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2008-11-04 issue:

Clean fun for Mennonite ventriloquist

Ryan Bomgardner brings smiles to victims of Nickel Mines school shootings.

by Anna Groff

Print Article

Ryan Bomgardner, ventriloquist, attends Metzler Mennonite Church in Akron, Pa., where he is the song leader and Bible school coordinator.

Why ventriloquism?
Ryan, 24, describes ventriloquism as “puppets plus humor.” His passion began at a young age when he loved playing with sock and marionette puppets. His grandmother first exposed him to ventriloquism through a video.

Ryan Bomgardner with character, "Jeffrey." Photo provided.










Ryan bought his first doll, a small one with simple a pull string from a J.C. Penney catalog, when he was 12 years old. That same year he performed for the first time at his grandmother’s church in Lancaster, Pa. Later he received a call from someone in that audience who wanted him to perform at a school auction. He went on to do ten performances that year and it doubled each year after.

At age 17 he began to take a career in ventriloquism even more seriously through the correspondence-school Maher School of Ventriloquism based in Colorado and joining the Christian Comedy Association. In his early 20s ventriloquism transitioned into his full-time job, although he still has a degree in civil technology. Ryan gives 130 performances each year and receives about 500 performance requests yearly.

Where do you perform?
Ryan performs at a variety of functions: church events, banquets, conferences, prison ministries and more. Ninety percent of his performances are for Christian-related audiences.

His favorite night is the “comedy outreach night” which is sponsored by a church. Church members bring guests who are often people who would not attend a Sunday church service. Ryan says spiritual highlight of the program is when he pulls his hand out of Jeffrey to illustrate that without Christ, people are empty. The image of an empty puppet often touches people, Ryan says.

“It’s a great tool that people have gotten to know the Lord by,” he adds.

Ryan alters the material for corporate banquets, but still emphasizes his family fun.

“I like to show that we as Christians can laugh,” he says. “There is funny stuff out there that isn’t raunchy or dirty.”

One company owner, a Mennonite, hired Ryan for a banquet and told him of negative experience he had hiring entertainment before: The previous comedian started “ripping on Mennonites and Christians.” This experience turned off the business owner to any banquet entertainment until he was introduced to Ryan’s family-friendly show.

“Christians are business-owners and sometimes want Christian entertainment,” Ryan says. He wants companies to feel at ease when they hire him, knowing their audience will laugh hard, but never feel uncomfortable or hurt.

What kind of responses do you receive?
Ryan often hears “thank you” from audience members. He hears stories from people who have suffered from cancer or a death in the family and needed an evening of encouragement and laughter.

One especially touching performance was for the survivors and family members of the Amish school shooting at Nickel Mines.

An adult told him after the performance, “Thank you for coming; we haven’t see [the children] laugh in a very long time.”

Who are your characters?
Ryan’s characters grow with him—literally. His first doll was about 24 inches tall and now has one that is 40 inches. This dummy, “Jeffrey,” is still the main character of the show and often the audience’s favorite.

“He is the self-proclaimed star of the show,” says Ryan.

“Harold” and “Irene,” the grandparent characters, who constantly bicker but love each other dearly, appeal to the 40 and up crowd. During a complicated three-way conversation in one show, Ryan switched the voices on accident. Fortunately, he managed to rescue the mistake and turn it into comedy.














Mennonite ventriloquist Ryan Bomgardner with grandparent characters “Harold” and “Irene.” Photo provided.

“The audience loved it and we’ve used the trick since then,” he says. Other sub-characters include a teenage girl and an African-American singer.

“There are not many things that everyone in families can enjoy,” he says. “But all ages love this.”

For more information, go to www.ryanandfriends.com or call  717-823-1958.