FINISH The Sentence

w/ Tony Roberts

“I would get everyone off the streets that s homeless If I ruled the world there wouldn’t be one homeless person I hate seeing that driving around. I can t stand that. And I would ask kids certain questions and smack them if they get it wrong because a lot of these kids are gettin’ on my nerve The way they’re raised today, they ain’t got no manners I hate a kid that ain’t got no manners Sometimes when I m in the airport, I see a kid doing something their momma said don t do, and they are doing it. I wanna go over there and yank him I will help her Just give me two minutes with him But yeah, if I ruled the world, that’s what I would do

“I used to like my aunt s friends, like sexually. My aunt had friends and all her friends had big breasts. I used to stare at them, be in the living room just staring. And she d go, Tony get out of here and go outside I d go, I don’t wanna go outside ’ When I was a kid, I used to love my aunts’ friends I thought they were so cute I didn’t know what I was doing I just liked their breasts. I was like ‘wow look at those boobs.’ And that’s the truth and I hate to admit that. As soon as you asked that (talking to Zach Rush) I was like, shit I don t wanna say that I was gonna say when I was a kid, I loved chocolate That too, but I used to love my aunt’s friends.”

I got the privilege and delight of hopping on a Zoom call with the wickedly talented and incredibly adorable April Brucker April wears many hats: she’s a comedienne, professional ventriloquist, actress, author, screenwriter, and much more. We chatted about her background at NYU, how her teachers discouraged her from going into acting, and how she began her own ventriloquist acts at age 13. We delved into past relationships and books she’s written. I even got to meet some of her puppets (if I knew I was going to get to meet the “Donald Tramp” puppet, I would’ve put a little lipstick on). Here are some of my favorite moments with April that barely graze the surface of this multi-talented, kind, and hilarious star. I wholeheartedly agree with John Katsilometes from the Las Vegas Review-Journal

QWhen you attended NYU for acting, did you intend to do ventriloquism, or what did you intend on doing after?

AI’d always done ventriloquism since I was a kid. I hosted a public access show called “Storytime with April and Friends” with my puppets, where we read bedtime stories to kids and sent the tapes around the world I was on public access stations in 36 states, 6 countries, and the world wide web, and doing this with my own money.

I got into college, and I thought I was going to be a legit actor, like this was just opening the door I get to college and immediately I’m doing the dorm talent shows, and I’m doing well in them. Then, I m going to acting class and had an acting teacher tell me I would never be an actor. She said, “April you are very odd ”ding! I was like I know; I’ve been told my whole life “No, you are very odd But odd doesn t mean you re going to be an actor.

Luckily, you’re young enough that you can find something that you re good at.” Then I had another teacher say, “April, you re not a classical actor”, because I was actually on a track to become a classical actor I actually thought about moving back home, leaving NYC, and doing something else with my life.

One day it was raining, and I passed a comedy club I'd been blowing off at every dorm talent show there was, so I knew I’ve got something going on. So, I walk into this comedy club, and this is how I knew this would be the path for me I was just trying to get out of the rain and they’re like “Free comedy show!” I had to buy this bottle of water, and I thought wow this is where I need to be. I switched to a more contemporary acting track at NYU and started to do comedy in the clubs in college My teacher was right: I was not going to be a classical actor I was going to be something better Just kid

How old were you when you started doing your own acts?

I was 13 years old And that was an accident

Any good thing that happens to me in life is an accident. Anytime I make my own plans, I should really stop that crapola. I was 13 and I really thought I was going to be a gymnast and a diver As a matter of fact, I will still try to tumble around my yard, but then I’ll need an Advil because, apparently, I’m not 8 anymore I wanted to be a platform diver because I was getting too tall for gymnastics. I was hitting puberty and getting injured a bunch While I loved being a platform diver, my enthusiasm and my talent did not match I had a diving coach, who had coached Olympians, tell me, “You know, you might not be good at this. Maybe you should take up basket weaving.”

