Let's finish up with part 3 of how to create a demo video that people won't run out of the room screaming that they would rather see Cloris Leachman naked than watch your video.
In the previous two posts we talked about the technical aspects, equipment and techniques of shooting a good video.
In this post we'll cover some tips as to what you need to do as a performer and editor to have a finished video that will get you booked.
1.) When editing your video, keep it short. Your demo reel should only be between 5-8 minutes.
DO NOT put a full show on the demo DVD. No one wants to see your whole act in your first promo pack. If they like what they see in your short video, they will contact you to either request a full length video, or they will want to come and see your show in person.
2.) On your video, try to have some shots of the audience laughing. And, this needs to be real laughter. Do not edit laughter into your demo video. First of all, a client generally can tell if what you are doing on the demo is indeed funny or not. If you tell a stupid pun and the sound track is a roaring laughter, they'll know you faked it.
Second, if they aren't able to figure out it is a laugh track on the video, how are you going to explain the crickets chirping and tumbleweeds blowing across your stage area if they come to see your show in person and hear the same joke that got the huge laugh on the demo?
3.) Be sure you have a truly solid act. It's very easy to take a bunch of show videos that may have a lot of mistakes in them at different places and put together an edited version that makes you look great. Again, don't fake it with an edit. If they come to see you in person before they book you, you'll be toast.
If they hire you without coming to see you, they'll really be ticked if you ruin their event.
Even worse, since most people are generally non-confrontational and may not want to cause a scene after your show, they may not tell you what they really think. They might decide instead to just tell you quickly "nice show", give you your check and walk away.
You'll never even really know that they were not happy with your act - other than that they never book you again, tell everyone they know that you were bad and maybe even post a poor review of your show on the booking company's (if they used one, like Gig Masters, etc.) website.
If you do read a bad review about yourself on a booking providers website, you can be certain that those are their true feelings.
Have a good act!
4.) Have a nice presentation of the DVD you send. Have a nice color computer label on the DVD. Don't write on the DVD with a Sharpie marker. Don't laugh. I've seen people do it. Have a nice color DVD cover insert on the case.
Your demo video should make you look like a professional as soon as they take the DVD out of the mailer. It costs next to nothing to make a nice label and cover insert for your DVD on your home PC and printer.
5). Include some REAL testimonials of people who have seen and enjoyed your show, listed on a sheet of paper. Nothing, and I mean nothing, sells your show better than having a ton of testimonials from satisfied clients in the promo package.
To wrap up, the whole underlying point of these past 3 posts is to have a great act and to present yourself in a professional manner in everything that pertains to your show. Your act, your promo materials, your demo DVD, the way you treat clients are all part of being a professional - no matter what market you work in.
If you want to know more about how to promote yourself, take a look at this great course from full-time performer Ken Groves:
http://www.ventriloquism101.com/products/videos.htm
Good luck!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Creating a Demo Video - Part 2
Let's move on to some other tips for making a great demo video.
1.) Avoid zooming in and out excessively. This is probably one of the most frequent mistakes I see on amateur videos. ZOOM IN! ZOOM OUT! ZOOM IN! ZOOM OUT! Man, that's annoying (almost as annoying as reading ZOOM IN! ZOOM OUT! over and over).
Zooming in and out should be used very sparingly. Keep the camera zoomed where it should be and stay on that shot until the action on stage dictates that you need to zoom in or out.
When you do zoom, do so very slowly. Your goal as a person working the camera is to make the viewers NOT see all of the zooming and panning side to side. Your video should look smooth and steady.
2.) If you have the option to use manual focus on your camcorder, do it. Turn the auto focus off and focus your camera manually. Here's why:
When you have auto focus turned on, your camera wants to focus on whatever is being seen closest to the lens.
If someone walks in front of the camera, or you are in a room where people are smoking and smoke drifts in front of your camera, the camera will focus on the person in front of the lens, or will focus on the smoke. Then the camera will try to focus on you on the stage once the objects closer to the lens are out of the way.
This may take several seconds and the camera will drift in and out of focus during this time. This is another sign of an amateur video.
If you can focus your camera manually, zoom in to as close of a shot as you can (before you start the actual taping). Manually focus the camera. Now zoom out to where you want your shot to be. Keep the camera on manual focus, If someone or something now gets in front of your lens, the camera will not drift out of focus. It will stay in focus throughout the whole zoom-in range of the camera.
3.) If you have a manual "white balance" option on your camera, use it. Most consumer camcorders have some pre-sets for white balance, which is the way camera sees whites and adjusts colors under different lighting conditions.
Some room lights make your camera see a red tint. Other lighting causes a blue tint and still others, a green tint to your video. I'm sure you've seen this before on some of your videos when you've recorded in certain lighting conditions.
If all you have is automatic white balance or some white balance pre-sets (usually an indoor or outdoor setting), try them both to see what reproduces more accurate colors.
If you do have the ability to manually white balance your camcorder, here's how to do it.
-Find a piece of white paper, poster board, etc. and place it in the area on the stage where the light will be hitting you.
-Zoom your camcorder onto the white card until white fills up your screen.
-Push the manual white balance button on your camera.
-Your camera will make the white look white in whatever light you are in. If white is balanced correctly, all of the other colors will be correct as well.
There you have it. Some of the biggest "technical" things you can do to help you make a visually good looking demo DVD video.
As I mentioned in the last post, the MOST important thing is to have a good act! Be honest with yourself. Have others give you feedback on your show before you waste time (and perhaps money) putting together a demo. If your act blows, no video is going to help that. (unless you're Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie).
1.) Avoid zooming in and out excessively. This is probably one of the most frequent mistakes I see on amateur videos. ZOOM IN! ZOOM OUT! ZOOM IN! ZOOM OUT! Man, that's annoying (almost as annoying as reading ZOOM IN! ZOOM OUT! over and over).
Zooming in and out should be used very sparingly. Keep the camera zoomed where it should be and stay on that shot until the action on stage dictates that you need to zoom in or out.
When you do zoom, do so very slowly. Your goal as a person working the camera is to make the viewers NOT see all of the zooming and panning side to side. Your video should look smooth and steady.
2.) If you have the option to use manual focus on your camcorder, do it. Turn the auto focus off and focus your camera manually. Here's why:
When you have auto focus turned on, your camera wants to focus on whatever is being seen closest to the lens.
If someone walks in front of the camera, or you are in a room where people are smoking and smoke drifts in front of your camera, the camera will focus on the person in front of the lens, or will focus on the smoke. Then the camera will try to focus on you on the stage once the objects closer to the lens are out of the way.
This may take several seconds and the camera will drift in and out of focus during this time. This is another sign of an amateur video.
If you can focus your camera manually, zoom in to as close of a shot as you can (before you start the actual taping). Manually focus the camera. Now zoom out to where you want your shot to be. Keep the camera on manual focus, If someone or something now gets in front of your lens, the camera will not drift out of focus. It will stay in focus throughout the whole zoom-in range of the camera.
3.) If you have a manual "white balance" option on your camera, use it. Most consumer camcorders have some pre-sets for white balance, which is the way camera sees whites and adjusts colors under different lighting conditions.
Some room lights make your camera see a red tint. Other lighting causes a blue tint and still others, a green tint to your video. I'm sure you've seen this before on some of your videos when you've recorded in certain lighting conditions.
If all you have is automatic white balance or some white balance pre-sets (usually an indoor or outdoor setting), try them both to see what reproduces more accurate colors.
If you do have the ability to manually white balance your camcorder, here's how to do it.
-Find a piece of white paper, poster board, etc. and place it in the area on the stage where the light will be hitting you.
