🎤 Testing Jokes

I can't remember where I read it, but I once learned that comedians test their drafted jokes with an audience to determine which ones will land.

What I read was an account from an audience member who was surprised to watch a famous comedian rifle off one joke after another from the notebook he held on stage.

Up until this point, I had assumed talented comedians just wrote THE jokes and then hopped on the main stage to deliver them.

In hindsight, it makes perfect sense that professional comedians test their jokes to lower their risk of bombing on tour.

Going one step further, do you think it's this process of testing that makes their jokes so good and in turn makes them a famous comedian?