Central
Florida Ventriloquist Association November Meeting
by
Annie Roberts
On
November 19th, the Central Florida Ventriloquist Association met at the
home of Dan and Renea Bratton...yeah, so? "What's the big
deal?" you may be asking yourself. Well, the big deal is that
this is the last regional ventriloquist association that is still
active. Comprised of about 16 members at this point, the CFVA
group meets every other month at a member's house to talk about all things
vent. The group was established in 1999, and Aunita Padgett is the
only founding member still part of the group. John Parisi describes
the meetings as, "A shot in the arm. It really gets you excited about
vent." It's like the energy and excitement you get from
attending the convention but on a smaller scale. The members will
talk about current issues, like what kinds of shows they're doing or
figures they're building. Plus, they get to discuss problems each
might be having with someone who could offer real insight based on his own
experience. It's a great time of sharing and fellowship.
This
meeting was attended by:
Dan
and Renea Bratton
John
Parisi
Al
Stevens
Donald
Woodford
Robert
Anthony
Annie
Roberts
After
delicious sandwiches and snacks provided by the Brattons (food always
makes a meeting better), everyone started discussing how he got interested
in ventriloquism in the first place. The stories were not what I
expected.
Al
Stevens became interested in vent as a teenager from the Max Terhune
westerns on TV. Terhune used a Frank Marshall figure named Elmer (he
now resides in Vent Haven Museum). Al said Terhune was a terrible
vent technically, but he loved it because it was on TV every day after
school. Elmer wasn't in every show so you never knew if you would
see him or not. Howdy Doody was also on TV at the time, but
the material was for little kids and didn't interest a teenage
Stevens. Al did watch Howdy Doody for the puppetry, though.
There just wasn't much vent on TV at that time because most vents were
doing live shows for adults. He made his first puppet, a robot, out
of tin cans. Al thought ventriloquism would impress the girls, and
when it didn't, he gave it up. When Al got to his 50's, he took up
ventriloquism again when impressing
girls was not so important.
Dan
Bratton was confined to a wheelchair in the 2nd grade due to rheumatic
fever. During this inactive period he happened to see Edgar Bergen's
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man. That's when he started
pestering his parents for a dummy. Plus he tried making dummies on
his own out of wig heads, baling wire, anything! As Dan says,
"These were rough!"
Donald
Woodford started in 2001 after he'd seen a friend perform a short routine
at a social gathering. Donald had been fascinated by Paul Winchell
and Shari Lewis growing up but he thought you had to have special talent
to do ventriloquism. The ability to see ventriloquism live, in
person made it seem possible. After watching his friend perform,
that got him started.
Many
of these guys are also making figures. Al Stevens made his own Uncle
Sweeter. Dan Bratton has two or three works in progress. Robert
Anthony said he's doing more figure making than performing these
days. Donald Woodford brought out his Conrad Hartz figure.
Everyone admired the lightness of the figure and the expertise in Hartz's
figure making ability.
The
final discussion was about performing and who's doing what. Aside
from Al Stevens' adult shows, most of the guys are doing school-type
performing, with library shows and topics like 'Stanger Danger.' Everyone
shared the ins and outs of the school systems. The meeting ended
with Al Stevens doing some material with Uncle Sweeter whom he debuted
this last summer at the 2006 ConVENTion. It was a good afternoon for
all.
The
January meeting of the Central Florida Ventriloquist Association will be
attended by Jimmy and Betty Nelson. That promises to be a great
get-together.
Since many of you are lucky enough
to be attending the upcoming ConVENTion I thought I'd post a couple of
moments that I enjoyed while at Vent Haven.
I forgot what year it was but at the top of my fun evenings are Vent Haven
was a particular Open Mic Night. It was the year that the Open Mic
was hosted by Bob Rumba as Groucho and Pete Michaels as Chico. I
still haven't laughed as hard since I did that night. I also think
that was the last time
On
November 19th, the Central Florida Ventriloquist Association met at the
home of Dan and Renea Bratton...yeah, so? "What's the big
deal?" you may be asking yourself. Well, the big deal is that
this is the last regional ventriloquist association that is still
active. Comprised of about 16 members at this point, the CFVA
group meets every other month at a member's house to talk about all things
vent. The group was established in 1999, and Aunita Padgett is the
only founding member still part of the group. John Parisi describes
the meetings as, "A shot in the arm. It really gets you excited about
vent." It's like the energy and excitement you get from
attending the convention but on a smaller scale. The members will
talk about current issues, like what kinds of shows they're doing or
figures they're building. Plus, they get to discuss problems each
might be having with someone who could offer real insight based on his own
experience. It's a great time of sharing and fellowship. 
Al
Stevens became interested in vent as a teenager from the Max Terhune
westerns on TV. Terhune used a Frank Marshall figure named Elmer (he
now resides in Vent Haven Museum). Al said Terhune was a terrible
vent technically, but he loved it because it was on TV every day after
school. Elmer wasn't in every show so you never knew if you would
see him or not. Howdy Doody was also on TV at the time, but
the material was for little kids and didn't interest a teenage
Stevens. Al did watch Howdy Doody for the puppetry, though.
There just wasn't much vent on TV at that time because most vents were
doing live shows for adults. He made his first puppet, a robot, out
of tin cans. Al thought ventriloquism would impress the girls, and
when it didn't, he gave it up. When Al got to his 50's, he took up
ventriloquism again when 
impressing
girls was not so important. 
Many
of these guys are also making figures. Al Stevens made his own Uncle
Sweeter. Dan Bratton has two or three works in progress. Robert
Anthony said he's doing more figure making than performing these
days. Donald Woodford brought out his Conrad Hartz figure.
Everyone admired the lightness of the figure and the expertise in Hartz's
figure making ability. 
Everyone
shared the ins and outs of the school systems. The meeting ended
with Al Stevens doing some material with Uncle Sweeter whom he debuted
this last summer at the 2006 ConVENTion. It was a good afternoon for
all.
I forgot what year it was but at the top of my fun evenings are Vent Haven
was a particular Open Mic Night. It was the year that the Open Mic
was hosted by Bob Rumba as Groucho and Pete Michaels as Chico. I
still haven't laughed as hard since I did that night. I also think
that was the last time