-Zoom your camcorder onto the white card until white fills up your screen.
-Push the manual white balance button on your camera.
-Your camera will make the white look white in whatever light you are in. If white is balanced correctly, all of the other colors will be correct as well.
There you have it. Some of the biggest "technical" things you can do to help you make a visually good looking demo DVD video.
As I mentioned in the last post, the MOST important thing is to have a good act! Be honest with yourself. Have others give you feedback on your show before you waste time (and perhaps money) putting together a demo. If your act blows, no video is going to help that. (unless you're Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie).
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Creating a Demo Video - Part 1
Today let me offer you a few tips on how to create a demo video that someone will actually want to watch.
If you are wanting to get work as a performer and you desire to provide potential clients with a video, it had better look good.
What they see on that video is a direct reflection on your reputation. You may have a great act, but if no one can stand watching more than a few seconds of a video because it is so poorly produced, you've just lost that client.
I'm sure all of you have seen home made videos (perhaps you've even been guilty of making some like this) where the color looks bad, the image is shaky, the focus goes in and out, the audio is terrible, etc.
I see DVD's like that made by people and sent to me all of the time. Let's discuss how to avoid these issues and how to put together a more professional looking video.
My college degree is in television and film production, so I am hopeful that these tips will help you.
First and easiest is to hire someone that knows what they are doing when it comes to shooting and editing video.
It's a good thing that video camera prices and computer based editing equipment have come down in price over the years to make it possible for nearly everyone to be able to create a video.
However, just because one has a camcorder and software on their PC to edit video does not necessarily make one good at making a decent one.
There are general rules to follow...which most amateurs don't.
So, option one is to hire a videographer to create a finished, edited video for you, if you don't want to take the time to learn how to do it the right way.
This, however, can be expensive if you are on a tight budget.
The second option would be to go to a local college in your area that has video course offerings and hire a student who has experience. You can save a ton of money by hiring a student and they are always looking for projects to do for class credit. Plus, they usually have access to equipment they can use.
Using option one or two will probably give you a good finished video.
There also is the option of doing it yourself. I'll list some ideas that should help you make your own video.
1.) Have someone record your show for you using your gear.
Don't try to do this yourself by setting a camcorder up on a tripod with the zoom all the way out, pressing "record" on the camera and then doing your show with the camera in this one position and one wide shot. You need to have someone who can zoom in and move the camera side to side (panning) and up and down (tilting) as needed during your show.
2.) Make sure the person running the camera knows how it works.
Don't have someone operate the camcorder if they've never used it before. Show them how to operate the camera a few days before the recording and let them get comfortable with the camera.
3.) Use a "fluid head" tripod TRULY designed for video cameras.
Most all of the tripods you see at Best Buy or other consumer electronic stores (even though they say "fluid head" video tripod) are not really designed for video. They generally are only good for static shots. If you try to pan or tilt them, they jerk, shake and jump.
The tripod head movement should be silky smooth when panned or tilted, and should have different degrees of "drag" (how tight or loose the movement) you can adjust.
I have never seen a tripod at a consumer electronic store that I would ever use for an important video production.
You can get a nice Bogen or Manfrotto fluid head video camera tripod for around $300. Sometimes less on eBay.
Having a steady and smooth image on your video is one of the most important things you can do.
4.) Use a camcorder with an audio input and headphone connection on it.
Good audio on a video is as important as good video. The microphone built into most all camcorders is only good for sound pickup for a distance of about 6 to 8 feet. Beyond that, the microphone also starts picking up all of the ambient audio noise in the room and you'll have a hard time hearing what the performer is saying.
If you have a camcorder with an audio input on it, you can wear a wireless lapel microphone and have the receiver to that microphone plugged into the audio input on the camera and get fantastic audio.
Use the headphone jack and wear headphones to monitor the sound going into the camera. You should ALWAYS monitor your audio. There is nothing worse than recording a program (and not using headphones) only to find that the audio isn't there or it sounds like crap after the taping.
5.) You need good stage lighting if you are going to make a video recording.
FORGET all of the marketing hype you read about the "SUPER low-light camera! You can record in total darkness!!"
That, quite frankly, is mostly BS.
There is a huge difference between a camera that produces an IMAGE in low light and a HIGH QUALITY image. The ONLY way to insure a great picture is to have enough light on you. Yes, you will get a recording in very poor light with a low light camera, but it will be grainy and have poor focus and colors. Is that what you want to give to a potential client?
I will stack up a $500 consumer camcorder shooting in good light against a $10,000 camera shooting in darkness any day of the week.
I have a lot more to discuss. So, I think I'll post a "Part 2" to this soon.
Oh, and I almost forgot. The MOST important thing is to have a good act! Be honest with yourself. Have others give you feedback on your show before you put together a demo video. If you stink, no video is going to help that.
If you are wanting to get work as a performer and you desire to provide potential clients with a video, it had better look good.
What they see on that video is a direct reflection on your reputation. You may have a great act, but if no one can stand watching more than a few seconds of a video because it is so poorly produced, you've just lost that client.
I'm sure all of you have seen home made videos (perhaps you've even been guilty of making some like this) where the color looks bad, the image is shaky, the focus goes in and out, the audio is terrible, etc.
I see DVD's like that made by people and sent to me all of the time. Let's discuss how to avoid these issues and how to put together a more professional looking video.
My college degree is in television and film production, so I am hopeful that these tips will help you.
First and easiest is to hire someone that knows what they are doing when it comes to shooting and editing video.
It's a good thing that video camera prices and computer based editing equipment have come down in price over the years to make it possible for nearly everyone to be able to create a video.
However, just because one has a camcorder and software on their PC to edit video does not necessarily make one good at making a decent one.
There are general rules to follow...which most amateurs don't.
So, option one is to hire a videographer to create a finished, edited video for you, if you don't want to take the time to learn how to do it the right way.
This, however, can be expensive if you are on a tight budget.
The second option would be to go to a local college in your area that has video course offerings and hire a student who has experience. You can save a ton of money by hiring a student and they are always looking for projects to do for class credit. Plus, they usually have access to equipment they can use.
Using option one or two will probably give you a good finished video.
There also is the option of doing it yourself. I'll list some ideas that should help you make your own video.
1.) Have someone record your show for you using your gear.
Don't try to do this yourself by setting a camcorder up on a tripod with the zoom all the way out, pressing "record" on the camera and then doing your show with the camera in this one position and one wide shot. You need to have someone who can zoom in and move the camera side to side (panning) and up and down (tilting) as needed during your show.
2.) Make sure the person running the camera knows how it works.
Don't have someone operate the camcorder if they've never used it before. Show them how to operate the camera a few days before the recording and let them get comfortable with the camera.
3.) Use a "fluid head" tripod TRULY designed for video cameras.
Most all of the tripods you see at Best Buy or other consumer electronic stores (even though they say "fluid head" video tripod) are not really designed for video. They generally are only good for static shots. If you try to pan or tilt them, they jerk, shake and jump.
The tripod head movement should be silky smooth when panned or tilted, and should have different degrees of "drag" (how tight or loose the movement) you can adjust.
I have never seen a tripod at a consumer electronic store that I would ever use for an important video production.
You can get a nice Bogen or Manfrotto fluid head video camera tripod for around $300. Sometimes less on eBay.
Having a steady and smooth image on your video is one of the most important things you can do.
4.) Use a camcorder with an audio input and headphone connection on it.
Good audio on a video is as important as good video. The microphone built into most all camcorders is only good for sound pickup for a distance of about 6 to 8 feet. Beyond that, the microphone also starts picking up all of the ambient audio noise in the room and you'll have a hard time hearing what the performer is saying.
