HOW TO BECOME A VENTRILOQUIST

New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 726, 12 June 1953, Page 24

HOW TO BECOME A VENTRILOQUIST

; ~PEAKING generally, the habit of talking to yourself is looked on as not quite nice, and something to be discouraged. But Peter Brough has been doing it for 18 years, and he has, I should imagine, made a lot of money out of it. You see, he’s the voice in the BBC’s Educating Archie, which has now replaced TIFH at the four ZB stations on Sundays at 8.15 p.m. (and starting at 2ZA on June 28). Brough has done what lots of people declared to be impossible; he has been able tu put over in sound alone an act which, more than any other, should be seen as well as heard. The easiest way to become a _ ventriloquist, he says, is to be born into .

the art. His father and his grandfather were ventriloquists. Countless people have askéd Brough if they can do it, too. His reply is that throwing the voice is no trick. Anyone can learn to do it, but ssome are bound to be better than others, and it means long and patient practice. Rehearse in front of a mirror and so learn to make it impossible for anyone to detect lip movement. For a start, Brough advises, use short, simple phrases such as "How are you? Hello. Oh Gosh," keeping the teeth shut tightly. Some letters cannot be said without moving the lips, and it is advisable to avoid words containing

the letters B, F, M, P and V. Archie Andrews, Brough’s dummy, has become a real being to millions of BBC listeners and theatre-goers. He is very real to Peter Brough, too, since he shares so much of the _ ventriloquist’s life, and when the two appear in the theatre their names are billed in letters of the same size. The accompanying photograph — shows Brough with Archie in a BBC studio. These few revealing tips by an expert may set off readers and listeners on a mass attempt at © Operation Deadpan, but don’t forget the shaving mirror. I can't help adding a reminder to lock the bathroom door, just to avoid misunderstandings.