Have you ever considered what kind of a ventriloquist you’d like to be? Are you better suited for working show for kids, or adults..or do  you think you can go between both markets?  It sometimes takes some soul searching  to come up with the right answer for you.

I think one of the most important questions to ask yourself is, “which audience do you enjoy more?”.  Now is the time to be brutally honest with yourself.  Sure, we all like to think we can be all things to all people, but that isn’t always the case.  Which audience gives you the most satisfaction to perform for?  Do you like the wild enthusiasm of kids, or does that throw you off your game and make you long for the more “sophisticated “ audiences you find in the adult market?

Also if you are wanting to perform for a living,  which shows are more in abundance?  Even though you like one market better than another you have to be able to support yourself and your family with a regular paycheck for your efforts.  That is also a consideration.

Is your comedy material suited for you to go back and forth between adult and kid show audiences?  You really need to have a completely different approach, and material to match, where you will be working.

If you are a family entertainer, one who has both adults and kids present,  can you entertain both groups and keep the interest of both? The family ventriloquist has to have the right balance of entertaining material that works between both audiences.  Not so “kiddie” that the  adults won’t tolerate it, but not all jokes aimed at the adults that will bore the kids.  It’s a fine line to walk. 

My approach for you is to experiment by trying out all three styles of performing.  I did that decades ago and built an adult banquet show for corporate outings, while also crafting a great kidshow that I could also offer.  Later on I developed a family show by taking some of the best parts of both of my other two shows and carefully blending them together.  It took some doing but I eventually found I could successfully do all three, which led to a wonderful professional career.

Give it a try.  Work on all three like you can’t fail,  and see for yourself your own results.  I found kidshows were my forte, but I was also comfortable with the other two markets as well.  Good luck!

To contact Mark Wade:  kidshowvent@gmail.com