The idea is to make the sound as far back in the pharynx as possible, and to prevent it from rising into the cavity of the mouth by compress­ing the vocal mechanism. Note well that this voice is low-pitched and is not exploded against the palate as in voice No. 2, or simply muffled as in voice No. 1.

In other words, you always send the sound originating in the larynx in the direction from which you desire it to come—if from above you pitch it high and force it against the roof of the mouth, or hard palate; if from near at hand you make it near by confining it in the cavity of the mouth; and if from below you pitch it low and send it downward. From this it follows that the ordinary drone effect represents distance, while the method used in the projection of that sound suggests direction. In developing these voices, use the vowel and consonant exercise already rec­ommended before taking up the vocabulary.

Some ventriloquists use one distance voice for every effect, and in justification of this plan ex­plain that it is so difficult to execute the distant voice in different keys that, where it is desirable to introduce a number of characters, it is best to do it by transition. That is, they alter the nat­ural tones of the voice so as to make a very ap­parent distinction between it and the mimetic voice. This can be done so skilfully that the audience will not realize the change, and enthusiastically declare this to be one of the great­est secrets of the art.

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I have just come across and interesting article in Herald Scotland by Susan Swarbrick where she discusses the recent rise in the popularity of the ventriloquist, after a few years out in the cold especially in UK. Especially with the recent huge success of Jeff Dunham and Terry Fator in the US and worldwide.

In the article she interviews 3 UK based ventriloquists :-

Nina Conti, daughter of Tom Conti and a classically trained actress (every article ever written about her mentions this I think).  In the interview she talks about Monk ventriloquist puppet and how she came to choose him. Also included is how she got started and how she learnt ventriloquism.

Next is Keith Orton who along with his green-feathered, nappy-wearing sidekick Orville (a green duck) was famous in the 1980s when they had their own show on the BBC from 1982 – 1990 called The Keith Harris Show. And during that time they had a hit single with Orville’s Song. He talks about he got started life after his show finished and how he might be on his way back into the lime light.

The third ventiloquist interviewed is up and coming Chris Young a former trainee solicitor and a Lib Dem candidate in the general election. He want to go into entertaining full-time and see ventriloquism as a way to be able to do this. He thinks there has definitely been a change in attitude towards ventriloquism in recent years.

It is an article definitely worth checking out about 3 talented ventriloquists with lots more interesting information than I’ve written about here – you can find it here -

http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/stage-visual-arts/the-great-ventriloquist-comeback-1.1043779

Technorati Tags: Keith Orville, learn ventriloquism, Nina Conti, ventriloquist

Polyphonism, in its entertainment sense, is the imitation of sounds other than speech, such as the humming of bees, the bleating of sheep, the lowing of cattle, the braying of a donkey, or the noise made by planing, sawing, the drawing of a glass of soda, etc., many of which cannot be made ventriloquially, and so form no deception as to the source from which they emanate. A few general hints will aid you in making a be­ginning, and with practice you can produce most of the imitations with sufficient accuracy simply by following the instructions given.

The Mosquito. —Beginning first with the sim­pler sounds try that made by a mosquito. For this you hold your throat and mouth in exactly the same position as for the ventriloquial drone, only you make the sound very shrill—in fact, at the very highest pitch you can reach—while at the same time straining with the chest.

A Bee. —With the vocal organs in the drone position use considerable pressure upon the chest and make the pitch lower than for the mosquito. Produce a handkerchief, and as you sound the drone chase the imaginary bee about the room. After pretending to catch it, put the handker­chief containing the bee (?) into the pocket. Then, apparently forgetting that it is there, pro­duce the handkerchief and appear to allow the bee to escape.

