Recently, an original long lost manuscript resurfaced having been discovered in an ancient bookshop in the back waters of the southern states.
Archive for the ‘Ventriloquist’ Category
Dunham plans to give ventiloquism aboost
I have just found this interesting article about Jeff Dunham. In the article it discusses how Jeff Dunham approaches ventriloquism, how involved he is in characters from making them to writing their dialogue.
I think it gives an insight in to how Jeff Dunham has become so popular as a ventriloquist and entertainer. He is a professional and doesn’t leave anything to chance.
The article starts as follows:
Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, who will perform Wednesday at James Brown Arena, believes that his take on the tight-lipped style of puppetry is effective because he always approaches it as a tool rather than his primary performance purpose.
Responding to a series of e-mail questions (Dunham was on voice rest) he wrote that although ventriloquism is his methodology, he’s a comic first.
“I realized early on that ventriloquism needed to be just a vehicle for comedy,” he wrote. “It couldn’t be the focus of the act.”
Let me know what you think about the article and Jeff Dunham.
“The ventriloquism just happened to be my instrument.”…..
You can read the rest of the article here: http://chronicle.augusta.com/things-do/applause/2010-07-07/dunham-aims-revive-ventiloquism
Ventriloquist – How To Throw Your Voice – Possibilities – Part 5 – Practice
At this point act as if strongly exasperated and apparently push and struggle against an opposing force with all your might. Finally by seemingly a greater effort you cause the door to fly back suddenly and at the same time give utterance to a loud ” ha, ha, ha,” in the ventriloquial voice, as if some one were laughing at you in the room or hallway beyond.
Always bear in mind that the eye helps to deceive the ear, and make the action of pushing the door, etc., as natural as possible. The more realistic the ventriloquist makes his part the more effect his performance will have upon the public. As far as voice alone goes, there are ventriloquists who can manipulate ventriloquism perfectly, but who, on account of lack of necessary actions, do not succeed in impressing their hearers very strongly. As a rule, between a good actor who is a poor ventriloquist and a good ventriloquist who is a poor actor, the former will be more successful. This topic will be more fully gone into in the paragraphs about ventriloquial acting and entertaining further on.
The foregoing dialogue is merely suggested and intended for preliminary rehearsals rather than for use in public, although of course if the performer is unable to write a better one there can be no objection to such use. The chances are however, that he can obtain suitable material of a more witty and amusing character from other sources and make it ventriloquially effective. One month’s daily practice should be sufficient to enable him, by proper emphasis on a tone or syllable, to illustrate and bring out the salient points of any dialogues he may use, and to surprise and astonish those among his friends not familiar with the capabilities of the art, with the strange voices within him. There should be no straining after effect, but the student will find that what he has practiced much he can do well, and by perseverance alone can perfection be obtained.
Ventriloquism – Throwing Your Voice – The Drone – Part 2 – Jerry
Then again some wiseacre who thinks “he knows all about it” and discourses learnedly of the “double throat,” will walk confidently up to the performer and ask him to throw his voice to the back part of the room over the heads of the audience or to some other utterly impossible place. I have never yet heard of a ventriloquist being requested to throw his voice into the next county, but undoubtedly there are persons who think that he might do so if he wished, though just how it could be made to return to him from so long a distance they might be rather hard put to it to say. Apropos of this:
” Did you know,” asks Jerry, the Irish boy, in one of my dialogues, ” that I was down to a party the other night? “
Vent. ” No, were you? “
Jerry. ” Yes, and there was a ventrisquealer there.”
Vent. ” No, no, Jerry, you mean a ventriloquist, a man who throws his voice.”
Jerry. ” Yes, that’s it, but this feller threw his voice so far it didn’t get back again.”
Vent. “Is it possible?”
Jerry. ” I dunno, but he did it all th’ same.”
