"My Favorite Clown... Stephen Colbert!"

I'm always asked what a clown is.

It's a such a broad term. You might as well ask a dancer, what is dance. You could name Sammy Davis Junior to Baryshnikov to Michael Jackson. But you know it when you see it.

A clown is a physical costumed performer that takes situations to the very absurd extreme.

This is always changing but right now, I love Stephen Colbert. He is certainly someone you wouldn't think of right away as a clown but I watch and see him wear his suit like a costume and he physicalizes his routines way beyond the normal stand up comedian.

There is always a heavy political component to clowns. I think it's something a lot of folks overlook but it's what makes a clown funny and able to get away with so much.

Colbert can get away with a lot because of his extreme antics. He got as far as testifying in front of congress. That's taking the comedy to the extreme. I'm a pretty hard core clown but I would be pretty nervous to not be serious in that situation.

In the same breath, I can certainly add Glenn Beck. It's very compelling to dress up like a professor and talk history.

Dressing up, a key component.

Think about someone like Larry the Cable Guy. If we dissected the character, he is a working class doof observing the world. He's got not no education, a crazy family and just watches and take notes from the outside.

And maybe that's key to the clown. Being on the outside taking notes. Certainly Pee Wee Herman, as a man child, is living in his own world commenting on ours.

It's always been this way and the clown can get away with it. Way back Will Rogers was on the outside directly beating up politicians. Andy Griffith in his routine about football (if you didn't know Andy Griffin became very famous as a comedian, long before the TV show). Mark Twain, even though he was a respected author, in his time was possibly more known for his comedy talks (think of him, a white haired white mustached man, smoking a cigar in an all white suit, talking about how congress is like a mule).

There is something here we can take in. I make most of my living taking care of kids at events and parties. I don't think people want to get into politics here. But still there is always a commentary on the world. You have to make decisions on your character and embrace it.

Why do children want to know what kind of car you drive? Where you live? Because you are outside society coming in. Obviously you don't live in a house with two cars and a modern kitchen. Everything you do is a comment on the world. It could be your comment, we need to pay attention to details, that's why you open a can and spring snakes pop out.

The audience doesn't need to know what your comment is. The audience doesn't need to know what you are thinking about. But when you bring a depth to your character, people are compelled to watch, they can't turn away. The simple act of arriving makes people very aware of their surroundings. You are the outsider looking at them and trying to figure out their world.

Or like Stephen Colbert. You can be an outsider that thinks he conquered your world. But really, he's always going to be baffled each new turn.