I've bought some scripts, but I could only use a few because they tend to feel a little cheesy and did not fit Marcus and I real well. I wrote one that works pretty well, but it is difficult to come up with new inspiration.
I am looking for things that teach character qualities, deepen understanding of who God is, or make a Bible story come to life in a way that is not cheesy. Some good clean fun with no particular moral lesson would be great too. So far I've focused mostly on children, but I would like some stuff for adults as well. Thanks for your help! Byron Yoder
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From Mr. D: Your "best" scripts will always be the scripts that you write yourself. Of course, they are always the most challenging as well. You can make things easier by taking the best lines from scripts you purchase and add/adapt them for your own use. When it comes to conversation there's no need for an animal puppet to always retain a purely animal character. Your chimp could converse and discuss with you subjects that are characteristically "human" and it will still play well. I would hope that your chimp has little sounds, moves, and/or quips that are uniquely a part of his character. You can insert such traits throughout every routine and while the conversation may not be "animal talk", he will retain his unique personality while the conversation, whatever the subject, will seem to be very natural between the two of you . This approach will also greatly broaden the subjects you can discuss, making the writing task easier.
To all readers: We welcome any comments and suggestions you might have.
Byron - Ken Groves taught me a technique called Talking The Room, which I share in my new online ventriloquism course. Contact me and I will give you access to that lesson. It will help you develop the character, become more confident with the puppet and create scripting ideas.
ReplyDeleteI've owned a copy of "10,000 Jokes, Toasts and Stories" for fifty years. It's always been wonderfully useful for finding one-liners or stories to weave into a whole.
ReplyDeleteThere are even sections for "Sunday School" and "Church Announcements" and a detailed subject matter index in the back pointing the way to very specific jokes or lines. I know it's still in print (and probably somewhat revised through several editions), as I've seen it on Amazon and in bookstores. It's edited by Lewis and Faye Copeland. Hope that helps.
look at Clinton's post on 4/19 (below). Am outstanding course. I would also suggest Mark Wade's "The Art of the kids Show" and Tom
ReplyDeleteLandshaw's DVD "PUNCH". Mark Wade also has two other DVD's that are good.
And there is another major learning program you need to be aware of - it is the new 36 lesson on-line program offered by Tom Crowl. Excellent! The first five lessons are free, so I would suggest all ventriloquists check it out. This may well be the major vent instruction program of the future:
http://www.learn-ventriloquism.com/about-the-learn-ventriloquism-course/
What I am using to write virtue dialogues for my church, which are not done yet, is the "The Family Virtues Guide" by Popov. It is available on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for your helpful suggestions. Now I have some things to work on.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Byron