My husband and I do a 2-person magic show -- he's the magician (Dr. Gee), I'm the clown/magician in trouble/assistant. Neither of us are vents, but we do use puppets. We are new to the business, and Steve Taylor is the only vent I've seen in action. My husband works full-time in addition to working on the magic shows and has no spare time to learn the "You" parts on the AxTrax routines. I, on the other hand, have adequate time and a strong desire to do so.
I was thinking I could introduce the AxTrax routine by saying that I had forgotten the bird's perch (puppet's chair or whatever), and then ask Dr. Gee if he would mind holding him or her. Then we'd go into the routine, with me doing the human performer's part and Dr. Gee holding and manipulating the puppet and working the foot pedal for the remote control for the CD player.
I don't want to go to all the work of memorizing a routine and working on character development if such an act won't play well to an audience. Has anyone seen such a 2-person act using AxTrax for non-vents? If so, how did the audience react?
Sure, why not?! So you and he would be standing together in full view of the audience, and HE would be just working the puppet and making facial reactions....YOU would be doing the live part. QUESTION - why do you need him to operate the puppet, can't you do that? Or am I missing something?
Yes, I do have problems with the puppets due to loss of hand strength, operations for carpal tunnel and trigger fingers. I also thought it would be fun to have the puppet reacting to 2 people -- I can just see its head going back and forth.
Also, because my husband would be manipulating the length of the pauses on the foot pedal, he could inject some of his own great sense of humor by adding some lines of his own, either scripted or ad lib and having the puppet react physically. Also, in an excited moment, the audience might hear all 3 of us starting to talk at once, reinforcing the illusion that the puppet is truly a separate character.
This sounds very interesting. Let us know how it goes. This, however, is a suggestion that might help your husband. I use to feel panic when I used the routines. What if I forgot one line??? the puppets next line would not make sense... what if I talk too fast (this happened a lot)??? too slow???this has happened too)??? This is my soloution to learning those lines. I use one of those photo video software that places words, photos, and songs on a VCD. Insert the routine CD(as you would if it was music) and type your words to appear on the screen during the pauses. Just before the puppet starts to talk, the words fade off the screen. You can also type in Steve's notes, such as "shake head" or "look back" etc. When I'm finished I have a VCD or DVD. I play this on a little portable 10" DVD player that connects wireless to my speaker. I set it where I can see it but not turned toward the audience (with my magic props). I no longer have to remember my lines. And a good thing about this also is after I've performed that routine a few times, all I have to do is glance at the DVD player and I know what my next line is. You can also use this to share the lines between you and your husband. Put your words in one color and his in another color. Unfortunately there's no foot pedal for DVD players but they do come with small remote. I have foot pedal with pause, but hasn't needed it for Axtrax. They have extra time in them for laughter. If you've never made a photo CD before, there are lots of software out there that does this. Windows XP has one built in. Maybe Axtell might make some with the words, for those of us who have trouble with timing and remembering our lines, in the future.
Yes we have concidered this...people have asked us for a Karaoke type system where the script would be scrolled along with the audio on a screen, so you could read as you go. Could you send me a copy of your CD to see what you did? Email me steve@axtell.com
To the original post, I understand why your husband is doing it now. Now you can indeed split the labor of learning the lines between the two of you. Have a 3 way conversation. It will be interesting and a new way to perform with them....please do send a video clip when you can, I'll put it up.
Out of the blue..what an interesting thread..Tynabe....a tele- prompter for vent...who'da thunk? Okay first, a seniors' moment...Mary...day after day on the way to work in the car is how I learned to do the auctioneer's pitch, yodel and vent routines. Plus, it's rumoured daily, mental exercises help ward off future debilitating mental problems. This is why my 18 year students would say, " Sir, did you do your crossword today?"
Now, another fascinating part of your thread deals with the CD foot pedal. As you know Senor Axtell has been asking for input on how this device is working over the long haul. My question would be if constant on and off results eventually in the on/off switch of the CD players packing it in?
Finally, may I humbly suggest Taost Tai Chi warm up exercises and a top notch physiotherapist for your hand.
What a morning the day long blizzard has left Ontario and is pasting the Maritimes. Welcome to the site , Mary.
Ron
I am interested in knowing about any available auctioneer tunes you would recommend, Mr. Anonymous. By the way, I've enjoyed MANY of your quotes over the years. Keep up the good work! Yodeling! Wow! That's hard enough to do when one is moving one's lips. And if I yodel in our frustrated rush hour California traffic I may become the victim of a drive by shooting and the judge is likely to pardon the offender!
tony, the auctioneer song was written by leroy van black. let me get into my music file and i will pull out the sheet music i bought back in 69 and i will post the publisher