If you have a camcorder with an audio input on it, you can wear a wireless lapel microphone and have the receiver to that microphone plugged into the audio input on the camera and get fantastic audio.
Use the headphone jack and wear headphones to monitor the sound going into the camera. You should ALWAYS monitor your audio. There is nothing worse than recording a program (and not using headphones) only to find that the audio isn't there or it sounds like crap after the taping.
5.) You need good stage lighting if you are going to make a video recording.
FORGET all of the marketing hype you read about the "SUPER low-light camera! You can record in total darkness!!"
That, quite frankly, is mostly BS.
There is a huge difference between a camera that produces an IMAGE in low light and a HIGH QUALITY image. The ONLY way to insure a great picture is to have enough light on you. Yes, you will get a recording in very poor light with a low light camera, but it will be grainy and have poor focus and colors. Is that what you want to give to a potential client?
I will stack up a $500 consumer camcorder shooting in good light against a $10,000 camera shooting in darkness any day of the week.
I have a lot more to discuss. So, I think I'll post a "Part 2" to this soon.
Oh, and I almost forgot. The MOST important thing is to have a good act! Be honest with yourself. Have others give you feedback on your show before you put together a demo video. If you stink, no video is going to help that.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Lunch With Dunham and Haner
Brian Haner (Guitar Guy), Lee, Heather, Jeff (Click to Enlarge)
Just a quick note today.
Jeff was in Indianapolis at Conseco Fieldhouse for a show Thursday night. I wasn't able to attend.
He was kind enough to give me a call and invite me to lunch on Friday. As a surprise, I picked up my 13 year old daughter Heather from school, only telling her I was taking her to lunch. I didn't mention we were meeting Jeff.
We arrived at his hotel downtown and Heather pretty much froze up in awe for the first 10 minutes after meeting him.
We had a great lunch at Shula's restaurant with Jeff, Brian Haner (Guitar Guy), Jeff's manager Robin and a couple of other members of Jeff's traveling group.
As usual, the show on Thursday night was a sell-out, with about 10,000 in attendance.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
The Real Truth About Jeff Dunham
Achmed, Jeff and Lee
I've had several people email me recently to ask if I knew how Jeff Dunham had become such an "overnight success."
He's been all over the TV lately on Comedy Central, is selling out 10,000 seat stadiums, selling millions of DVD's and is pretty much the hottest comedian working right now.
His Christmas special on Comedy Central was the most watched show on that network in its history.
So, exactly how did Jeff achieve this "overnight" fame and fortune. Well, I'll tell you.
A lot of people who think Jeff made it big in a short period of time probably did not know much about him until his first huge Comedy Central hit "Arguing With Myself" which aired a couple of years ago. Many think that's when Jeff's career took off.
Here's the deal.
Jeff has been at this for nearly 30 years. His "overnight" success is the result of constantly working in all venues - comedy clubs, private events, corporate functions, television, etc. since the early 1980's.
I met Jeff for the first time when he was a teenager in 1981 at the Vent Haven convention. He certainly doesn't remember me from back then (even though we have become friends over the past few years), but I certainly remember Jeff. His routine back then was very funny and his technique was flawless.
He was extremely well known in the small fraternity of ventriloquists, but not so much to the general public. Jeff used the more traditional "cheeky boy" hard figure back in those days and he had an amazing bit where he carried on a 4 voice conversation with 3 characters.
I remember almost the whole routine word for word even after all of these years. I can honestly say that even at that time I knew Jeff would become a big name superstar comedian someday.
Jeff continued to work on his material, his comedy and on character development. He wanted to appeal to a wider range of audience and he felt he would best be able to do that by moving away from the traditional ventriloquist dummy to more unique characters.
Jose, Peanut and Walter were the result and have been the core of his show for many years.
Jeff's reputation as a really funny headliner act began to grow. His fan base began to grow.
All the while Jeff continued to work and work on being the funniest performer he could be. Comedy is his forte. The puppets are only the vehicle he uses to express his humor.
By the time Jeff struck a deal with Comedy Central for his first special he was extremely successful in the comedy club circuit. He had honed his skills by working nearly non-stop for 25 years. He was ready.
The first special was a smash. His first DVD was the best selling comedy DVD of all time. It sold over a million copies. Jeff became a household name. People began coming up to me and asking if I'd heard of this "new" comedian puppet guy Jeff Dunham. I just smiled and nodded (I still do).
Over the past 2 years Jeff has eclipsed every previous level of success he's achieved. He has made ventriloquism "cool" again. He makes all of the rest of us strive to be funnier and better performers. He has added even more characters that have become famous in their own right. Namely Bubba J. and Achmed.
Jeff is the Edgar Bergen, Jimmy Nelson, Paul Winchell of our generation.
I don't think Jeff has peaked yet. I know he has lots of other ideas he wants to try.
So...Jeff Dunham "overnight" success? Hardly. He's put in the time and effort most are not willing to do. He deserves all of the success he is now enjoying.
If you are a vent, take Jeff's biggest piece of advice. BE FUNNY. Learn how to truly make people laugh.
Put away the puns and the stupid corn ball jokes. Work on developing your own unique characters. And practice as much as you can on putting together a routine that will keep the audience laughing.
That's what its all about.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
A Visit to Tom Ladshaw's "Museum"
A few weeks ago I took a drive to visit my friend Tom Ladshaw at his home in Covington, KY.
Tom Ladshaw with Stanley Hillman
Click picture for larger image
Then we headed down to his basement. Wow. My jaw literally dropped when we got to the bottom of the staircase. Tom's basement has been completely refinished and turned into what can only be called a museum. Everything meticulously organized and extremely well lit on walls and shelves.
Click picture for larger image
Another wall containing vintage toys, games, hand puppets, records and much more:
Figures by Marshall, Insull, Gilmer, Claassen and many others. Tom really searches for figures that are in as near mint of a condition as possible. Look at these great photos:
Click picture for larger image
Tom's collection also includes Ronn Lucas' very first "Buffalo Billy" (made by Ronn himself) and an extremely unusual and rare Frank Marshall figure with control levers made of coin silver and a body jointed like a humans.
Tom Ladshaw with Stanley Hillman
As you may know, Tom is not only a professional magician, ventriloquist, comedian, author, publisher and creator of tricks and props, but he is recognized around the world as perhaps the most knowledgeable historian when it comes to anything pertaining to ventriloquism.
He has also been an avid collector of ventriloquism related items for over 30 years.
I knew Tom owned a sizable collection (based on the huge quantity of rare collectibles he brings to the Vent Haven Convention each year) and I was very excited to see what other goodies he had in store for me to see at his home.
I was nowhere near prepared as to what I was going to see.
I was nowhere near prepared as to what I was going to see.
Upon entering Tom's home, I first noticed many framed original movie and promotional posters on the walls.
Click picture for larger image
Then we headed down to his basement. Wow. My jaw literally dropped when we got to the bottom of the staircase. Tom's basement has been completely refinished and turned into what can only be called a museum. Everything meticulously organized and extremely well lit on walls and shelves.
He could charge admission to this place!
Walls filled with framed pictures, playbills and more posters. He owns more than 100 vintage and antique posters dating back to 1841.
Click picture for larger image
Click picture for larger image
There are shelves filled with nearly every ventriloquism book, pamphlet and catalog ever published. Tom has over 100 figuremaker catalogs from nine countries dating back to the 1880's and nearly 800 books from more than 20 countries dating back to the late 1700's.
