Ventriloquism part 3
Birds of a Feather…
Ventriloquism is one of those skill sets that becomes better with time, but also gets better with proper feedback from other ventriloquists. Study masters in the field and mimic their actions and techniques until you develop a style of you own.
Find a Mentor
In certain ways, puppetry and ventriloquism is dying out. Less and less people are showing interest in this skill. Most of the veterans in this art would love to pass on their techniques to the next generation. If you truly want to learn ventriloquism, find someone that has more experience than you and learn.
In this post as well as the last two, I have been promoting the learning series by Tom Crowl and it is amazing, but it doesn’t do justice to actually surrounding yourself with other professionals, learning hands on and being able to get live feedback.
Be a Mentor
Don’t allow “imposter syndrome” to take effect. Imposter syndrome is when you feel guilty about your knowledge level on a topic and worry about being seen as fake or pretending to be an expert. Just a there are always going to be people that know more than you, there are going to be people who know less than you and you can help them learn what you know. Don’t be afraid to mentor those newbies.
The conVENTion
The best place to surround yourself with other ventriloquists is to make an effort to attend the Vent Haven ConVENTion held every year in Erlanger, KY, on the outer edge of Kentucky close to Cincinnati airport.
Every year has a different theme and every year gets bigger and better. You get to meet the legends such as Jimmy Nelson, the current greats like Jeff Dunham and Jay Johnson as well as he newest artists to gain notoriety such as Darci Lynn.
The 2018 convention was held this last July 18 -21 and the theme was “The Power of Funny” which was specifically about presenting comedy from the stage. The Keynote speaker on this topic was Jeff Dunham himself.
There are lectures, open mic nights, contests, vendor areas and more. One of the cool perks of the event is an included shuttle ride to the
Vent Haven Ventriloquist Museum
This place houses hundreds upon hundreds of professional puppets from different eras in the history of ventriloquism. Just this visit to this museum is worth the price of admission.
Though I haven’t been told what the 2019 conVENTion theme is, the dates are July 19-22 at the Cincinnati Airport Holiday Inn. To confirm dates and times and to get registered and find directions, visit their website at http://vhconvention.com
Maybe I’ll see you there.
