One thing we can’t stress too much is the importance of knowing each of your characters. Even if you are working from a very tight script, little things can happen in a performance to affect you ability to stay on script. On the other hand, if you like to perform and at the same time work the audience, knowing your character is critical.
Sit down for a few minutes and write up a short bio for each character. This is not something just for beginners. I’d bet that Jeff has bios worked out for each of his well known players.
Get to know everything about your character. How many brothers and sisters does he/she have. What are their names. What kind of home did your little friend come from. Mom and Dad still married to each other? Does he/she have any interesting relatives or friends that you need to know about so that you can convey each of them to your audience at the appropriate time?
If you don’t think this is important, did you ever hear of Marcell Ledbetter? He is a good example of one person being able to tell stories about the main subject and the relationships in his/her life. Since most of the funniest material that you can use comes from real life situations, the more you can know about your character, the funnier you can make your performance. You need to keep the folks laughing so they will keep paying you to come back and make them laugh some more.
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Until Next Time
Steve and JET
A very valuable tip I received some time ago, and I wish I could remember from whom so I could give them credit, was to create a BIO FORM telling “about the figure” and his/her hobbies, talents, likes & dislikes, favorites in food-clothng-music, family (bros., sisters, parents, and the like), a good biography that will allow you to do a better “interview” with the figure than to use a script from a book(let). Fit your own likes and dislikes, character traits, etc., to the figure. Ronn Lucas is my faavorite for using materials that can be replayed for my kids/grand and great grand children. I love to watch Jeff Dunham, but I must be VERY careful as to who else is in the room, I don’t like the language, but love the talent. Terry Fator is another favorite, but some “blue” materials does come in to play, but pretty much within reason. By watching them, you get a good idea of the amount of work that went in to each character, and would be good for each of us to immitate to a large degree. I’m working now on a bio for a “street person”, but don’t have a figure as yet, the figure must match the bio going from this angle. Sometimes I can find a figure that gives me an “instant” bio that I can use… some of them I buy because they are unique and an idea always comes on behind. If I find out who’s idea the BIO SHEET was, I’ll make sure they get the credit.
Great advice. After planning how your figure should look from design right down to the clothing it makes sense that he/she should have a profile that creates part of it’s “life” and gives it a real personality.