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** Exclusively
represented by FCE to only "Select" cruise lines.
BIOGRAPHY
Blame it on Sesame Street. Oh, and Paul Winchell, too. He played a
part in this as well. If not for the considerable influence of this
famous , ventriloquist and voice actor, Sylvia Markson ( Markson a
STAGE name.) would probably not have asked for a puppet of her very
own, would not have practiced the art of ventriloquism for hours on
end, and would probably not have become a talented puppet master. This
would have been an enormous loss to the Thousands of families, who
have enjoyed her unique and fun-filled show today.
Sylvia , who makes her home in the Albany region, tours throughout the
Eastern area with the Magic Trunk, a well traveled box inhabited by a
delightful bunch of quick-witted puppets that she magically brings to
life through ventriloquism. Whether she stops at Schools, Fairs,
Corporate shows or others venues, the young and young at heart are
treated to a show where, they can believe that a puppet can truly
talk.
To hear her tell it, Sylvias path into ventriloquism and entertaining
was quite normal. Growing up in Los Angeles, California with Sesame
Street, Shari Lewis and the great ventriloquist Paul Winchell, she
developed a love for puppets. At the age of five, she asked her
parents for "Willie Talk", her first vent figure (her preferred name
for dummy in these politically correct times).
Willie came with a book on how to become a ventriloquist, and she
studied the lessons in that book, practicing every day to become as
proficient as possible.
"Its the only way you can do it," she insisted. "I read a lot. I
practiced, and thats how I learned it."
Before too long, she was performing for her family and at talent
shows, which soon led to "Leon", a semi-professional vent figure.
Backed by her friends Willie and Leon, Sylvia began to accumulate some
of her lifes little victories. In fifth grade, for instance, she
entered a talent contest at school and won. A few years later, in her
freshman year of high school, she ran for Freshman President. With
Leon as her campaign manager , they went up in front of the school,
gave speech, and captured the position with ease.
When Sylvia was 17 years old, her father bought her Sonny, her first
professional vent figure. In many respects, her father set her on the
path she travels today by being so supportive of her talents. She
recalled how he would, unbeknownst to her, put her vent figures in the
trunk of the family car. When she would say said she couldnt perform
because she didnt have her characters, he would produce them from the
trunk of the car. She says they laugh about his antics today, and
recognize his support in her career development.
She continued to pursue her interest as a ventriloquist while pursuing
a career in the Business world. Eventually her love of ventriloquism
brought her back to performing.
Sylvia has now been performing professionally for about 15 years ,
bringing her act to schools, corporations, county fairs, and other
venues .
Recently, she has more or less retired her traditional vent figures,
choosing instead to entertain with a variety of professional puppets.
Her cast of characters includes Chito, a wise cracking Latino opossum,
an outrageous Southern bird who loves to steal the show , a Genie who
lives in a bottle , a talking picture and many more surprises.
She said she has no particular favorite puppet, she loves them all
because they are all so different and original. While she pieces all
of her characters together taking elements from her own life, whether
its her Hispanic heritage or the characteristics of her Southern
relatives or her own experiences in Corporate America , she is careful
to ensure that all of her characters are unique unto themselves.
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