The first voice a student of ventriloquism will strive to acquire is
what is called “The voice in the closet.” To acquire this voice, which
we so name for distinction’s sake, speak any word or sentence in your
own natural tones; then open the mouth, and _fix the jaws_ fast, as
though you were trying to hinder any one from opening them farther, or
shutting them; draw the tongue back in a ball; speak the same words,
and the sound, instead of being formed in the mouth, will be formed in
the pharynx. Great attention must be paid to holding the jaws rigid.
The sound will then be found to imitate a voice heard from the other
side of a door when it is closed, or under a floor, or through a wall.
To ventriloquize with this voice, let the operator stand with his back
to the audience, against a door. Give a gentle tap at the door, and
call aloud in the natural voice, inquiring, “Who is there?” This will
have the effect of drawing the attention of the audience to a person
supposed to be outside. Then fix the jaw as described, and utter in
the “closet voice” any words you please, such as, “I want to come in.”
Ask questions in the natural voice, and answer in the other. When you
have done this, open the door a little, and hold a conversation with
the imaginary person. As the door is now open, it is obvious that
the voice must be altered, for a voice will not sound to the ear when
a door is open the same as when closed. Therefore the voice must be
made to _appear_ face to face, or close to the ventriloquist. To do
this, the voice must not be altered from the _original note or pitch_,
but be made in another part of the mouth. This is done by closing the
lips tight and drawing one corner of the mouth downwards, or towards
the ear. Then let the lips open at that corner only, the other part to
remain closed. Next, breathe, as it were, the words out of the orifice
formed.
Do not speak distinctly, but expel the breath in short puffs at
each word, and as loud as possible. By so doing you will _cause the
illusion_ in the mind of the listeners that they hear the same voice
which they heard when the door was closed, but which is now heard more
distinctly and nearer on account of the door being open. This voice
must always be used when the ventriloquist wishes it to appear that the
sound comes through an obstacle, but from some one close at hand.
The description of voice and dialogue may be varied, as in the
following example:--
“The Suffocated Victim.” This was a favorite illustration of Mr. Love,
the Polyphonist.
A large box or closed cupboard is used indiscriminately, as it may be
handy. The student will rap or kick the box, apparently by accident.
The voice will then utter a hoarse and subdued groan, apparently from
the box or closet.
_Student._ (Pointing to the box with an air of astonishment.) What was
that?
_Voice._ O, let me out!
_Student._ Why! there is some one in here, I declare (to box). Who is
it?
_Voice._ I won’t do so any more. I am nearly dead.
_Student._ Who are you? How came you there?
_Voice._ You know very well who I am. Let me out! Let me out!
_Student._ I tell you I don’t know you.
_Voice._ O, yes, you do.
_Student._ Tell me quick. Who are you?
_Voice._ Your old school-fellow, Tom ----; you know me.
_Student._ Why, he’s in Canada.
_Voice._ (Sharply.) You know better; he’s here; but be quick.
_Student._ (Opening the lid.) Perhaps he’s come by the underground
railroad. Hallo!
_Voice._ (Not so muffled as described in direction.) Now, then, give us
a hand.
_Student._ (Closing the lid or door sharply.) No, I won’t.
_Voice._ (As before.) Have pity (Dick, or Mr. ----, as the case may be),
or I shall be choked.
_Student._ I believe you are a humbug.
_Voice._ Why don’t you let me out and see, before I am dead?
_Student._ (Opening and shutting the lid or door, and saying, the voice
accordingly.) Dead! not you. When did you leave Canada?
_Voice._ Last week. O, I am choking!
_Student._ Shall I let him out? (Opening the door.) There is no one
here.
Conversations can be held with pedlers at the door, or with some one in
the cellar or basement; and as a rule the lower notes of the voice will
be best for voices in the basement, and formed as low in the chest as
possible.
The second kind of voice, or voice No. 2, we will call it, is more
easy to be acquired. It is the voice by which all ventriloquists make
a supposed person speak from a long distance, or from or through the
ceiling. In the first place, with your back to the audience, _direct
their attention_ to the ceiling, _by pointing to it_, or by looking
intently at it. Call loudly, and ask some questions, as though believed
a person to be concealed there. Make your own voice very distinct, and
as near the lips as possible, as that will help the illusion. Then,
in _exactly the same tone and pitch_, answer; _but, in order that the
voice may seem to proceed from the point indicated, the words must be
formed at the back part of the roof of the mouth_. To do this, the
lower jaw must be drawn back and held there, the mouth open, _which
will cause the palate to be elevated and drawn nearer to the pharynx_,
and the sound will be reflected in that cavity, and appear to come from
the roof. Too much attention cannot be paid to the manner in which the
breath is used in this voice. When speaking to the supposed person,
expel the words with a deep, quick breath.
When answering in the imitative voice, the breath must be _held
back, and expelled very slowly, and the voice will come in a subdued
and muffled manner_, little above a whisper, but so as to be well
distinguished. To cause the supposed voice to come nearer by degrees,
call loudly, and say, “I want you down here!” or words to that effect;
_at the same time make a motion downwards with your hands_. Hold some
conversation with the voice, and cause it to say, “I am coming,” or
“Here I am,” each time indicating the descent with the hand.
Let the voice, at every supposed step, roll, as it were, by degrees,
_from the pharynx more into the cavity of the mouth_, and at each
supposed step _contracting the opening of the mouth_, until the lips
are drawn up as if you were whistling. By so doing, the cavity of the
mouth will be very much enlarged. This will cause the voice _to be
obscured, and so to appear_ to come nearer by degrees. At the same time
care must be taken not to articulate the consonant sounds plainly,
as that would cause the disarrangement of the lips and cavity of the
mouth; and in all _imitation voices_ the consonants must scarcely
be articulated at all, _especially if the ventriloquist faces the
audience_. For example, suppose the imitative voice is made to say,
“Mind what you are doing, you bad boy,” it must be spoken as if it
were written, “ind ot you’re doing, you ’ad whoy.” (It is rarely a
ventriloquist shows a full face to his audience, unless at a great
distance from them. It would help to destroy the illusion if the jaws
were seen to move.) This kind of articulation is made by forming the
words in the pharynx, and then sending them out of the mouth by sudden
expulsions of the breath clean from the lungs at every word. This is
often illustrated by a ventriloquist pretending to talk to a man on the
roof.