Fun With Ventriloquism - Paperback

by Alexander Rensselaer (Author)

How do you speak without moving your lips? Alexander Van Rensselaer answers that in sixty brisk pages of breathing drills, voice exercises, and dialogue for a dummy.

Fun With Ventriloquism belongs to Rensselaer's long-running Fun With series of hobby manuals, which also taught readers card tricks, string figures, and party stunts. He begins where the physiology does, with what actually makes a voice, then works through breath control, the ventriloquial voice, mimicry, near and distant sounds, and the labials - the p, b, and m that give an untrained performer away.

The second half turns to the figure itself: choosing one, giving it a personality, drawing the audience's attention where you want it, and building a first dummy at home. It closes with suggestions for dialogue, which is where most beginners discover that the voice was the easy part.

This edition features:

• Graded exercises in breathing, voice production, mimicry, and near and distant sound effects
• A clear treatment of the labials, the sounds that most often betray an untrained ventriloquist
• Practical chapters on choosing a figure, building one at home, and giving it a character
• Suggestions for dialogue, so that a new performer has material ready for a first audience