A Short Cut to Ventriloquism

By Maurice Hurling

Book Overview

Throw your voice, work a figure, and land the laugh: this 1934 pocket guide teaches the working performer's version of ventriloquism in twenty brisk pages.

Issued in London by the magic dealers Davenport's as part of their Demon Series, A Short Cut to Ventriloquism was written for performers who wanted a second string to their act. Maurice Hurling covers the essentials of voice production and lip control, then hands more than half the booklet over to what really sells a turn: dialogue, gags, and ready-made comic routines between the ventriloquist and the figure on his knee. Distant-voice work is left out altogether, which is the short cut of the title - the aim is to get a beginner in front of an audience quickly.

Small enough for a coat pocket and cheerfully unpretentious, it is a useful record of how variety-era entertainers actually learned the craft, and a fair few of its premises still work with a little updating.

This edition features:

The complete text of the 1934 Davenport's Demon Series booklet, reset and republished in a modern editionPlain instruction in voice production, breathing, and lip control, written for the complete beginnerComic dialogue, gags, and ready-made routines, which fill more than half of the original bookletA period snapshot of British stage entertainment as it was taught to performers between the warsA rare survival from Davenport's Demon Series, seldom seen outside specialist dealers' catalogues

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1445512181
• ISBN13: 9781445512181
• Release Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Cooper Press
• Length: 24 Pages
• Weight: 0.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"