I have been talking to a few vent friends, and this subject comes up time and again...the lack of originality of some vents today.

Not talking about beginners who do a lot of standard material, but I look at a lot of vent videos on YouTube and watch some so-called pros doing other people's material word for word.

Wonder why? Lack of ideas? Lazy?

I have purposefully kept to my animal characters to force me to be more creative in my writing. It was too easy to fall into all the old stale routines.

Just thinking out loud..well typing out loud.

Perhaps some of those people you've seen are using the "retail tactics". If one does it and it works then they should climb on the band wagon and do it too. That's no excuse of course, but it's the misguided belief of "give them what they want".

Personally I aim for a specific audience so the cookie cutter techniques aren't always the best.

It might come from the magician's mentality. Afterall, they just need to go word-for-word, step-by-step, pose-by-pose and they will do a good magic show.

Quite frankly, I'm neutral when people starts copying a segment of a good act. What I am concerned is that have they evolve to become a better performer in a year's time.

If these people are still doing the same old recycled materials that they have copied after a year, then I feel that it is a big concern.

I'm not neutral!

People work hard to develop acts that suit them, and theft is theft. There are plenty of published routines out there to buy or find in the library if you can't create your own material. Lifting material from other performers without permission is reprehensible. Period.

Bob

I'm relatively new to ventriloquism, just going on 3 years now. I must say that all of my material is original. How can I say this? Because, I've never been to a vent convention, and I have watched only a few vent videos on youtube. 99% of those videos, and even books I have bought with routines in them, I do not like.
I fit my shows to the audiences age I'm performing for. I find it so much easier to remember my routine because I'm the one who thought of it.
But I will say this; "I actually do not have problem if anyone wants to copy my routine as long as they are not performing in the same area as I am."

Chris

I heard Steve Taylor once say that routine books are a good place to start but they were written by someone else FOR someone else.

I agree with a lot of you folk here. I'm always interested in the latest instructional book or dvd and love going to Vent Haven but I am continually disappointed by how many teachers suggest that we should cobble together our routines from joke books. I've been to shows where the jokes the vent was peddling where so old that a guy in the audience member next to me was muttering the punch lines along with him.

The amazing thing about ventriloquism is that it really is such an creative medium. We can create character that aren't bound to the rules of reality. We can give a voice to from the ancient past, the distant future, to animals and even inanimate objects. It's a kind of magic and what a waste to use that magic on some joke that even your great grandpa would be sick of hearing.

If you steal another ventriloquist's material you are doing a huge disservice not just to them but to yourself too. Ventriloquism already struggles against a whole lot of negative pre conceptions. We shouldn't further hinder it with recycled or stolen gags. Be brave, be creative, be different!

Hey guys, I think I must clarify about me being neutral.

Like you guys, I do not endorse copying of shows or any type. Theft is theft, there is no gray area about this.

However, do remember that there are people who start off doing shows without any guidance. They did not go to VentHaven, The Magic Café, etc. to learn more about the art of Ventriloquism (or magic for that matter).

So, some will attempt to start their first show with copied materials. I was at VentHaven last year and I was disturbed by some who uses materials that are distinctively familiar to me.

I mean, there is a teen with "I keel you" jokes using a bird! I talked to him and encourage him to move on to be a better performer. (I don't know if he got my message because my accent is a little hard for him to understand!)

My point here is that, some may start with copying, unknowingly. But with good mentoring or guidance from the established performers, they should evolve to be original. Everyone makes mistakes, right?

As mentioned, I am more concerned with performers who are 100% unoriginal and are still performing the same unoriginal stuff after a few years. They have not improve as a performer and that is my main concern. And you know that there are such performers in your area.


I'm neutral, not because I endorse unoriginality, but because we should look at it at a different perspective and help them to be better performers.

I think we as a ventriloquist should learn from Stand Up Comedian. Most of them make their material from observing every things around them and try to find funny things from it. They don't like to use street jokes including internet jokes. So the result is very personal and meet their stage character too. And yes, they use some joke technique such as set up and punch line, rule of three, act out, etc. But I know it is not easy!