Slow and Smooth

My Good friend Chris Shing has always been known to use this phrase in relation to coin magic. To see Chris perform some of his 'World Class' coin magic is to witness this term played out to it's full beauty and potential.

What is the crux of that expression though? Does it mean you have to perform everything slowly in order for it to register? No I don't think so. At the heart of the matter I think that what it really means is to perform with deliberate clarity. This usually means using pace and pace as we all know CAN involve speed.

Why am I talking about this? Well it is in relation to vent. I have been practicing the arse off a routine for the past three weeks in readiness for a performance on Monday Night. I am learning this scripts the same way that I learn acting dialogue for an audition. Every spare minute I get I go over the lines at speed and level. I act it out in it's entirely and in the case of vent I also us e the correct lip control when it's the puppet's turn to speak. Ok I can now recite this dialogue backwards in my sleep and whenevr I act it out in practice I am doing it VERY quickly. Too quickly maybe.

So how does that 'Shing' catchpharse come into all of this? Well, what I have to do now and certainly on the night, is to take what I have accomplised and channel that speed and solidity into something that is slow and smooth. I have no choice but to slow it down. Not in terms of the speed orpace ofdialogue but in terms of the gaps. The pauses. Without sacrificing the pace of the routine I must search for a way to find the MOMENTS. Discover the moments where I am not going tospeak.This will crete the artificial idea of twodifferent people. The places to BREATH. I need to (at the very least) prepare for the laughs. I need to think about the diction and above all the clarity. This clarity, as I have already said, is what I believe to be the true meaning of the phrase Slow and Smooth.

This Has To Be The Last Word

Very Young Kid . Excuse me do you have any fake, plastic, hollow thumbs?

Me. (confused) No, Sorry

Give me a break! At least he was polite.

Naming Your Puppets

Ok here's the deal. I think it's kind of lame to give your puppet characters a name thet BEGINS with the same letter as the kind of animal he/she is. E.G Leo the Lion, Charlie the Chimp, Chris the Crocodile. I know that it is a tried and tested formula but I still think it sucks arse. It shows a complete lack of imagination and above all isn't really releasing any comedy potential or for that matter any creative thinking from your audience at all.

When the audience hears you say a name like Percy the Parrot they just accept it and move on to judging you on what they are about to see. They say to themselves. "yea percy has nothing to do with a parrot, it's not funny, ergo this character isn't going to be funny..let's hate him! This ventriloquist has simply thought of the first name that begins with the same letter as the sort of animal his puppet represents...let's hat him too as he spends no time or thought on his characters at all.

So try and give your character a funny, cutesy, organic, congruent albeit alternative name like Fetch The Dog.

Leo the Lion...Give me a break.


Having said all of that I do have a character called Cuddles the Clown. This name in relation to the character however is a humorous contradiction to the chracter itself and is therefore forgivable.

Magic Monday's

Just a quick heads up to remind you all about the next magic Monday's at Dante's Restaurant, 150 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy. Monday 2nd October. Doors open and close up starts at 7pm.

The fantastic line up for October includes.

David Jones
Mark Mayer
Glenn Hamilton
Fetch The Dog

See you there...............otherwise I'm not going to show anyone my pass anymore.

Vent Practice Tips

Say hello to Fetch.


Ok I know there are like a million people out there practicing ventriloquism at the moment. That's why there are only really about 3 people in the country that do it for a living. So here are some ideas that I have found useful over these past few months in learning how to do it better. Remember that it is very nerve racking so the more you can practice on real people the better. it's like magic in that respect. It is ALWAYS going to be smooth when you practice in your bedroom. Ohh err.

# 1 Let one of your puppets read your kids a bed time story every night.

Now I have been doing this since my kids were tiny but I only just started to do it without moving my lips. Maddie and Violet have become my best and most honest critics. Up until about three weeks ago they were still saying that my lips were moving. They are now saying that my lips are not moving. I KNOW that this is not a lie to make me feel better. What reason does a 4 year old have for that.

# 2 Give your puppet a part in all of your magic tricks.

Even if this is a s simple as your puppet coming out and saying the magic words. I have a routine with a Peeper Eye Puppet and I am currently using him to come out and breathe some magic on to the trick. befopre this I do a few lines from the set routine. I am doing this at every opportunity in The Store which means I am completely comfortable with the peeper at gigs.

# 4 Watch as many ventriloquists as you can.

Even if they don't teach what they are doing you get a stack of info from just watching them. I have been looking at a lot of Jeff Dunham lately. I reckon he is about the best around right now. It is also interesting how he is also Darren Carr's favourite vent. Darren ,for those that don't know, is Australia's best ventriloquist. Wheras watching Dunham has not helped with the lip control it has given me many things to think about in terms of timing, character seperation and comedy.

# 5 Take some acting, dialect and voice classes. I already did this many moons ago when I was studying to be an actor. Learn how to use breath control

# 6 Get a PA system. It's probably not going to work if your voice isn't amplified. I use a radio head set system.

# 7 Learn how to write funny material and then learn how to remeber it then learn how to say it as two different people......quickly.

Good luck. remember that vent is about 100 times harder than you think it is going to be. It's like being two stand up comedians at the same time.

BTW if you would like to see Fetch in action I suggest you come along to Magic Monday's a week on Monday. Tickets can be reserved by calling Dante's Restaurant on 9417 2468. they can also be purchased at The Magic Store by popping in or calling 9682 0153.

I Can See Your Lips Moving

I have been away from here learning ventriloquism for the past couple of months. I am getting quite good at it to be honest. The most importrant thing is that I am FULLY and SICKLY into it. I HAVE been for years and did it as a kid all the time. Recently though I decided I was going to indulge all of my comedy and acting skills and learn how to do it on a more serious level. I have invested in some brilliant characters one of whom (Cuddles The Clown) had his debut this week at Monday Magic here in Melbourne.


I admit that the initial idea was to add something very special to my kids shows but I can see this expanding into other areas. Magic Monday to name but one

The lips are pretty good right now and it does come naturally with practice. Loads of people keep telling me it doesn't matter if the lips move and I politely agree. Deep down though I know that it does. It's the msot important thing! Anyone who really thinks that it doesn't mater are either saying it becasue THEY can't do it (like when bad card guys say the pass isn't important) just don't care about it enough to think about the psychology. Moving your lips during vent is like doing the cups and balls without the loads. A recent poll on a vent forumactually polled this question and the first option of "Very Important" came out first on 89 percent.