Q&A: EDINBURGH 2024: Her Royal Majesty Queen Angelique-Monet on VENTRILOQUIST QUEEN: A TRUE AFRICAN QUEEN

Her Royal Majesty Queen Angelique-Monet is the Queen Consort of Eti-Oni, Osun State Nigeria. The American-born is a multi-disciplinary talent and a Living Legend from the Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), for her contribution in arts and entertainment. The former beauty queen now Queen is a philanthropist, humanitarian and dubbed by the BBC as “Ventriloquist Queen’’ and “Royal Performer” after marrying Monarch His Majesty The Oloni of Eti-Oni, Oba Dokun Thompson, Gureje IV and performing for the children of Eti-Oni, Osun State, Nigeria. This Edinburgh Fringe, Her Royal Majesty made history as the first Queen to perform in a theatre production. 

BWW caught up with Her Royal Majesty Queen Angelique-Monet about bringing Ventriloquist Queen: A True African Queen to the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

How did you first get started in the world of ventriloquism?

I got started in the world of ventriloquism as a child because I did not talk until the age of five, was bullied and by age nine, I was placed in speech classes and diagnosed with a learning disability. Being tired of being labelled, I asked my mother, a young first-grade school teacher what scared her the most, and she stated, “Those talking dolls from the Alfred Hitchcock TV series.’’ She took me to the library and finally, I found out what this was, saw she was scared of the dolls that looked like human figures, so I created a muppet-like figure. I chose a pig because pigs are often not seen as beautiful and my first figure was “Gracie the Pig.” 

I remember practising in front of a mirror and coming up with concepts with my late grandmother, and it was wonderful to get my show ready. My first show was for my mother, who now loved the art form after she saw me perform with Gracie the Pig, a fast-talking bully. The bullies became my friends and learned to stop bullying. I also took piano lessons at about the same time and worked hard daily to master one song a year. It was this discipline that opened up my mind, and by the time I took the placement test for middle school, I went from being five grades lower to being ready for high school and was placed in honours and advanced courses. 

As time passed, it was this art form that led me to compete in Miss America preliminaries at the state pageant. My first was the Miss Greenville America where I was the youngest contestant and won Miss Congeniality. I decided to continue because part of the Miss America preliminary required one to have a talent with knowledge of current affairs and also have a platform. I became first runner-up in a few rounds and later became Ms Black South Carolina and second runner-up in the Ms Black USA pageant held in Washington, DC. I then founded “SELF,” meaning “Self Esteem Lives Forever,” where I worked with youth in the arts and taught children about the negatives of bullying and how to overcome it in schools. 

My dream was always to produce children's education programs and I became a children’s TV reporter for NBC’s VIDEOMAX where Gracie hosted one program and also “The Gracie and Angel” show for Dove Communications. So, this was my start, and I am happy to be a pioneer in ventriloquism having been the first stage actress to have a one-woman show Off-Broadway when the art form was wading off, and also the first African-American or person of African descent to be a ventriloquist. Now it is a blessing to see others including children taking on the art form and also knowing where the art form will go in the age of a digital boom. 

Can you tell us a bit about your show, Ventriloquist Queen: A True African Queen?

The show is produced by Eti-Oni Development Group, A.F.I. World Peace Initiative & Visions of Peace Initiative in an effort to celebrate family and culture in a fast-paced society. The show is set within The Oloni Palace at the majestic kingdom of Eti-Oni in Osun State, Nigeria, the oldest cocoa plantation, with a royal heritage of cocoa and founded upon peace after the Kiriji War by warrior King Gureje 1st, during the annual Royal Cocoa Festival celebrations. My role as the Queen Consort is to welcome our international guests and also perform for them. Technically, it is deemed a one-woman show, or solo show. However, for me, it is not because we have my ventriloquist figure Milk the Cow, who introduced Cow Duck. In addition, I portray additional characters making it six, including the ventriloquism. As a ventriloquist, my figures have their own unique characters. The music ranges from Scottish traditional, Native American and African American spiritual evangelical church music, to seeing puppets rap, yodel and dance, all within storytelling. We are proud to have received 5-star and several 4-star reviews and also critically acclaimed write-ups from top journalists within internationally renowned publications. For me, creating an authentic show that is fun for children and their parents is a win/win and hearing one reviewer state her mini-reviewer thought it was the best show at Fringe and even wanted to come back was very satisfying. 

