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asgar Elite user 409 Posts |
Does anyone works as a strolling ventriloquist?
What are the changes when performing close-up.
Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen.
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wizardpa Inner circle The New Orleans area 1011 Posts |
I do occasionally. Where I live we have a lot of Mardi Gras Parades, and I like to stroll down the street before the parade with my various puppets, and possibly giving out my business card. I recommend getting a 5 watt portable belt PA system. I usually keep my contacts somewhat short, before moving onto the next contact. It's a great way for me to market myself, because people are set up in a spot to watch the parade, so I can move as I want too.
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Mr. Pitts Inner circle David Pitts 1058 Posts |
I think the belt PA is a good suggestion, just a few extra decibels would sure help. I've done strolling ventriloquism many times, and there are different ways to work it. At some events I have set up a short 'street performance', a little show with three sections and a total running time of about 12 minutes. If you go the street performance route, be sure to organize your show in a way that maintains control of your puppets at all times. When something comes out of the trunk, what you are using should go back in and the lid closed. This can make transitions awkward, so you should practice these details before you go out. You don't need a ton of material, because a lot of what you will be doing is interacting and improv, but you should have at least some prepared stuff. I have also done table to table shows that run maybe 7 minutes. Sometimes I have done pure strolling with my soft puppet "Frank the Wonder Dog" He'll interact for a minute then do his 'trick'. One specific suggestion is to have your head a little closer to your puppet's to help focus attention and bring people in for a more intimate kind of performance. Also, focus your attention on the puppet, and his attention on the person. Engage more than simply perform.
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Bob Baker Inner circle 1111 Posts |
Bill DeMar has a rule-of-thumb for making the vent illusion work close-up. That is that your mouth should be 1" from the puppet's mouth for every 1 foot that the spectator is from you. In other words, if a spectator is 10 feet away, your mouth should be 10" from the puppet's head.
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Neale Bacon Inner circle Burnaby BC Canada 1775 Posts |
This is a good subject, so I thought I would reactivate this thread!
I do a lot of strolling vent and I love it. There are some pros and cons. It is a great way to improve your improvisational skills. It helps you think on your feet. You can also try out new jokes because you have a new audience every few minutes. A lot of people have never seen a vent up close and they find it fascinating. Some vents will say you can't do strolling or close up because it ruins the illusion, but people are not stupid - they know whose talking! LOL The downside you ask? Number one is people wanting to grab the puppet and for some weird reason, they want to stick their hands in the puppets mouth. Not just kids either! And some parents will even tell their kids to poke the puppet or "See if he will bite you" So you really have to learn "crowd control". You will also get some kids (especially boys around 10 or 11) will follow you around. "Make him talk. Make him bite me. You are doing the talking" etc But these negatives don't happen all that much. Strolling vent is a lot of fun!
Neale Bacon and his Crazy Critters
Burnaby BC Canada's Favourite Family Ventriloquist www.baconandfriends.com |
Walden New user Eastern Oklahoma, where my fence has but 59 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-05-03 14:06, Neale Bacon wrote: Another big one is "Can I try it? Can I try it?"
Walden
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Aussie Special user Australia 623 Posts |
I love doing strolling, although I don't get the opportunity to do it that much here in Australia. My guys are always reacting to their surroundings and any silly comments from people usually results in a fairly brash response from them directly
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Joseph_Then Special user 747 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-05-03 14:06, Neale Bacon wrote: I love strolling ventriloquism too! With tons of ad-hoc situation, you'll need to think and react fast. Sometimes, I'll get 'stuck' in an area due to a sudden influx of crowd. That's where I will do my 5-8 minutes act with the puppet. Feels like basking too. Other than kids wanting to pull the puppets, I also get kids who will cry or run to their parents because they have never seen a talking puppet. My script is always: "Dude, have you watch sesame street?" |
davidakicreations New user Preston 42 Posts |
I recently performed at a nightclub festival in Preston called, Prestfest. I wondered the street interacting with people who were clubbing, which surprisingly got a very positive feedback. The one thing that's mainly different, is because it's interactions, they will say "I can see your lips moving" or visa-versa "Your really good, I can't see your lips moving!". I just say thank you and continue.
Check out my Facebook page; "Davidakicreations", to see photos of myself at Prestfest. Thank you. |
harris Inner circle Harris Deutsch 8812 Posts |
Strolling is a great time, combining set routines and improvisation.
When there is music, I also bring my marionettes. Harris aka drlaugh4u
Harris Deutsch aka dr laugh
drlaugh4u@gmail.com music, magic and marvelous toys http://magician.org/member/drlaugh4u |
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