"20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism" Audio Production on Pseudopod

[dr. locrian]

Quote

Pseudopod 433: 20 Simple Steps To Ventriloquism April 9th, 2015 11:57 pm by Jon Padgett. “20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism” first appeared in the 2013 Shirley Jackson Award winning anthology, THE GRIMSCRIBE PUPPETS. “When I was a child, my first ventriloquist dummy came with a pamphlet entitled “7 SIMPLE STEPS TO VENTRILOQUISM.” Though the following ventriloquist story went through a tremendous number of transmutations from its inception two decades ago (when it was first conceived), that pamphlet from my past proved to be the key to what “20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism” would finally become. Practice the first seven steps enough, and you may one day be able to throw your voice with the best of the showbiz ventriloquists out there. Practice the rest of the steps at your own risk.” JON PADGETT – your author AND reader – is the creator and long time administrator of the Thomas Ligotti Online website, and — as such — has been the first publisher for a number of Ligotti’s prose works over the years, including MY WORK IS NOT YET DONE and CRAMPTON. He has work forthcoming in “Lovecraft eZine” and “XNOYBIS“. Padgett’s chapbook, THE INFUSORIUM & his first short story collection, THE SECRET OF VENTRILOQUISM ARE forthcoming from Dunhams Manor Press. Padgett is a professional — though lapsed — ventriloquist who lives in New Orleans with his spouse, daughter, two cats, and dog. Padgett is also a professional voice-over artist with over thirty-seven years of theater and twenty years of audio narration experience who recently produced Occult .45: Four Tales of Gunrunning in the Weird West by Nick Carcano and is in the midst of producing an audiobook version of A.R. Morlan‘s novel, Dark Journey: A Novel of Horror. Padgett also has produced some notable amateur audio performance efforts, such as “The Bungalow House” by Thomas Ligotti and “Silent Snow, Secret Snow” by Conrad Aiken. All needle drops and run-out grooves in this audio production are derived from the carefully curated sample collection of ye olde editor Shawn M. Garrett… who always knew they would come in handy someday

Click here to listen to the resulting audio production.

[dr. locrian]

Quote Originally Posted by Cynothoglys

Jesus Christ, Jon...Jesus Christ. My insomnia has been flaring-up recently and this recording hasn't aided in my quest for slumber. I forgot just how damn unsettling this story is. This recording is like one of those guided meditation CDs--one leading into a deeper sense of inner understanding, towards a greater truth than I can bear to know. This story has lodged itself into my psyche since I first read it, like an irritative granule of sand forming itself into a sickly pearl of self-knowledge: that we are all, despite our contrived appearances and self-imposed assurances to the contrary, both subjects and practitioners of ventriloquism in some form or another, with the dark hand of some unknowable force slipped into our backs. I've been awaiting this recording for some time and I want to thank you sincerely for it, insomnia be damned. I know I've stated this in the other thread, but I recommend that those of you who enjoyed this story but haven't purchased a copy of Jon's The Infusorium to do so immediately. Here's the link. There are only 9 copies available as of this posting, and I can assure you that you will be sorry if you don't secure a copy of this terrific story.

Many thanks, Shawn. The produced narration was a labor of love. The story itself was a labor of love, humiliation, rage, deep depression, acute anxiety and--above all--persistence.

I am very pleased with the end result. I might go so far as to say that this audio format is the ideal one for consuming the story.

[Fenris Technique]

Congrats on cracking Pseudopod that's quite an achievement. I'm looking forward to hearing the story (my workplace has blocked it for 'adult content', hah!)

[mgriffin]

Looking forward to giving this a listen, and possibly wrecking my brain.

[dr. locrian]

The audio production is getting some fine praise all around.

Please click here to listen and let me know what you think.

[xylokopos]

Brilliant story and exceptional voice work, utterly hypnotizing and almost unbearably immersive. Well done a hundred times, doctor!

[I reckon that now I can dim the lights, stand in front of a mirror and tell myself that I am nothing but a trifle without really moving my lips]

[matt cardin]

You can't imagine how much I'm looking forward to listening to this, Jon. I think my own response to this announcement echoes Shawn's a bit.

[dr. locrian]

Thanks so much, everyone.

The official Pseudopod forum thread specific to my story just opened up. If you've listened to it, please drop by and share your feedback there: Click here.

So far, so good! Looking forward to further comments.

[dr. locrian]

Five reasons to listen to Jon Padgett's "20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism" Doug Bolden on Twitter:

[Arthur Staaz]

Jon, I thought the story was great in The Grimscribe's Puppets. But your reading of it was absolutely amazing. It was hypnotic. And I'm not sure that's a compliment, as I contemplated the trifles around me and the trifle in the mirror. There is some real necromancy in this story and a lesson in the pacing of weird fiction. Excellent.