I am a vent that likes to add spice to my act. I truly enjoy working with puppets as that is what the audience thinks of when they hear the word “ventriloquist”. But you can also add some dimension to your shows by learning how to do some “vent specialties”. What are “vent specialties” you ask? Let’s take a look at them briefly in this installment of my column.
I feel ”vent specialties” are things like the baby cry and the distant and/ or muffle voice. None of these “specialties” are long enough to carry an entire show, but they are more like seasoning in a good stew. They add spice and flavor, and can also help distinguish you from other vents. It shows you have mastered another aspect of your craft.
The baby cry is a vent trick wherein you make the sound of a tiny baby crying. That’s self explanatory! I use a wrapped up towel as my baby and it gets great laughs when I have a young boy try to help me settled the baby down. This entire routine takes about 8-10 minutes and it gets plenty of laughs. The distant voice takes just a bit less time, but I get a great reaction when the tiny voice appears to be coming from a cup or glass. Are these two bits long enough to carry an entire show? No, but they add to a show with puppets and gives audiences more to enjoy along with the puppets.
Look at our Maher catalogue to see each of these two things taught by me on video. It takes just a bit of extra time to make yourself just a cut above the average ventriloquist.
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