Ventriloquists make voices heard

Kirk Baird

Monday, June 19, 2000 | 9:07 a.m.

In a city such as Las Vegas, it takes a lot to get noticed.

Strolling through a casino with a puppet on one arm and talking to people in a childlike voice will usually do it.

Just ask Mike Pesce, amateur ventriloquist.

A 56-year-old resident of Crossville, Tenn., who operates a forklift for a living, Pesce and his dummy (read: puppet), Artie West, strolled through Harrah's hotel-casino.

They were among nearly 300 people who attended the fourth Vegas Ventriloquist Festival 2000 last weekend.

One of the biggest such gatherings in the world, the annual five-day event, which began Wednesday, offered amateur and professional ventriloquists an opportunity to share ideas and tips, shop for new puppets and talk shop with those who prefer the company of dummies.

Call it the invasion of the multiple-personality kind, as ventriloquists from all over the United States and world -- from as far away as Japan and Germany -- attended the event.

Pesce and Artie found much the same reaction from people that he gets when the two venture out in his hometown: stares and excitement.

In fact, two waitresses were so impressed with Artie, a dark-haired puppet modeled after a teenager -- complete with headphones -- they gave him a pair of sunglasses to aid in his cool quotient.

"People love Artie," said Pesce, sounding every bit the proud father.

Well, not everybody. There was the incident at a Wal-Mart in his hometown. Pesce and Artie were waiting to check out of the express lane when both noticed the woman in front of them had double to triple the amount of items the sign allowed. After Artie began to count how many products she had, the puppet (via Pesce) felt compelled to remark to the woman: "I guess you can't read very good."

The express-lane violator didn't take too kindly to being mocked by a dummy.

"She started screaming at the puppet, 'Why the hell don't you mind your own business!' " Pesce said. "I told her, 'I try to control him (Artie), but he's on his own.' "

Pesce said he then tried to apologize for Artie's remarks, but the woman would have none of it.

"She said, 'I don't want his apology. Just keep him away from me.' "

If it seems that Artie has pulled a Pinocchio and taken on a life of his own, in many ways he has.

"(Artie's) part of the family," Pesce's wife, Chris, said. "We have a little dog, too, and she's part of the family. They just belong there."

If that's not enough to produce chills, consider this: The Pesces aren't alone.

When asked why the festival was so popular, Ronn Lucas, a stand-up comedian/ ventriloquist who was a speaker at the event, gave the easiest explanation. "It's the same reason plumbers get together or anybody else does: It's fun to get together and talk with people who are like-minded."

Of course, in this case, it's not just the people who do the talking.

Who's the dummy?

Twyla sits quietly in Eyvonne Carter's arms. Still without hair, the baby girl possesses wide, green eyes and a cute smile. Twyla's shy, but there's the feeling she is more aware of her surroundings than she lets on.

She's well-behaved and impeccably dressed, and doesn't squirm or fidget. In short, Twyla's a model child.

She's also a puppet.

Just six months old -- at least that's when she was purchased -- Twyla is one of two dummies the 46-year-old Carter owns, the other being a jackalope named Dust Bunny. Although she took up ventriloquism two years ago as a hobby, Carter said her appreciation for the art goes back further than that.

"I grew up watching Paul Winchell and Edgar Bergen," she said. "It was something I really liked as a child."

And shortly after her daughter was born 12 years ago, her enjoyment of ventriloquism returned when Carter said she would play and talk to puppets with her daughter. "As (she) got older, I kept playing with puppets. It evolved from there."

For those who might question an adult "playing" with dolls, Carter is quick to point out she didn't quit her day job -- director and instructor for a ballet school in Wickenburg, Ariz. -- and is still an amateur ventriloquist. She did allow, however, that in the future she might be willing to make a professional go of it.

"I've performed a few times in Wickenburg and Phoenix for children's shows," Carter said. "I'm trying to establish there what I'm going to do with my shows."

Then there's Chuck Field, 43, who attended the festival with his daughter, Jenny, 14.

The elder Field, vice president of a corrugated box company, said he's been performing as a ventriloquist since he was 10; his daughter began at age 6, after he brought home a dummy for her to play with.

And now both father and daughter perform together and separately around the Chicago area where they live, on TV -- Jenny has appeared on the Nickelodeon cable network -- and at conventions.

Field, who has come to all the Vegas Ventriloquist Festivals, said the event is good for other amateur ventriloquists to "learn from the best" and will only help them aspire to be better performers. And, like Lucas, he said it's also a chance for people who share a love and appreciation for an ancient art -- ventriloquism has been around since the time of the Pharaohs -- to get together.

"It's like family," he said. "I've made some very good friends."

Field also said he hopes conventions like these will help stir the same passions in the younger generations.

"We need young blood to keep the art alive," he said. "There are some examples of it here, but not enough."

Old and old voices

At 14, Spencer Horsman has already had the kind of success many ventriloquists can only dream of.

Combining a love of magic with his gift of ventriloquism, Horsman has appeared on "The Late Show with David Letterman," "Talk Soup" and "The Jerry Springer Show" ("before the fighting," he added) among others. He said he has not only been to all the Ventriloquist Festivals, but has performed in all of them, too.

His act features Dexter, a suavely attired puppet that has "tricks built into him." This allows the puppet to "perform" many of the illusions itself, such as turning a bubble into a crystal ball and various card tricks.

Performing since age 6, after he received a puppet as a gift, the Baltimore native said entertainment is in his blood. Both of Horsman's parents performed as clowns at one time, before opening up a magic shop, where he continues to work.

"My parents don't do it," Horsman said of ventriloquism, "and my friends think it's pretty cool."

As for his future, Spencer would like to study forensics and virology in college, but hasn't completely ruled out being a professional ventriloquist.

"It's a great thing to do; I love it," he said.

It's much the same for Lucas. He started in ventriloquism at age 7 and by 10 had gotten "pretty good."

And now, at age 46, the Los Angeles resident is considered by many peers to be one of the top ventriloquists performing today.

"I pride myself on being a real good stand-up (comic) with puppets," Lucas said. "I'm just a stand-up with a trade."

But his trade has proved popular.

Regularly playing in comedy clubs across the United States -- Lucas appeared Friday and Saturday in the Danny Gans Theatre at the Mirage hotel-casino. The performer had a top-rated show in England and a short-lived CBS prime-time sitcom, "Scorch," and even made an appearance on "L.A. Law" as -- what else? -- a ventriloquist.

He's also the main reason why Pesce boarded a plane for the first time: a chance to meet Lucas. (Pesce did, and had Lucas autograph one of Artie's shoes.)

It's easy to see why Lucas is so popular. He's both funny and pleasant, taking time to meet fans, sign autographs and make small talk.

Still, he's serious when it comes to ventriloquism, including what it takes to be a good performer: "Good lip technique, so it doesn't look like you're talking; good puppetry or whatever it is you're manipulating; and finally, you've got to be funny," he said.

Although Lucas said he strives for all three, history has shown a lack of proficiency in one element still can be overcome.

"Look at somebody like Wayland Flowers and Madam. He was not a ventriloquist at all," Lucas said. "He used the technique of manipulating the puppet, and Madam was very funny. He showed that he didn't have to be a ventriloquist to be a success."

And by coming to these conventions -- he's appeared at three of them -- Lucas said he hopes to help further his craft.

"This is a festival where (everyone is) looking at all the different ways the art can be explored," he said. "There's so much more than a guy talking to a little dummy on his knee."

There's at least one woman in Crossville who would agree.

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