Convention part 2 - Sound system quibbles

Today continues my thoughts from the Venthaven ConVENTion.

I found much humor in the sound system setup for Terry Fator’s performance at the Venthaven ConVENTion.  First some quick background. The sound system at the convention is typically a combination of equipment provided by a couple ventriloquists who attend and work the convention each year.  It’s a totally adequate system for what normally goes on at the convention.  But, it’s not a rock-star quality system.  Great for speech and moderate background music, not quite up to snuff if you were a professional musician with a full backing band.

During more than one educational session at this and previous conventions, there has been much emphasis placed on making sure you have a high quality sound system to use when you perform.  The advice is often along the lines of, “Don’t accept what the hotel banquet room provides.  Bring your own.”  In large part, I agree with this advice.  A bad sound system can really kill your performance.

So, here we are at the convention, using a sound system that is actively used by working pro vents, the same vents who lecture about the importance of having a good sound system, when in walks Terry Fator, the corporation.  The manager of said corporation assesses the quality of the sound system and declares it to be wholly inadequate for Terry’s performance.  “This system is not adequate for the million dollar voice.”  (I made up that quote.  I can only imagine the actual conversation.)

What happened?  Team Fator made some phone calls and hired a professional sound company which rolled in a whole other sound system and staff to run it.  Those who were responsible for the sound at the convention rolled their eyes.

Was it a better system than what was there?  Oh, yeah, absolutely.  Was it necessary?  Not so sure.  I could tell the difference, but then I am a sound system snob.  The average listener, though?  Probably not.  Would anyone attending have enjoyed the performance any less with the standard convention sound system?  I don’t think so.  The difference was all in the backing music.  Voice?  Not much difference at all.  Was it worth alienating the convention staff for the very small improvement in sound quality?  Or, looking from the other side, should the staff have been at all surprised by the request for a better system, since they are the same people who emphasize the importance of good sound?

And that brings me to my own sound system snobbishness.  How good is good enough?  I always take my own sound system when I drive to gigs.  I make the final determination of whether to set it up when I get there.  More and more I am finding the “house” system to be adequate.  Like with the system they brought in for Terry, the difference is in the backing music.   Is it worth the effort to make the little bit of backing music and interlude music sound better?  I’m still figuring that out on a show by show basis.

ConVENTion - part 1

I’m back from the annual Venthaven ConVENTion.  Wow, what a convention it was!  I always come away from these inspired and invigorated.  This year was no exception.  Too much to talk about in a single post, so this will probably span a few days.  Be sure to check back for more.

One of the highlights was meeting Terry Fator.

Me and Terry

He truly is the “Million Dollar Voice.”  Seeing, and more important, hearing him perform, it is clear that he deserved to win America’s Got Talent.  In addition to performing a portion of his show, he also spoke and answered questions.  Very inspiring.  Some key things from that experience:

• Practice - Terry talked a fair amount about his practice ethic.  He spoke of practicing all the time, at every opportunity.  What I found particularly interesting was what he practices.  Fundamentals.  He eluded to not practicing the full routines (once he has them down) so much as constantly practicing the alphabet and technique.  I like that.  I’ve admitted here before that I don’t enjoy constantly running through the routines.  Once you know it, doing it over and over again is boring.  But, I actually do enjoy vocal exercises, practicing technique, working on specific phrases over and over again until I can do them.  And within a routine, I do enjoy working on specific segments to tweak it for maximum impact.  How the puppet moves when it says a particular phrase, etc.
• Having goals - He said that when he was 15, he set the goal for himself to be the best ventriloquist in the world.  When people think of a ventriloquist, he wanted his name to be the first one that comes to mind.  Judging the “best” is fairly subjective.  But, I think he’s achieved the goal of being at least in the top 5 when people think “ventriloquist.”  He talked about the importance of setting a goal and working hard to achieve it.
• Nice guy - As much as anything else, I was taken by Terry’s genuineness.  You come away thinking that if the situation presented itself, you could sit and talk with Terry for hours.  Of course, that’s not really possible now with his schedule and the mass of “team Terry” buzzing about.  The entourage that arrived was interesting.  Terry Fator is no longer a person so much as a corporation.  I hope that Terry the man can maintain his self through all the fame and people directing his every move.

Excuse me now while I go off and practice.  Come back later for more notes from the convention.