This is probably the attitude which would be taken by the knowing ones who, while they might not believe that the voice could be heard from such a distance, might still maintain that it could be sent there and allowed to go off according to schedule, even if no one heard
Ventriloquist Puppets – Part 8 – Making The Arms Look More Muscular
There are two ways to make the arms look muscular. One is by means of rings sewn inside the sleeves, as is done with marionette figures. The other is to have underneath the outer clothing an inner suit of silesia, with arm and leg shapes stuffed with excelsior. For the smaller figures the hands are made of wood with enough of a wrist to permit the end of the stuffed arm shape being drawn around it and tightly secured. The stockings are brought up over the leg shapes and fastened with thread, and the shoes (which are ordinary baby shoes) are drawn over the bottoms of these and also sewn. Large figures, however, sometimes have hands made simply of gloves painted in flesh color and stuffed with cotton or excelsior, the short wrists of these being fastened either over the arm-shape or to the inside of the outer coat sleeves. The clothing is drawn over the shape and fastened by means of tacks or small nails to the box or if the inner shape includes a stuffed bust which also covers the front and sides of the box, the clothing may be sewn directly to that. This is much the better way, as tacks are likely to wear loose and also tear the covering. The Old Woman needs neither lower limbs nor feet, if she is to sit, a wire hoop being fastened to the bottom of the dress to give the necessary fullness. When covered with a bright cover, the box the figures travel in is often used as a seat for them.
For more details on making a ventriloquist dummy visit http://www.ventriloquistsecretsrevealed.com
Ventriloquist Puppets – Part 3 – More Figures
The little girl referred to in a previous chapter usually adds much to the effectiveness of a performance, and is made to do duty in a variety of ways. An English ventriloquist, Robert Ganthony, to whom I am indebted for many valuable hints concerning the subject, has a little girl figure which stands at the piano and sings to his accompaniment, the mouth being moved by the ventriloquist’s foot. It also plays the violin, the sound being a vocal imitation, while the bow arm is worked by means of a second pedal. Whether the girl stands, sits on the knee or on a stool, sings, plays or recites, depends of course upon the inclination and talent of the performer. Ventriloquial Coloredes have a variety of accomplishments, ranging from dancing to smoking. Some even play the banjo, which is made to hook on the shoulders and is readily detachable. In this case the arm is worked by means of a wire running from the hand on the inside of the sleeve and through the clothing at the back, where it is held by the exhibitor
(Fig. 3)
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. But the principal use .of the Colored figure is to utter an idiotic laugh whenever an interruption is wanted, an awkward pause takes place, or the proceedings generally want some little enlivenment. If laughter is to be his sole office, the top half of the head should hinge on the lower, and be so balanced that a tug at the string behind causes him to throw his head back in a fit of unrestrained merriment, which of course the ventriloquist supplies.
Ventriloquist (figures) Dummies – Construction – Part 4 – Lower Jaw
To this movable floor is then glued a strip of sheepskin or flexible leather, completely covering the cavity from the lower lip to the chin below. Before putting in the lower jaw ” for keeps ” as the boys say, a small screw ring should be inserted in its underside, to which is fastened a piece of gut string or flexible picture-wire, long enough to reach down through the neck and well into the interior of the body which has yet to be made ; and another screw-ring is inserted on the upper side near the back edge, to which is hooked a spiral spring strong enough to pull the mouth shut smartly after being opened by a tug on the picture wire below. This arrangement is shown at ” D,” Figure 2.
With the exception of the eyes, which may be obtained from a taxidermist at a cost of fifteen or twenty cents, and the hair, the head is then complete except for painting, which of course should be in flesh color with the cheeks well tinted in red. The teeth are merely suggested by alternate red and white stripes on the ridges back of the lips, and the eyebrows are painted in dark red or mahogany color.
The body, the length of which is determined by the size of the head, is simply a box, like that shown at ” E,” the hole in the top being for the neck. When the head is completed, the neck should be cut off at the right length and the opening in its lower end blocked with a round stick, hollow for half its length from the top. Through this extends the picture wire, terminating in a ring, which controls, when pulled down by the thumb, the movement of the lower jaw, as shown at ” D.”
After the head is placed in the body, a wire is driven through the neck stick close up to the top of the box to prevent the head from pulling out when in use. This may be fitted loosely enough to allow of being drawn out, making the head readily removable for packing.
For more on ventriloquist dummies construction visit http://www.ventriloquistsecretsrevealed.com
Ventriloquism – Caricature Voice – Part 5 – Foreign Voices
If you should have occasion to imitate a Frenchman don’t fail to remember that the Parisian lacks in aspirates what he makes up in r’s; gives a sex to everything, and introduces a little Punch quality into the terminations ending in ” n.”
The German puts a ” b ” where he should use a”p” and vice versa, and a”v” for a ” w.”
Among the characters which you may care to imitate, either for figure working or for Natural ventriloquism are fleshy people, who never have deep or big voices. Use a little voice with moderate pitch for a fat man, and a falsetto voice for a fat old lady.
