New in November!

News Flash: Gary Owen to present workshop at 2005 ConVENTion!

Krusader Identity Revealed!

Have you spent the whole month wondering who this dashing hero in tights with his wooden, caped sidekick is?  Well, it's none other than our own Bob Hamill who performed on the Saturday Night Show last year.  Bob and Clyde worked as the national mascot for Tastykake, a snack-cake company, doing promotions, commercials, and personal appearances.  What a gig! 

DO YOU HAVE A "GAME PLAN?" 

by Mark Wade                       

Any endeavor worth doing is worth doing well. . . and that is especially true when it comes to performing before the general public. But many times we ventriloquists (or magicians, clowns, etc.) fail to put together our master "game plan", the outline of what we are trying to accomplish.

To try and perform without knowing what direction to take is like trying to steer a ship without a rudder. . . the whole thing wanders aimlessly. Therefore you owe it to yourself to take some time and figure out just exactly what you are trying to accomplish with your ventriloquism.

A brainstorming session with yourself and a piece of paper and a pencil or pen will do the trick. Sit down in a quiet place and do some soul searching. On that piece of paper you might want to put some subheadings such as:

1. What kind of audiences will I be playing for primarily?

2. What kind of characters (wood, fiberglass, soft-sculpture, etc.) will put the act across?

3. How much time do I need to do (length of act)?

4. Do I want to do this for a living? Do I only want to do vent part-time?

5. What is my ultimate goal with ventriloquism or my act?

By putting forth a little effort you can clearly define what you want to do with vent and/or your act and then have some purpose. By using this method you can avoid unnecessary side-trips into areas that you might not feel comfortable (for  instance. . . you might not like to do programs in nightclubs or lounges) or spend money on characters that you thought would be "really neat" but find out later that it doesn't fit in with your act or what you are trying to do. I would certainly hate to see the closets of some performers. . . they're probably jammed with puppets, magic, and props that looked good at the time but really didn't fit into the overall game plan.  

Remember. . . the "game plan" is like a road map. It can keep you on course and get you to your destination without detours. After all, life is too short to waste it on incidentals.

Convention Anecdote

Way back in 1982, Johnny Main was honored for being voted Vent of the Year in 1981 with a little roast as was the custom at the time -- a roast being where your friends step up to the mike and poke a little fun (or a lot of fun) at you.  Much to Johnny's surprise when it was his turn at the mike, he looked out in the audience and saw hundreds of Johnny Mains staring back at him.  What?  As part of the fun, all the audience members were holding Johnny masks up in front of their faces.  Clinton Detweiler got the masks printed up, and he and Adelia cut them out by hand and glued sticks on the night before for everyone to hold up.  Their hard work and humor paid off.  That was a good joke.

This anecdote was submitted by Dale Brown. Thanks, Dale!

Please send suggestions, comments, tips, techniques to Annie Roberts at [email protected].