Many people think that hiring a person to dress up as a popular children’s television character is the same as hiring a childrens performer for your library program. Not so, if you hire a professional ventriloquist. If you are comparing characters with people who put on amateur puppet shows, you probably are going to get a similar result. However, once you step up to hiring a professional childrens performer, you are getting a much different result… and your kids will benefit for it. So what does a professional ventriloquist bring to your library program that a character, like SpongeBob or Barney, can’t? I will talk about two specific benefits today that you can count on.
First, a character is one dimensional. Their voice is muffled, and all they can do is pretend to be that character. A little talk, a little playing around, but even with that they are limited by their ability to see and move. Ventriloquists, on the other hand, are completely dynamic. They move, talk, interact with their puppets, and completely capture your child’s imagination.
Second, sustained entertainment. See, since your characters are so limited in space, they are also limited in the amount of time that they are entertaining. A talented storyteller or ventriloquist, conversely, can hold a child’s attention for much longer periods of time. The “What’s he gonna do next?” factor is huge, and can’t be overstated. That factor just is not present at all when you hire a character.
