A Dummy and I - Fantastic Scripts for Ventriloquists and Puppeteers

Anon

Description

Mastered the art of throwing your voice but not sure what to say? This book contains a wealth of ideas for ventriloquism sketches. Thoroughly recommended reading for the tongue-tied ventriloquist. Containing black and white drawings of a selection of dummies. This book contains classic material dating back to the 1900s and before. The content has been carefully selected for its interest and relevance to a modern audience.

Sujets

• Loisirs
• Artisanat
• Magic
• Games
• Activities

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 06 mai 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781473394186
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

A Dummy and I
Fantastic Scripts for Ventriloquists and Puppeteers
Copyright 2013 Read Books Ltd. This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
CONTENTS
Ventriloquism
VENTRILOQUIAL DIALOGUE
DIALOGUE WITH OLD MAN AND OLD LADY
DIALOGUE WITH BOY KNEE FIGURE
SECOND DIALOGUE WITH BOY KNEE FIGURE
THIRD DIALOGUE WITH BOY KNEE FIGURE
DIALOGUE WITH BOY IN BOX OR ON KNEE AND LITTLE GIRL
DIALOGUE WITH OLD WOMAN
DIALOGUE WITH A COSTER KNEE FIGURE
EN ROUTE TO BOULOGNE.
DIALOGUE FOR A PIERROT FIGURE
DIALOGUE WITH JARGE SCROGGINS
DIALOGUE WITH ALLY SLOPER
Ventriloquism
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) changes his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered dummy . The act of ventriloquism is ventriloquizing, and the ability to do so is commonly called in English, the talent to throw one s voice.
Originally, ventriloquism was a religious practice. The name comes from the Latin to speak from the stomach , i.e. venter (belly) and loqui (speak). The Greeks called this gastromancy (Greek: ). The noises produced by the stomach were thought to be the voices of the dead, who took up residence in the stomach of the ventriloquist. The ventriloquist would then interpret the sounds, as they were thought to be able to speak to the dead, as well as foretell the future. One of the earliest recorded group of prophets to utilise this technique was the Pythia, the priestess at the temple of Apollo in Delphi, who acted as the conduit for the Delphic Oracle. In the Middle Ages, such techniques were thought to be similar to witchcraft. As Spiritualism led to stage magic and escapology, so ventriloquism became more of a performance art as, starting around the nineteenth century, it shed its mystical trappings.
The shift from ventriloquism as a manifestation of spiritual forces, toward ventriloquism as entertainment happened in the eighteenth century at the travelling fairs and market towns. The earliest recorded ventriloquists date back to 1753 in England, where Sir John Parnell is depicted in an engraving of William Hogarth, speaking via his hand. In 1757, the Austrian Baron de Mengen implemented a small doll into his performance. By the late eighteenth century, ventriloquist performances were an established form of entertainment in England, although most performers threw their voice to make it appear that it emanated from far away, rather than the modern method of using a puppet. A well known ventriloquist of the period, Joseph Askins, who performed at the Sadler s Wells Theatre in London in the 1790s, advertised his act as curious ad libitum dialogues between himself and his invisible familiar, Little Tommy.
The entertainment came of age during the era of the music hall in the UK and vaudeville in the US. George Sutton began to incorporate a puppet act into his routine at Nottingham in the 1830s, but it is Fred Russel who is regarded as the father of modern ventriloquism. In 1886, he was offered a professional engagement at the Palace Theatre in London and took up his stage career permanently. His act, based on the cheeky-boy dummy Coster Joe that would sit in his lap and engage in a dialogue with him, was highly influential for the entertainment format and was adopted by the next generation of performers.
This arrangement was taken forward by Arthur Prince in the UK, with his dummy Sailor Jim, who became one of the highest paid entertainers on the music hall circuit. In America, the genre was moved on by Frank Byron Jr. and Edgar Bergen, who popularised the idea of the comedic ventriloquist. Bergen, together with his favourite figure, Charlie McCarthy, hosted a radio program that was broadcast from 1937 to 1956.
Ventriloquism s popularity waned for a while, probably because of modern media s electronic ability to convey the illusion of voice, the natural special effect that is the heart of ventriloquism. A number of modern ventriloquists have developed a following though, as the public taste for live comedy grows. In 2001, Angelique Mon t performed on Theatre Row, with her one-woman show Multiple Me (written by Edgar Chisholm) where she portrayed several personalities using multiple dummies to display the shifts. In 2007, Zillah Totte won the first season of Sweden s Got Talent and became one of Sweden s most popular family/children entertainers. The art of ventriloquism, it would seem, is still as fresh and as loud today, as it has been in the past.
VENTRILOQUIAL DIALOGUE
T AKEN FROM MY E NTERTAINMENT A C URE FOR THE B LUES .
Figures to represent the following characters:-
J OHN B ULL ,
C OUSIN J ONATHAN ,
A LGY ( a dude ),
W IDOW B IDDY O B LARNEY .
(These figures can be purchased from Messrs. A. W Gamage, Ltd., Holborn, London.)
J OHN B ULL and J ONATHAN occupy the centre, Ventriloquist standing behind them .
Vent . Ladies and Gentlemen,-In introducing my ventriloquial entertainment, I feel very much like the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he works his great confidence trick on the public and brings in his Budget.
John B . His fudget?
Vent . Don t interrupt me, John. I said Budget.
John B . Well, Budget s all fudget.
Vent . Well, you ought to know, John. You pay the piper. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I was about saying that I resemble the Chancellor of the Exchequer, because--