He also owns the original set of the lead-type individual letter mechanicals which were used to hand-set and print Frank Marshall's 1931 catalog.
Click picture for larger image
An entire wall of Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd antique items:
Click picture for larger image
Another wall containing vintage toys, games, hand puppets, records and much more:
Click picture for larger image
Then, of course, there are the figures in Tom's collection. He has dozens and dozens of figures - both on display and in storage.
Figures by Marshall, Insull, Gilmer, Claassen and many others. Tom really searches for figures that are in as near mint of a condition as possible. Look at these great photos:
Click picture for larger image
Click picture for larger image
Click picture for larger image
Click picture for larger image
Click picture for larger image
Click picture for larger image
Tom's collection also includes Ronn Lucas' very first "Buffalo Billy" (made by Ronn himself) and an extremely unusual and rare Frank Marshall figure with control levers made of coin silver and a body jointed like a humans.
Click picture for larger image
And, just take a look at Tom's collection of Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead puppets:
Click picture for larger image
Vent Haven Museum curator Lisa Sweasy joined Tom and myself for a very enjoyable lunch and then I spent the rest of the afternoon just talking with Tom about great ventriloquists of the past and present.
Tom also has an extensive video library of many performances of vents and we watched several of those.
I was originally thinking I'd be out of town heading for home by 4pm, but we were having such a good conversation that when I looked at my watch it was after 6pm.
It was one of the most enjoyable days I've had in a long time.
Thanks Tom.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
A Lesson From Jeff Dunham
Click picture for larger view
I had the great pleasure of going to see Jeff's show last night at the beautiful Emens Auditorium in Muncie, Indiana. The theater seats 3800 people and Jeff sold out two shows, as he continues to roll across the country.
My wife Cheryl attended with me and we met up with pro magician, vent, author, ventriloquism historian and all around funny guy, Tom Ladshaw.
This was a college venue so Jeff was playing to a great crowd. It was also "Parents Weekend" at the university and at one point Jeff made the comment after a joke, "That would have gotten a lot bigger laugh if you weren't sitting next to your parents."
We only had a few minutes to chat backstage between shows and then my wife, Tom and I went out for a late dinner. It's always a real treat to spend time talking with Tom. This guy is a virtual encyclopedia when it comes to anything vent (or pretty much anything else, for that matter).
Jeff's show was very good. I have seen his show many, many times over the years and never grow tired of watching a real professional work. There was a lot of new material in the act, which will be on his new Christmas DVD, which is scheduled for release on November 18th.
You can pre-order the DVD at this amazon.com link now:
http://tinyurl.com/66cfpd
Jeff has a lot of other REALLY cool things in the works, which I won't go into here as to not let the cork out of the bottle.
While I indeed laughed a lot at Jeff's routine, I found myself watching more last night from the perspective of a ventriloquist/entertainer and studying what Jeff does to really just kill the audience night after night. Jeff has so many great characters.
This leads to a good topic of discussion.
How many puppet characters should you have in your show? I've seen performers who have literally a half a dozen or more dummies and puppets they use in their show.
And, I've seen some very good acts that only use one or two characters. What's the answer?
You should only use as many characters as you can develop a unique personality for. Period.
Remember the comment above about the performer who had over six figures and puppets he used in his show? Well, they all sounded the same. Their mannerisms were the same. The manipulation was the same. In other words, ONE puppet would have been sufficient for this performer.
You MUST have a completely different personality, voice, attitude and mannerisms for all of your puppets. And, just as important, those characteristics need to be different and a contrast to your own personality. The wider the gap you can create between your personality and that of the puppet, the greater the illusion of life with your characters.
This is what makes Jeff such a great ventriloquist and performer. Walter, Peanut, Jose, Achmed, Melvin, etc. all have completely different voices, personalities and character traits. And, those characteristics are different than Jeff's personality.
This is key to making the audience forget that the puppets are not living beings.
So, videotape yourself performing with your different puppets. Watch the video and be honest with yourself. Close your eyes and just listen to the sound. Do all of your puppets sound about the same?
Now watch the video with the sound turned down. Do all of your puppets move about the same? Do they interact with you about the same?
Finally, just watch yourself and see how you react, move, etc. while the dummy is talking. Then watch just the puppet and see how it reacts when you talk.
These movements, actions and reactions should be automatic. That's how you create life in your puppet. And it only comes with practice and experience.
If you see you need improvement in these areas, head back to the practice room and really take the time to develop a unique personality and voice for all of your puppets.
Thanks Jeff and Tom for a great evening. (OK, you too Brian and Robin).
Saturday, July 26, 2008
2008 Vent Haven ConVENTion a huge success!
Well, I just returned from the 2008 Vent Haven International Convention last weekend. Man, what a great time. I think this was one of the most fun conventions I've been to over the past 27 years.
I saw a lot of great friends and made new ones. Over 440 people attended this year, which says how dedicated this group of people are, with gas prices being so high right now.
"America's Got Talent" winner Terry Fator was there and performed. I can tell that his Vegas show is going to be a real hit. Terry donated $10,000 to the Vent Haven museum!
with Terry Fator
Another highlight for me was that at the 2nd annual auction for a private midnight tour of the Vent Haven museum with Jeff Dunham, a group of 6 of us who teamed up to bid won the auction.
I saw a lot of great friends and made new ones. Over 440 people attended this year, which says how dedicated this group of people are, with gas prices being so high right now.
"America's Got Talent" winner Terry Fator was there and performed. I can tell that his Vegas show is going to be a real hit. Terry donated $10,000 to the Vent Haven museum!
with Terry Fator
Another highlight for me was that at the 2nd annual auction for a private midnight tour of the Vent Haven museum with Jeff Dunham, a group of 6 of us who teamed up to bid won the auction.
So, we went to the museum and took as much time as we wanted to go through all of the buildings and see all of the figures. Jeff also donated $10,000 to the museum this year.
with Jeff Dunham at the Vent Haven Museum midnight tour
I've posted some pictures of the convention here:
http://www.ventriloquism101.com/gallery/venthaven2008.htm
If you've never attended the convention, you're missing out on a LOT of information and fun. Put it on your calendar for next year NOW, and start saving.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Vent Legend Bill DeMar Releases His Greatest Secret
I'm sure a lot of you have heard of ventriloquist legend Bill DeMar. He has been a professional performer for nearly 60 years.
For 50 years he has performed his version of a "Tape Over the Mouth" routine. It's been the most unbelievable part of his act for decades.
With Bill in semi-retirement, he has decided to release a very limited number (only 50 worldwide) performance licenses and the secret to this routine.
Find out all of the details by going here:
www.cornellpublications.com/demarsecret.htm
For 50 years he has performed his version of a "Tape Over the Mouth" routine. It's been the most unbelievable part of his act for decades.
With Bill in semi-retirement, he has decided to release a very limited number (only 50 worldwide) performance licenses and the secret to this routine.
Find out all of the details by going here:
www.cornellpublications.com/demarsecret.htm
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Dunham Continues to Roll...
This past Thursday, March 27th, I had the pleasure of seeing Jeff's show in Mansfield, Ohio.
It was sold out (as are nearly all of his shows on this "Spark of Insanity" tour).
I had a chance to take a look at his tour bus. It is one of those huge Prevost tour coaches like you see rock stars traveling in. He had a custom workshop area built into it to work on figures as he travels across the U.S. Very nice. I told Jeff he must be doing really well with his Amway business.
The show was hilarious.
He and Peanut had a great 15 minute ad-lib session with a guy on the front row who was a police officer for 23 years and then changed careers and became a male nurse.
