Timing for this rehearsal couldn’t have been better as I had watched a documentary on BBC 4 the day before ‘Her Master’s Voice’. In it,
ventriloquist Nina Conti talks about her work and attends a ventriloquist
convention in America. In watching you become aware that the puppets she uses have personalities of their own and, as an audience, you totally believe that this ‘thing’ on her arm is a real person (or a Monkey in Nina’s case!) So, I was able to come to rehearsals armed with inspiration.
As Becky sat down with ‘Larry the Doctor’ (which we have named him!) the suspension of disbelief began. Larry is actually a puppet made to look like Moses with long white hair, beard and a robe. The first thing we did was to
utilize this by having Becky manipulate Larry’s arm to stroke his beard and move like an inquisitive and thoughtful Doc! Becky isn’t using any ventriloquist’s vocal techniques but uses the same voice for her Sarah Character and the puppet. Even with this unreal situation, you soon realize you are watching a scene with two characters in and I even gave some direction to Larry!
There was a danger of this section becoming too comedic as it actually deals with a traumatic moment in the life of the Sarah Character. However, I think we kept the comedy in check and whilst the audience will naturally laugh at this scene it is hoped they will soon stop and think about what they are laughing at. Black comedy at its best...we hope!