Performer Liability Insurance

I finally got official liability insurance for performers.  Up till now I’ve been riding on a general personal liability policy that is attached to our homeowners policy.  That rider covered me personally, but did not provide the more complete coverage that is required by many venues.

I’ll admit I don’t fully appreciate all the nuances here.  All I know for sure is that some venues require proof of “comprehensive general liability” coverage.  A specific policy is required for that.  One thing I know the performer insurance provides that my personal policy did not is coverage for damage to the venue.  Since I don’t use fire, bowling balls or any other items that are likely to damage the facility, I doubt I’ll never need this part of the policy.  But, I understand why venues require it.

I’m still working on general business insurance to cover my business assets in excess of what my homeowners policy covers.  The limits on my homeowner policy for property used in the course of a business are so low as to be almost pointless.  It’s a risk I’ve accepted up till now.  Drawing up an inventory of my business assets has been an interesting exercise.  It’s amazing how much equipment I’ve amassed over the past few years.  Good thing I had a day job when I was buying most of the gear.

For those interested, here is a link to the insurance agency I am using for performer insurance.  From the checking I did, it’s a really good deal.  My regular insurance agent told me he couldn’t even come close to the coverage for the price.

Bye bye COBRA

We finally got private health insurance.  No more COBRA.  For those of you who don’t know, COBRA is the extension of group health insurance from your previous employer after you no longer work there.  The good news is you have health insurance.  The bad news is you get to pay the full cost.  It’s usually expensive and my case was no exception.  We had great coverage, but the premiums were significant.

The whole health insurance business is a mess.  I’m not holding out much hope for the next president to do much about it either.  For those of you thinking about leaving a day job to go self-employed, my advice is to have one person in the family keep a day job that provides health benefits.  Since my wife and I are both self-employed, we had to find our own insurance.

Here are a couple other bits of advice from my recent experience:

1. For individual plans, health insurance companies can reject you for any reason.  Get over it.  At least this is the case in the state of Ohio.  There may be states where this is different.
2. Don’t go to the doctor for any reason, even wellness visits, for at least a year before you make the switch.  The longer the better.  Absolutely every visit to the doctor is a red flag to the insurance companies.  Logic would say that they’d want to know what they’re taking on.  The reality is, every visit to the doctor gives the insurance companies one more reason to reject you.  You might think it’s a good idea to get that lingering issue taken care of before changing insurance plans, but think again.
3. Find an independent insurance agent who specializes in health insurance.  You need help filling out the forms.  Trust me on this.
4. Start your application process early and expect it to take a long time.  Prepare to be rejected at least once.
5. If all else fails, have at least 2 people in your own company and get a group health plan.  For a group plan, the insurance company can’t reject anyone.  They just charge more.  So, group plans are more expensive, but they do provide coverage if you can’t get it any other way.  By working closely with our agent, we were able to avoid this route.
6. Consider a part time job that provides benefits.  My wife and I were close to drawing straws to see which of us would go work 20 hours a week at Starbucks just so we could get benefits.

Take a picture

One of my hobbies is photography. I love taking pictures. My specialty is capturing candid photos at events. I especially enjoy taking photos without a flash during performances. For the past two years I was one of two official photographers at the Venthaven Convention and I’m happy to say that I will be again this year. I’m the one without the flash unit. This past year I was also the official photographer for the high school musical that my daughter was in.

Here are a couple of my favorites from their production of Jekyll & Hyde. These were taken in impossibly low lighting, from the balcony, hand held. I love the way the stage lighting comes through in the photos - something you lose if you use a flash.

A sweet solo…

and one of my favorites…

Now, let me try to draw the parallels back to ventriloquism and comedy. Stick with me here.

There are several things I do to get the results that I do.

1. Volume. I take a lot of pictures. During one of the dress rehearsals, over the course of 3 hours, I shot 308 photos. The ratio of good to bad photos continues to rise over time. I never expect to hit 100%. If I do, then I know I’m not pushing myself hard enough.
2. Technique. I understand my equipment and know how to use it. I have learned to have a steady hand. There are a number of techniques I use to brace the camera without using a tripod.
3. Timing. It is extremely important to snap the photo at a moment of least movement. Think of a bouncing ball. If you snap the photo while it is moving up or down, it will be blurry. However, if you click when it is at the apex of it’s flight, just at the moment it is stopping it’s upward movement before starting to fall again, you can capture it. I’ve done this so much, I have learned to anticipate when the action on stage will stop for that brief moment to allow capturing it on film (well, silicon actually - I shoot all digital now).
4. Review and repeat. After each night’s rehearsal (or performance) I review the shots I got and figure out where I need to fill in the holes at the next rehearsal/performance. My goal was to capture every scene in the show for a complete stop-action representation of the musical.

