Kawanku/Wahyu KadorochimUp and coming stand-up comedian Ryan Adriandhy takes jokes seriously.

The 21-year-old, who won the Stand Up Comedy Indonesia (SUCI) competition, believes comedy is “a heavy thing”.

His jokes do not come out of the blue but through thorough observation, research and serious thinking that involves logic as well as a good memory.

He even makes a mind map, kind of like a graduate student preparing a dissertation, before performing onstage.

Apparently, that is what all good stand-up comics do.

“All [stand-up comedians] need good preparation. We write down the material and rehearse, we have scripts that take the form of mind maps,” Ryan told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.

No wonder Ryan asserts that stand-up comedy is actually a very technical thing.

“If not, there shouldn’t be classes for stand-up c...