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You're No Dummy: Ventriloquism for Beginners

Learn the basics of ventriloquism with Award Winning ventriloquist, Diana "Rockwell" Smith!
Diana L. Smith, BFA
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:
(57)
Class
Play

What's included

8 live meetings
4 in-class hours
Homework
1-2 hours per week. I will assign them practice sheets to work with in their spare time. No written work is needed.
Assessment
Learner progress is assessed by how they're coming along technically. I will test them on what they've practiced in their spare time. We will review from the previous class before moving on to the next step.

Class Experience

US Grade 3 - 6
Beginner - Intermediate Level
Each week will involve going over different strategies. These will take place on Zoom. Classes will last 30 minutes each. Certain lesson points don't require much class time. I will have no more than six students at a time. Anything more than that could get problematic for some. Each class period begins with me introducing the lesson and then we practice the steps together. For example, when going over pronunciation and lip control, I will include the principle of replacement consonants for words invloving B's, M's, P's, or V's. Let's face it, those letters cannot be pronounced without moving your lips. That is why we call them plosives. The trick is to use replacements instead. The sound of a 'B' is actually a very tangent 'G.' I will assign them tongue twisters using only plosives as a practice mechanism. It is also recommended for students to keep a mirror handy while practicing on their own. This is how they can track their lip control. 

Here is a list of topics we will cover week by week:

Week 1: We will go over the basics of lip control. This is the introduction of speaking without moving your lips. This also covers pronunciation and the correct posture so that the moving throat isn't visible and coming up with different voices.

Week 2: We will continue with lip control, but will also begin the beginning stages of puppet manipulation.

Week 3: We will dive deeper into the steps of puppet manipulation, but also substance. Substance is key to making a strong character. This is what makes your character seem lifelike. We will also begin the guidelines of our final project.

Week 4: We will bring together all of the ingredients to the great ventrilo-recipe: lip control, voice, humor, and puppet movement. This will all happen in our final projects presented on the last day of class

Please contact me if you have any questions! Thank you!
Learning Goals
Students will learn the basics of lip control, puppet manipulation, and creating their own unique characters to present on stage. Each process is learned separately, but will be brought together in the end. The purpose is to create the illusion that two separate people are on stage.
learning goal

Other Details

Parental Guidance
No
Supply List
A puppet of some kind, a mirror, and yourself.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined April, 2020
5.0
57reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
I am the recipient of the 2015 Clinton Detweiler Scholarship in Ventriloquism (presented by America's Got Talent Winner, Terry Fator). I am also an employee of Creative Safety Products, a company that books school assemblies all over the northeast. On average, I perform 300+ shows a year, sometimes as many as 450. I am also the author of Experimental Ventriloquism, which can be found on Amazon.com (not recommended for beginner's). 

Reviews

Live Group Class
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$115

for 8 classes
2x per week, 4 weeks
30 min

Completed by 95 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 9-13
1-5 learners per class

This class is no longer offered
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