Danger Profoundness Ahead

Ok I'll admit the tittle of this post is really really ambitious all things considered.
However, I have been giving some reather serious thought to what exactly it means to see and create "characters" in comedy and standup. In Oliver Double's Article, he draws parralels between acting and standup because they both share elements of emulation and immitation and, to some extend, actual adoptating of personas, to evoke a response in the audience. The article on the whole as quite intersting, though I was most intruiged by the section on Persona.

This appealed to me because, while general chracterization is obvious, persona's are not. As he mentions, character comedians do have obvious stage personas, but often times people adapt exagerated stage personas which are not so immediately reckognizable. I actually kind of wish he had gone more into this subject. It seems significant to me, the way comedians 'play themselves' on stage. I think this affectation presents a vital difference in various types of comedy. It has been my observation that among comedians who use their personality as the source of humor (Dane Cook, Dimitri martin being two rather different examples of the same thign) this sort of exageration is the source of their humor. No on is as idiotically manic as Dane Cook, nore do they froth at the mouth and salivate and spit and hop around as much when talking about burger king, and yet he is not portraying someone else in his comedy, he is portraying himself. Lewis Black, full of venom and vitriol, is another great example of this. His stage persona is loud and angry, and while he may in real life be clever and have a biting wit, I doubt verymuch he communicates solely in shouted diatribes. Perhaps this sort of self emulation, in addition to providing a more "funny" version of the self, serves a a sort of catharsis for the comedian as well. Just a Thought.

Mitch Hedberg, as I've mentioned about a hundred times, is my favorite comedian. I have not put a clip of him here though. I have also included a sketch by flight of the conchords, two of my favorite comedians who almost certainly are "characterized" versions of themselves. The act basically centers around them being the 4th most popular "folk parody band from New Zealand." They intersperse humerous songs with funny, if self effacing, banter. They have a show on HBO now. What is groundbreaking, in my mind, is the way they seemlessly combin the musical and comedy aspects of their act and how developed their musical sense is for, comedians anyway. Indeed their music has become more popular than the act itself.

Find two 2-3 minute clips below:
Enjoy1