Ventriloquism
Seriously, the top 10 reasons to hire a comedy ventriloquist? We must be joking, right? Is this the comedy? No, we are serious, these are the top ten reasons event planners should hire a comedy ventriloquist. It didn’t take us long to think of these either. After all, there are only 12 reasons to hire a comedy ventriloquist. But the top ten are all you need to decide!
The Top Ten Reasons To
Hire A Comedy Ventriloquist!
10. You need live entertainment because dead entertainment won’t cut it with your audience.
9. Your client requested a stand up comedy ventriloquist.
8. Ventriloquist comedy acts make you laugh.
7. Standup comedians lack visual engagement for larger audiences.
6. Ventriloquists are popular and in demand thanks to Comedy Central’s Jeff Dunham.
5. You want comedy entertainment for events you host.
4. You’ve never hired ventriloquist comedians before.
3. A caveman told you “ventriloquist funny”.
2. Your boss told you “ventriloquist funny”.
And the number one reason that you should hire a comedy ventriloquist for your event:
1. You want your audience to laugh!
A good comedian ventriloquist provides a unique form of live entertainment. The Muppets introduced audiences to the hip factor of puppetry. Puppets have a magnetic appeal that draws people’s attention. Add that with the stress relieving laughter of a standup comedian, and you have a winning combination.
Comedy Ventriloquist Tom Crowl travels the U.S. providing entertainment for events large and small. He personalizes programs for corporate and private clients. The moment his characters recognize people in your audience, the funny flies through the roof.
As a professional comedian ventriloquist, Crowl also teaches others the art of ventriloquism. His on-line course Learn-Ventriloquism has helped hundreds learn the skill. Some have even gone on to entertain audiences with their own blend of ventriloquist comedy.
When your event requires fun, give Tom a call. If he is not the right comedy ventriloquist for your event, he is happy to make recommendations. A co-founder of the International Ventriloquist Society, Tom is friends with many top ventriloquists.
Contact Tom now by clicking here or calling (410) 596-4127. We look forward to helping you with your live entertainment needs.
Ventriloquism
Are you tasked with hiring entertainment for events?
Choosing an entertainment company will be one of the most important choices you make when organizing your corporate event. Why? When any person attends an event the two things they remember are the food and the live entertainment. This is why it is extremely important that you get it right. You could hire a stand up comedian or even a ventriloquist, but if their act is not very good, it is going to ruin the whole event. We have come up with a few tips below about things you need to remember when hiring a corporate entertainment company.
One: Have a look at a video of the entertainment company in action before you commit. This will give you an idea as to whether they fit the genre of your event and also whether they could entertain your audience.
Two: You need to be prepared to invest a reasonable amount of money into your entertainment. Hiring a cheap entertainment company will be noticed by your guests straight away, as you will most likely find that the material doesn’t look very professional. It is best to budget for quality rather than try to save money on a cut-rate entertainer.
Three: You need to make sure the act knows your requirements before you hire. Ask the entertainer questions about what they are planning on doing for your event and speak to them in depth about their previous events. This will help you determine whether they are actually interested in working for you or whether they are just in it for the money. If an entertainment company shows interest in your event and are responsive to your questions then they will be a good one to choose!
Four: Ask the entertainment company if they have any references they could give you. You can then ask their previous clients about their experience and also ask about the prices they were quoted to ensure you are not getting ripped off. If the company don’t have any references then it may be best to look elsewhere.
Hopefully these tips will help when you are next looking to hire a corporate entertainment company. If you have any questions please contact Tom Crowl here or by calling (410)596-4127.
Ventriloquism
Just because you schedule entertainment …
Doesn’t mean people will watch it.
Or enjoy it.
Live entertainment can take a boring event and twist it into an incredible one.
It can also destroy the integrity of the event.
That is right – DESTROY.
These two polar opposites scare the heck out of most event planners.
How do you make certain you aren’t subject to the:
“OMG -who hired this act?”
syndrome?
Making your entertainment presentations successful depends on framing. And the process of framing live entertainment for events starts long before your guests arrive.
Targeting
The success of any entertainment boils down to targeting. The style of entertainment must match your guests’ preferences.
Hiring the Wiggles, a children’s singing group, for your company’s executive board meeting may not be a good match.
(Unless your company produces them or sells children’s products.)
To target the entertainment you have to learn about the people you intend to entertain.
- What do they like?
- What are their hobbies?
- What types of programs do they watch on TV?
- What was the last movie they saw?
- Did they enjoy it?
- What do they have in common?
The more you know about them the better. You will begin to see patterns that allow you to consider entertainment options.
Still not sure which direction to take?
Try taking a brief survey of your attendees. Use a service like SurveyMonkey.com to request their input. Ask questions about
- potential venues,
- menu items
- entertainment.
