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HOW TO BECOME A SEMI PRO VENTRILOQUIST

How to become a semi pro ventriloquist? good question,well first thing you need to do is become a fan of vann duke and sammy,well not Vann duke but definitely a fan of sammy.becoming a semi professional ventriloquist is based on your amateur life as a ventriloquist,you see it's like this,being semi pro is being a professional,and if you don't take your amateur ventriloquist life seriously,then surely you will not take the semi pro ventriloquist life seriously.on this autobiography blog I wrote on the subject of amateur ventriloquist,please go read it.let me be clear once you go pro you can never ever return to amateur ventriloquist status again, here is why,lets say the Jones book you for a paid gig,the Jackson and the Smith's also book you for a paid gig,then you do a free gig for a bakery grand opening,word get back to the Jones,the Smith's and Jackson about the free gig for the bakery,well my friend in showbiz that's called "HIGHWAY ROBBERY" a shisty move- scandalous deals.as a amateur ventriloquist or performer you want to study,practice,rehearsing your eighty minutes ventriloquist act,you want to become a stage "STAGE PIG" you want to get on stage as much as you can,you want to sleep on the stage and eat the microphone for breakfast lunch and dinner,you're a "STAGE PIG" or "hog" keep your eyes open and ears open and your mouth shut and soon you will automatically enter the world of semi pro ventriloquist but remember this,that very first paid gig that you "accept" is the end of your amateur ventriloquist career,sure you can stay an amateur ventriloquist and also make money by entering talent shows,talent contest,street performer,because those are the amateur fields of show business but semi pro and full pro is serious business.now after you think about becoming semi pro you need to dress in business attire,you need business cards,you need a business phone number,you need to learn networking,as a semi pro your goal is moving your act and keeping it moving,you are in show business now and your business is your ventriloquist show/act,this means you might need to talk to real hustlers,their are bad hustlers and good hustlers,I took notes from both,you say what are hustlers,well for your safety I will mention the good ones.visit a car dealer ship and ask the #1 car salesman or saleswoman for tips on making deals,talk to a realtor about tips about presentation and sealing the deal.I once knew people that were telemarketers,back in the day these people were business career kings and queens,they eat and sleep money and I was a student,today as I write this blog I am not sure about the telemarketers career,so maybe if you can get some notes from one,it will help you in your semi pro ventriloquist career.
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(SELL SELL SELL)
being a semi-pro ventriloquist your main goal is to out SELL the professional, any semi-pro is the "OPPOSITION" you are there to get a taste of that professional pie! the best thing about being semi-professional it's all you..100% not like the professional 10% here 80% there and another  10 % there..once you have owned your craft and educated yourself on your craft, you're set for business, remember the main idea of semi-professional is taking from the professionals for your benefit, budgets are your tools, target the consumer for their financial situation and your business growth,in essence, they save money and you get business or the show or hired for the event calendar date.it's entertainment  and show business, you must remember some people looking to hire entertainment for their party or event are on a budget, I remember when I was in high school talking to ventriloquist Willie Tyler on the phone,I asked him many questions and one was "do you do birthday parties" his answer was "no I don't do birthday parties" some professional ventriloquist only do one or two types of show and this give the semi-pro ventriloquist a opportunity for booking,yeah give me your rejects I will gladly take them.. many customers have spoke to me about the headache they will get trying to book live entertainment for the birthday party or event, I loved being a ventriloquist, I loved being in show business and when I am talking with a customer on booking me,I would say don't stress, let's talk about the getting the show started first then we'll talk about the business part later..some customers told me a clown asked for ten thousand dollars for showing up, I was so angry and the ten thousand dollars had nothing to with entertainment,it's just that the entertainers        are guaranteed not to cancel and will arrive on time..so I tell the customers keep your ten thousand dollars of show up money, I have a production company that will knock your socks off for half the price..customers just want the party or the event to go right, smooth, and be enjoyable, that's why they pay all that money because the customers think a ten thousand dollars clown is worth every penny, they think the clown must know what he's doing if he's charging ten thousand dollars just for him to show up at your party or event..some parents would come to tears because they could not afford live entertainment for their kids birthday,so I went into the costume rental business,I bought many power rangers costumes and rented them out to parents and some parents added a extra fee for me to be in the costume instead of them, I had a sell out costume of a white Easter bunny, a few Santa Claus costumes, one joker and so on. I enjoyed trying to make it happen for the purpose of show business...

now let me be clear about the ten thousand dollar clown, yes entertainers get paid thousand and thousand of dollars to just show up, let's say actor brad Pitt, let's say Eddie Murphy, some entertainers get paid thousand and thousand dollars for speaking, it's called a speaking engagement and the subject of this story is "semi-professional" and so when I mentioned the ten thousand dollars clown, it is to give a real life example of professional and semi-professional, the ten thousand dollar clown is a professional, and I was semi-professional.
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(HOW DO BECOMING SEMI-PRO HAPPENS?)
The title ask the question, how do semi-pro happens? to become semi-pro you need to be a amateur first, it's no way you just learned a art form and start charging money for it,for an example you just learned how to read, no one is going to pay you to read the news to a audience.
as an amateur performer you need to perform as much as possible,you need to be networking always as a amateur..at your school for show and tell do a demo of your craft for your classmates, at your job do a demo of your amateur act for co-workers, during family holidays do a show for your family and friends,basically this is where you should spend a lot of your amateur time,performing for family and friends during holidays get togethers..being a ventriloquist as a amateur you can perform a demo with out a ventriloquist dummy, you do the telephone trick, where people hear a voice coming from a telephone, I did a demo where a group of people heard a kitten in a shoe box but when I open the shoe box, the kitten was gone,you can take one of your socks off and make it come to life as a talking sock..after some time of serious amateur life, someone will book you for their birthday party or up coming event, and that's how it happens...I remember one night walking out the laugh factory comedy club front door pulling my ventriloquist trunk behind me with Sammy inside after performing my ventriloquist skit on the laugh factory comedy club stage, the owner of the laugh factory comedy club said "you did very good tonight come back on Wednesday night, I am putting you on Wednesday nights", and that's how it works..one day you get a step up and one day you get a step up and one day you get another step up and if you slip and fall down, you get up dust your self off and start all over, up the show business ladder,step by step until you have reached the, TOP!
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('WHAT'S IT'S LIKE BEING A VENTRILOQUIST?'
some people may think being a ventriloquist is weird and some may have no clue..being a ventriloquist for me is total completion for me, I never get bored with it, it keeps me busy...being a ventriloquist can be hobby or a career..being a ventriloquist is being a artist...so many topics based in the art of ventriloquism such as...
acting, puppetry, voice, comedy, magic, singing, music, drama, writing, fashion, so much more.




















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#vanndukeandsammyautobiography #vanndukeandsammy

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