By Faten Omar Some People May Find Them Creepy, but Talking Puppets Are Basel Al-Dosery's Best Friends. Putting His Hands Insi

Local FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2016 The mouth says it all

By Faten Omar

ome people may find them creepy, but talking puppets are Basel Al-Dosery’s best friends. Putting his hands inside a puppet’s head and entertaining audi- ences across the world is a dream for this Kuwaiti ventriloquist. Ventriloquism Sis an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) changes his voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered “dummy”. Kuwait Times spoke to Dosery to learn more about his passion and art.

Kuwait Times: Tell us more about yourself. Dosery: I’m a Kuwaiti ventriloquist/comedian and owner of Smile Comedy Productions.

KT: What drew you to ventriloquism? Dosery: I’ve always had a passion for comedy, and ventriloquism gave me an easier path to do comedy, since standup comedy wasn’t really popular in Kuwait back in 2008 when I decided to pursue this career.

KT: Your performances focus heavily on comedy - do you have experience in this field? Dosery: When I started, I wanted to be a standup comedian, but ventriloquism makes it easier to bring laughs compared to standup comedy. That’s why I don’t do a lot of standup comedy in my shows.

KT: How do you speak without moving your lips? Dosery: It’s a gift used in conjunction with a very complicated technique, and it requires lots of practice. It’s like singing - you can’t learn to sing well if you don’t have the gift of a good voice in the first place.

KT: Where did you learn ventriloquism? Dosery: I learned it on my own seeking information from the Internet, books and videos.

KT: When did you get your start in show business? Dosery: After participating in Arabs Got Talent in 2011, I performed at lots of corporate events, comedy shows and other gigs. I even held my own tour three years ago and it was quite a success.

KT: What goes through your head just before you go onstage? Dosery: I try to clear my mind, rehearse some lines and hope that there’s a good audience. Just like at any comedy show, the audience does half the work - the better the audience, the better the show is.

KT: What was your first store-bought character? Dosery: Believe it or not, my very first character has never been seen publicly. It isn’t as professional and expensive as my other puppets, and that’s why I’ve decided not to use it in any of my shows.

KT: How did Mazyoon (your puppet) become your most famous character? Dosery: Because he’s been on Arabs Got Talent, besides the fact that Mazyoon is one of the most expensive figures that I have acquired, the character that I gave to him is very close to my own character without the shyness, so I can easily express myself through Mazyoon. That’s why he’s my favorite. Let me put it in this formula: Mazyoon = Basel - shyness.

KT: Is Mazyoon also based on someone you know in real life? Dosery: No, but sometimes I use some aspects of a friend as a part of his character.

KT: Have you ever lost Mazyoon en route to a gig? Dosery: No, thank God! Mazyoon is rare and one-of- a-kind.

KT: Where do you perform these days? Dosery: I still do shows here and there but mostly corporate events. I have also set up my own studio/mini the- ater and I hope I can do shows in it in the near future.