When Rupert Pupkin, the standup comic played by Robert De Niro in the 1982 film The King of Comedy, says, “Better to be king for a night than a schmuck for a lifetime,” there’s a seed of hard truth for aspiring comedians in his words. Sure, Pupkin was a character with mental illness who kidnapped a talk-show host to ransom a network into letting him perform on television. And that’s, you know, not great. But beyond the blackhearted satire of the film, there is a lesson in Pupkin’s madness: In comedy, you make your own breaks. [content-5] That’s something Vermont’s most ambitious comedians know well. For the past decade, there’s been a small but steady flow of talented comics from the Queen City to bigger markets, such as Boston and Los Angeles. Most have headed for the comedy mecca, New York City, following the lead of Montpelier native Carmen Lagala, who decamped from Burlington in 2015. Just three years later, she was booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” Lagala wouldn’t be the last. From Kendall Farrell to Ash Diggs to Tina Friml, Vermont’s funniest standups have left the cozy confines of Burlington’s comedy scene to shoot for the big time. More than a few have found success — the latest being Friml, a Middlebury native who performed on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in November. Vermont has exported a handful of improv comedians, too, including Brian Park and Katrina Hughes, now at Second City in Chicago. Is there some secret to how Vermont nurtures raw comedic talent? To learn more, Seven Days spoke with several comedy expats, who shouted out the local crowd vibes, Vermont Comedy Club and the benefits of making your friends laugh. “The whole comedy scene in Vermont is just overall super positive,” Diggs said. The 29-year-old former Burlingtonian moved to New York City in 2021, after four years of hustling in Vermont. He became one of the area’s top comics, headlining at Vermont Comedy Club and opening for big names such as Theo Von at Burlington’s Flynn — though he never won the coveted title of Vermont’s Funniest Comedian. (“I definitely don’t think about that every single day,” Diggs quipped.) “People in Vermont really show up for comedy shows,” Diggs continued. “And even more importantly, they’re usually really open to material. Other scenes have this ‘Oh, you’re funny? Prove it’ vibe,…