Historical Venting with April Brucker (and Friends)

This week's show is a unique and fun one, as ventriloquist, comedienne, actor, and author April Brucker joins AP for a fascinating discussion about America's relationship with ventriloquism and her own personal experiences as a performer. April's new book, 250 Years of American Ventriloquism: How Ventriloquism Influenced American Culture explores the many and varied ways the particular form of performing art has informed not just popular entertainment, but our society more broadly! It's an entertaining read, with poignant observations about the ways puppets have given voice to underrepresented groups and have largely been able to get away with saying things mere human performers might have difficulty with.

As an added treat, April's "children" join the conversation at different points. Her longtime partner Mae Wilson regales AP with road stories and shares pivotal moments in her and April's career- from a breakout appearance on the popular TV show My Strange Addiction to gigs in Vegas, to altercations as a result of appearing on What Would You Do? - and even a televised lawsuit on Judge Jerry. If all of that isn't enough, there's even appearances by presidential puppets Tramp and Bidentime, conversations about classic vents such as Paul Winchell, and some of the supernatural origins of voice-throwing. April's knowledge of ventriloquism technique and history is well presented in this high energy chat- and if you're questioning the logic of venting in an audio medium, keep in mind it worked for Edgar Bergen!

250 Years of American Ventriloquism can be found wherever fine books are sold. Check out April's website for more about her work here: http://www.aprilbrucker.tv/