Meet Karl Herlinger

Karl, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Growing up in Hawai’i, there was a local celebrity ventriloquist I looked up to, and at eight years old, I began studying with his teacher for funzies. I went to UCLA to study theater, and ventriloquism remained a “special skill” – a talking point on my acting résumé. Then, while performing downtown experimental theater New York, I worked on a play where there was an opportunity to use ventriloquism to further one of the scenes, and something clicked. I started to explore it a bit deeper – thinking about what I could do with the form, how to infuse it with more acting, how to use the form to illuminate an idea. Did a bunch of research, and performed in open mics trying out what I felt was a new direction with ventriloquism, material-wise.

My first performances were me intentionally trying to bomb and then actively figuring out in the moment how to get the audience back on my side. I wanted to fail and flail and see if I could battle back. Those were defining moments for me to put it all out there. It’s fun to push the boundaries (in an artful and safe way) of people’s expectations and preconceived notions when they hear the word “ventriloquism.” I performed with the amazing company of clowns in “Slava’s Snowshow” Off-Broadway, which had a profound effect on me. That style of existential clowning has informed my ventriloquism (and acting) in a big way. Moved back to LA and have been developing my voice ever since.

Aided by the local 99-seat theater community of Theatre of NOTE, Sacred Fools and The Echo Theater Company. Got hooked up with the LA variety/magic/puppet scene, in particular Scot Nery’s Boobietrap, and am enjoying creating and playing with all of these wonderful weirdos. Crossing over between the different worlds of stand-up, sketch comedy, magic, variety arts, and puppets. Working on stage and screen. I wrote and performed in a vent psychological horror film, “Show Me” that is on the interwebs and is nice for this Halloween-y time of year.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Easy? HA! One struggle has been to figure out my voice. Not to do the standard ventriloquism routines. Or rather taking the standard routines and subverting them. Crafting my own material to be infused with humanity and authenticity. How to make an art form have a visceral and emotional meaning that has traditionally been very presentational. Other struggles come with my work not being something that is easily categorized. It’s not for everyone. Hopefully unexpected and delightful, but not for everyone. The “business” part is a challenge – how to package and “sell” the art so that it’s not boxed in. Figure out where this fits. And balancing everything with a family life. I wouldn’t say that part’s a struggle. It’s more a factor that drives many decisions. Balance is important. Can’t authentically comment on the human condition if you aren’t experiencing all of the things the human condition has to offer. Then there’s the part where I’d like to have steady income and health insurance for my family, so I work a full-time dayjob as well.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I’m a ventriloquist and an actor. I fuse them together. I have a bunch of different characters, sets and set lengths. The material is dark and edgy and funny. I hope I’m known for being unpredictable. I’m a fan of tangential humor. I do adult and kid material. Mostly adult. (For a while, I didn’t do any kid material, but the demand was so high, and the personal challenge was there for me to see if I could even do kid material, that I had to try.) The scale of what I do in ventriloquism is different. It’s small and intimate. I’m aiming for stillness and vulnerability. For myself and whatever character I’m working with to be actively listening to each other. There is a power in stillness.

Future plans? Changes?
My own Netflix one hour (Hi, Netflix!👋). I have a few new vent figure ideas I’d like to have made to add to my roster. And a few performers I want to work with to come up with the new-new. Content-wise, I want to blow minds and be a part of untangling our collective mental hairballs. The philosopher Jason Silva talks about this “awe” (that new experience excitement) as being something that can break you out of your monkey mind, change your perception and open up thought to being more engaged and infused with meaning. So I’m a fan of that. Shining a light on and stimulating empathy and community. Also: world domination. Not in any particular order.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
If there was a clear/set way to go from A to Z, then we would all just do that. There’s no reliable roadmap, so in that way, it feels like it’s all luck. One solution I’ve found is to connect to others — the audience and other performers. Build relationships with others who are in the trenches with you… it makes all of the difference. That network, which you develop over time, has power and can create luck. Seneca’s quote “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” makes sense. Meditation, so you can see the opportunities that are in front of you — that helps bring them into focus and gets you closer to having them happen. I’ve definitely hit the lottery with my relationship with my wife. She’s my most favorite person in the world ever. And we have two amazing kids that refuel our family unit daily. I’m beyond grateful for them. All day erryday. They help me push forward just by being there.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.karlherlinger.com
• Email: karl@karlherlinger.com
• Instagram/Twitter: @regnilreh