The voice of a jocular young man is hard, loud and thin, and is produced explosively against the front of the palate, immediately above the upper row of teeth.
The loafer or tramp whose voice has been destroyed by chronic hoarseness and drink speaks in a sort of harsh whisper. The only hint that can be given for its production is the statement that it is the Grunt voice without the grunt. On account of its character it is hardly suitable for figures, but with a little appropriate dialogue it may be used at a partly opened door to suggest to the people in a room that there is such a person outside who is trying to beg a ” handout” or cast off clothing. Of course the door must be partly opened, not shut, as otherwise the sound would not, in the nature of things, be heard, for it is quite impossible to ventriloquize a whisper.
This voice is usually the product of large cities and does not belong to a countryman. A fair imitation of this voice is often given by so-called” tramp comedians ” of the variety stage.
The Art Of Near Ventriloquism Part 8
Assume an air of perfect self-possession, and having seated the audience as described, stand within a foot or two of the screen and make your first bow as a ventriloquist. Put your whole heart into your work and try to imagine that there is really an old lady behind the screen whose personality is wholly distinct from yours. Act as you naturally would if you were talking to such a person, and do not rush through the dialogue as if you were in a hurry to catch a train. Stand in an easy attitude with your face partly turned toward the audience, and let your eyes dwell upon the screen whenever the fictitious old lady is speaking.
Probably the first desire of the student of ” Near ” after he has begun to ventriloquize will be to possess a mechanical figure, for the use of such a puppet tends to give added interest to his practice and also a greater self-confidence in his early performances. With such a figure on his knee he can make his early essays in the art of entertaining with fewer misgivings than would otherwise be the case.
But all students perhaps cannot afford to purchase a figure at the outset, and to such I would recommend the ” talking hand,” one which can be arranged in a few moments’ time and at no expense whatever.
For a complete quide of how to ventriloquist secrets visit http://www.ventriloquistsecretsrevealed.com
The Art Of Near Ventriloquism Part 4 – Production Of Different Voices
The student is now ready for actual work with the throat in the production of the different voices required in figure working.
First comes the ” Punch ” voice which, as its name indicates, is a close imitation of that used for the puppet Punch in ” Punch and Judy” shows. A Punch and Judy performer uses a little instrument (made by winding a narrow piece of cloth or tape over and between two curved pieces of tin) to produce this voice, but this is not allowable for a ventriloquist who stands in full view, and the voice must therefore be produced naturally.
To do this, recall just how the Punch voice sounds or take the first opportunity to listen to a good Punch and Judy performer; or think of the higher notes of a clarinet or the sound of a squeaking door. Then bring the teeth together and stretch the tongue until it touches the roof of the mouth near the back of the front upper teeth. Then say, ” Judy, Judy, where are you, Judy? “in as high a tone as you can command. The position of the tongue throws the sound into the cavity of the nose, thus imparting to the voice the strong nasal quality which is needed. It also has the sound of a high-pitched reed instrument, and the more reedy and metallic you can make it the better.
If the student has difficulty in getting just the right tone, place the tongue as before and say ” Th-e-e-e-k,” prolonging the “e’s” and thinking of the punch voice or the sound made by a clarinet, as before.
Ventriloquism – Caricature Voice – Part 2
We will now consider the methods used for the production of some of the other voices employed in Near ventriloquism. In direct contrast to the Punch voice is that which is sometimes called the ” Grunt” voice. To produce this, the tongue should be allowed to lie fiat with its tip almost touching the back of the front lower teeth where they enter the flesh. In this position, and with the whole of the vocal cords relaxed, the words are simply grunted at the back of the mouth, with the lips still and only slightly apart, as when using the Punch voice. In other words, make less effort to speak than you would naturally, using only the back part of the tongue, so that the sound is made in the lower part of the throat.
This voice is a caricature of that used by old men who no longer have command over tongue and lips and speak with open mouths. In figure working it is used to supply speech for the Old Man without whom no ventriloquial family is complete, in contrast to the sharp, reedy voice of the Old Woman who is usually his companion, and the less shrill tones of the Irish or the Colored figure. It may also be used for the same purpose when the couple are supposed to be behind a screen.
Given the Old Man, Old Woman, Irish and Colored figures, it naturally follows that there should be a little girl to make the family complete, and for this we revert to the Punch voice, only it should be made less reedy and more like a child’s. The young of all animals, including the human animal, uses a high key to speak or make the sound peculiar to itself.