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A nice little point of procedure which may be taken advantage of to help conceal the limita­tions of the art may be mentioned here, to wit: when you speak in your natural voice, employ, if you can without rendering your speech stilted and absurd, words that are impracticable in ven­triloquism; also make your utterance as far for­ward in the mouth as possible, and exaggerate a little the unrestrained motion of your lips. When you cease to speak naturally, your countenance changes as if you had really ceased, although you are still sustaining a conversation. After a time, when you drop the natural voice the face changes by habit from animation to repose, and the vocal organs mechanically adjust themselves for the effect required.

In speaking ventriloquially it is not necessary to close the teeth, unless you find, as I do, that this helps you to better control the facial muscles; but it is always best nearly to do so, as this gives a natural and pleased expression to the face. If you close them, do not press them together in a manner that will give you the appearance of a Russian Cossack in a cavalry charge at Liaoyang, and above all things don’t grin like the fierce villain of the play when he hisses through his set teeth, ” Ha, ha, I have you now! ” If the mouth and teeth are too much open the movements of the tongue are likely to be seen; if the lips are closed the sound cannot leave the mouth, so a middle course must be adopted. At times during the entertainment the ” business ” may allow you to turn your head away from the audience, and your dialogue should be so arranged that these occasions may be seized upon for the vigorous utterance of any proscribed words you are obliged to use.

For more tips on ventriloquism please visit http://www.ventriloquistsecretsrevealed.com

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Paul Zerdin is one of the best ventriloquists in the UK. He is about to go on tour in UK and perform at the Edinburgh Fringe festival.  (See the dates later). He will be joined by his ventriloquist figures Baby, Sam and Albert.  He gets a member of the audience to help him out in one of his routines that is very funny.
To add variety to the show he does some stand-up comedy without his friends about life as a ventriloquist. 
 He performed at last year’s Royal Variety Performance Show and has been seen on many TV shows. This quote from The Stage sums up his show:
“Paul Zerdin is no dummy. A ventriloquist for the South Park Generation”
And from The Scotsman Paul’s show got 5 stars:-
‘Every now and then you stumble across a finished article, a show so polished it shines. Paul Zerdin: Sponge Fest is one of these shows. A ventriloquist at the top of his game, Zerdin is so sure of his skills and so in control of his material that he isn’t just performing – he’s showing off, clearly having as much of a laugh as his audience.’

I say “If you get the chance go and see his show and see a ventriloquist at the top of his field.”
There is great article including an interview with Paul became a ventriloquist, attitude toward ventriloquism etc. You can check it out here:
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/lifestyle/Venting-spleen/article-2417571-detail/article.html
I think they get Terry Fator mixed up with Jeff Dunham, otherwise it gives some good insights into what makes a ventriloquist.
The dates for Paul Zerdin’s 2010 shows are:
July 2010
Wednesday 21st The National Lottery, BBC1
Friday 23rd Redgrave Theatre, Bristol
Saturday 24th Newbury Festival, Newbury

August 2010
Thursday 5th – 15th Sponge Fest – Revisited, Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

September 2010
Wednesday 22nd Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury
Thursday 23rd Octagon Theatre, Yeovil
Friday 24th David Lloyd Club, Raynes Park
Saturday 25th White Rock Theatre, Hastings
Sunday 26th Wimbledon Theatre Centenary Celebrations, Wimbledon
Wednesday 29th Corn Exchange, Bedford
Thursday 30th Komedia, Bath

October 2010
Friday 1st Theatr Hafren, Newtown
Saturday 2nd Camberley Theatre,
Sunday 3rd Garrick Theatre, Lichfield
Wednesday 6th Wulfren Halls, Wolverhampton
Thursday 7th Palace Theatre, Newark
Sunday 10th Capitol Theatre, Horsham
Monday 11th Comedy Festival, Sheffield
Tuesday 12th Leicester Square Theatre, London
Wednesday 13th Leicester Square Theatre, London
Thursday 14th Pavillion Theatre, Brighton
Friday 15th Arts Centre , Darlington
Saturday 16th Clocktower Arts , Croydon
Tuesday 19th The Comedy Store, Manchester
Wednesday 20th Alban Arena, St.Albans
Friday 22nd The Regal, Tenbury Wells
Sunday 24th Playhouse Theatre, Derby
Tuesday 26th Library Theatre, Leeds
Wednesday 27th Richmond Theatre, Richmond
Thursday 28th Assembly Room, Tamworth
Saturday 30th Millennium Studio, Cardiff
Sunday 31st Millennium Studio, Cardiff