Jeff and Peanut had a field day with the guy and his story of switching careers.
Plus a lot of fun stuff from Walter, Jose and Achmed.
His set ran close to 2 hours!
"Guitar Guy" Brian Haner did headliner material himself during the opening act portion of the show. Very funny guy. He's also one of the best guitar players I've ever heard. He talks comically about his 30+ year career in music as he plays pieces of popular songs from the 1960's to today.
His son is the lead guitar player in the hit metal band Avenged Sevenfold.
A lot of new material from Jeff as he hones in on the stuff he is going to tape for a Christmas TV special being recorded this summer in time for a holiday release.
Jeff is a lesson in ventriloquism and showmanship just by watching him perform.
I also had a chance to visit with vent Kimberly Yeager, who lives in Mansfield, and was at the show.
Kimberly Yeager and Lee at Vent Haven 2007
On another note, thanks to all of you who invested in Ken Groves new show business course.
There was a good response to my post last week, and I'm sure all of you who purchased it will get a lot out of the information.I do have a handful of the original quantity Ken sent me.
If you have not picked up a copy yet, you can read about it here:
http://www.ventriloquism101.com/products/books.htm
There's nothing like it on the market.
Vent Haven Convention 2008 is fast approaching. It's July 16-19. Go to http://www.venthaven.com/ for more information and to download a registration form.
Hope to see you there.
It was sold out (as are nearly all of his shows on this "Spark of Insanity" tour).
I had a chance to take a look at his tour bus. It is one of those huge Prevost tour coaches like you see rock stars traveling in. He had a custom workshop area built into it to work on figures as he travels across the U.S. Very nice. I told Jeff he must be doing really well with his Amway business.
The show was hilarious.
He and Peanut had a great 15 minute ad-lib session with a guy on the front row who was a police officer for 23 years and then changed careers and became a male nurse.
Jeff and Peanut had a field day with the guy and his story of switching careers.
Plus a lot of fun stuff from Walter, Jose and Achmed.
His set ran close to 2 hours!
"Guitar Guy" Brian Haner did headliner material himself during the opening act portion of the show. Very funny guy. He's also one of the best guitar players I've ever heard. He talks comically about his 30+ year career in music as he plays pieces of popular songs from the 1960's to today.
His son is the lead guitar player in the hit metal band Avenged Sevenfold.
A lot of new material from Jeff as he hones in on the stuff he is going to tape for a Christmas TV special being recorded this summer in time for a holiday release.
Jeff is a lesson in ventriloquism and showmanship just by watching him perform.
I also had a chance to visit with vent Kimberly Yeager, who lives in Mansfield, and was at the show.
Kimberly Yeager and Lee at Vent Haven 2007
On another note, thanks to all of you who invested in Ken Groves new show business course.
There was a good response to my post last week, and I'm sure all of you who purchased it will get a lot out of the information.I do have a handful of the original quantity Ken sent me.
If you have not picked up a copy yet, you can read about it here:
http://www.ventriloquism101.com/products/books.htm
There's nothing like it on the market.
Vent Haven Convention 2008 is fast approaching. It's July 16-19. Go to http://www.venthaven.com/ for more information and to download a registration form.
Hope to see you there.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
A Lesson in Performing
I just returned from a week long cruise to the Caribbean with my wife late last night.
Last week was our 15th wedding anniversary, so I thought taking her on a vacation away from the day to day home routine would be a great gift. We left the kids at grandma's and we had a wonderful time. Perfect weather all week.
I also realize that people from all around the world who were on the cruise know the hilarious and always uproarious laughter producing line I hear at least once a week, "How's the weather up there?" (Please. Stop. My side. The pain).
The cruise ship has a large theater and there is some sort of stage show every evening. Friday night was the final show of the week and the closing act was a comedy magician by the name of Chad Chesmark.
Chad Chesmark
It was the first time I'd ever seen his show. And, I'd never heard of him before this past week.
OK, why am I writing about a magician in a ventriloquism blog?
To make a point. Good comedy entertainment DONE RIGHT in any field (ventriloquism, magic, standup, whatever) is critical to being a performer that is in demand.
Let me mention right up front the most important feature of Chad's show.
HE WAS FUNNY.
It was obvious that Chad has worked very long and hard at learning how to be funny first.
His tricks were good. But he did not do any super fancy sleight of hand tricks or amazing stage illusions. He did some tricks that I know how to perform. But, Chad WAS ORIGINAL with the presentation of his tricks. And, HE WAS FUNNY.
He looked, dressed and acted like a pro from the minute he walked out onto the stage. He had the audience laughing 10 seconds into the show.
He looked at the audience and moved around with a lot of energy and exuded a lot of personality from the stage. He did not stare down at his shoes and speak in a timid voice.
He smiled a lot and looked as if he was having a great time - even though I'm sure he does this same show night after night.
HE WAS FUNNY. HE WAS ORIGINAL, even without elaborate tricks.
As he was going from one trick to the next, he had very FUNNY, conversational patter that made the tricks seamlessly flow one into the other.
He just didn't do one trick, say thanks, do another trick, say thanks, do another trick..like so many "performers" do.
He had a logical connection using humor and being FUNNY going from trick to trick.
His act was very well rehearsed and fine tuned so that all of his routine was very strong.
I love good comedy, whether it be magic, ventriloquism, whatever. However, I more often than not see shows where the performer has not perfected (nor tried to perfect) the things that Chad has worked on and does so well.
During Chad's show I was laughing out loud, which I rarely do unless the comedy and performance are really top notch.
Are you funny, original and present yourself on stage as a comfortable, professional performer? How often do you practice? Be honest if you really want to get better.
Or, are you like the majority that practices very little and just strings a bunch of unrelated jokes together?
I'm sure Chad received a lot of compliments after the show from the audience (myself included), and he will be asked back to perform again by Royal Caribbean.
Will you be asked back to perform again for the group you next perform for? Or will folks politely say "nice job" and walk away as you think to yourself "Man, I killed tonight."
Think about it.
Last week was our 15th wedding anniversary, so I thought taking her on a vacation away from the day to day home routine would be a great gift. We left the kids at grandma's and we had a wonderful time. Perfect weather all week.
I also realize that people from all around the world who were on the cruise know the hilarious and always uproarious laughter producing line I hear at least once a week, "How's the weather up there?" (Please. Stop. My side. The pain).
The cruise ship has a large theater and there is some sort of stage show every evening. Friday night was the final show of the week and the closing act was a comedy magician by the name of Chad Chesmark.
Chad Chesmark
It was the first time I'd ever seen his show. And, I'd never heard of him before this past week.
OK, why am I writing about a magician in a ventriloquism blog?
To make a point. Good comedy entertainment DONE RIGHT in any field (ventriloquism, magic, standup, whatever) is critical to being a performer that is in demand.
Let me mention right up front the most important feature of Chad's show.
HE WAS FUNNY.
It was obvious that Chad has worked very long and hard at learning how to be funny first.
His tricks were good. But he did not do any super fancy sleight of hand tricks or amazing stage illusions. He did some tricks that I know how to perform. But, Chad WAS ORIGINAL with the presentation of his tricks. And, HE WAS FUNNY.
He looked, dressed and acted like a pro from the minute he walked out onto the stage. He had the audience laughing 10 seconds into the show.
He looked at the audience and moved around with a lot of energy and exuded a lot of personality from the stage. He did not stare down at his shoes and speak in a timid voice.
He smiled a lot and looked as if he was having a great time - even though I'm sure he does this same show night after night.
HE WAS FUNNY. HE WAS ORIGINAL, even without elaborate tricks.
