Today I’m experimenting.
I’ve reached out to five friends, all top children’s ventriloquists:
- Mark Wade
- Steve Petra
- Lisa Laird
- Neale Bacon
and - Colin Dymond.
Each agreed to answer five questions.
Over the next few weeks, I am going to share their thoughts and insights. I hope you enjoy!
Question #1:
What about kid show performances appeals to you?
Mark Wade:
“Everything! The audience response is unquestionably the best of any audiences. If kids love what you are doing they will show you they love it … loud and clear. It’s also fun to see what you can do with your imagination that sparks their imaginations. I also love the idea that I can take a thought in my head, turn it into a routine, and then be able to perform the finished product for kid audiences. It’s gratifying to have your own ideas AND the kid’s ideas come to life before your eyes everyday!”
Steve Petra:
“Believe it or not – EVERYTHING! The unique audience/performer relationship you can have with kids and the surprises they bring with their participation. The process of not merely keeping their attention but expanding their level of engagement throughout a show is literally a thrill for me. Joyful task of creating and performing educational programs that challenge, motivate and entertain kids has me running on all cylinders.”
Lisa Laird:
“I like kids shows because they tend to be more high energy and the kids are usually ready to play! They want to go to another world where animals talk and interact with them in “real life”. Children want to play pretend and a ventriloquist show gives them the opportunity to do that with the blessing of the adults in the room. They are looking for a reason to laugh and have fun and they learning takes place while they are laughing – sometimes without them even realizing that they are learning!”
Neale Bacon:
“My first exposure to puppets, ventriloquism and magic was as a kid. I remember the fun I had and the wonder and awe I felt at how these characters talked, and I want to pass that fun and wonder to a new generation. I love how the kids WANT to have fun, and get into the make-believe of it all. There is nothing better than the sound of children’s laughter.”
Colin Dymond:
“I love the honesty of children, if they don’t like what you are doing, they will let you know. Also the fact that children’s birthdays are memories that the children and parents will have for a long time. You can’t beat the sound of children laughing!”
The excitement & energy of kid shows keep these entertainers operating at a high level. You can feel the passion and enthusiasm in their words.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll dig deeper into kid show ventriloquism.
If you do children’s performances, join in the discussion by commenting below.
What about kid show performances appeals to you?
After you leave a comment, continue this series with Part Two!
Honestly, at first kids’ shows didn’t appeal to me at all – but they’re growing on me!
Because of my vision, I’ve always found leading groups of kids to be about as hard as work gets. When I got into vent my interest was audiences of all ages (including kids but not exclusively “kid shows”). I preferred family and adult shows because of the “crowd-control” element of working with kids.
Bur a few weeks ago, I got to do a couple kids’ shows that are starting to change my mind. In both shows, I was there for way longer than expected; I was told weeks ago it would be 20-30 minutes per show, and both were more like an hour. So having only 20 minutes of material for an hour-long show, I had to improvise – and the kids loved it! In both shows they wanted more – even after the hour was up! Not that I would do it that way again, but that experience showed me just how fun kids’ shows can be! 🙂
I’m still in the process of figuring out what I want to do, getting out there, getting the audience time, regardless of age, etc., so I don’t know where I’ll focus as yet. But I’m wanting to know everything I can about performing for kids so as to get a heads up if possible. A friend who’s a magician tells me both good and bad stories about performing for kids.
The info we’ll see from the participants here should be helpful.
Johnny