OK, now back to ventriloquism. Or, rather, comedy writing. You can probably see where I’m going with this.

1. Volume. You have to write a lot of jokes to get to those few gems. Over time the ratio of good jokes to klunkers improves, but you will probably never reach 100%.
2. Technique. There are many resources available that teach comedy writing techniques. Go back to my bookshelf posting and count the number of books on that subject that I own. There are lots more. Plus seminars, workshops, etc. Experience is the best teacher. Keep doing it.
3. Timing. When you actually tell the joke, timing is everything. A pause in just the right place can make all the difference in the world. Deliver that punchline at the apex of the joke’s flight path, and you will get a much better result.
4. Review and repeat. Record your performances, review the show, find the holes, toss out (or revise) the jokes that aren’t working. Repeat.

Go take some pictures.

Way to go Terry!

I just read an article from the Wall Street Journal forwarded to me by a friend. The article is about the resurgence of ventriloquism as an art form, with special emphasis on Terry Fator. Apparently ventriloquism is cool again, thanks in large part to Terry Fator and Jeff Dunham.

And here’s the really cool part. Terry recently signed a contract with the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas that will pay him $100 million over 5 years. No, that is not a typo. That’s a 1 followed by 8 zeros. Wow! Good for you, Terry!

The article is very nice and if you have access to the Wall Street Journal, I recommend making the effort to read it. If you don’t subscribe, look for it at your local library. It was in the June 20, 2008 edition. There is a great section about his interaction with Robin Leach, of “Lives of the Rich and Famous” fame. I’ve included a link to the article above, but I don’t know how long it will remain in service.

Word has it that Terry will be at the Venthaven convention this summer. I’m looking forward to meeting him in person.

The trickle down from Terry’s and Jeff’s success reaches all ventriloquists. I am extremely grateful for their efforts.

And speaking of Jeff, he’s coming to Columbus, OH on Thursday, September 25, 2008. I got my ticket last week. I’m interested to see how the show has changed since I last saw his full show in Washington, DC when he taped his latest Comedy Central special and DVD. That was a fun trip. I cashed in some frequent flier miles to get there and used hotel points to stay overnight. Since travel was cheap, I splurged and went to both shows that night. it was a blast. The Columbus show is in the hockey arena. It’ll be interesting to see how it works in that vast space. Check out the tour schedule Jeff’s web site to see if he’s coming to a theater or arena near you.

Going beyond “Hello”

Earlier I wrote about why I use a number of different characters in my act.  The bottom line is to provide variety to reach a broad range of audiences and individuals in any given audience.  But, lately I’ve been pondering the question of how long each of these segments in the show should run.

Right now my whole act is based on 6-7 minute segments.  Even the various bits of magic I do run about 6 minutes each.  To assemble a show, I simply put the segments together until I’ve reached the desired overall length, typically 50-60 minutes.

Yes, this provides a wide variety and has served to include a little something for everyone in the shows.  But, I wonder, is 6 minutes with a character enough?  My thought process of late is that by the end of the 6 minutes, the audience is just beginning to understand the character, ready to dig deeper.  And that’s when I cut it off and move on to the next thing.

The reality for me is that the first 6 minutes are the easiest.  It is getting beyond that point that is most difficult.  Kind of like going to a party and meeting someone new.  Saying the usual pleasantries, mentioning the weather, commenting on the salsa dip, all those little things that take up the introductory phase of a conversation.  That’s the easy part.  Then it gets hard.  Now what do we talk about?  How much of myself do I share with this person I just met?  How open am I willing to be?  What if they don’t like me beyond the surface?

When you get beyond the 6 minute mark, things get a bit more intense, edgier, rougher, more “real”.  Elements of the underlying personality start to come through.  You start to uncover the skeletons in the closet.  Therein lies the potential for the biggest laughs - and the biggest chance of offending some number of people in the audience.  Others have said that if you’re not offending some of the people then you’re not trying hard enough.  Humor is pain separated by time.  Some people are not yet ready to laugh at certain topics.

