Here's the routine I performed in the Senior Open Mic at the recent ConVENTion. I hope you get a few laughs.

Bob

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hULHHzLap1A

Bob Excellent performance, I am going to the convention for the first time next year and you have set the bar very high. Thanks.

Chuck

Very good! Great figure, don't quite remember when I've ever head someone say Guvnor so often, at least not since the 1940s. I'm sure you could pick holes in my versions of American accents too.

Thanks, Colin. You're right about "Guvnor." It tends to slip out more than I'd like. Any other accent tips would be most appreciated.

Bob

Wow! Now I know why everyone was talking about your bit - Great!

Excellent job, Bob. I really enjoyed that. Great figure, character, and funny material. I also need to thank the late, great Mr. Weston. I used that joke a lot in the past!

As I have mentioned to you, Bob, if there is a ranking system for open mic, you would have ranked one of the top 3.

This is great. I love the red nose. So unexpected.

Now you know why Dr. Bob went from being a virtual unknown performer at the ConVENTion to being talked about all through the halls.
If he would only quit that silly medical profession, the Vent world would be better off having him as a full time performer - of course Mrs. Baker might have a few choice comments on that idea - lol.

Steve

http://www.thedummyshoppe.com

Believe me, Steve, she already has!

Thanks!

Bob

Oh, I'm so glad you shared this. I missed your open mic spot and was really disappointed. I can now certainly see what all the fuss was about - brilliant work. I particularly liked your K joke.

Great job, Bob! Congratulations!

So glad I got to see this live. Just as funny the second time around as well.
Great job.

Troy

Bob, it was tops all the way!!!!!!

Thank you all very, very much. I am deeply appreciative of your kind words.

B

OUTSTANDING!! Loved the Nelson vent figure. You are EXTREMELY TALENTED!!!

OUTSTANDING!! Loved the Nelson vent figure. You are EXTREMELY TALENTED!!!

Bob, great work, wonderful lip control, splendid material. You kept the figure alive at all times. Impressive quick switches back and forth between you and the figure.

I used to teach dialects and, as Colin could tell you, an actual Cockney accent would be near impossible for a lot of Americans to understand. What you use is a stage Cockney, and a darn good one, too. Did you just pick that up or study for it? The mark of a good stage dialect is that it sounds like it is "at home" in the speaker's mouth...and it certainly was in your case. It seemed that your volume dropped a bit when your figure spoke, but that could just as easily have been my speaker here, which is built into the screen frame. High high high marks all around!

-Philip

Thanks, Philip.

I used Paul Meier Dialect Services to learn the Cockney accent. For inspiration I had Stanley Holloway (Alfred P. Doolittle in "My Fair Lady), the English comic Mickey Flanagan, and Ray Alan's Lord Charles (inebriated, though not Cockney). You are right about the strength of the accent. The first few times I performed with him audiences missed lines. So I scaled back on the accent and improved his enunciation. I cheated a little and removed the famous Cockney "glottal stop" from the word "sobriety" so that it could be understood.

At any rate, thanks for your comments. They are very much appreciated.

Bob

Great performance! You have a very developed character and have some really clever jokes in there. The red nose and God bit is particularly effective. Very fun to watch.