As he was going from one trick to the next, he had very FUNNY, conversational patter that made the tricks seamlessly flow one into the other.
He just didn't do one trick, say thanks, do another trick, say thanks, do another trick..like so many "performers" do.
He had a logical connection using humor and being FUNNY going from trick to trick.
His act was very well rehearsed and fine tuned so that all of his routine was very strong.
I love good comedy, whether it be magic, ventriloquism, whatever. However, I more often than not see shows where the performer has not perfected (nor tried to perfect) the things that Chad has worked on and does so well.
During Chad's show I was laughing out loud, which I rarely do unless the comedy and performance are really top notch.
Are you funny, original and present yourself on stage as a comfortable, professional performer? How often do you practice? Be honest if you really want to get better.
Or, are you like the majority that practices very little and just strings a bunch of unrelated jokes together?
I'm sure Chad received a lot of compliments after the show from the audience (myself included), and he will be asked back to perform again by Royal Caribbean.
Will you be asked back to perform again for the group you next perform for? Or will folks politely say "nice job" and walk away as you think to yourself "Man, I killed tonight."
Think about it.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Lee with 2 great figures
Click for larger view
OK. So they are not ventriloquist "figures." But still fine figures indeed.
My wife's (Cheryl, the blonde on the right) birthday is on New Year's Eve. Every year we go out to a really nice restaurant to celebrate.
This year, her best friend Cecily did not have any dinner plans. So, Cheryl asked me if I minded if she invited her to join us.
After struggling for seconds with the decision of having dinner with two beautiful (OK...Hot) women, I finally agreed. I made that sacrifice for my wife.
You can see by the photo, however, how truly miserable I was all evening.
All kidding aside, I want to wish all of you a very prosperous 2008.
OK. So they are not ventriloquist "figures." But still fine figures indeed.
My wife's (Cheryl, the blonde on the right) birthday is on New Year's Eve. Every year we go out to a really nice restaurant to celebrate.
This year, her best friend Cecily did not have any dinner plans. So, Cheryl asked me if I minded if she invited her to join us.
After struggling for seconds with the decision of having dinner with two beautiful (OK...Hot) women, I finally agreed. I made that sacrifice for my wife.
You can see by the photo, however, how truly miserable I was all evening.
All kidding aside, I want to wish all of you a very prosperous 2008.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Ventriloquisms Future-Good or Bad?
This has been a really great year for ventriloquism.
When Iwas a kid, ventriloquism (and magic) were both very popular. Lots of kids in those days wanted to be a ventriloquist. The Christmas toy catalogues back then always had vent puppets for sale. The first two vent dolls I ever had were from Santa, who I guess got a lot of his toys from Sears and JC Penny.
Vents were on TV a lot. Jimmy Nelson, Paul Winchell, Willie Tyler, even Edgar Bergen appeared on shows like The Tonight Show.
It was a fun time.
Then, as things always do, younger kids began to find other hobbies to occupy their time as technologies in toys began to advance.
Vent began to lose it's appeal as electronic games got more and more sophisticated in the 1970's and 1980's. Remember the Atari game system? Software based games became more and more popular. Then computers, Nintendo, X-Box, Game Cube, DS, and now Wii has captured the imagination and time of todays youth.
Ventriloquism seemed to be getting weaker and weaker as an option that young people would be interested in.
Sure, there is/was still a core of vents from my era and some professional ventriloquists. There has been a convention in Kentucky almost every year for over 30 years.
But the mainstream population was not aware of the world of ventriloquism any longer.
Ventriloquism was something "Kids used to do back in the old days."
But now, I think vent has made a big comeback over the past two years.
Vent is alive and strong. Why? There are many reasons:
Jeff Dunham has really brought ventriloquism back into the public eye in a big way. His two Comedy Central specials that broke all viewing records showed the world that when used the right way as a stand-up comedy vehicle, and not just as a novelty bit, people will take notice.
Jeff's two DVD's, "Arguing with Myself" and "Spark of Insanity" have been huge, and I mean huge runaway best sellers on DVD.
Right now, several months after Jeff's "Spark of Insanity" DVD was released, it is still #1 in comedy DVD sales on amazon.com and an unbelievable #10 in ALL DVD's!
I have friends and acquaintances come up to me and ask if I've heard of this great comedian named Jeff Dunham.
I used to tell people about Jeff all of the time and people would say, "who?"
Just the other day my mailman picked up some packages I was sending out and saw my "ventriloquism101.com" return address on my packages. He asked if I'd ever heard of Jeff and when I said yes, he told me he had watched his DVD at least 10 times.
Jeff's current "Spark of Insanity" tour has been selling out large venue theaters and auditoriums months in advanced. In many cases he has added second sell-out shows in the cities so more people can attend his performances.
I saw Jeff here in Indianapolis in November and I felt like I was at a rock concert. People in the audience were reciting Jeff's entire routine in unison as he performed. I kept waiting for people to raise a lighter in the air and wave them back and forth.
David Letterman's two Ventriloquist Weeks were smash hits, as he showcased a different ventriloquist each night.
Jay Johnson (of the "Soap" TV show) had his one man ventriloquism show on Broadway,
There are lots of full time pro vents working all around the country-Dan Horn, Todd Oliver, Ken Groves, Mark Wade, Tom Ladshaw, Jerry Layne, Pete Michaels and many more. You may not recognize all of their names, but they are all making a very good living as vents.
And, of course, who would have ever imagined that a ventriloquist would win $1 million on the hit television show "America's Got Talent?" Well, that's exactly what Terry Fator did.
My Ventriloquism 101 website had it's best year ever in sales. And, the overwhelming number of my courses were purchased for young kids. That's great news.
What does all of this mean to you? It means this is the time to be a part of the ride. There has never been a better time in the last 30 years to be a part of this renewed interest in ventriloquism.
Let me warn you, though. People are once again used to seeing really good and very entertaining ventriloquists. Please don't hurt the art by performing if, quite frankly, you shouldn't be.
You should have good technique, good manipulation skills, are comfortable on stage, and most importantly be funny and entertaining.
There are all kinds of resources on my website to help you achieve those goals.
Lets keep the tide of ventriloquism rising. This is a great time to be a vent and I'm loving every minute of it.
Have a Merry Christmas everyone, and an amazing 2008 with ventriloquism.
When Iwas a kid, ventriloquism (and magic) were both very popular. Lots of kids in those days wanted to be a ventriloquist. The Christmas toy catalogues back then always had vent puppets for sale. The first two vent dolls I ever had were from Santa, who I guess got a lot of his toys from Sears and JC Penny.
Vents were on TV a lot. Jimmy Nelson, Paul Winchell, Willie Tyler, even Edgar Bergen appeared on shows like The Tonight Show.
It was a fun time.
Then, as things always do, younger kids began to find other hobbies to occupy their time as technologies in toys began to advance.
Vent began to lose it's appeal as electronic games got more and more sophisticated in the 1970's and 1980's. Remember the Atari game system? Software based games became more and more popular. Then computers, Nintendo, X-Box, Game Cube, DS, and now Wii has captured the imagination and time of todays youth.
Ventriloquism seemed to be getting weaker and weaker as an option that young people would be interested in.
Sure, there is/was still a core of vents from my era and some professional ventriloquists. There has been a convention in Kentucky almost every year for over 30 years.
But the mainstream population was not aware of the world of ventriloquism any longer.
Ventriloquism was something "Kids used to do back in the old days."
But now, I think vent has made a big comeback over the past two years.