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The Vent Haven convention is the oldest and biggest get together of ventriloquists. Held annually and put on by Vent Haven
This year’s convention opens shortly for registration – it runs from the 14 -17 July in Ft. Mitchell, KY at the Drawbridge Inn & Convention Center.  
It has much to help the ventriloquist hone their act and skills. There are workshops and lectures on the craft of ventriloquism.  There is an impressive list of 25 suppliers of ventriloquist puppets, props and collectibles.
There are expected to be over 400 ventriloquists attending this year. It is a great opportunity for ventriloquists of all skill levels to mix and mingle and learn from each other.
It is a full schedule including a talk by Jeff Dunham on “Enhancing Your Performance Skills.” It’ll be great to get this from a ventriloquist at the top of the field.
I can’t make it this year. There is always next year. I’m sure those there will have a fun and informative time.
If you want to know more about the largest gathering of ventriloquists please click here:
http://www.venthavenconvention.com/

Technorati Tags: how to become a ventriloquist, Jeff Dunham, Vent Haven, Ventriloquism, ventriloquist

I just came across a listing on Craigslist for a ventriloquist to open up for an advance screening of a new film.

Looks interesting – it’s in Time’s Square, New York on 29th July 2010. The qualifications needed are that you a professional or highly trained ventriloquist and have an act where your ventriloquist figure is your best friend or partner. A character in the soon to be released film is a ventriloquist that is married to his friend.

You can find out more here about the role here:-

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/tlg/1841306348.html

Could you be opening for Jeff Dunham, who is part of the supporting cast in a film being released on 30 July 2010?  I can’t see any other film starring ventriloquist that this description would meet.

They would like a photo of you and your puppet and a price for your ventriloquist act. If you are interested and can be in New York on the 29th could be good for you.

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From the box or closet illusion it is an easy step to the production of the voice overhead, from through a wall or under the floor, although in attempting either of these effects there are several striking points or essentials to be care­fully observed.

For the voice on the roof you do not use the drone pure and simple, although you retain the same formation of the vocal organs. This gives the distant effect, but instead of retaining the voice in the back of the throat, as it were, you force it against the back of the hard palate, or roof of the mouth. The quality of the voice should be a kind of gruff falsetto, elevated to a high pitch.

By rolling back the tongue and keeping the jaws rigid, with the lips slightly apart, the palate will be elevated and drawn nearer to the pharynx, thereby forming a cavity in the back part of the mouth and throat. The consonant sounds need not be articulated plainly, all words being formed in the pharynx and exploded, as it were, against the roof of the mouth by sudden expulsions of the breath clear from the lungs at every word.

When you are ready to try this voice in public, take your position as far from the audience as possible, because, as already stated, the more removed you are from the listeners the better the effect will seem to them. If you are not entirely sure of yourself, deliberately turn your back on the company and direct their attention to the ceiling, either by looking upward or by pointing while calling loudly, as if you have reason to be­lieve some one is concealed above. Make your own voice very distinct and loud and as close to the lips as possible to give further contrast be­tween the natural and the ventriloquial voice. In fact, almost shout, and then in exactly the same tone and pitch, but as faint as possible con­sistent with audibility, answer in the manner already described.

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Jeff Dunham is taking his gang on tour over summer. It will be a good opportunity to see Achmed, Walter, Peanut, Jose etc live. You may have caught his act on David Letterman or Comedy Central, or maybe on Youtube where he has one of the most watched videos of all time – Achmed The Terrorist.

His style of comedy and ventriloquism is not for everyone but I think he is very talented and worth checking out with some close to the bone humor that his puppets help him push it to the edge.

