Hopefully during the time of your career as a ventriloquist you will have your own personal “aha” moment…that moment where you say to yourself THIS is the reason I am doing these shows. Maybe it was a perfect night when everything was going according to your plan. All the jokes were hitting homeruns, the audience was laughing at everything, and you got a standing ovation. Maybe it was a comment from an older person who your show brought back great memories of something they saw or heard on the radio (like an Edgar Bergen radio show). For me it was something else.
I am known for my performances for kids and I once had a defining “aha” moment when I pulled a very frail young girl out of the audience to assist me on stage. The teachers all gasped when I brought her up, an I noticed the young lady had a bluish color about her. She was a tiny girl and I could notice she was not well. I later found out she had major heart problems and the teachers weren’t sure she could stand the strain of being on stage. She laughed, and was a wonderful assistant and went back very happy to her seat when the bit was over. The next year I went back to this school I noticed a memorial plaque on the wall and found out she had passed away. All the teachers said she had talked for weeks and weeks about helping me on stage. She had never been chosen before to come on stage, and was looking forward to my next show. She never lived long enough to see me a second time.
All the teachers told me what happiness I brought to that little girl and it was one of her highlights of her young life. At that moment I KNEW it was my “AHA” moment, the reason I do what I do what I do.
I hope you will experience your own “aha” moment..that special time when you find your reason to be doing ventriloquism!
To contact Mark Wade- kidshowvent@gmail.com