Bethel Park native and ventriloquist records tune with the Ink Spots
Interviewing April Brucker is kind of a two-for-one proposition.
She鈥檒l run through all the things she鈥檚 been up to lately, whether it鈥檚 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.
鈥淚 speak to a lot of reporters,鈥� Wilson notes over the phone from Las Vegas.
Brucker herself says, 鈥淚 have been doing a lot of cool things.鈥�
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, 鈥淎pril in Vegas,鈥� she has appeared on network and cable fare like 鈥淓ntertainment Tonight,鈥� 鈥淚nside Edition,鈥� 鈥淢y Strange Addiction鈥� and 鈥淭he Wendy Williams Show.鈥� She also has two books to her credit 鈥� 鈥淒on鈥檛 Read My Lips!鈥� and 鈥淚 Came, I Saw, I Sang.鈥�
Brucker鈥檚 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 鈥� in the form of May Wilson 鈥� teamed up with members of the group for 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the Way It Is,鈥� a cover of a song first made famous as a duet between Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots in 1945. It鈥檚 available on major streaming platforms and, as Brucker noted, has gotten some radio play in Greenland.
鈥淚t was great working with the Ink Spots,鈥� Brucker said.
Recording a song with the Ink Spots is not, however, Brucker鈥檚 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 鈥淒uck Soup鈥� 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 鈥渆verything.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 grateful for everything,鈥� Brucker said. 鈥淭he thing that jumpstarted me was being from Bethel Park. It was great being involved with so many creative people.鈥�
She went on to study acting at New York University and then earned a master鈥檚 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 鈥済ot me ready in so many ways for Las Vegas,鈥� according to Brucker.
The number of people working professionally as ventriloquists is vanishingly small 鈥� 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.
鈥淚 was basically self-taught,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just kept doing it.鈥�
There鈥檚 an active community of ventriloquists that keeps the art alive, according to Brucker, and 鈥減eople are doing it more than ever.鈥�
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.
鈥淵ou have to work it constantly,鈥� she said.
More information on Brucker, her song with the Ink Spots and other projects is available at aprilbrucker.tv.