I am a real believer in practicing when it comes to ventriloquism. Not only do I believe in practicing the routines and he manipulation, but I also believe in practicing my “chops” or basic exercises to keep a still lip and to pronounce the difficult letters. My son Brett is a percussionist and played all instruments that had sticks and mallets involved and he would spend a good amount of time each day going over his basic movements. It was almost his warm up each day to go through the movements that he would use to play some marvelous music on the marimba. It gave him confidence and allowed for a smooth performance.
Maybe your “chops” might be doing tongue twisters with your characters; maybe it would be doing breathing exercises; or maybe it would be some other combination that you invented. No matter what it is, it is important to do some “chops” each day with your puppet to keep you active with your ventriloquism. Think of this as your vent work out each day. As we all strive to exercise to keep our bodies in shape, we can do no less for our ventriloquism. Good luck and keep working your “chops” every day!
To contact Mark Wade- kidshowvent@gmail.com
