Ken Groves – His Lips Don’t Move
June 17th, 2009
He’s known as “The Stone” among colleagues, since his lips don’t move – at all – during his performances. It seems impossible, when you’re in his audience, to believe that the voices are really coming from Ken Groves, since no matter how much you concentrate and focus on his face, you won’t see so much as a twitch!
Your attention on his face won’t last long though, because his show is so funny and entertaining, you soon lose yourself in what he – excuse me – the puppets are saying. You find yourself, a normal, rational human being, completely believing that the puppets Groves features in his shows are actually real, living creatures. Even more astonishing and hilariously surprising is that you find yourself wanting to engage in conversation with them, wanting to know their points of view. Ken Groves makes it seem like all of that is possible, because he stands back and lets the puppets run the show.
“For 15% of the show, I talk. The rest, the puppet is talking, and they talk straight to the audience. They ask questions of the audience, and it’s so funny to see people responding to them as if they’re real people.” Each show features three specific puppets, which are based on people from Groves’ life. He finds inspiration in every day conversations, events and observations, and then allows his puppets to expand and explore those things with hilarity as the result.
What does Ken enjoy most about performing? “Coming up with a premise and watching the audience enjoy it – that’s the coolest! If it makes me laugh, I know it will make the audience laugh. I’ll work it in to the show and watch and audience relate to the things we’re talking about. As the topics unfold, the audience relates more and more to the puppets. It is story telling, it’s situational, and we involve the audience in the conversation.”
Not satisfied to simply have one set routine and then perform it into the ground, Groves uses different sets of three puppets so he’s always keeping his performances fresh and exciting. “I bring somebody (he refers to his puppets as if they are people, which maintains the illusion – even off stage – that they really are…) totally different to each show, so someone who has previously seen my show will get something new that they haven’t already seen me do.” This helps to explain why Groves finds himself booked again and again for repeat clients, but the ultimate reason is that Groves is a master of his craft. Audiences are easily able to suspend disbelief and become totally engrossed in the show because it is simply that good.
Groves realizes the importance of being flawless. “So many ventriloquists out there are really terrible. They move their lips, and they’re just not believable. Those sub-par performers give the art of ventriloquism a bad reputation.” Thank goodness Groves has taken up the mantle, and is out there showing the world how it should be done, because it truly is an art, and one that Ken Groves does with style and ease.
Ask him what he wants for his audiences, aside from being incredibly entertained – a given, Groves says “I want them to go away with a different view of a ventriloquist. I want them to leave saying ‘Now that was fun – that was good,’ excited about seeing another ventriloquist – or me – again. That’s what I want!”
If audience responses so far are any gauge, Ken Groves has surpassed his own aspirations, and delivers a show that is not to be missed!
Ken Groves is proudly represented by Expert Performers and available for Corporate Event bookings Worldwide.
Copyright 2009 The Expert Group, Inc.
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Categories: Ventriloquists