The challenge is to move beyond that 6 minute introductory period, open the closet door and examine the bones.  Time to add some depth to the characters, get beyond the “hello” and dig deeper.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

So You Think You Can’t Dance

Have you seen the reality TV show, “So You Think You Can Dance” ?  My kids love this show, so I often catch snippets of it as I walk through the family room.  Two recent episodes caught my interest.

The first episode was one of the initial audition rounds.  At this level, anything is possible.  You never know what you’re going to see.  Here is what made me stop and watch.  Robert Muraine.  Click on that link and you’ll see his audition.  It’s worth watching.

He wowed the judges and they sent him on to the next round in Las Vegas.

OK, next episode.  Here’s the link.  Robert in Las Vegas.

Did you watch it?  He walked away!  He made it to Las Vegas, then turned around and left.  What?  You’ve got to be kidding me!

Actually, I understand it all too well.  And I completely respect him for having the courage to stand there and say he is not ready.

When I was in college, I entered a talent competition at the university.  I was one of the top 3 winners.  The prize was not monetary.  It was better.  All three of us were given an open invitation to perform on stage at Catch A Rising Star comedy club in New York City.  The first place winner received an all-expense paid trip to NYC to facilitate that invitation.  (I wasn’t first, but I honestly don’t remember whether I came in 2nd or 3rd.)

Wow!  What an opportunity! All I have to do is get to NYC!

And you know what?  I never went.  I chickened out.  I was not ready and I knew it.

I don’t regret that decision.  Sure, I’ve had those moments of “what if…”.  But in my heart, I know now as I knew then that I was not ready.  Comedy club audiences are a far cry from the safe haven of the church groups for whom I did most of my shows at that time.  Had I gone and gotten the reaction that I surely would have received, I may have given up performing forever.  This wasn’t just fear, this was reality.

Say what you want about Robert Muraine’s decision.  I respect him for it.

Orange peels and armpits

How about that for a topic? Let me explain where that came from.

My oldest daughter plays the oboe. If you are familiar with an oboe, you’ll know that it is one heck of an expensive instrument. It’s expensive to buy and it’s expensive to maintain. So when her one-year-old oboe developed a crack we all sort of freaked out. Being made of wood, this is a familiar phenomenon with oboes.

Fortunately for us, we have one of the top oboe repair people a short drive up the road. I asked him for his advice on how to prevent this in the future. He suggested orange peels and armpits.

A standard part of oboe care is to keep the instrument in a moderately humid environment. He suggested the best way to manage the humidity is to scatter a few pieces of orange peel inside the case. Orange peels work great, he said, because it’s easy to tell when they’re dried up. When they look dry, simply put in new ones.

Now for the armpits. It is important to warm up the instrument properly before playing it. He suggested that you take the top section of the oboe and hold it underneath your armpit while you’re getting the rest of the instrument ready and soaking the reed in your mouth. This will warm up the instrument and get it ready for playing.

So what does all this have to do with ventriloquism? It made me think about my delicate figures. How long has it been since I put a fresh coat of Armor All on my Axtell figures? I’m not sure. But I can tell you what I’ll be doing this afternoon. And what about my one-of-a-kind Hartz figure? Handcarved basswood. Am I taking appropriate care of this valuable asset? I don’t think that I will be scattering orange peels in the case, but I will continue to evaluate the temperature control in the room where I keep him.

take a memo

I got a new toy yesterday. I am using it as I enter this blog post. It is Dragon Naturally Speaking. It is the coolest thing ever.

I have used dictation software before. Many years ago, when I was a software developer, I over did it with my hands. I was physically unable to type for a while. Dictation software allowed me to keep a job. But, I was no longer able to write software. It was that injury that initially pushed me into management. Those who can, do, those who can’t, manage. The technology at the time was not all that terrific and I returned to using a keyboard as soon as I was able. This latest version totally rocks!

The interesting test will be to see how it reacts to speaking in a ventriloquist voice.

Let’s give this a try:

• the boy bought the basketball
• many men make money
• if good fortune follows a fellow he’s fine
• values in veal and a venison
• please play the Piccolo

Hey, not bad. Those were dictated in my ventriloquist voice. Yes, I too, learned from Jimmy Nelson.

The really cool thing about this is the speed at which it is dictating. My first dictation system required a pause between each word. This system actually likes it better when you speak normally. This is way faster than typing.

Another feature that I look forward to trying with this is the ability to dictate voice memos on my Blackberry and transfer those directly using dictation software. Check back with me in about a week if you’re interested to know how that works.

Happy dictating!