What inspired Ventriloquist Queen: A True African Queen?

I retired from commercial performing over a decade ago to pursue humanitarian endeavours, so this is my first commercial run in a while despite performing for many such as former EU President Claude Jean-Claude Juncker. However, when I moved to Nigeria - my custodial role was families and children - I saw how much the children of Eti-Oni loved the art form and Milk the Cow. Now, with the climate issues, children and families around the world trying to navigate around the chaos, I realised the importance and urgency of bringing back family time and old traditional values that are independent of the smartphone. It was imperative to do something in the global marketplace to make an impact while also bringing traditions that can help the world heal, from my American roots and being part Native American, to also showcasing my English and African heritage. One thing I can say is the traditions of all three loved Mother Earth and still honour certain principles such as family and clanship.  

We share a rich heritage in cocoa, which makes chocolate, with oral traditions of love, peace and unity, but most do not even know that the crop, which is an annual crop, needs manual labour and faces several issues.  The play is centred around our annual Royal Cocoa Festival, founded by my husband, His Majesty The Oloni of Eti-Oni, Osun State, Nigeria, Oba Dokun Thompson Gureje IV. The festival was founded to bring dignity, self-respect and self-worth to cocoa farmers. An additional element of the play is the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you” - this includes Mother Nature. In the play, because it is for ages eight and up, we encouraged treating others how you would want to be treated which is the oldest form of tolerance going back to ancient Egypt, like the art form of ventriloquism. It was also great to teach the audience Nigerian dance moves, which was embraced by the audience and turned the play into a party. 

What was the creative process like for Ventriloquist Queen: A True African Queen?

The creative process was quite intensive because of the historical elements and the play needed to fit the international audience, so the songs, storylines, themes and even costumes needed to complement and not compromise my heritage and the goals of the production. There was a lot of meditation. As an artist, we daydream a lot - or at least I do - and the need to merge ancient history with current trends required a lot of research, and to dare step outside of the traditional box as a queen to perform. Once the template was ready, I engaged a lot of youths in Nigeria, the United States and the United Kingdom. The song list for Edinburgh Fringe was finalised after rehearsing and donating to the Salvation Army in Grays, Essex, UK. The staff there was really kind to let me know they believed the children and families would love the show and the songs in the UK and singing the songs as a ventriloquist was also unique. At least with my skills as a ventriloquist, an impact can be made, even if only one person at a time.  

As a Queen Consort, this is also the first time a Queen had performed in a theatre production, let alone solo, so there were areas I could and could not do from a traditional and custodial stance; therefore, the Palace had to approve the show elements. The costumes were designed by myself and His Majesty and made in Nigeria. One of the costumes was made from the traditional artisan adire meaning hand tie and dye, an ancient art form of indigo dying, by women who are third generation in the art of adire production to showcase the beauty of Nigerian traditional textile designs. It made me feel great that these artisan fabrics are now set for the global stage as it does not only encourage these women but shows that their skills are appreciated internationally. There was a change of five costumes which had a symbolic meaning for the show because in the realm of our festival, I would have had a minimum of five different regalia as festivities progressed into Gureje Day. It was also beautiful to combine our animation film, Legend of The Cocoa King and various videos of our dancers at The Royal Cocoa Festival on a screen so the audience could learn more about our kingdom. It was common back in the day for theatre to combine film, especially vaudeville. We also introduced a new sidekick named Cow Duck, and it was really fun to perform with both Milk the Cow and Cow Duck - yodel, rap, belch and dance. For me, it was important to give tributes to performers that came before me, and who have added so much to culture. This included Minnie Ripperton, Celia Cruz, Juju legend King Suny Ade of Nigeria, Bob Marley, Little Richard and Dolly Parton. The show is high energy so it was a great workout for me and, outside of ventriloquism, I played six characters in total. Being in Scotland was also a humbling moment because of growing up in the south and singing our country music, which is very similar to Scottish traditional music. When the Scottish moved to the Americas, they also brought this music, and the banjo, which my African ancestors brought, became a cross-over in music for the two cultures in a new world. When we look at the elements of music, we can see, as humans, we have a lot more in common than we can fathom and perhaps we should do more artistic endeavours and music to show universal love and less talking. 

