I had a terrible dream when I was pregnant; I dreamt the baby had a ventriloquial mouth, but there was no hand hole; I had to flick the mouth down to get words out.
Nina ContiThe way I talk to the puppets is real, and it's in the moment, and it's seeing what will happen. It's not something that is scripted.
Nina ContiI thought people would think I only wanted to be an actor because my dad was, rather than because I had an innate calling.
Nina ContiI looked into studying psychoanalysis, wrote to the governing body and was about to start the year where they psychoanalyse you, four times a week, before you get to do it yourself. I just thought I'd taken the ventriloquism as far as I could. My act is so deconstructive, and I'd made all the monkey jokes anyone wanted to hear.
Nina Conti