Ventriloquism is the ancient art of making
your voice sound like it's coming from somewhere else. It was originally used
by prophets in Ancient Greece who claimed the voices were actually those of the
gods, fooling the devout into parting with their hard-earned cash in exchange
for communicating with the denizens of Mt. Olympus.
Of course, these days it's not so serious.
No-one outside of a horror movie (or book, or TV show, or comic... they seem to
get everywhere) actually thinks that the many varied voices of a great
ventriloquist are coming from anywhere other than the vocal cords of the
talented performer (or a less talented performer, if they're doing the old
'gottle o' geer/Alas, poor Yorick' routine, which I personally feel really
livens up the last act of Hamlet). And, rather than throwing their
voices into the void, a ventriloquist these days usually relies on a
ventriloquist dummy to earn their living, something the Ventriloquist Dummy
Union is furious about. Before dummies, performers would 'talk with their
hands' (as the practice started when it was reborn in the 17th
Century) but now even amateurs can get the familiar modern ventriloquist dummy
of today, complete with moving eyes and other facial features, to entertain
their friends and families.
Since the days of vaudeville and music hall
acts, ventriloquist dummies are ubiquitous – you certainly don't see a
ventriloquist without one! Surprisingly, throughout the 20th century
many famous ventriloquists (and their dummies) plied their trade successfully
on radio shows and even in comic strips, where you'd imagine the essential
chemistry between performer and puppet would be hidden completely. However,
audiences loved the wit and camaraderie of man and mannequin even when they
couldn't see the performer live in action, demonstrating that the art of
ventriloquism goes beyond the simple belly laughs produced at the sight of a
man with a little man on his knee (although that's funny, too).
Nowadays, though ventriloquists don't often
get to (co-)star in their own movies, you can combine the fun of ventriloquism
with a range of celebrity impressions by getting a dummy in the shape of a
famous dummy (or 'celebrities', as they're also known). It's a great way to
have clean, wholesome fun, often at your own expense, and entertain friends and
family of all ages – or the public, if you decide to hit the road with your new
little friend.
While everyone from Goosebumps to Chucky
has got in on the scary side of ventriloquist dummies (there's even a word for
it – automatonophobia), there's still plenty of humour to be derived from the
art, and most fears will be dispelled after the first few gags (unless they're really
bad). You can find plenty of helpful tips and hints for how to ventriloquise
online, including how to
produce those tricky
labial consonants
(those that
require the
use of
your lips,
like b
and p) without actually using your lips (HINT: You basically can't, you
just say other consonants very quickly. If you keep up the pace and the jokes
are good, no-one will be any the wiser. Just don't try to order a gottle of
anything).
NOTE: Keyword called
for 'ventriloquist
dummys', which
is not
the correct
spelling; I
have replaced
it with
the more
usual 'dummies'.
