LOS ANGELES – Did you hear the one about the striking sitcom writer?

Before the walkout began he was penning jokes for Brad Garrett on television’s “‘Til Death.” Now he’s telling them himself.

DJ Nash is back on the nightclub circuit, returning to the venue that put him on the path to writing for television.

And as the Hollywood writers strike settles into its fourth week, with talks resuming on Tuesday, several of Nash’s colleagues are joining him.

So far this return to their stand-up roots is as much about staying sharp as making money, say Nash and the others. But they’re also scoping out longer-range opportunities just in case the strike endures for 5« months, as the last one did in 1988.

“I’m trying to put together a show geared toward honeymooners because so much of my stuff is geared to marriage,” Nash said in a recent interview. “I’m trying to find a location where they go that I could go if this thing drags on.”

In the meantime, he appeared on stage at Hollywood’s Laugh Factory, where he tried out three new comedy bits.

“One will never see the light of day again,” he laughed. “But two worked. That was pretty good. If we can get two out of three on what we’re asking for on our contract, I’ll be happy.”

A key issue in the dispute between the studios and the striking Writers Guild of America is compensation for work offered on the Web.

“I believe that if the studios are willing to move on the idea that we should be paid something for Internet content it would happen real fast,” Nash said of an agreement. “If not, then we’ve got a problem.”

Until the writers and studios agree, Jordan Rubin has been splitting his time between clubs in New York and Los Angeles.

“Stand-ups are lucky that they always have this kind of second career,” said Rubin, who like Nash kept so busy in recent years that he had little time for nightclub appearances. He’s written for the “MTV Movie Awards,” “American Music Awards,” “The Late Late Show With Craig Kilbourn” and “Last Call With Carson Daily,” among others.

Still, he would squeeze in the occasional appearance behind a microphone. Now he’s glad he did.

“You know the old expression,” he said. “‘Don’t quit your day job.’ I’m happy I never quit my night job. I can always go back to the clubs and make money.”

For now he’s doing fine, Rubin said, having banked paychecks from a Web series and a movie deal just before the strike began. But if it drags into next year, he’ll be looking for more stand-up gigs.

So will Allan Stephan, who recently returned to clubs after 10 years.

The biggest worry he had about coming back, said Stephan, was “whether I was still relevant” to a young, hip nightclub audience.

“You have to understand, most comics are insecure and crazy anyway,” he said, adding that getting back on stage after years of writing for “Roseanne,” “Arlis$$” and other shows wasn’t as bad as he thought.

“I’m like the Tin Man. I’m a little rusty, but with a little oil I’ll be fine,” said the writer who earned a WGA award nomination this year for his work on the Robert Wuhl comedy special “Assume The Position With Mr. Wuhl.”

Still, he’ll be happy when the strike is over.

When the walkout occurred, Stephan said, he had two deals in the works, one for an animated series, another for a show he says will bring a major star back to television if it ever gets made.

“My deals are fairly high-profile, so I don’t think something will happen to them,” he said, although he acknowledged things could change if the strike drags on too long.

“I could lose my star. They could change their mind. Anything could happen,” he said.

So he keeps busy doing stand-up in Los Angeles and contemplating whether he might consider looking for a more lucrative cruise-ship gig if the strike drags on.

“One day you’re going, ‘Hmmm, if all goes well, maybe a Bentley,'” Stephan mused. “Next day you’re going, ‘Hmmm, wonder if I should gas up the Chrysler. … But that’s show biz.”

In any case, their support for the strike is unshakable. The issues at stake, particularly the one involving Web content, are too important to the future of the union, they said.

“The amount of money I will lose over this strike I will never gain back, even if we win what we’re seeking,” said Nash. “So, yeah, it’s a huge financial burden.”

But being a gag writer, he can still find some humor in it.

His wife, it turns out, works in the business department of one of the studios the writers are striking, NBC Universal. He said he’s had to teach her how to get to her parking space each day without running over a picketing writer.

“She’s putting masking tape down the center of our bed,” he quipped. “And she put it at 65-35. So I’ve got to talk to my union rep about that.”