JOHN BULL
John B . Because you re such a calculating old rascal.
Vent . Not at all. I am like the Chancellor of the Exchequer--
Algy . I say, old chappy, I know why you are like the Chancellor of the Exchequer; because you re so jolly handy with other people s cash, doncherknow!
Vent . Hold your tongue, Algy.
Algy . I came here to speak in the--
Vent . Keep quiet, and you shall have a chance of speaking presently.
Algy . Oh, thanks awfully.
Vent . I feel I am somewhat like the Chancellor of the Exchequer because it is upon a nice man--
Biddy . Shure it s yourself that s a nice man enthoirely.
Vent . Thank you, Biddy. I say I am like the Chancellor of the Exchequer because it is upon a nice man ipulation of my figures that I re ly .
Jonathan . Guess you re lying-and re lying-about us every night.
Vent . Now, any Chancellor of the Exchequer can tell you that good, reliable figures speak for themselves.
Algy . When they get a chance. I came here--
Vent . Don t interrupt me, and you shall speak presently.
Algy . Oh, thanks awfully.
Vent . Now to introduce my friends. This good old John--
Biddy . Manners, yer blackguard. Ladies first.
Vent . I beg your pardon, Biddy. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Widow Biddy O Blarney, from county Cork.
Jonathan . Well, I wish you d hurry up and draw.
Vent . Draw what?-the Widow?

COUSIN JONATHAN
Jonathan . No, the cork!
Vent . This is Cousin Jonathan from America, with a good old-fashioned five-dollar thirst. I am sure I need not introduce the young gentleman on my right, for he s very well known is Algy --
Algy . Oh, thanks awfully. I came here--
Jonathan . Shut up, eyeglass. Say, mister, you haven t introduced your fat friend yet.
Vent . A thousand pardons. Here we have old John Bull left in quite a state of isolation.
Jonathan . But he ain t going to be isolated by Uncle Sam any more, and don t you forget it.
John B . Thank you, Jonathan. We are beginning to understand one another at last.
Jonathan . Guess we ought never to have fallen out.
Biddy . Shure no, an isn t blood thicker than water?
Algy . I say, what does she know about water unless it s diluted with whisky?
Biddy . If I get near yer, young man, I ll pull the nose out of yer features.
Vent . Algy, will you hold your tongue? I ll give you an opportunity of speaking directly.
Algy . Oh, thanks awfully.
Vent . Having introduced my friends, I am going to ask a conundrum: Why are Cousin Jonathan and John Bull as alike as a couple of p s ?
Algy . I know. Because they are a couple of jays.
Jonathan . Algy, you re an ass.
Algy . Oh, thanks awfully.
Vent . No, sir; it is because they are as much alike as the two p s in power and pluck can make them.

ALGY
Jonathan . Say, mister, that s a sentiment that we ought not to let slide without rinsing.
John B . Bring on the gargle, and I ll give you a toast: The Anglo-Saxon Alliance.
Jonathan . That s right, John. You and I together could just remodel the two hemispheres. Guess we are keeping our two other eyes on the little affair in the East. When it s over where shall we come in?
Biddy . Shure, I know, where Tim Finnigan s pig did at O Flannagan s wake.
Vent . And where did the pig come in, Biddy?
Biddy . Shure, through the open door!
Vent . We all know about that open door and the crowding of the European Concert.
Jonathan . Guess if you and I moved them on, John, they d have to play in the next street.
Vent . And to what tune would you move on the European Concert ?
Jonathan . Rule Britannia.
John B . And Yankee Doodle.
Duet , J OHN B ULL and C OUSIN J ONATHAN .
Tune, Yankee Doodle.
John B .
The Bird o Freedom s on the soar,

In fighting he can tan yer;

He s got a fleet-with one fleet more
Jonathan .
We d give em Rule Britannia.
Jonathan .