Battle of the Ventriloquists: Taylor Mason Beats Jeff Dunham!

It is extremely common for Comedy Central to run specials by Jeff Dunham. For those not in the know, Jeff Dunham is a popular comedian and ventriloquist. Many people are first exposed to ventriloquism by watching Jeff Dunham.

There are parts of Dunham's show that are easily family friendly. However, most of the parts of the show rely on sex jokes or swear words, so it is not good for children to be exposed to this type of comedy.

Taylor Mason is a comedian, musician, and ventriloquist. He uses all three things in his act and always combines them. There is never a single swear word uttered in his act. The act is easy enough for children to understand, but it is also sophisticated enough that adults and teenagers enjoy the show as well. People that see Mason's act are usually laughing nonstop.

Here are just a few of Taylor Mason's puppets.

Paco - Paco is a small pig. He is a lawyer, so he does not say "soo-ey," but he does say, "Sue you!" He also has a cousin Ramon who seems to be frying wherever he is. His best friend is Pop'nFresh, the Pillsbury Doughboy. He also speaks fluent Spanish.

Romeo -Romeo is a teenager with an attitude. He is always trying to flirt with women. He also insists that he is not a puppet, but a mannequin American.

Sumo - Sumo is a Sumo wrestler from Japan. He only comes out at the end of shows.

Robert - Robert is a sheep that is never very afraid. He also does not like to be sheered.

Mason does an amazing job of comedy, bringing the audience into a strange world where the puppets seem real. However, he also does not let the audience forget that they are puppets. Once Taylor Mason starts a dialogue with an audience member and a puppet, he'll make sure that the puppet says that it is not real.

There are also jokes throughout Mason's entire act about the puppet's voice being his own voice. This is extremely amazing when he does call and response between himself and two other puppets.

Unlike Jeff Dunham, Taylor Mason always involves the audience. Sometimes he has a person come up and be the hands for one of his puppets. During this time, the puppet has human hands and Mason will make the puppet react appropriately (or inappropriately) to the action of the hands. However, it always works. There is nothing that makes the act inappropriate for even the smallest children.

At the end of each performance, it is common for Mason to ask audience members to control his puppets. At this, he'll have each one try to control the puppets and he will also make the puppets talk. The goal is for all of the puppets to sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." However, due to the fact that the audience members are not used to handling the puppets, funny things always happen. Mason makes them say some of the oddest things at times, but it is always reacting to the way the puppets seem to be acting.

While Jeff Dunham has performed at some major areans, so has Taylor Mason. Mason has performed for Bill Gaither. He has also performed at Disney. The great part, though, is that Mason also performs for churches and smaller venues, not just large arenas.

It is a rare treat to be able to have such a talented ventriloquist that will play both big and small arenas.

Mason even has a show called "Taylor's Attic." There are more characters here than even the ones that are not mentioned for his shows.

While Dunham travels with five men in a suitcase, Mason travels with a whole cast. Both Jeff Dunham and Taylor Mason have acts that they perform over and over, but the difference is that Mason's act will vary with whoever is in the audience at times. He also has bits he'll pull out of an act and replace with others at times so the acts are always a bit varied from time to time. This is something that Jeff Dunham does not practice.

Mason has even appeared on both DVDs of "Thou Shalt :Laugh" and done a promo with Romeo for them.

All people should watch Taylor Mason at least once before passing him over just because they hear he is a Christian comedian. It really is not what many people first think when hearing those words.

For more information about Taylor Mason, visit http://www.taylormason.com

To view a short video example of Taylor Mason performing, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN3fCXV0WfA