Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-08-25
TRICKS OF A VENTRILoQUIST.
Man With Second Voice" Has Fun
at the. Expense Of the Innocent BY
standers.

Some of the carefully guarded Sc
crets Of the ventriloquist have been
disclosed by Prof. (Chick) Lorenzo,
a veteran of the profession. For more
than a quarter of a century he has
been going about the country MAX
ing an easy living with his second
voice''-and his wooden puppets.
Chick has a college education and he
is able to discuss his art intelligently.
Prof. Lorenzo passed through Kan
sas City recently on the way to st.
Joseph, Mo-, to fill six months en-
gagement with a medicine show. He
has just finished an engagement with
Ringing Brothers circus.
The ventriloquist cannot pronounce
that is, with his second voice.
the letters "b" and "p," and words
in which they occur are avoided as
much as possible. When 1t Is neces-
sary to use words in which these two
letters occur sounds closely approxi-
mating them are substituted. Instead
of "b" the sound 'vhee" which can
be pronounced without moving the
lips, is used. Fee" is substituted
for "p." By these changes "a big
piano" becomes a Zig fiano." Such
substitutions are scarcely noticeable
when combined with letters in words
occurring in sentences the meaning of
which are perfectly clear. Conse-
quently the ventriloquist arranges his
dialogue so that when there is danger
of being misunderstood, the doubtful
words may be repeated in the ques-
tionS directed to the puppet. Herein
is the explanation for much of the
seeming unnecessary repetition in
the dialogue in ventriloquist's en-
tertainment
1t is not possible for a ventrilo-
quist to pronounce the letter IN"
without a slight movement Of the up
per lip and 1t is carefully avoided
when possible. Eng" or its modifi-
cations are substituted for IN" and
thus amusing" becomes "ang-yuzing;
the IN re-enforced with "g" gives a
sound similar to the correct one. "N'
triloquist. but the sounds may be
mastered with persistence. The let
ter "w'' always is given the sound
"duggle-you."
The student ventriloquist usually
| begins with learning the Punch
voice." so called because used for the
puppet Punch in the ancient and
honored Punch and Judy show. The
Punch voice" resembles the sound
of a high pitched reed. This voice be-
comes a large part of the ventrilo-
QulSl SlOCh Ill lTdue. with Sll6Hl
notifications he uses it for the voice
of a querulous old woman, the talk
of a child, also for initiating the chat
ter of a parrot. the growing of a BAN
| tam rooster, the mewing of q cat, the
bleating of a lamb and other similar
| sounds. The Punch voice." lowered
| in key and given less nasal quality, is
| adapted for the conversation Of the
| Irish and negro puppets.
| Next comes the "grunt voice" very
! popular with audiences. 1t is pro-
duced by grunting the words at the
| back of the mouth with the tongue
| lying fiat and the tip touching the
front lower teeth. This is the voice
used in imitation of an old man who
| talks with his mouth wide open, hav-
ing lost control of his tongue and
| lips.
When the ambitious ventriloquist
| has mastered the punch" and
| "grunt" voices with their variations,
he has at his command the varied
conversation of the usual puppet
family-the old man, the old woman,
| the young child, the negro and the
| IriShman.
Take it from me-" Chick continued,
"ventriloquism explains many classic
and historical mysteries. Those strange
voices coming from tombs and oracles
and such l believe were produced by
ventriloquists. There is good authority
that ventriloquism was practiced in
ancient times"
| Prof. Lorenzo adds storytelling to
his other accomplishments.
| In my earlier years." he said, Il
spent most of my spare time around
the hotel lObbies telling ventrilOquist
stories or listening TO an occasional
new one, but it has been long time
since | heard anything new in this line.
am familiar with all of the worldfa-
nous stories about the pranks of ven-
! triloquists."