One of the hardest pitfalls-especially for beginner vents-and I experienced this myself back in the day-is often times they will concentrate on lip control so hard that they forget to interact with the character and develop the character and routine. I was so stuck on lip control I literally had tunnel vision. So I tell young vents to worry about lip control, (this is ventriloquism after all) but not at the exclusion of writing jokes and character development. And not to give up. (It’s a learning curve. I always say, “Bad venting is better than no venting at all. Because with venting that’s less than perfect there is always room for improvement.”). What are everyone’s thoughts on this? And how did you beat this hurdle if you faced it?

For those of you who use vent in the classroom, ministry, as a part of your therapy practice or other, what has your experience been like? What have you learned?

I have a MAT (Mary Ann Taylor) and cannot say enough good things about her or the May Wilson figure she created. It’s light weight, perfect size and May looks great onstage. Plus Mary Ann was easy to work with and gave me everything I wanted within a reasonable time frame. Who are some of your fave figure makers and why?

The wonderful thing about ventriloquism is there are vents from all over the globe. So where are you based? I’m in Las Vegas. You?

Enjoy this fun article from this month's edition of the UK magazine "The Closer."