We hate Al Getler, Part II ConVENTion 2026

david malmberg
1 hour ago
7 min read

One time I asked THE Dale Brown what he thought about Al Getler. Here is what he said: "Not all clowns work in a circus." Ha. THE Dale is true to form in the ongoing 'Hatfield and McCoy' barbs between the two men.

If you're wondering about the title of this edition of VOG, check out 'I hate Al Getler, Pt I' (July 2021 edition in the VOG archive)

Al is our Executive Director this year for the 50th Anniversary of the VentHaven ConVENTion. And what a conVENTion it will be! Of course, many are calling him AL MAGA (Make AL Go Away) these days, but i can tell you for certain that our esteemed Executive Director of the ConVENTion is not leaving anytime soon and has been hard at work in assembling the finest line up of ventriloquists and workshops the world has to offer.

Al is a fireball and a Master at organization as you will see in this closeup look at the behind the scenes workings of the 50th anniversary of the International Ventriloquists Convention. We at Vent-o-Gram love Al, as many of you do. Or as Jay Johnson once said: “There are so many great things I could say about Al Getler, although, I have never found the place, the time nor a reason. “ Read on...

Well Al, considering how hard you’ve been working your state of bodily decay is not too bad. (laughter)

What a way to start an interview. (laughter) It’s good to be here. You and I have been friends, it seems like forever, but realistically 5 or 6 years?

Yes, I think it has been about that. I have followed the convention for years, but because I was always working, I never attended. Then I thought, if it keeps going this way, I’ll never attend. So, about 10 years ago I started blocking off the dates.

I think that is often how it happens. Working vent’s realize they will have to prioritize the time.

So this is about the conVENTion. So much to cover. What’s the lineup?

The convention has been so important in my life. I am trying to follow in the legacy of Mark Wade. We talk several times a week. This year, the 50^th, I really wanted this to be a good convention, so I have worked hard to accomplish exactly that. I think the lineup of performers is quite formidable. Basically, I think the 50^th is too special for our performers NOT to be involved. So, we have Darci Lynne, Jim Barber, Jay Johnson, Willie Tyler, Max Fulham, Taylor Mason, Lynn Trefzger, and Jeff Goltz. The list of performers is even larger than what I just stated. Let’s just say we are covering a lot of territory.

Give us more.

Mike Hemmelgarn, Indushree Raveendra, and Jack Williams from AGT. I am particularly thrilled to have an Irishman, Jack Wise…I mean it is nuts how many great people we have. This is a ConVENTion like none other.

Formidable would be the right word.

Yes, and I have been meeting with the hotel people. We are going to go all out in hospitality. They are fully on board with giving everyone a good time. After all, the ConVENTion is a vacation for a lot of folks.

Let’s get back to basics. Why would I want to attend the convention and why would I particularly want to be at the 50^th this year?

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a hobbyist or a pro. The convention will do so much for you. You will be among peers. You will not find a better way to get together with fellow performers and talk shop. We also have these workshops…from the very first night. For instance, we have changed the focus of Dan Horn’s workshop from beginners to being all inclusive for vents from every walk of life. And then from there, Jay Johnson comes in with a great lecture on the Great Lester’s theory of what makes a great ventriloquist.

And then lectures on singing. Darci is going to sit down with Willie Tyler, who was the original singing vent when you get right down to it. There will be lectures on building characters, voices, doing vent walk arounds, the distant voice. Yes, Andy Gross will be here doing a lecture on the distant voice. He does it better than anyone in the business now. Basically, we want to make new ventriloquists good ventriloquists, good ventriloquists great ventriloquists. We want vents to go away from this convention, ready to go out and be performers of the craft.

I’ve heard rumors that Dale Brown doesn’t have anything to do with any of this. (laughter)

Yes, we tried to avoid having him getting involved and screwing everything up. (laughter) Serious, Dale has been has been so involved over the years. The Junior and Senior showcases this year (“showcase” is a great term Jimmy Vee came up with) will also be different. Normally it was a signup process, but this year, videos had to be submitted and the performers have been picked for these showcases. Dale is important part of that, in spite of the fact that when Clinton Detweiller saw his act he told him not to go pro… (laughter)

Let’s talk about changes this year in production elements.

