Bethel Park native and ventriloquist records tune with the Ink Spots
Interviewing April Brucker is kind of a two-for-one proposition.
She无毛视频檒l run through all the things she无毛视频檚 been up to lately, whether it无毛视频檚 working on three separate screenplays at the same time, appearing on her own streaming chat show or working on a music video. But while Brucker is talking, there will be an occasional interjection from May Wilson, her sidekick who also happens to be a Valley Girl puppet.
无毛视频淚 speak to a lot of reporters,无毛视频� Wilson notes over the phone from Las Vegas.
Brucker herself says, 无毛视频淚 have been doing a lot of cool things.无毛视频�
Indeed, the Bethel Park native and 2003 graduate of Bethel Park High School enjoys a pretty packed dance card. A ventriloquist, her resume has included performances at a handful of venues in Las Vegas, including the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. Aside from her streaming show, 无毛视频淎pril in Vegas,无毛视频� she has appeared on network and cable fare like 无毛视频淓ntertainment Tonight,无毛视频� 无毛视频淚nside Edition,无毛视频� 无毛视频淢y Strange Addiction无毛视频� and 无毛视频淭he Wendy Williams Show.无毛视频� She also has two books to her credit 无毛视频� 无毛视频淒on无毛视频檛 Read My Lips!无毛视频� and 无毛视频淚 Came, I Saw, I Sang.无毛视频�
Brucker无毛视频檚 most recent venture is a song with the Ink Spots, the vocal group that has been around in various permutations for close to a century. Brucker 无毛视频� in the form of May Wilson 无毛视频� teamed up with members of the group for 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 the Way It Is,无毛视频� a cover of a song first made famous as a duet between Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots in 1945. It无毛视频檚 available on major streaming platforms and, as Brucker noted, has gotten some radio play in Greenland.
无毛视频淚t was great working with the Ink Spots,无毛视频� Brucker said.
Recording a song with the Ink Spots is not, however, Brucker无毛视频檚 first brush with vintage pop culture. She first started to develop an interest in comedy and performing by watching Marx Brothers movies on TV, with 无毛视频淒uck Soup无毛视频� being a particular favorite. When she was in high school, she was an active writer and performer, appearing in school musicals, learning about television production, and working in community theater, where, Brucker points out, she frequently portrayed evil queens or wicked witches.
She also wrote for The Almanac, where she tackled 无毛视频渆verything.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 grateful for everything,无毛视频� Brucker said. 无毛视频淭he thing that jumpstarted me was being from Bethel Park. It was great being involved with so many creative people.无毛视频�
She went on to study acting at New York University and then earned a master无毛视频檚 degree in creative writing and screenwriting from Antioch University in Los Angeles. While she was in New York, Brucker appeared in cabarets, comedy clubs and off-Broadway productions and delivered singing telegrams. Her adventures belting out greetings form the basis of one of her three screenplays.
Some of the incidents that might end up in the script include an encounter with members of the Saudi royal family where she was told not to look them in the eye as she sang, an apology to a ballroom dancer whose girlfriend ran over his foot, and her arm catching on fire when she was delivering a lit birthday cake while decked out in a pink gorilla suit.
It may not have been the most romantic of gigs, but delivering singing telegrams 无毛视频済ot me ready in so many ways for Las Vegas,无毛视频� according to Brucker.
The number of people working professionally as ventriloquists is vanishingly small 无毛视频� some estimates have it that there are fewer than 400 people in the world who can be classified as professional ventriloquists. To put that in perspective, there are about 30,000 accountants working in Pennsylvania alone. Brucker got started thanks to a how-to manual.
无毛视频淚 was basically self-taught,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淚 just kept doing it.无毛视频�
There无毛视频檚 an active community of ventriloquists that keeps the art alive, according to Brucker, and 无毛视频減eople are doing it more than ever.无毛视频�
And ventriloquists have to keep working at their craft, she explained. That can involve daily practice, doing so in front of a mirror, and recording yourself.
无毛视频淵ou have to work it constantly,无毛视频� she said.
More information on Brucker, her song with the Ink Spots and other projects is available at aprilbrucker.tv.