The results will help you plan a stronger event.
It will also serve to promote the event and make guests feel invested and valued.
Consulting With Corporate Entertainers
Once you’ve selected the corporate entertainers for your function, seek their input.
They perform hundreds of times a year and understand how to create a successful presentation.
If your entertainer requires something, make every effort to have it there.
We’ve seen companies hire acts and then hesitate to spend money to contract in proper sound. The act suffers because things are not right and the client blames the talent!
If something is on the rider, budget for the expense.
If an entertainer springs something unexpected at the last minute, they should be responsible.
Making certain the act is staged and provided their technical needs is one phase of framing the talent.
Program Placement
Next you need to consider placement of the program.
Live entertainment consumes an important part of your event budget.
Many event planners want to leave the entertainment until the end to cap off the function.
Is that really the best spot?
In the case of music, it may well be. For other types of event entertainers it may not.
If your guests have had a busy day, they may be looking for a way out. Putting variety entertainment on last can provide that option.
Moving the entertainment immediately following dinner can frame the program in a different light.
After dinner people are still fresh and the program can lighten the mood. This will help food digest.
At the end of the program your guests will be wide awake and in a positive mood.
That means your speeches and other planned events will be better received.
This is a much better use of your budget.
Presentation
Finally: frame the entertainment with a proper introduction and send off.
The executive who says:
“Here is the show. Let’s hope it is better than last year.”
… sabotages your efforts.
The talent should provide you with an easy to read introduction to set a tone. Use it to create respectful anticipation.
For more help selecting and framing live entertainment for events contact Tom now. He works with you to create unforgettable event entertainment.
This article’s popularity lead to the creation of The Savvy Event Planner Podcast. Click the link below to check out episode 6 for an in-depth look at creating anticipation for live entertainment through proper framing.
http://savvyeventpodcast.com/6
Ventriloquism
Searching for entertainment ideas for events?
You want something different.
The standard fare of live entertainment options won’t cut it. If guests see another magician make a bowling ball appear, they might scream. Jugglers that toss knives around the CEO are hilarious the first time, but it becomes passé the second. You’ve even had standup comedians, but some of the topics can be touchy.
Bands seem like a good option until they start playing. It is a given not everyone will like the music genre selected. The evening’s networking is over the moment the first note begins. Those who don’t enjoy the music will leave and people will begin to drift apart. Your event and message is over as the music dominates the rest of the evening. There is no cohesive group for your parting remarks.
We’d like to share another entertainment possibility you may not have considered. Ventriloquists. Ventriloquist comedy is extremely popular right now. Jeff Dunham’s YouTube videos have millions of views and gained him fans worldwide. Thanks to this mega-stardom, Jeff has toured the world. His program has drawn tens of thousands in non-English speaking countries. He sells out 11,000 seat venues here in the United States. All based on the power of the puppet!
Ventriloquist Terry Fator won America’s Got Talent in their second season. Thousands of votes from people across the country carried him to the million dollar prize. Terry went on to sign the most lucrative deal ever offered to a talent contest winner. Today, Terry headlines his own theatre in Las Vegas. In 2015, another ventriloquist, Paul Zerdin, won the show. Proving that ventriloquists are more popular than ever.
Even with the success of Jeff, Terry and other top ventriloquists, the skill is rarely seen live. Part of this is due to the number of professional ventriloquists. Ventriloquism is a difficult skill to master. It is more than just playing with a puppet. A good comedy ventriloquist must be in expert in several areas:
- Comedy
- Vocal Manipulation
- Puppet Manipulation
- Lip Control and sound production
- Ad-lib and Improvisation
- Audience Engagement, and
- Script Customization
All of which must be accomplished at the same time!
Comedy ventriloquist Tom Crowl provides entertainment for corporate events and special events. His act travels across the United States and has performed at five star resorts along the Mexican Riviera. Crowl creates personalized ventriloquist comedy acts for his clients. These routines involve and engage his client’s products, people and messages.
In addition to being a top comedian ventriloquist, Crowl also teaches the art to others. In the ventriloquist community (yes, there is one) Tom is considered a leader in his field. Tom’s Learn-Ventriloquism on-line course was groundbreaking use of internet technology to teach the skill.
As a co-founder of the International Ventriloquist Society, Tom is friends with some of the best ventriloquists working today. When you need live entertainment for corporate functions, contact our office. If Tom’s act isn’t right for your event, we are happy to help you find talent that will wow your audience.
Ventriloquism
Comedy Ventriloquist or Standup Comedian
Is A Comedy Ventriloquist Better Than A Standup Comedian?
You are planning an event and need live entertainment. Your group loves to laugh so someone suggested a comedy. Now you are tasked with finding a standup comedian who has material that will appeal to your audience.
