FACE TIME: Jennifer Blaine invents characters that allow her to comment on political and cultural issues that "disorient us as a society." : Michael T. Regan

Dr. Amir is one of many characters Blaine may take on during her one-woman shows. Others in her arsenal include Ruth, a frail, elderly Jewish woman who tells dirty jokes; Gina, a British lesbian widow; and Danny, a swaggering ladies' man, at least in his own mind. She uses them not just to entertain, but to address topical issues. For example, one squeaky-voiced alter ego named Dixie has spouted off outrageous commentary on Pat Robertson and Rick Santorum.

As Jennifer's father, Ed Blaine, who helps edit her act, observes, "Underneath the laughs there's a serious element."

That element stems from a deeply rooted liberal attitude. Her father says, "She comes from a family that's connected to social justice and that's very much a part of her." Blaine was raised in Brooklyn's racially diverse Flatbush neighborhood—a subject that is the source material for her show White Flight. The notion of colorblind equality for all was ingrained early on. Jennifer's mother took her on an Equal Rights Amendment march when she was 6, and she recalls many instances of her family participating in "progressive causes."

In her new show, Upside Down, Inside Out, Whuh?, presented this weekend at Studio 1831, Blaine takes on religious fundamentalism of all kinds, corruption in politics, the media and other forces she believes serve to "disorient us as a society."

Of course, when dealing with real-life issues from a social and cultural perspective, there's always the risk of sounding preachy, and that's where the kooky characters come in—their gonzo proclamations keep things from getting heavy-handed. There's also the astute mannerisms of her multifaceted cast: While she eschews costumes, Blaine proffers spot-on physical characterizations. Ruth's quivering bent-over body and Danny's macho postures are both convincing and laugh-out-loud funny.

Mark Wade, Jennifer's acting professor when she attended Wesleyan University, who also directed one of her first one-woman shows, praises his former student for being wholly "transformative … She may make a subtle physical change, but because the internal work is so strong the audience perceives the external change in a much stronger way."

Blaine's transformations have been her ticket to appear at parties, conferences, educational workshops and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. She also teaches writing and acting and is currently doing voiceover work, speaking the part of a 6-year-old black boy for an animated kids' show in production called The Adventures of Teddy P. Brains.

Mostly, though, it's her own invented characters who fire her imagination. Danny, who opines about "the good ole days, when harass was two words," is so sure of his ability to pick up "chicks" he'll inevitably point to women in the audience and ask, "Ya wanna go out wit me?" Blaine has a blast portraying Danny, who's loosely based on someone she knew growing up in Brooklyn. "There's great excitement to me playing it out with a character," she says. "There are so many boundaries that I can extend and move and explore from someone else's perspective. It becomes an endless unknown." Doing Danny, who Blaine admits is an "inappropriate aggressive buffoon," is exciting because she never knows "what people in the audience will say to me, and I have to respond from the perspective of this character … There's an improvisational quality."

When playing Dixie, whose squeaky voice renders words virtually unintelligible, Blaine always brings someone up onstage to try and translate for the audience. The deck is stacked in Blaine's favor: Dixie's enunciation is too distorted for anyone to accurately decipher. "It's sometimes hard for me to keep a straight face, because people are really funny. The things that pop out of their mouths are so cool," says Blaine.

Blaine now lives in Center City with her husband, and it seems the City of Brotherly Love is ideal for a performer who proclaims, "In all my work there's issues of diversity and connectivity. Being connected to everybody in the world. And that is truly my vision … My whole thing is that when you get really specific from one character's perspective to another, the result should have a unifying effect. It should speak the unifying truth."

Upside Down, Inside Out, Whuh?, Jennifer Blaine, Sat., April 1, 8 p.m.; Sun., April 2, 5 p.m., $15, Studio 1831, 1831 Brandywine St., 215-546-1612.