Books & writing

Two books. One hundred and forty-three articles.

Mark's books are used by performers in twenty-six countries, including a Japanese-language edition. His weekly column ran for three years. Everything he knows about this art is written down somewhere.

Cover of Kid Show Ventriloquism by Mark Wade

The books

The standard texts on kidshow ventriloquism.

In the trade they get called the bibles of children's entertainment, which is a large thing to say about two paperbacks — except that when a ventriloquist somewhere decides to learn how to work for kids, these are usually what they find.

Kidshow Ventriloquism

The first one, and still the one people start with. Everything from ventriloquial technique through to complete comedy routines built for children's audiences — written by someone who was doing it full-time for a living, which is why the advice survives contact with a real room.

First published 1996 · 132 pages · ISBN 1-881099-15-6
In use in 26 countries, including a Japanese-language edition.

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Kidshow
Ventriloquism
Encore

Kidshow Ventriloquism Encore

The sequel, and the more practical of the two. Puppets, the business, the different kinds of shows, working an audience, school show advice, stage fright, working with agents, conventions, backdrops, comedy material, practice and rehearsal, corporate and outdoor work, advertising and contracts.

Full colour · 106 pages · 6″ × 8¼″ · plastic ring-bound in softboard covers

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On video

Mark Wade's Advanced Ventriloquism

The techniques that don't come across on the page — including the baby cry and the distant voice, demonstrated rather than described. Filmed instruction for performers who already have the basics and want the effects that make audiences sit forward.

Mark also teaches these directly, one to one.

Learn it from Mark directly →

The archive

Three years of writing down everything.

From January 2014 to December 2016 Mark wrote a column every single week on the craft and the business of ventriloquism — 143 pieces in all. Alongside it he has written for the KidAbra Journal, the U.K.'s Rubber Chicken, the International Ventriloquist Society's Spotlight, and entertainment journals in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The whole column is indexed below. It is, in effect, a free course in making a living at this.

2014 — 53 COLUMNS

2015 — 47 COLUMNS

2016 — 43 COLUMNS

Mark Wade retains the rights to all of these articles. They are indexed here and currently link to where they were originally published; full texts will be moving onto this site.

Beyond the page

A book can't watch your act.

Everything above is what Mark could write down. The rest of it only works in a conversation about your act, your puppet and your room.

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