Bringing Poetry Into Ventriloquism

       As a thespian, I am deeply enthralled to experiement with all types of dialogue. Using poetry was crucial when learning about Shakespeare's works during my undergrad years. I think performers of all mediums should experiment with it. As a ventriloquism coach, I encourage all my students to work with it as well. On Outschool, my 4 week course is titled "You're No Dummy: Ventriloquism For Beginners." The first two weeks are dedicated to technique and the last two are dedicated to building substance within your character. Their final project is to present two poems and work them into their own little vent acts. They have always had a ton of fun and they've inspired me as well. For practice, I've assigned them the poem "Batty" by Shel Silverstein. It's something short and humorous and bound to enhance those creative juices. Here is the example that I presented to them. I call this piece "Shelled."