Puppet art, also known as ventriloquism, is not a common in Rwanda’s comedy industry. The industry is dominated by standup comedians who specialise in doing sketches but we have not heard of ventriloquists before.

Patience Karani Uwiringiyimana, 28, says he’s the first Rwandan ventriloquist.

Uwiringiyimana’s inspiration came the day he met 2015 America’s Got Talent award winning British comedian and ventriloquist Paul Zerdin back in August 2017 while on a comedy tour in Bucharest, Romania.

"My friends took me out for a comedy show and I liked it a lot. I tried to get in touch with Zerdin and my chance came by when he promised to teach me how puppet art works,” he says.

"I kept in touch with him and kept learning more ventriloquist tips. He would send me videos of tutorials showing how puppet art works until I was ready to perform them. I later bought my own puppet for practice,” says Uwirinyimana.

Uwiringiyimana has started to perform at different events, the most recent one being the 4th edition of Seka Live comedy show, where he thrilled the audience that included several regional stars such as musician Ragga Dee from Uganda.

He is currently using a puppet he christened ‘Golizo’, because it looks like a gorilla. It ‘speaks’ Kinyarwanda and English.

"We usually have standup comedy, and sketch but we had no puppet art before, which I think is a new trend that would contribute to the rise of Rwanda’s comedy industry. This is a new form of comedy which is fun for anyone,” he said.

How it works

"I am the one who controls what the puppet says, its movement, the voice and its reactions. But it has not been that easy for me to make it do whatever I want,” he axplains.

Uwiringiyimana has a 30-minute special TV show on ventriloquism where he invites children to the studio for a live chat with the puppet.

"The TV talk show is creating visual traffic from viewers, which gives me the impression that it is getting more and more interesting to people. People get excited when I perform.”

Before performing a certain puppet art comedy, Uwiringiyimana writes the script to use depending on the theme of the event to attract attention from the audience. 

"I think of scripts to use for producing a puppet art depending on the theme. When I am going to perform at a wedding ceremony, I make sure the script is relevant; it is a form of entertainment which draws close attention from the audience when the puppet is in live conversation with the bride and the groom,” he explains.

In terms of business, Uwiringiyimana believes he can financially start making the best out of his art considering the number of requests he is receiving from individuals and companies. 

"I started generating income from the puppet art. I hope it will even get better as people are increasingly getting interested. It can be a serious business if it continues like this,” he said.

Though he admits he still has a lot to learn about ventriloquism, Uwiringiyimana plans to share his experience with the young generation so the art can take root in Rwanda.

"It is a form of entertainment that’s big in Europe and U.S though it seems to be a new thing in Africa. I am looking at how to spread the art among kids so they can grow into great ventriloquists in the future,” he says.

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