Hey well my name is Eric i love to perform with my puppets and magic i also juggle. now i wanted to know what should i do and what school should i go to. i also love to build puppets im in drama but like i really dont know what to do to get to do this as a career and what should i study can some one please help. btw im a jr.

please and thank you.

BigE the Clown

When you say you would like to do this as a career you need to narrow it down a bit. Do you want to work for a TV show? Work for a puppet building company? Work as an entertainer?

The University of California in Sacramento campus has a puppet program inside their drama department. They just put on Seussical the musical and did a great job. Richard Bay is the professor over the puppetry part. Do a search for him.

The University of Massachusetts, if I recall, has a bachelor's and a master's degree available in puppetry.

If you live in a city and want to be an entertainer then put together a birthday show, a library reading show, and an entertainment show (which could be very similar to your birthday show). Then make a video and send it out to all the entertainment agencies. You could work while you're going to college as well.

Puppet builders become known very quickly, but seem to build puppets themselves rather than hire out. This is something you would pursue on the internet. Ebay is a good place to start.

Hey Tony is there such a place like that in S Florida Delray/Boca /Boynton area

The Ringling Brothers Clown College is in Florida, but I'm not sure where. You can contact One Way Street and ask about churches in your area that have puppet teams and become involved with them. If you're into magic then check out Society of American Magicians (SAM) or International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) for a local chapter.

-Tony

First of all: how old are you? If you're still in school below the college level, I'd advise you to study on your own. Look for books or DVDs involving the topics you want to do well in. There are hundreds of sources for puppetry and ventriloquism out there.

Second: decide what you want to concentrate on and study all aspects of that topic. If it's puppetry, do you prefer marionettes, hand puppets, vent puppets or some other configuration. Will you use ventriloquism, normal voices from hidden manipulators or sound tracks?

Third: practice, practice, practice.

Fourth: If you can't find a school offering the skills you seek, try to get a job with someone in the industry as an assitant or apprentice -- that's the way I'd go if I could.

Fifth: Keep your goal in mind and develop the discipline to make sure you really have the talent and ability (two different but related things in my view) to do it and go forth and do it, keeping rule three in mind all the time.

if you are looking for learning material. you have found the right place. go to the resourses area of this web site. you can start with the free instruction presented there. then move on to the books, tapes, cd section. Steve has put together an amazing library of teaching material all in one place. Having been to the studio and seen the collection, consider this a one stop shopping site.

First of all I am on the East coast of Florida and the Circus school is on the west coast, about 4 hours away. I am 61 shortly to be 62, I hope. So I guess that makes me beyond the high school age and before you ask I did grad from both high school and college... a few years ago, too many to remember. What I need is someone to assist me with the one on one work. I have taped and videoed myself but its not the same as actually having someone there who can slap my wrist for a slip of the tongue.I guess you can tell I have the desire and whats lacking at this point is the time due to a work schedule but I soon see a retired N J and a want to do shows for seniors and children.
So is there someone who can assist this soon to be old bag of bones, nah old I will never be, bag of bones with some flab on them.
N J

Hey people,
I happen to come in here from time to time and im shocked to see that my post was still up and still getting responses. let me chatch you all up in my life now that i graduated.

I will soon be attending J&W for baking and pastry arts. My love is still and all ways will be puppets and magic. Im working on a show now so i can start doing kids birthday parties. i have been working on my skills and learning alot. i went to a oneway street festival last year and won first place in lip syinc. my puppet team was so proud 8 years with them have paid off alot. I want to thank you all for your input and i want to really thank Steve Axtell cuz he has really inspired me grately. I have yet to meet Steve but i hope to meet him soon and thank him.

Again thank you all

Emagic

Very cool to hear about your career taking off E.....

I am honored that I have been an inspiration to you in any way. I hope our paths do cross some day. This year I will probably still be going to a few conventions... Vent Haven in Kentucky, Kidabra in Tennessee and Magic Live in Vegas.

Hey since you are a cake maker you might enjoy looking at the Magic Drawing board "Happy Birthday" Talking Cake routine. it's full of bakery jokes. You could talk about your experience as a bakery chef and draw a cake, then it comes to life and talks and sings... Just an idea.

Ax