DON'T READ MY LIPS! - MY INTERVIEW WITH THE VENTRILOQUIST, APRIL BRUCKER

April Brucker is an American actress, comedian, and reality television personality who's written a 157-page guidebook about the art of ventriloquism. Her book is called, 'Don't Read My Lips!', and you can purchase a copy right now by clicking here. But before you consider doing that, you might like to check out the following Q and A with the aforementioned Ms. Brucker. Please enjoy.

1) Name three words that best describe who you are.   I'm a creator, a chanteuse, and a raconteur.

2) What inspired you to become a ventriloquist?   One Friday night, many years ago, my family and I were watching TV to see the scores for one of my brother's football games. But when a commercial popped onto the screen, my father quickly changed channels (as he hates watching ads) and we then began to watch an Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy tribute special featuring stars like Ronn Lucas, Jeff Dunham, and other well-known ventriloquists. Almost immediately, we all tried to mimic some of these ventriloquists, but I was the only one who was semi-successful at it (probably thanks to my great-grandmother's Irish smile). That Christmas my mother bought me a Groucho Marx dummy, and the rest, as they say, is history.

3) What motivated you to write your book, 'Don't Read My Lips!'?   For years, people have often told me that I should write a book about ventriloquism because they know it's in my blood and is my passion. I was always putting it off, though, as I was busy performing in live shows (such as the longest-running off-Broadway dinner theatre in NYC, 'Murdered by the Mob') and studied and eventually earned an MFA in Creative Writing/Screenwriting from Antioch University in Los Angeles. But then, sometime in 2020, while I was performing my one-woman show in Las Vegas, 'April Unwrapped', the whole wide world suddenly shut down due to COVID. So, out of excuses, I decided to sit at my laptop and write a love letter to the art form and community I cherish the most.

4) What song would you say best represents your book and why?   To answer this question, I'd like to select a song by Dio, 'Rainbow in the Dark', because to me, writing my book was a bright spot during the pandemic, and as an art form, ventriloquism has carried me through both good and bad times.

5) If you could get a celebrity - either living or dead - to promote your wares, who would that be?   Most definitely, the Hollywood actress, Mae West, who famously said, 'When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm better'.

6) What's the most surprising fact featured in your book?   Once upon a time, me and my gold-digging valley girl sidekick puppet, May Wilson, appeared on the 'Rachael Ray' television show, on a segment called, 'Audience Got Talent'. The late, great, Jerry Springer was the celebrity judge for that particular episode, and unfortunately, he gave us both the dreaded 'X' and stated, 'April, you're no Terry Fator', which obviously crushed our spirits.

Fast forward a few years, and May Wilson and I appeared on another show with Jerry Springer. But this time it was on NBCUniversal's court show, 'Judge Jerry', where he remembered us and thankfully recognized that we had taken his feedback to heart. I was a 'very talented ventriloquist', he said, and goes to show that hard work pays off and that Jerry was usually right. After all, Terry Fator's show had ended and I was the only ventriloquist working as a special guest star in a weekly revue in Las Vegas. Therefore, I am no Terry Fator.

'Don't Read My Lips!' is a 157-page guidebook to ventriloquism written by April Brucker and available on Amazon. For further information, please feel free to check out April's official Website, Instagram, and Twitter pages.