Practice, Practice, Practice

Practice

Well if there is one thing that makes true professionals, I mean the best of the best, you know the vents I'm talking about. In the 60's and 70's it was Paul Winchell, Shari Lewis and Jimmy Nelson. Today it's Jeff Dunham, Ronn Lucas and Jay Johnson. Anyway, what makes them better than any of us average vents? One word, PRACTICE.

Ask any of the vents that you consider to be flawless and they will tell you that they practice. I don't mean once on a Thursday or a half an hour right before the show. They practice everyday, and I bet if you ask them, they practice the hard stuff.

I remember when I used to play trumpet my band director once told me, "The problem is you don't practice the hard things. You enjoy playing the things you can so much that when you get to the hard parts you skip over them and go to the next thing that is easy to play." And that was so true. What about you, are you great at manipulation and so that's all you work on? Maybe you the king of distant voice so you thrill everyone with that.

Practice the hard things, the things you hate to do. The things you think you can get by without, and this will make you another Paul Winchell or Shari Lewis. Be committed to the art, and not just the things that are easy. Make your figure come alive with new manipulation, get those B's and M's down to perfection. And most of all, enjoy your time with your figure. Lifes to short, practice what you enjoy.