Taylor Mason at the Orpheum Theatre -- April 25.
Friday, April 25, 7:30 p.m.
Orpheum Theatre, 57 South Kellogg Street, Galesburg IL
A seasoned comedian, ventriloquist, and musician whose career spans more than three decades and earned him a win on TV's Star Search, touring sensation Taylor Mason brings his act, and his memorable cast of characters, to Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre on April 25, this veteran of America’s Got Talent, Dry Bar Comedy, and the Disney Channel enjoying a performance sponsored by Supporters of Foster's Voice and Bridgeway’s Youth Empowerment Services.
First introduced to the art of puppetry by his parents as a nine-year-old, Mason was raised on a farm in the suburbs of Chicago, where his father was a farm-news broadcaster on radio and TV. Mason graduated from the Ottawa Township Highschool in 1974 and went on to attend the University of Illinois, where he majored in agriculture and communication. While Mason was attending the university, he suffered a knee injury during a football game, and as he recovered, he started performing as a disc-jockey and stand-up comedian at his fraternity. Mason mixed up his act by adding music, piano, and ventriloquism, and soon afterward, started performing at various Chicago piano bars, where as the man has stated, he was "the only ventriloquist in Chicago."
In 1981, Mason was hired as the musical director of the famed Second City Touring Company, where worked alongside other comedians such as The Simpsons' eventual Homer Dan Castellaneta. Mason continued his ventriloquist act and also worked on his Masters in advertising, graduating with a degree from Northwestern University in 1983. By the end of his time at Northwestern, Mason was working full-time as a comedian and performing at the Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago. From 1986 to 1989, he performed comedy shows at the New York City's Catch a Rising Star, and by 1990, Mason started appearing on comedy television shows.
During a period of 11 years starting from 1989, the family-friendly comedian and ventriloquist performed more than 1,500 college shows across the country, and in 1990, Mason auditioned for television's competition program Star Search, winning the grand prize in 1991. In addition to currently touring and working on his Dry Bar Comedy Series, Mason has authored two books on ventriloquism. He wrote his first book, A Complete Idiots Guide to Ventriloquism, while he was working at the Second City Touring Company, and his second book Irreversible was published in 2019.
Taylor Mason performs at the Orpheum Theatre on April 25, admission to the 7:30 p.m. show is $31-36.20, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)342-2299 and visiting GalesburgOrpheum.org.
