Funny people scare me

Courtesy of MGM

I've been a drama geek since my junior year of high school. Being a relatively reserved person, drama clubs have been a form of release for me once a week. 

Over the years I've made a lot of friends in between improv and rehearsals for school plays. Drama people are the most extroverted, shameless and eccentric characters you will ever meet.
(Drama clubs are also chock full of Leos. Check if you don't believe me.)

But there is a certain level of intensity that comes with the really good comedians. There are funny people. Then there are people that are hysterical. The latter are so immune to embarrassment that they will go to extremes to make you laugh. What freaks me out is how edgy they can be.

I knew one guy who would crack everyone up to the point of hysteria. He was also bossy and aggressive when he didn't get his way. This lack of inhibition made him a great actor. Backstage he was harder to deal with. A friend once disagreed with him on the direction of a play. The argument escalated to the point where my friend was threatened with physical force. 

Maybe these characteristics can't be attributed to being a comedian but just being a jerk. There are comedic legends who are also known as abusive husbands and bad fathers.Take for instance, the brilliant but psychotic Peter Sellers. Kelsey Grammar, the star of Frasier has allegedly forbidden his children from saying his ex-wife's name in their household.

Maybe that's what separates funny people from the truly hysterical: Madness.