In days gone by, if a ventriloquist wanted to improve their act, they had one option – practice and continue honing their talent in front of audiences. Mastering the skill and honing the act took years. Today, there are options available that can help you reduce your learning curve.
If you want to learn how to be a good ventriloquist, you couldn’t have chosen a better moment in history. Thanks to the availability of internet video sites like Youtube, you have the capability of seeing ventriloquists from around the world at your leisure.
How does video of other ventriloquists help?
You learn from each one.
From the big name ventriloquists, you can see how they handle themselves onstage. Study their techniques, their acting, puppet manipulation, how they pace their act. Watch how these ventriloquists interact with the audience, this is a major opportunity for learning stage presence. See how they separate themselves from their characters. Study what makes their act work and determine how you can glean knowledge that can be incorporated into your own act.
Some videos probably won’t be very good. They offer an even stronger learning opportunity. Why are they no good? How could the ventriloquist improve the video? Could the character’s voice be different? Stronger? Is their diction clear? Is the character believable, and if not, why? Could their pacing be improved? Why isn’t this ventriloquist as good as the big names? How can you take those lessons to improve your own act?
Now work on your skills and add these ideas into your presentation. Take your own video and study it. See how you can improve. Take notes and work on those areas.
In Lesson 22 – Rapid Improvement, I teach a method that allows you to look at your program in a whole new light. It helped me to go from a beginner, to opening concerts for a major country star in less than two years. I constantly use this technique to improve my own act. It is a never ending process if you want to learn how to be a good ventriloquist.