I was 13 years old And that was an accident

Any good thing that happens to me in life is an accident Anytime I make my own plans, I should really stop that crapola I was 13 and I really thought I was going to be a gymnast and a diver. As a matter of fact, I will still try to tumble around my yard, but then I’ll need an Advil because, apparently, I’m not 8 anymore I wanted to be a platform diver because I was getting too tall for gymnastics I was hitting puberty and getting injured a bunch. While I loved being a platform diver, my enthusiasm and my talent did not match I had a diving coach, who had coached Olympians, tell me, “You know, you might not be good at this Maybe you should take up basket weaving ”

I’ve got to ask you about your viral “Donald Tramp” dummy attention. How did it feel to have that type of coverage?

AWell, if you wait a second, I can get him, and you can ask him (“Donald Tramp” doll speaking): That type of coverage was yuuuuggggge!

Did your fiancé really give you an ultimatum on choosing him or your puppets?

Yep The whole relationship itself was insane, honestly. Dating is like free therapy: you learn a lot about yourself, and they may be lessons you don’t want to learn I was young trying to make my way as a ventriloquist All of a sudden, I meet this guy who is everything I think I want, because he’s willing to be my boyfriend on the first date! Then, on our third date he drops on one knee. I thought, “Wow! I ve never had a man love me this much before! This isn’t a red flag at all!” Then all of sudden, he s becoming very controlling. He would say his friends didn t like me and thought my puppets were stupid, which I found out later wasn’t true Finally, I told him I wanted to be a professional ventriloquist He said, “You know what, it’s me or the puppets, April!”

I thought I, maybe, needed to grow up, so I put my puppets away. But the relationship was getting worse, and I was unhappy Finally, one day, I told him I couldn t do this anymore He always said he could do better than me, so I told him, “Go do it, then!”

The best advice I can give to anyone that I learned from this is when you’re not your best self in anything, get out of it I feel like I could write about gaslighting from being with him too

QHow did the opportunity come about for your new “April in Vegas” TV show?

AI wanted to do it since the pandemic with Steve Dennis, who was at a hotel in Vegas in the past. He had worked with my manager back in the day. My manager told me to work with him, and when the world started to open back up, Steve moved back to Vegas He was managing a Marriott portfolio property He has a great YouTube channel and I started doing live streams with him. The next thing we know, we started hosting by the pool and talking with famous comedy guests We’re very grateful and blessed to be part of the Las Vegas entertainment community. And if you want to watch episodes, go to April Brucker Comedy on YouTube

(https://www youtube com/@AprilBruck erComedy)

QWho makes you laugh the hardest?

AMy friends always make me laugh the hardest I’ve always had funny friends To be my friend, I think you have to be funny I am also probably one of the only women you ll meet who love the Stooges. My mom makes me laugh, and my nieces, they’re my free entertainment

QWhat do you watch late at night?

AI watch a lot of funny videos, documentaries, and a lot of good TV I m all about writing and I ve written three books. I wrote, “I Came, I Saw, I Sang”, when I was a singing-telegram-er in New York City to pay for the ventriloquism I wrote an adult picture book called, “April Unwrapped”, and “Don’t Read My Lips” if you guys want to know how I do this. I watch a lot of old classic TV because I have an MFA in screenwriting, and I watch TV as homework

QWhat does a typical “day in the life” look like for you right now?

AIt depends, I’m starting to travel more and do shows Sometimes I leave on a Thursday and spend the week packing. Typically, I get up and look at castings. I rehearse a lot Rehearsing is your friend During the pandemic, I actually got to take the same professors in college through online classes who really embraced rehearsal. When you rehearse sometimes you start and then think, “I just thought of a good joke!” I’m also working on a rendition of “I Came, I Saw, I Sang” I love to write, I love to cook, I love my dogs If you want to come over, you may have to hop on a plane, but I can give you some chili.

Erin Oliver