Vent is alive and strong. Why? There are many reasons:
Jeff Dunham has really brought ventriloquism back into the public eye in a big way. His two Comedy Central specials that broke all viewing records showed the world that when used the right way as a stand-up comedy vehicle, and not just as a novelty bit, people will take notice.
Jeff's two DVD's, "Arguing with Myself" and "Spark of Insanity" have been huge, and I mean huge runaway best sellers on DVD.
Right now, several months after Jeff's "Spark of Insanity" DVD was released, it is still #1 in comedy DVD sales on amazon.com and an unbelievable #10 in ALL DVD's!
I have friends and acquaintances come up to me and ask if I've heard of this great comedian named Jeff Dunham.
I used to tell people about Jeff all of the time and people would say, "who?"
Just the other day my mailman picked up some packages I was sending out and saw my "ventriloquism101.com" return address on my packages. He asked if I'd ever heard of Jeff and when I said yes, he told me he had watched his DVD at least 10 times.
Jeff's current "Spark of Insanity" tour has been selling out large venue theaters and auditoriums months in advanced. In many cases he has added second sell-out shows in the cities so more people can attend his performances.
I saw Jeff here in Indianapolis in November and I felt like I was at a rock concert. People in the audience were reciting Jeff's entire routine in unison as he performed. I kept waiting for people to raise a lighter in the air and wave them back and forth.
David Letterman's two Ventriloquist Weeks were smash hits, as he showcased a different ventriloquist each night.
Jay Johnson (of the "Soap" TV show) had his one man ventriloquism show on Broadway,
There are lots of full time pro vents working all around the country-Dan Horn, Todd Oliver, Ken Groves, Mark Wade, Tom Ladshaw, Jerry Layne, Pete Michaels and many more. You may not recognize all of their names, but they are all making a very good living as vents.
And, of course, who would have ever imagined that a ventriloquist would win $1 million on the hit television show "America's Got Talent?" Well, that's exactly what Terry Fator did.
My Ventriloquism 101 website had it's best year ever in sales. And, the overwhelming number of my courses were purchased for young kids. That's great news.
What does all of this mean to you? It means this is the time to be a part of the ride. There has never been a better time in the last 30 years to be a part of this renewed interest in ventriloquism.
Let me warn you, though. People are once again used to seeing really good and very entertaining ventriloquists. Please don't hurt the art by performing if, quite frankly, you shouldn't be.
You should have good technique, good manipulation skills, are comfortable on stage, and most importantly be funny and entertaining.
There are all kinds of resources on my website to help you achieve those goals.
Lets keep the tide of ventriloquism rising. This is a great time to be a vent and I'm loving every minute of it.
Have a Merry Christmas everyone, and an amazing 2008 with ventriloquism.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Pavlov's Puppets - Any Good?
Lee and Dr. Noah Tall
Click photo for a larger view
I just received a new puppet Saturday. It's made by a fairly new company selling in the U.S. called Pavlov's Puppets.
They are made by hand in the Czech Republic by Ivan and Maria Pavlov.
The puppet I received is an Einstein character that is listed in their website catalog as "Einstain."
I call him Dr. Noah Tall. Think about it.
I have had an idea for this type of character for a long time, so I knew right away I wanted this puppet when I saw it.
The quality is excellent. The puppets from Pavlov's are all hand made. Sculpted in foam and covered with a fleece material and then hand painted.
They are very lightweight and easy to use, There is a unique "knob" inside the head above the upper mouth that your hand rests comfortably on, and an elastic strap inside on the lower mouth to slip your thumb into. This gives the performer a very solid hold on the puppet and makes the mouth a joy to work.
As many of you know, I'm 6' 9" tall and have fairly large hands. My hand fits easily and comfortably into the puppet.
They make a large variety of characters - people, birds, animals.
I'm from the old school and have generally always performed with hard figures. I'm sure I've changed my mind to a degree now and will also be using this very nice Pavlov's soft puppet in my show from now on.
These are professional puppets all the way, and priced extremely competitively for a puppet of this quality.
Visit their website at
http://www.pavlovspuppets.com/
Monday, September 17, 2007
2007 Vent Haven ConVENTion Photos
Just a quick entry today...
Jeff Dunham and Lee
I have posted a lot of photos of this year's Vent Haven International Ventriloquists ConVENTion on my website. It was one of the best conventions ever. Click here:
http://www.ventriloquism101.com/gallery/venthaven2007.htm
to re-live some memories if you were there. Or, to see what you missed if you didn't attend this year.
Jeff Dunham and Lee
I have posted a lot of photos of this year's Vent Haven International Ventriloquists ConVENTion on my website. It was one of the best conventions ever. Click here:
http://www.ventriloquism101.com/gallery/venthaven2007.htm
to re-live some memories if you were there. Or, to see what you missed if you didn't attend this year.
Monday, July 30, 2007
The Jeff Dunham Show - Newport, KY
My wife, Cheryl and I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Jeff's show last evening. Wow. What a great time. We arrived at the Newport on the Levee complex around 5pm and the show was scheduled for 7pm.
This sort of outdoor mall complex, right along the Ohio river, is beautiful. You can see the downtown Cincinnati skyline from the levee walkway. The Funny Bone Comedy Club is in the complex.
We were joined for dinner by my good friend Tom Ladshaw, Vent Haven Museum Curator Lisa Sweasy and Jeff. We ate at an Italian restaurant called The Brio Tuscan Grill. Great food and a really nice chance to visit.
We then headed on over to the show and we had really excellent seats. The Sunday 7pm show was actually a sell out and Jeff had added an earlier 4pm matinee show.
What was also great (and generally unheard of), was that Jeff had requested the club be non-smoking for his appearances all week (sorry, smokers...don't mean to offend anyone).
Jeff's set was extremely funny as always.
He opened with about 10 minutes of stand-up with no puppets. My wife was in tears with laughter as Jeff talked about family, his cars, his dogs...everyday stuff that people related to, which made this kind of material a huge hit as a warm up.
What was even greater was that almost 90% of his act last night was new material. I have followed Jeff's career for over 25 years and have seen his shows many, many times. I always love seeing the "classic" bits he does, but this new material was a riot. There were a couple of times during the show where Jeff got sidetracked in his planned routine and ended up ad-libbing several MINUTES of off the cuff material. Man, what a pro. The audience was on the floor.
Lisa Sweasy has a very unique laugh and since we were sitting just a few rows back from the stage, I think Jeff heard her laughing specifically. They are such good friends, that it only made Jeff crack up and continue with his on-the-fly routine, as he was having so much fun and trying to contain his genuine laughter as well. I truly believe he had no idea what he (or his characters) were going to say next. It is really easy to see that Jeff loves what he does and has honed his skill of improvisational comedy from years of performing and working at it.
Jeff did a long set with Walter (funnier than ever), his Achmed (spelled "A-phlem-med") the Dead Terrorist (which I personally thought was the funniest character) and closed the show with Peanut and Jose. Again, nearly all new material.
Jeff received a well deserved standing ovation.
After the show we all met up again at a little Irish pub (that served some killer deserts) and visited some more. Jeff was trying to remember and make note of some of the ad lib stuff he had just performed so he could possibly add it to his routine.
Here's a photo of us at the pub after the show
(click on it for a larger view)
Tom, Lee, Jeff, Cheryl and Lisa
Just a great night. Let me say that Jeff is one of the nicest and most genuine comedians in the business. Most people of his 'stature' in the entertainment business are generally not very approachable. I have always found Jeff to be more than willing to take time to talk not only about what is going on in his world, but he also takes an interest in what you have to say.
So, feel free to give Jeff a call at any time. His cell phone number is .....yeah, right.
