sad-thing-about-entertainment-it-s-not-always-about-who-is-2/)

[Jake Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-roberts/)

> [There are some people who don't believe in entertainment if you're a Christian artist. But I think it's a good thing for it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shonlock/there-are-some-people-who-don-t-believe-in-entertainment-if-you-re-a/)

[Shonlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shonlock/)

> [I guess standup is really painting pictures with words - especially for me, as I describe quite fantastical, visual things. My art teacher, Dexter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-fielding/i-guess-standup-is-really-painting-pictures-with-words-especially-for/)

[Noel Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-fielding/)

> [Every performer I talk to will, with different words, talk about the sanctity of a good standup show, how it can really feel spiritual.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-holmes/every-performer-i-talk-to-will-with-different-words-talk-about-the/)

[Pete Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-holmes/)

> [Standup really is a young man's game, a single young man's game. Even when I was younger, when I wasn't single, it was hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-nealon/standup-really-is-a-young-man-s-game-a-single-young-man-s-game-even/)

[Kevin Nealon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-nealon/)

> [I really love standup, and I really love writing standup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-acaster/i-really-love-standup-and-i-really-love-writing-standup/)

[James Acaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-acaster/)

> [The experience of watching other standups is either: 1) you see your mate doing standup and it's really bad and you're heartbroken, or 2)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romesh-ranganathan/the-experience-of-watching-other-standups-is-either-1-you-see-your/)

[Romesh Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romesh-ranganathan/)

> [Music is the one part of the entertainment business where you can't fool anybody into buying a record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nile-rodgers/music-is-the-one-part-of-the-entertainment-business-where-you-can-t/)

[Nile Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nile-rodgers/)

> [Even after spending a substantial time in the entertainment business, before the release of a film, I am nervous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manisha-koirala/even-after-spending-a-substantial-time-in-the-entertainment-business/)

[Manisha Koirala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manisha-koirala/)

> [You can never really justify wages in the entertainment business, but it is what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-lineker/you-can-never-really-justify-wages-in-the-entertainment-business-but/)

[Gary Lineker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-lineker/)

> [Los Angeles is a one-horse town. It's entirely driven by the entertainment business and that's what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-priestley/los-angeles-is-a-one-horse-town-it-s-entirely-driven-by-the/)

[Jason Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-priestley/)

> [I don't have family members calling me and saying, "Is this rumor about you in the newspaper true?," because they know it's all bullshit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-hewson/i-don-t-have-family-members-calling-me-and-saying-is-this-rumor-about/)

[Eve Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-hewson/)

> [I'll come back to New York. I think I'll start focusing in more on the entertainment business. I have been doing some of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-ll-come-back-to-new-york-i-think-i-ll-start-focusing-in-more-on-the/)

[Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/)

> [I know that being in the entertainment business... my first son, I had to sacrifice being away, being on tour a lot and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taboo/i-know-that-being-in-the-entertainment-business-my-first-son-i-had-to/)

[Taboo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taboo/)

> [It concerns me when people frame the conversation about equal pay about the entertainment business. I don't want the wage gap issue to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/it-concerns-me-when-people-frame-the-conversation-about-equal-pay/)

[Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/)

## More by Brad Garrett

> [I was very, very large as a kid and never athletic, and my home life was a little upside down and I never felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/i-was-very-very-large-as-a-kid-and-never-athletic-and-my-home-life/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [In standup, it's just you. You're your own writer, your own critic, your own director, and it's never the same. You really don't always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/in-standup-it-s-just-you-you-re-your-own-writer-your-own-critic-your/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [The night I won the Emmy, I probably cried for three hours on and off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/the-night-i-won-the-emmy-i-probably-cried-for-three-hours-on-and-off/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [I think we love watching people that are flawed because we're all flawed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/i-think-we-love-watching-people-that-are-flawed-because-we-re-all/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [I'm the type of guy that feels pressure when I have to order dinner. I'm just that type of guy but that's my fuel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/i-m-the-type-of-guy-that-feels-pressure-when-i-have-to-order-dinner-i/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [There's a black man inside of me just trying to make bail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/there-s-a-black-man-inside-of-me-just-trying-to-make-bail/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [Humor is healing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/humor-is-healing/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [I'm not big on game shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/i-m-not-big-on-game-shows/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [I think I'm better wired for television. I love variety as far as a project. I'm easily bored and the schedule of a television…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/i-think-i-m-better-wired-for-television-i-love-variety-as-far-as-a/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [I feel very, very grateful. I'm a lucky guy, you need a lot of luck, and then when the cameras roll, you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/i-feel-very-very-grateful-i-m-a-lucky-guy-you-need-a-lot-of-luck-and/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [We don't take care of our teachers and our cops and our firemen. They should be at the top of our list.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/we-don-t-take-care-of-our-teachers-and-our-cops-and-our-firemen-they/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [Athletics are not my wheelhouse because sports were mean to this uncoordinated kid growing up, a 6-foot-2 14-year-old who never could do a layup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/athletics-are-not-my-wheelhouse-because-sports-were-mean-to-this/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [Sports were never my thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/sports-were-never-my-thing/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [I've always wanted to play a coach in a movie, just to be the captain of anything in the pirate ship of my bathtub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/i-ve-always-wanted-to-play-a-coach-in-a-movie-just-to-be-the-captain/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

