Check Out April Brucker’s Story

Hi April, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Once upon a time, I was a 13-year-old who was delighted to find a Groucho Marx ventriloquist dummy under my family Christmas tree in Bethel Park, PA. Soon I was performing at local events, nursing homes and schools. Much to my pleasant surprise, I discovered that not only was I a half-decent ventriloquist, but I could make people laugh. By the time I was 16, I was hosting “April & Friends,” a cable access television show that was distributed in 36 states plus six countries.

My journey continued to The Big Apple where I earned a BFA in Acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts while also learning my craft at the Lee Strasberg Institute, Stonestreet Studios and “The School of Hard Knocks.” I performed in cabarets (Don’t Tell Mama, The Duplex, The Metropolitan Room), comedy clubs (Broadway Comedy Club, New York Comedy Club, Standup New York) and off-Broadway shows, including “Murdered By The Mob,” New York’s longest running dinner theater production. I was living the dream of becoming a professional and, best of all, making audiences laugh.

To pursue my career as an actress, comedian and ventriloquist, I of course had survival jobs, including working as a promotional model, palm/tarot reader and a singing telegrammer, which inspired my first book, “I Came, I Saw, I Sang — Memoirs of a Singing Telegram Delivery Girl.”

Working as a street performer, I was featured in an episode of “My Strange Addiction” on the TLC Network, which resulted in bookings on “Entertainment Tonight,” Inside Edition and “Today.” That was followed by appearances on FOX’s “Wendy Williams Show,” Travel Channel’s “The Layover” with Anthony Bourdain and ABC’s “What Would You Do?” Overnight it seemed, I had become a television personality!

After a decade in Manhattan, I traded skyscrapers, snow and subways for the sunshine, palm trees and neon lights of fabulous Las Vegas. From there, it was an easy commute to Culver City, my second home where I earned an MFA in Creative Nonfiction and Screenwriting from Antioch University Los Angeles.

During the COVID shutdown (or as like the call it, “The Intermission”), my manager reminded me of the showbiz adage, “The show must go on.” With venues and studios shut down, I focused my time on authoring my latest book, “Don’t Read My Lips — America’s Foremost Female Ventriloquist Reveals the Secrets of How to be a Successful Vent.”

Following “The Intermission,” my television career resumed with appearances on ABC’s “Videos After Dark With Bob Saget,” NBCUniversal’s “Judge Jerry” hosted by Jerry Springer, HISTORY Channel’s “Secret Restoration” and MTV’s “What’s My Secret?” And I was back performing live on stage coast to coast with bookings from the Vermont Burlesque Festival to The Crow Comedy Club in Santa Monica. Plus, I had a nine month engagement as the special guest star in a Las Vegas revue. Once again, I was experiencing the joy of making audiences laugh.

Today, my story is focused on TV projects. I recently completed production on “April Backstage,” a special for a UK distributor. I’m hosting “April in Vegas,” a chat show produced at The English Hotel in The Las Vegas Arts District that will stream next year on the JOIN TV Network, a new Canadian free ad-supported streaming platform. Plus, I’m up for a major cable network series that will be shooting this summer in New York.

With television, there’s no laughter from a live audience. But thanks to social media, viewers let me know that I’m still making people laugh. My childhood dreams continue to come true happily ever after

And I’m still writing. My publisher encouraged me to write a revision of my first book (“I Came, I Saw, I Sang”) and the second edition will be released this fall. Plus, I’m working on a sitcom pilot script based on that book.

So, as a classic movie buff, I now hope that Mr. DeMille knows that when I’m cruising down Sunset Boulevard, I’m ready for my close-up. And that’s no laughing matter!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
If you choose to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, you’ll be navigating a unique obstacle course.

Agents, casting directors, producers, talent buyers and many others will challenge your progress daily, but only if you have that mindset. Instead, I like to view these so-called obstacles as opportunities. With every “no” that I’ve received for an audition, pitch or proposal, I know that I’ve made another contact and moved closer to a “yes” tomorrow.

I don’t let my obstacles stop me. I use them only to work harder. I use it every day to create something new and meaningful. Doors may close, but doors will also open. After all, if someone’s looking for that unique personality that’s called April Brucker, hey folks, that’s me!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Whether I am working as an actress in a theater or a comedienne in a comedy club, I am always in awe of the immediate feedback provided by audiences at live performances. When it’s good, it’s instant gratification; when it’s bad, well it’s bad. But with more than a decade of experience performing live on stage, I’ve learned to turn negative audience feedback into positive learning experiences.

When I’m performing live, I have one chance to get it right. And if I don’t, I learn from my audience and try to get it right the next time. Whether I’m doing a 10-minute set in a revue, headlining for 45 minutes in a club or playing a role in a theatrical production, I strive to not only get it right but to learn what I need to do better the next time.

But despite that happy feeling when you’re stealing that extra bow, the elation from a live performance is transient. In other words, what have you done lately? That’s why I enjoy working in film and television. Although the hours may be longer with multiple takes to get it right, as an artist I have an opportunity to deliver a quality experience to my audience.

Of course, there is not that live performance high, but there is plenty of fan feedback on social media. And nothing beats a vacation memory of enjoying a pizza in an Italian bistro in Saint Martin as a stranger approached our table and asked, “Say, aren’t you that puppet girl that’s on television?”

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
• When opportunity knocks, answer. If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door. And if you are really creative, flip the script and build a trap door.

• Never say never. Keep an open mind. Your next break might not be where you thought, and that’s okay. It might not be what you imagined, but it will lead you to something beyond what your tunnel vision ever imagined.

• If you don’t see your story being told, WRITE IT. Mass media is the great equalizer. Creating your place in the literary canon not only lets the world know your experience but tears down the curtains that separate us all and create a dialogue about the shared universal experience.

• Sometimes people don’t share your vision. That’s okay. Seek out those who do. They exist. Live in warm climates.

• When you knock and hear a “no,” it’s not always a “no.” It might just be a “not yet.”

• Try to be helpful to other people. Share a casting call with friends that would be good for it. There are enough breaks for EVERYONE.

• Watch classic, quality cinema and TV. Read good books. Go to class. Read the trades. Keep learning and growing.

• If you are passed over for something that was “yours,” it really wasn’t “yours.” There is something better waiting. Keep trudging the road to Happy Destiny. Keep the faith.

• Be yourself. It’s what you have to work with. You are enough. The right doors will open if you keep being authentic, original and unique.

• Showbiz, like every industry, is always changing. Don’t stay stuck. Embrace the change. Those who don’t change merely survive, but those that do change, thrive.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aprilbrucker.tv
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/theaprilbrucker
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/aprilbruckerfanpage
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/aprilbrucker
• YouTube:www.youtube.com/AprilBruckerComedy
• Other: www.imdb.me/AprilBrucker