We are making a lot of changes in that area. We have contracted with professional sound and lighting people for this year. In addition, we will be using video screens on either side of the stage. The room layout will also be changed. Everything will be digital. This is the first year we are going to have one person that will be dedicated to music and cues. That person is Pete Michaels Jr. in legacy of his wonderful Dad. Pete is a pro who travels regularly doing production with professional shows. We have taken some big steps to move in a right direction production wise.

Is Vent Haven involved in a greater capacity at the ConVENTion this year.

Yes, Lisa Sweasy and staff have put together a book this year covering 50 years of ConVENTions. It will be for sale and is an absolute treasure. Lisa is also hosting an event with Steve Axtell doing a special presentation on Tom Ladshaw. So yes, Vent Haven is definitely involved this year. By the way, there are three times you can go to the museum. Wednesday afternoon before the convention starts, Thursday is over lunch time and then the usual shuttles to and from on Saturday. People must sign up in advance for the shuttles.

Let’s talk about Club 100. What is that all about?

First off, we did Club 100 in lieu of raising convention fees. Club 100 is a means to generate additional funds to keep our registration fees low. In today’s world, what you pay to go to the ConVENTion is unheard of. Right now (at this writing) we have about 9 memberships left.

What are the benefits of being in Club 100?

Well, first of all there is an amazing prize drawing of an Austin Phillips figure, a Conrad Hartz classic figure painted by Bill Nelson, two of the newest Axtell Characters, a puppet made by Dennis Acosta and finally private comedy lessons with Darren Carr. There will also be a reception with pictures of most of this year’s performers.

What does it cost to join Club 100.

$200.00.

Why is it called Club 100 when it costs me $200.00?

There are only 100 memberships, thus Club 100. Even Dale Brown could figure that out. (laughter)

You know Al, I know you’re a capable guy, but these kinds of things don’t happen without a team.

So true. So true. I don’t know how Mark and Jodie made it happen all these years. There are so many that are involved this year that I cannot name them all without forgetting someone. But let’s just say that it is an amazing team. Tech people, web people, sound people, lighting people, layout, and design people. The design part, Jeff Dionise has created so much wonderful art! Plus, Lew Newton is raising the bar on hospitality. The list just goes on and on. You will see them.

Let’s talk about the dealers room. As you know, it is always a big draw. What is happening with those rooms this year?

It looks like there will be more than two dealer rooms this year. This will be to accommodate crowds. At this time, everything is still in the final planning stages, but I can tell you that we are working hard to make the dealers rooms as efficient as possible in terms of accommodating people. We are also looking at the possibility of keeping some of the tables open for extended periods of time.

Let’s return to the workshops. We have covered Jay Johnson and Darci Lynne. What else?

Jeff Dunham will be there Thursday. Jeff and I just spoke last night. He will make full use of our new screens discussing his new YouTube special. Friday morning we have Stephen Knowles, Nic Pavlov, Dennis Acosta and Austin Phillips talking about developing a character. It is a two-hour interactive workshop. They will literally create a character which Dennis Acosta will build. It will then be raffled off later in the ConVENTion raffle. In addition, Max Fulham will talk about how to build a show. Jack Williams, Dan Horn and Jay Johnson will be talking about bringing your character to life. Soft and hard figures. Lectures on Saturday will be on Strolling vents and the importance of social media to the ventriloquist today. Dan Horn will share even more manipulation secrets. And of course, as I mentioned, Andy Gross on the distant voice. There is so much…it is hard to cover it all.

Al, they tapped you to be executive director. How has that process been over the past couple of years.

I won’t lie. It is an arduous task filled with a lot of details. Again, I can’t imagine how Mark and Jodie did it for so many years. My goal is to get the elements in place so that it can be flawlessly passed along to others.