Fig. 7           

Figure 7 shows the back view of such a body without the clothing, which of course overlaps and conceals the opening without preventing the insertion of the neck and head in A or the per­former’s hand in B. The spike C is fixed on the bottom of the figure and is hidden by the dra­pery. This spike fits loosely into a hole made in the stand or chair upon which the figure is seated, and, being loose, the body can be made to sway about by a push with the wrist when the hand is manipulating the mouth.

The neck is dropped into the body through the opening A; when the small spike of the neck-stick touches bottom the head is in position and will remain so, as shown in the figure. The right hand of the performer in the interior of the pup­pet (which in this case would be on his right) clutches the neck-stick and the thumb is inserted in the wire ring at the left, which by a down­ward movement pulls the mouth open by means of a picture wire or gut string as in the smaller knee dolls, a spring causing the jaw to close as the wire is related.    It will be understood without further illustration that if the neck-stick be held in the hand, any upward movement raises the head, a movement to the left causes it to turn to the right and vice versa. By tilting the stick toward you the head is made to look down, and by pushing it from you the head looks up. The mouth-moving head and neck is detachable, and, when packed, fits inside the body, where, wrapped in a cover, it travels without risk of in­jury. In order to make them compact for this purpose, the backs of bodies, heads, etc., are made flat, as also are the buttons on the coat.

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THE chief difficulty presented to the learner of Near Ventriloquism is caused by the necessity of keeping the muscles of the lips and face immov¬able. While carrying on a dialogue with his ” dummies,” the ventriloquist usually addresses his questions to them in the ordinary voice; but when the figures seem to answer there is no movement discernible of the face and lips, the mouth remaining nearly, but not quite, closed and the lips parted in the natural manner of an interested listener.

The acquirement of this ability to speak without moving the lips is the first thing to be accomplished, and although it may seem impossible at first, if the student is faithful in his practice it will not prove to be so difficult a matter after all.
   
Now to begin.
Standing before a mirror, close the lips until they are from one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch apart, and while keeping the jaws rigid try to say the letter ” A.” The teeth may touch each other or they may be slightly parted. You will find that you can make the letter clearly without trouble. Then try in succession ” E,” ” I,” ” O ” and “U.” You will be gratified to find that these also present no difficulty. This is so be-cause, as you know, they constitute the vowels, or unobstructed sounds, of the English language, and thus require no movement of the lips. They may be indefinitely prolonged as in a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a, e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e, etc. There are a greater number of vowels than are usually admitted in writing; in fact, it is possible to considerably add to them by giving to some of the letters ordinarily classed as consonants, or obstructed sounds, a slightly more closed or more open sound.

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