But seriously, thanks so much to Jeff, Tom and Lisa for such an enjoyable evening.
And, don't forget, Jeff has a brand new 90 minute prime time Comedy Central special which airs on September 23rd.
And his brand new DVD "Spark of Insanity" will be released on September 18th. You can pre-order it right now at amazon.com.
The link above will take you right to his DVD page on amazon.
Oh, and his first DVD "Arguing With Myself" has sold over 500,000 copies. In the world of DVD's, 100,000 is considered a smash and a platinum seller. Think of it. 100,000 is platinum. Jeff has sold over a half million copies of his DVD. Astounding.
This sort of outdoor mall complex, right along the Ohio river, is beautiful. You can see the downtown Cincinnati skyline from the levee walkway. The Funny Bone Comedy Club is in the complex.
We were joined for dinner by my good friend Tom Ladshaw, Vent Haven Museum Curator Lisa Sweasy and Jeff. We ate at an Italian restaurant called The Brio Tuscan Grill. Great food and a really nice chance to visit.
We then headed on over to the show and we had really excellent seats. The Sunday 7pm show was actually a sell out and Jeff had added an earlier 4pm matinee show.
What was also great (and generally unheard of), was that Jeff had requested the club be non-smoking for his appearances all week (sorry, smokers...don't mean to offend anyone).
Jeff's set was extremely funny as always.
He opened with about 10 minutes of stand-up with no puppets. My wife was in tears with laughter as Jeff talked about family, his cars, his dogs...everyday stuff that people related to, which made this kind of material a huge hit as a warm up.
What was even greater was that almost 90% of his act last night was new material. I have followed Jeff's career for over 25 years and have seen his shows many, many times. I always love seeing the "classic" bits he does, but this new material was a riot. There were a couple of times during the show where Jeff got sidetracked in his planned routine and ended up ad-libbing several MINUTES of off the cuff material. Man, what a pro. The audience was on the floor.
Lisa Sweasy has a very unique laugh and since we were sitting just a few rows back from the stage, I think Jeff heard her laughing specifically. They are such good friends, that it only made Jeff crack up and continue with his on-the-fly routine, as he was having so much fun and trying to contain his genuine laughter as well. I truly believe he had no idea what he (or his characters) were going to say next. It is really easy to see that Jeff loves what he does and has honed his skill of improvisational comedy from years of performing and working at it.
Jeff did a long set with Walter (funnier than ever), his Achmed (spelled "A-phlem-med") the Dead Terrorist (which I personally thought was the funniest character) and closed the show with Peanut and Jose. Again, nearly all new material.
Jeff received a well deserved standing ovation.
After the show we all met up again at a little Irish pub (that served some killer deserts) and visited some more. Jeff was trying to remember and make note of some of the ad lib stuff he had just performed so he could possibly add it to his routine.
Here's a photo of us at the pub after the show
(click on it for a larger view)
Tom, Lee, Jeff, Cheryl and Lisa
Just a great night. Let me say that Jeff is one of the nicest and most genuine comedians in the business. Most people of his 'stature' in the entertainment business are generally not very approachable. I have always found Jeff to be more than willing to take time to talk not only about what is going on in his world, but he also takes an interest in what you have to say.
So, feel free to give Jeff a call at any time. His cell phone number is .....yeah, right.
But seriously, thanks so much to Jeff, Tom and Lisa for such an enjoyable evening.
And, don't forget, Jeff has a brand new 90 minute prime time Comedy Central special which airs on September 23rd.
And his brand new DVD "Spark of Insanity" will be released on September 18th. You can pre-order it right now at amazon.com.
The link above will take you right to his DVD page on amazon.
Oh, and his first DVD "Arguing With Myself" has sold over 500,000 copies. In the world of DVD's, 100,000 is considered a smash and a platinum seller. Think of it. 100,000 is platinum. Jeff has sold over a half million copies of his DVD. Astounding.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Vent Haven Bound!
Well, tomorrow I'm off to the annual Vent Haven International Ventriloquist Convention. I've been attending since 1981. I'm really looking forward to seeing all of my vent comrades. I'll be posting a ton of pictures and a review of the convention upon my return.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Limited 1948 Edition Re-Production of the Famous Fred Maher Ventriloquist Course
Recognize the photo? It's Fred Maher and Skinney Dugan. Mr. Maher created the now famous Maher ventriloquism home study course.
Fred and his wife, Madeleine, began Maher Studios in Detroit, Michigan in 1934.
As a kid, I remember seeing the little classified ad in the back of 'Popular Mechanics' magazine for their course. It ran in the magazine for decades.
Fred passed away unexpectedly in 1952, and Madeleine continued the business until she sold Maher Studios to Clinton Detweiler in 1969.
The original course has been out of print for over 30 years (Clinton released his own revised version of the course in 1975).
But recently, Clinton re-released a very limited number of copies of this original course.
My copy of the 1948 Maher course arrived yesterday. What a great package. Clinton did a superb job putting this together.
As I began flipping through the pages, all of my old memories of the course began to come back. I recognized a lot of the artwork, and even remember some of the verbiage used in the text.
I never took the whole course when I first signed up in the mid 1960's. I was on the payment plan, I think, and I guess I couldn't save up the $5 a month needed to get the next set of lessons. I believe I only made it about half way through the original course.
This course had so much information in it. It certainly was the best on the market - even then.
All of the bonuses (the photos, flyers, letters, forms, etc) are a great addition. It's like the whole history of the Fred Maher course (and how it was marketed) in a 3 ring binder.
I was also pleased that the photo copies of the original pages came out so well. It's going to be a real pleasure reading the entire course again.
The $75 price tag was a very small investment for this historical and still extremely useful information.
Everyone interested in ventriloquism should have a copy of this in their library. But, I know that won't happen. as Clinton is only producing a limited number of these for sale.
I feel lucky to be one of the few to get a copy.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Vent Haven Convention Registration Now Available!
You can now get the registration form for the longest running and best ventriloquist convention in the world - The Vent Haven 2007 Convention - on line!
The dates this year are July 18-21, 2007 at the Drawbridge Inn and Convention Center in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky. (which is just a few minutes away from Cincinnati, Ohio).
The convention has been an annual event for over 30 years.
I attended my first one in 1981. It's a great place to go to learn more about this great art form - through the many lectures and workshops given by top professionals in the business.
There are 2 dealers rooms (I'll have a table again this year) full of every imaginable ventriloquism item you could ever want...from dummies, to books and videos, collectibles and everything in between.
There are also free tours to the largest ventriloquist dummy and memorabilia museum in the world - The Vent Haven Museum.
Plus, you'll make a ton of new friends and meet the "stars" from the world of ventriloquism in person.
If you've never been to a Vent Haven convention, you just have to attend! You can find the registration form here:
www.venthavenmuseum.net/convention/register07.html
Or you can get more information at the Vent Haven website:
http://www.venthaven.com/
Hope to see you there this summer.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Ventriloquist Week 2 on David Letterman
With the huge success of the first "Ventriloquist Week" last fall (which probably started out as a joke until the ratings came in), David Letterman is having a second ventriloquist week the week of February 12-16.
Here's the lineup:
Monday - Kevin Johnson
Tuesday - Dan Horn
Wednesday - Otto and George
Thursday - Jim Barber
Friday - Brad Cummings
Should be another great week of ventriloquism on network television! Be sure to tune in.
Here's the lineup:
Monday - Kevin Johnson
Tuesday - Dan Horn
Wednesday - Otto and George
Thursday - Jim Barber
Friday - Brad Cummings
Should be another great week of ventriloquism on network television! Be sure to tune in.
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