Clown Project

I chose Carol Burnett as the clown for my project. She has always been one of my favorite actors and I've always found her very hilarious. I see her as a Auguste Clown mostly but some of her characters are not at brainless as others. Carol Burnett has a wide variety of skills including dancing and singing, which she often uses in some of her skits.

She has a very vaudevillian style that is very apparent in many of her works. Her first breakout success was on Broadway in Once Upon A Mattress, which she received a Tony nomination for in 1959. After that she made her television debut and eventually starred in The Carol Burnett show for 11 years.

Carol would begin her show with ad-lib from a question from the audience. This showed she was quick and witty on her feet. The show was a great variety show that had numerous skits and showed many different comedic sides of Carol. She always demonstrated a great sense of comedic timing both vocally and silently that is really something to be in awe of. Her sketch  of the Silent Argument is example of the nonverbal comedic timing that she is so great at.

The best part of her sketches and her characters are that they are realistic and real characters in relatively real situations. That makes it even more hilarious. Her characters are large and physical and very interesting to the see. After watching more of her skits, I cant help but admire her even more.

By Jordan Silber

Picture from: http://nypost.com/2013/11/23/carol-burnett-takes-home-the-mark-twain-prize/
Info from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Burnett