Writing Jokes with April Brucker (Rachel Ray, Last Comic Standing)
What I enjoy most about ventriloquism is the ability to create a new character… plus they say whatever I want them to.
[@aprilbrucker on Twitter]
What’s your name and where did you grow up?
My name is April Elizabeth Brucker. I grew up in Bethel Park, PA, right outside of Pittsburgh. It’s a suburb.
What’s interesting or uninteresting about Bethel Park?
Interesting: It is where the Whiskey Rebellion took place. A Post-Revolutionary War skirmish, the Whiskey Rebellion occurred when the farmers revolted over The Whiskey Tax. The riot was squashed by federal troops. Also, there is a public access station in the town where I spent most of my teen years filming programs. Also, Andy Warhol is buried above the Washington Junction Trolley Stop in St. Anne’s Cemetery.
Uninteresting: It’s a suburb. It closes down relatively early, and if you want to go dancing that is not the place.
What did your parents do for a living when you were a kid?
My parents were both educators. My dad was a lawyer and a college professor, and my mom was an exercise physiologist and group fitness instructor who worked with all age groups. They were big on us being readers. The Encyclopedia Collection was my jam, and we weren’t allowed television on school nights. Only when I was 13 did my family finally get cable.
What was the first bit or joke you performed on stage?
The first big I performed onstage was with a Groucho Marx figure (puppet) and it was a Christmas routine where Groucho sang “Lydia the Tattooed Lady” from Night at the Circus.
How were you first introduced to puppetry? What do you enjoy most about it? What lessons have you learned along the way?
I was first introduced to puppetry/ventriloquism when I was 13-years-old. My brother had embarked on a career as a high school football player, and my father wanted to see the local games. In order to get one channel you have to get 100. So thus we were forced to get cable. It opened up the world for this overweight, shy, awkward, teen who had braces with rubber bands and cystic acne.
Anyway, my family was watching an Edgar Bergen TV Special and I was the only one in the house who could talk like a ventriloquist. It was due to my great-grandmother’s Irish smile. That Christmas, my mom put a Groucho Marx ventriloquist figure under the tree.
What I enjoy most about ventriloquism is the ability to create a new character giving it a voice, personality and backstory. It’s almost like I am a supreme being breathing life into her creation. Plus they say whatever I want them to, whenever I want them to.
The lesson I have learned along the way is always to have fun and to keep learning. As a result, I have also become a student, and to some extent, mastered hand and rod as well as Balinese Shadow Puppetry.
You used to work for “Broadway Singing Telegrams” under “Bruce Myles Beaureguard.” Is that what it sounds like? Can you talk about your time there?
Yes I did and still do. Broadway Singing Telegrams and Bruce Myles Beaureguard are the fictional handles for Big Apple Singing Telegrams and Jon Shipley. Big Apple is an eccentric, talented, and diverse family. Jon is sort of the shepherd of our flock. My co-workers never cease to amaze me with their talent as well as their dedication. They are remarkable actors, musical theatre performers, impersonators, comedians, and vocalists. You have even seen a few on Broadway and national television.
I have performed “Happy Birthday,” “I’m Sorry,” “Congratulations” and even proposed to a few people. I have been to offices, backyards, shipyards, hospitals, construction sites, Trump Towers and even broke into The Bloomberg Building.
I have dressed as a pink gorilla, chicken, cow, hot dog, pickle, M&M, Hershey Kiss, Birthday Cake Show Girl, pizza, female cop, naughty nurse, French Maid, Lady Gaga, Marilyn Monroe, Miley Cyrus, Madonna, Mae West, Taylor Swift, Suzanne Summers, and Paris Hilton just to name a few. I have also appeared as Billie Holiday via telephone.
Additionally, I have delivered to Betsey Johnson, the CEO of the NHL, execs at MTV, well-respected cancer researchers, The Saudi Royal Family and the Jordanian Royal Family. I also accidentally violated a restraining order, was used as evidence in court, accosted Spike Lee in a chicken suit, and was mistaken for Lady Gaga by a fan who might have had a copy of Catcher in the Rye.
All and all, good times and a typical day in my life.
You’ve performed on a bunch of TV shows, including Rachel Ray, Today Show, and Last Comic Standing (among others). What advice would you give someone that just booked a TV appearance?
Two words: Have fun. You got this far, you earned it. Have a good time on set and bask in your success. However, don’t rest on your laurels. Today’s hard work and success might not carry over into tomorrow. So keep writing, keep getting onstage, and keep working hard. So celebrate like it’s the best thing ever but continue to work as if it never happened because there is always more to learn.
Do you prefer forming jokes on paper or on stage?
Both. I am a writer first and foremost and have been writing since I could form words. My mother has all of my original stories, and I wish she would burn them for warmth in the cold PA winter. Just kidding. I write my jokes or ideas down on paper or even my iPhone so I don’t lose them.
However, there are times I come up with some awesome bits either performing for friends or riffing onstage. It just comes out of my mouth as an afterthought and turns out it gets an applause break I never saw coming. That is when I write it down right away. Sometimes you find gold when you let go.
While one can find treasure while not looking, there is no substitute for a good, old fashioned notebook.
What do you like or dislike about the comedy scene in New York?
My dislike is always the politics. It can harsh one’s mellow, and also the grind associated with it. Additionally, there are so many comedians and so few spots and stage time is tough to get.
But what I love is that the comedy scene is more like a community. Whenever you see another comic, even if you have only met once, they give you the big hello on the street. Also, as a newbie you get to appear on the same shows sometimes as people who are on national television on the regular which is not only cool to see, but an awesome way to network and get advice. And lest I forget people just love comedy. There are times I have gone from spot to spot with a gaggle of friends and we spend the entire time dissecting joke after joke. Add in that I also get offstage with a new bit and there is someone waiting with a piece of paper and an alternate punch or tag, and sometimes it’s what I have been missing all along. Not to mention once you find a good network they are amazing and are there for you to kvetch with, work on jokes, or whatever. Did I mention I get to do stand-up in the Greatest City in the World?
You’ve also appeared in a lot of international outlets. How does the reception of comedy abroad compare with what we have in the United States?
Different places have different expressions for things. Also, sometimes humor is just lost in translation from time to time. However, if you learn about your audience you will be very happy. So do you homework. And at the end of the day all anyone wants to do is laugh, and believe it or not any and all audiences are on your side. So if you are funny, they will give you what you want.
What’s the dumbest superhero name you can think of?
The Farting Ninja
Who is the funniest person you know?
My family. My dad has the best one liners and my mom’s rants are legendary. As for my sister, she is very honest and to the point which makes her funny, and my brother is a phenomenal storyteller.
In my personal life that would be David Higgins. Enough said.
Why are jokes funny?
Because they are irony. But also, they take the wind out of the sails of the things that are serious in life, the things that are taboo and lower our self-esteem. In comedy everyone is a target. Therefore, jokes are the great equalizer.
April can be seen on My Strange Addiction, Rachael Ray & Today Show. Author of I Came, I Saw, I Sang: Memoirs of a Singing Telegram Delivery Girl. Call 877-Buy-Book today
For more on humor, follow @jokewriting on Twitter
Interview by Zuri Irvin (@withzuri)
