Hey all! I should be doing this one last assignment (and I WILL) but first I have a thought.
As anyone who's read my blog for a while knows, I am a huge fan of Carol Burnett. I love the idea that women can do physical, oddball comedy along with being witty. I would absolutely love to emulate this style of comedy were I ever to get the chance to do something on stage again (I hope soon! Not until after grad school of course). The thing is, I am 4'11 1/2" and Carol Burnett is 5' 6 1/2" (if IMDB is to be believed...I thought she was taller). Carol can do this wonderful falling on her face comedy and people laugh. Even though I have long enough limbs to have the appearance of being tall with no other visual reference nearby, I think the same type of comedy may not translate to someone as small as me. If a tall person falls all over herself, tripping over giraffe-like limbs, it's hilarious. But if a small person falls, people tend to go "oooh! is she alright?" Is this a fair assumption?
So what's a short person to do? Am I stuck with witty one-liners? Do I not get to do physical comedy at all? Or would I just have to stick with visual short jokes (Imagine, I appear at the top of a staircase in a flowing ballgown. On the opposite side of the stage my partner appears, dapper in his tux and tails. We float down the stairs and meet centerstage to waltz together, my face buried in his stomach.) Do any of you have knowledge of petite comediennes who were successful in making physical comedy part of their act?
2 comments:
Lol, never thought about that before! Oh, and I always thought Carol Burnett was taller, too. Maybe because she's a bit, well, gangly.
This is going back a long ways, but I think Carole Lombard was hilarious. And she was 5'2".
Carol is definitely gangly and takes advantage of it! Same with Jenna Elfman. Hmm...I will have to look into Carole Lombard. The one clip I saw didn't really have much physical comedy but she seems very witty.
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