The ratings on Ticketmaster are 4.7/5.0 with 98% saying they would recommend to a friend after 8,166 reviews of Jeff Dunham

He has announced 30 dates which cover cities in the USA and 7 dates in South Africa.

 
Here are Jeff’s tour dates from his site – http://www.jeffdunham.com

14/07/2010 – James Brown Arena  – Augusta, GA  

15/07/2010 – Southaven, MS – Desoto Civic Center

18/07/2010 – Verizon Arena  – North Little Rock, AR

21/07/2010 – Pacific Amphitheatre – Costa Mesa, CA  

22/07/2010 – Paso Robles, CA – Grandstand @ California Mid State Fair

28/07/2010 – Santa Ana Star Center – Rio Rancho, NM  

29/07/2010 – Amarillo Civic Center – Amarillo, TX

30/07/2010 – Ector County Coliseum – Odessa, TX

31/07/2010 – Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, CT

01/08/2010 – Ohio Expo Center  – Columbus, OH  

06/08/2010 – South Shore Music Circus – Cohasset, MA

07/08/2010 – Clearfield County Fairgrounds – Clearfield, PA

14/08/2010 – Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort – Mount Pleasant, MI

15/08/2010 – Iowa State Fairgrounds Grandstand – - Des Moines, IA

18/08/2010 – Indiana State Fairgrounds – Indianapolis, IN

19/08/2010 – The Family Arena – Saint Charles, MO

20/08/2010 – Kentucky Exposition Center – Louisville, KY

21/08/2010 – Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO

27/08/2010 – Mohegan Sun Grandstand – Syracuse, NY

03/09/2010 – Colosseum At Caesars Palace – Las Vegas, NV

05/09/2010 – Allentown Fairgrounds – Allentown, PA

06/09/2010 – Mahoning County Fairgrounds – Canfield, OH

18/09/2010 – Sun City Superbowl – Sun City, South Africa

20/09/2010 – Carnival City Casino – Johannesburg, South Africa

21/09/2010 – Carnival City Casino – Johannesburg, South Africa

22/09/2010 – Carnival City Casino – Johannesburg, South Africa

23/09/2010 – Carnival City Casino – Johannesburg, South Africa

24/09/2010 – Grand West’s Grand Arena – Cape Town, South Africa

25/09/2010 – Grand West’s Grand Arena – Cape Town, South Africa

30/09/2010 – Bloomsburg, PA – Grandstand

If you go let me know what you think of this talented ventriloquist.

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Ventriloquist Shanthakumar is a veteran performer of 2,500 shows and his shows have appeared on TV. You may not have heard of him because he is based in India.
There is an interesting article that has recently been published about him. In it he discusses how he became a ventriloquist and some of his insights into learning the art of ventriloquism.
The article starts as follow:
Shanthakumar has three interesting companions, whenever he takes the stage — puppets named Johnny, Jack, and Rani, who always worries about her looks. These puppets are the Chennai-based ventriloquist’s creations and have become a means to convey his quick retorts, well-timed repartees and reflections on life.
How did Shanthakumar get interested in the art? He replies, “My interest was in presenting jokes with punch lines at various humour clubs that I have been visiting since the 1980s. I equipped myself accordingly and showcased my brand of humour at these clubs. This, perhaps, is what led me to ventriloquism.”
He continues, “The great Prof. M.M. Roy, one of the oldest professional ventriloquists in India, was my teacher. I asked him if he could teach me and sure enough, classes began on a fortnightly basis. Roy had performed in the film ‘Muradan Muthu’ on the insistence of ‘Sivaji’ Ganesan, and M.R. Radha was all praise for Roy after watching a show of his. Roy had assisted many in Hindi and Telugu movies.”
The rest of the article can be found in The Hindu by clicking here:

http://thehindu.com/arts/theatre/article505963.ece

Let me know your thoughts on the article and ventriloquism in general.

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