> [But I believe that there are marriages where you can have your pool table and she can have her scrapbooking room or garden or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/but-i-believe-that-there-are-marriages-where-you-can-have-your-pool/)

[Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

[Explore all 48 Brad Garrett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/)

## More Alone quotes

> [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/)

[Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/)

> [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/)

[Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/)

> [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/)

[Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/)

> [With my songs, the question is always, 'Can you pull it off live, alone on just an acoustic guitar?' That's the litmus test. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-colvin/with-my-songs-the-question-is-always-can-you-pull-it-off-live-alone/)

[Shawn Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-colvin/)

> [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/)

[Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/)

> [I am not alone in that I've had times of unemployment - unemployment is huge amongst disabled people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-jones/i-am-not-alone-in-that-i-ve-had-times-of-unemployment-unemployment-is/)

[Rosie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-jones/)

> [I never knew a heart could feel so cold so empty so broken until now , I don't know what to say I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-knew-a-heart-could-feel-so-cold-so-empty-so-broken-until-now/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If you're disabled or different from what general society deems normal, it's fine. There will always be people who won't accept you, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-simmonds/if-you-re-disabled-or-different-from-what-general-society-deems/)

[Millicent Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-simmonds/)

> [Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience…A Journey With My Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luckybannu/real-love-is-a-permanently-self-enlarging-experience-a-journey-with/)

Luckybannu

> [“What I'm trying to say is that I spent the last four months learning to be alone, avoiding the world, hating pretty much anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/what-i-m-trying-to-say-is-that-i-spent-the-last-four-months-learning/)

[Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/)

> [I'm used to being alone in a quiet, isolated environment - I'm kind of a low-energy, low-vibration, low-stamina person to begin with - so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-m-used-to-being-alone-in-a-quiet-isolated-environment-i-m-kind-of-a/)

[Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/)

> [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [I have developed a nasty habit of losing to the guy who wins the tournament, and that alone makes you think what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-robertson/i-have-developed-a-nasty-habit-of-losing-to-the-guy-who-wins-the/)

[Neil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-robertson/)

> [As a child, I was this record collector/listener that would sit in a room and listen to the entire Beatles catalog alone, over and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/as-a-child-i-was-this-record-collector-listener-that-would-sit-in-a/)

[Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/)

> [How one hates to think of oneself as alone. How one avoids it. It seems to imply rejection or unpopularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/how-one-hates-to-think-of-oneself-as-alone-how-one-avoids-it-it-seems/)

[Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/)

[Browse all 3,082 Alone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Standup is really the only thing in the entertainment business that you do totally alone.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Brad Garrett"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/standup-is-really-the-only-thing-in-the-entertainment-business-that/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Alone"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/standup-is-really-the-only-thing-in-the-entertainment-business-that/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/brad-garrett-13890_alone_standup-is-really-the-only-thing-in-the_90699.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/brad-garrett-13890_alone_standup-is-really-the-only-thing-in-the_90699.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/brad-garrett-13890_alone_standup-is-really-the-only-thing-in-the_90699.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Standup is really the only thing in the entertainment business that you do totally alone.” — Brad Garrett",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Brad Garrett",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Standup is really the only thing...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/standup-is-really-the-only-thing-in-the-entertainment-business-that/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/standup-is-really-the-only-thing-in-the-entertainment-business-that/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
