Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents: Sean Patton

Sean Patton treats a stand-up stage like he is holding court at a bar that is slowly realizing it needs to listen to him. His 2013 entry into Comedy Central’s showcase captures the booming, unhinged storytelling that made him a fixture in New York alternative rooms. He takes standard premises and steers them into bizarre territory, building intricate fantasies about becoming a matchmaker for people with STDs or laying out a specific vision for ruling a fraternity as a pledge master.

Filmed at the Royale in Boston, the set arrived after a string of late-night appearances established him as a reliable draw on the festival circuit. He balances an underlying good nature with aggressive left turns to keep the audience off balance. The half-hour format forces a tight sprint, and he uses it to highlight his loud theatricality and strange tangents — right down to demonstrating exactly how he would close the show if he were completely drunk.