When my wife Helen and I decided to trek out to Las Vegas, she surprised me by contacting the Ronn Lucas management team and letting them know we were going to be in Vegas and that I would certainly like to meet with Mr Lucas to talk ventriloquism. This Helen did totally on her own.
I was in my office a few hours after she had made the call and I received a call from Mr Lucas’ management and we were off and running. I was given a private cell phone number which I had to call when we arrived in Vegas. I did in fact call once we were there and a wonderful woman named Penny took my hand and made Mr Lucas available for me to meet after his show.
Penny made sure that my entire party was first comp’ed to see his show then after Ronn did a meet and greet with his entire audience (took the better part of an hour), I was then able to share some very good quality time with Ronn.
First I have to say he is about as gracious as anyone could ever be and actually blew me away when he asked if we would like to come back stage and see Scorch and Bronco Billy up close and personal. It certainly made the trip for us. Ronn is currently performing at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino which is very appropriate being that Scorch is a Dragon and the theme of the Casino is Medieval.
We got back stage and Ronn’s figures were waiting for him to put away in a large storage locker made especially for his figures. Scorch even has a star on the door. Ronn said he always takes care to put the figures away so that they are positioned and ready for the next show.
Bronco Billy is a wonderful soft puppet and until I was on top of him I didn’t realize that his hair was actually done with pheasant feathers. From a distance of 3 feet the feathers look exactly like hair. Billy has raising eyebrows which flutter and are just soooo funny.
The piece de resistance of course is Scorch the teenage Dragon. I found out that there are actually 3 Scorch figures. The one Ronn uses all the time on stage, a photo op Scorch, and a fully animatronics walking version.
The main Scorch is a true work of art. He is crafted out of foam latex which has sustained the test of time by being constantly repaired every week. Scorch is over 20 years old. Foam latex will break down if not cared for correctly and treated.
Ronn showed us how the figure works with the remote control. The eyes have all around movement and his eyelids, both upper and lower actually open and close just the slightest bit (like human eyelids) as they move around. They of course also wink and blink. From the audience I thought the blinkers were leather but they are shell winkers that have a covering which simulates the real look. He also has raising eyebrows, actually there are no eyebrows but the ridges where they would be rise and fall by remote control.
Scorch’s ears can move up and down as well as forward and back and his wings also can extend outwards. He has smoke that comes out his nose and he also breaths fire. Unfortunately this effect Ronn can’t use until he gets the fire licensing for this show room. He is waiting for that right now. Scorch is a true work of art because every piece of him had to sculpted in clay, arms, legs, body, wings, ears, head – then molds were made and the casting takes place. The mechanics were installed inside an interior hard case with the foam overlay. Scorch that Ronn uses on stage has 3 different bodies.
While performing Ronn controls the mouth and movement of Scorch but the eyes and ears and winkers are controlled by a helper off stage. Ronn can in fact over ride and control everything himself if he so chooses. This is just a superior figure and the cost of Scorch is beyond 6 figures and believe me when you see him as I did you can understand the costs. Simply incredible!!!
All I can say is Wow!!!!
This was a great treat for me and if you are ever in Las Vegas the Ronn Lucas show is a must. He is as funny as can be and you will laugh from start to finish. His manipulation of his figures and his lip control is so great that by the end of the show you truly believe that those figures are alive.
Just incredible. And I must say he is the king of the Face mask!! After you see him perform with the mask there is no one out there that is better.
We took lots of pictures and I hope you enjoy looking at them. Thanks again Penny and Ronn for making this possible.
Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com
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