My neighbor was at Barnes & Nobles and they spotted this great prop, so they bought it and gave it to me as a gift. I just used him in my latest show (today actually) in a chop cup routine, and not only did he get GREAT reactions, but the routine was one of the most applauded in the show! There were some "AWWW!"'s and lot of laughter from the kids. Maybe I'll post up a clip of the routine if I have time.

Well here's a video of what it is. Just some of the things I have him do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjgFKY_xnEI

i would like to see how you incorporated him into a chop cup routine. great prop.
can you post a vid

As I said, If I have time...

Nice prop!

I posted the video here - http://www.penguinmagic.com/discuss/vie ... 11#1103011

Dan Garrett has been using this prop since the mid to late 80's. He always gets a great reactuion as well.

Puppets are a great addition to any family/kid magic show. I constantly hear back that they loved the puppet. This week I have been performing daily at an event going throughout spring break. The highlight of the show is always my puppet routine. I don’t use the puppet in question but I’m glad he allows me to be part of his show.

Hope you're from north Winnipeg Manintonoba( intentional).
We ventriloquists describe our props as vent figures. Does this mean you're using a marionette, or a stick puppet?
I have met some of the top figures in show business and from the US commodities' exchanges from the northern part of Winnipeg( & all from one high school)
Thanks, ron0

i would like to apologize to rono, I’m just starting to get into vent work and yes i may have used an in proper term. Although axtell where I get my figures from does in fact refer to their characters as puppets.

Funny isn't it? Your pen name is modelled, I believe, after a song sung by Burton Cummings from your home city.
I love the song because it reminds me of my own first visit to the bewildering Charles De Gaulle(one of the few WW2 French patriots of the officer class) Airport in France in the mid 1970's.
Ventriloquism involves Zen of the speaking parts and also a bit of money once you get into it. I hope you might get a chance this August to visit The Vent Haven convention in Fort Mitchell Kentucky. On this forum I only know of Sluggo who is a vent-writer.. He has a nice little gig going and can teach you some of the things you should know. One of the big challenges is that we Axtell vents have at least one hand always tied up inside the vent figure's head. The other hand also is busy with perhaps an optional rod; an IPOD or even a CD player controls. So how do we marry gimmick magic to vent? One way is to use the change bag sold by many firms. Then the next challenge is to select gimmicks which can be made to appear and disappear with the non-vent figure hand. Perhaps some of the magicians here would recommend some effects. Great meeting you. Ron0

rono...I was converted to venrtiloquism by sluggo about 3 and 1/2 years ago. He was extremely helpful and kind to me. He sent me a box FULL of learning materials and instructions. I was a complete stranger that he only knew through email and these forums. It was very generous of him, and I will never forget him for it...

One of my sponsors purchased the Axtell rabbit for my show.

So now you know two vents in these forums!

Goodness, sorry, I thought it was your daughter who did the belly talking!
By the way I just returned from music pilgrimages to Meridian, Mississippi, and two other places in the Deep South. What a trying week this has been to fly!
La Guardia was a welcome sight.
By the way Kylethe, I got a chuckle reading one of your threads. You just had to sneak in the banjo reference..good for you. I have a brand new five string which I've never used..actually the four string interests me more for Celtic and traditional music. I have a fine Gibson six string guitar.
Are you going to be able to make the Vent Haven convention? The teaching seminars lined up for this year are outstanding.Ron0

Sounds like fun, rono! And Meridian, Mississippi is where Dill Harris was from in "To Kill a Mockingbird"! Just a fun fact I remembered... well ok, maybe it wasn't fun, but just something I remembered.

My oh my! Didn't know that ,although the Tour Director and I talked lots in Ole Miss about Boo and the guys. Actually, we went to Meridian to see the grave of Jimmie Rodgers who died in the 30's and was the father of country music and white blues music. Rodgers was always a magic person since I was a four year old. Last year I used my vast record collection to get Jimmie to teach me how to yodel which I use in my vent presentations. Okay.why did we go to Montgomery Alabama..whose grave did we see?
To Kill A Mockingbird..I'm still chuckling at the soul who wanted someone to summarize the book in a forum thread. ron0

Awesome! Sounds like you had a lot of fun. Yeah, a post wouldn't even begin to do the book the justice it deserves. But anyways, back on topic...