We don’t envy you. To determine if the comedian’s material will be right for your guests, you have to watch a lot of video. The jokes blend together after awhile. Didn’t you already hear that joke? Was it on another video of the comedian you are watching? Or was it said by another comedian that you have already rejected.
You may be laughing at times, but will the audience laugh? Everyone has different tastes. And will the comedian stay clean? Some members of your group can be prudish when it comes to humor.
Now you’ve found a comedy ventriloquist. It seems like standup comedy, yet totally different. People are convulsing with laughter on the video. You want your audience to laugh that hard. Could this be right for you?
Sure it could, and here are three reasons a comedy ventriloquist may be better than a standup comedian for your event.
1. Point Of View:
A standup comedian provides their point of view to create comedy. If your audience doesn’t see things from that angle, they will not engage and laugh. A comedy ventriloquist provides several points of view using different characters. Comedy is created from this contrast. It also creates situational humor rather than the standard setup and punchline. That type of comedy appeals to a wider range of people.
2. Visual Appeal:
A standup comedian is alone on stage. If their humor isn’t engaging the audience, they have nothing. A comedy ventriloquist adds another dimension. Puppets have a magnetic attraction when they come to life. Their features draw the eye. Your program suddenly becomes more visual and feels larger.
3. Depth Of Material:
A standup comedian can talk about anything. While this may give them a wide range, the depth of their material is limited. A ventriloquist can take the comedy further. The ventriloquist’s puppet can do anything and share the adventure. Misunderstandings & confusion will elevate the laughs. The puppet can increase the comedy by talking about dealings with members of the audience. It allows a unique personalization of the program.
If you are looking for comedy, consider a stand up comedy ventriloquist. Contact our office for more information. If a comedy ventriloquist act is a good match for your audience, we will be happy to help. If Tom’s act is not right, we can still help you line up some unforgettable comedy entertainment.
Ventriloquism
Ventriloquists have been a popular form of entertainment for ages. Even with the success of ventriloquists like Jeff Dunham, people still have misconceptions about the art. It is time to debunk these myths in our own version of Ventriloquist Myth-Busters!
Myth Number 1:
Ventriloquists are born with a special ability.
This is definitely not true. Early practioneers of the art tried to hide their methods using deception. Ventriloquists, like magicians, didn’t want people to learn their secrets. They created and spread the myth that ventriloquists were born with special abilities. Some people still believe that a ventriloquist has double throats or a second set of vocal chords.
The truth is, anyone can perform ventriloquism. To be a ventriloquist you simply need proper training and practice. There are books and even on-line ventriloquism lessons. People of all ages have learned and practiced the art.
Myth Number 2:
Ventriloquists talk with their mouths closed.
Ventriloquists use a resonant voice, like a hum. The resonant voice needs two air passages for the sound to escape. The upper breathe stream escapes through the nasal cavity. The lower breathe stream escapes through a small opening between the lips of the ventriloquist. This makes a louder sound so the puppet can be heard.
If the ventriloquist had his or her lips closed, the air would not escape and the puppet voice would be muffled. So this myth is also busted.
Myth Number 3:
Ventriloquists clench their teeth together.
This is another falsehood that spread. Usually by people who never learned to perform ventriloquism. If the teeth are clenched together, the lower breathe stream mentioned above could not escape. This would muffle the puppet’s voice. A skilled ventriloquist separates their teeth slightly and learns to talk without the use of their lips. There is no short cut for this technique. It requires practice.
Myth Number 4:
Ventriloquists believe their dummy is real.
The movie and television industry have created this popular myth. Movies wouldn’t be half as scary if a ventriloquist placed his figure in a case and put it away.
There is a thread of truth behind this myth. When the ventriloquist figure or puppet is on-stage, the ventriloquist treats the puppet as if it were real. By acting this way, the audience will suspend their belief and “buy into” the illusion of life. We realize that the puppet is just a tool. It is the instrument that a ventriloquist “plays” to present their performance.
Myth Number 5:
Ventriloquists are weird.
The picture of a lonely person talking to dolls seems to be a popular image to people who have never experienced the magic of the art. The truth is, ventriloquism is a skill that takes practice, persistence and talent to present. People who take the art seriously and develop their skills are true artists.
Like any art or profession, there may be a few strange people, but most are down to earth and friendly. Ventriloquists even have an international convention where the pros teach amateur and semi-professionals.
If you are looking for a ventriloquist to entertain your audience, contact Tom Crowl now. Tom is a founding member of the International Ventriloquist Society. He is also the creator of the Learn-Ventriloquism Course. As a staff member of the Vent Haven ConVENTion, Tom is a respected leader in the industry. If his program is not right for your event, Tom is happy to direct you to a someone who can help.
