VENTARAMA REVIEW: For those who are interested or maybe on the fence about attending Ventarama next year, here is my review of yesterday’s event: The doors to the Slade Rooms were thrown open at 9am. The lectures all took place in the main hall, with dealers at the back of the room and a separate room off to the side that was home to an impressive collection of antique vent figures, including Ray Alan’s Titch and Quackers - some were magnificent, some were magnificently creepy but all were totally fascinating to anyone interested in the art. Most of the people who attended seemed to be newcomers, with only one or two experienced vents in the crowd. That was a shame, as there truly was something for all skill levels at this event. An ebullient Shane West took to the stage to welcome everyone and announced that he wanted to kick things off with a little opening video. We were treated to a clip of Steve Hewlett saying he was sorry he couldnt attend, but promising he will join us next year! Gordon Astley then invited Jimmy Tamley to join him onstage. What followed was a lively interview with one of the hardest working professional ventriloquists in the world. Informative and very, very funny. I would have preferred it if they had sat in a couple of chairs onstage instead of both pacing up and down - it seemed very odd to have an extended interview with both people standing up, but I’m nitpicking. Gordon and Jimmy helped get the day off to a cracking start. Mark Wade was next up, presenting a 25 minute comedy writing lecture. Mark is a great teacher and capable of making a very complex process incredibly simple to understand. That’s a real gift. After Mark, the audience was split into two groups. The beginners group stayed to watch Colin Dymonds lecture and the advanced group moved into the lobby to join either Magic Dave or David Tomkins. Only 14 people chose the advanced group and I was one of them, so I can’t comment on Colin’s lecture, but by all reports it was well received. Out in the bar, Alec Powell randomly sorted the advanced students into two groups of 7, then assigned each group to a team captain (I was on Team Magic Dave). Each of our groups were given a random puppet and a prop and sent away to write a routine. What I expected to be a difficult process was actually fairly straightforward, with Dave chairing the meeting and our team offering suggestions and creating a character and routine between us. As performers we are often solitary types and it was nice to have experience of what it’s like to work in a group. The second lecture by Mark Wade was on advanced ventriloquism techniques (distant voice, baby cry and counting while holding a note). I learned a couple of things. The first was how ventriloquism should be taught. Mark does a great job of explaining the unexplainable. I have also wondered since I saw Mark at Kidabra how on earth he manages to mouth words and count silently while the puppet is singing and his lecture gave me the missing piece of the puzzle that will help me master it. For those who don’t already do distant voice and baby cry, this lecture will have been a revelation! Next, we split back into the beginner and advanced groups again so that the advanced students could put the finishing touches to their routines and the beginners could watch a second lecture by Colin. Our group finished early and headed to the bar, proud of our accomplishments. The open mike competition was fun, with newcomers to vent getting the chance to try out their skills on a stage. The winner of the vent mask was Anthony Galvin. Next came David Tomkins, presenting the routine that was created in his advanced workshop. A nervous bunny was preparing to audition for BGT and got all her songs mixed up. Great fun! Magic Dave followed with our routine - UFC champion the Green Machine challenged everyone to a fight, only to be exposed as a fraud. (he’s actually called Keith and is regional manager at KFC) Dave did us proud and I actually may try and develop the routine further as I think it has loads of potential! The closing show was kicked off by Colin Dymond and S.N.O.T. the Dragon, who seems to have been ‘pimped’ somewhat since I last saw him! I loved the new flapping wings and his cute little hand gestures (the dragon, not Colin) Shane West was next, presenting a mind reading bit with the Axtell Rat. Nicely presented, with some funny lines and a great magical finish. David Tomkins has excellent vent technique and presented yet another new routine (I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do the same one twice!) The Axtell alien performed an egg prediction and closed with a song - I loved it. I also love how immaculate David’s props always look. Dave Allen was next with Daisy as ‘Super Cow’ who did some magic painting. A great performance, as usual, and lots of funny lines. Mark Wade returned to the stage yet again and treated us to a very original Axtell drawing board routine, followed by a wise-cracking monkey. Flawless technique and lots of laughs from a great performer. Jimmy Tamley closed the show with his world famous Lightning Les routine. Funny and technically brilliant, the crowd lapped it up and he left everyone on a fantastic high. All in all, a great day and lots of fun and fellowship with others in the business. Gordon Astley did great job as Master of ceremonies and a good time was had by all. looking forward to Ventarama 2!
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 14:06:30 +0000
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