How do you combine ventriloquism, music, storytelling and comedy in a show like this one?

As a ventriloquist, we (meaning my sidekicks and myself) do comedy, speak to the audience and also sing.  I am, in fact, the only stage actress ventriloquist and first African American female ventriloquist. I’m proud to have paved the way for other minorities of African descent around the world. Now as a stage actress ventriloquist, what this means is, I develop a play around the art form, not simply being myself on the stage. So the key here is to create an intimate setting where everyone feels they can relate, and now that I am a Queen Consort, it was important to explore moments of vulnerability in my life, from addressing not talking until age five to being bullied and having a learning issue and at times we all face insecurity. 

Critics enjoyed learning the history of ventriloquism, and how Siri was now called a digital ventriloquist, which addresses the issue with many people asking me if there was a talking box inside the puppets.  I used to find this odd, but with digital technology, it is important art forms like ventriloquism are not lost, and we continue to define our ancient craft. Some children and adults even came with their puppets and plush toys and this really made me feel surreal with the need to continue such innovative type shows in an age where theatre and unusual art forms are not as popular. 

It is also heartbreaking seeing worldwide arts programs being cut in the school systems. When we look at ancient philosophers from Aristotle to Socrates, what they all had in common was studies in Egypt, but also various art forms. Also, including our Kingdom’s animation film about our founder Gureje 1st and videos of the actual Royal Cocoa Festival took the show to another level, making it multi-dimensional and modern, keeping the audience captivated. It was also wonderful that our heritage is cocoa and part of the show included highlighting a cocoa prince and princess and they each received a bar of our GUREJE IV Chocolate, made with cocoa from our kingdom through a partnership with Beeches Fine Chocolates of Preston UK and all the monies go back into development initiatives for our people. The children and families really loved learning about this. So, it was great to entertain families while teaching them a lot about culture, from dance moves to cocoa.

What was it like bringing Ventriloquist Queen: A True African Queen to the Edinburgh Fringe?

It was amazing being invited by the Big Five Assembly and to make history as the first Queen or Queen Consort to perform in a theatre production. The reviews, feedback from the children and parents in attendance and seeing the children laugh, and smile. Some came prepared, knowing what the art form of ventriloquism is, which was very humbling. Our audience was really diverse, so this was also something to be proud of. 

There is no art festival in the world like the Edinburgh Fringe. We also participated in the Assembly Festival Best of The Fringe Daytime with over 400 guests and it was a delight to see the response and appreciation from the audience. As a ventriloquist, I often refer to my sidekicks or ventriloquist figures in the form of “we.” Most Queens are patrons of the arts, which I am, but the idea of performing before the people and the unknown is a territory often forbidden. Being married to a progressive modern-day King and leader in the cocoa renaissance, when I stated the urge to perform at Fringe and the idea, His Majesty’s response was “Why not?’” Of course, one can get a lot of negative responses or, “What if . . .” or, “What if that . . .” or “Are you sure?” But my destiny is my own, and one will never make an impact if they seek advice from naysayers or people who will and never have walked in your footsteps. 

Without Eti-Oni Development Group, A.F.I World Peace Initiative and our longtime partner, Visions of Peace Initiative, founded by former Public Broadcasting Chairman Cheryl Halpern, it would not have been possible, from the encouragement to the fiscal resources. Continuing on, I was even really honoured His Majesty directed the piece. It was also wonderful working with Abba Music, Abuja, Don Welch and the talented individuals in Scotland, such as producer Natalie Allison and the staff of the Assembly who did everything to make my time and show special. We were also invited to the Edinburgh Fringe Patrons reception where we were proud to see our dear friend Brian Cox and also the President of the Fringe Festival, Shona McCarthy, and the International reception at Edinburgh City Council Chambers with the Lord Provost who also shares a common value of peace and celebration of culture. Edinburgh Fringe, The Assembly Festival, truly made one of the best memories I can recollect and we are looking forward to a longstanding relationship of global exchange of arts and cultures. 

What do you hope audiences took away from Ventriloquist Queen: A True African Queen?

I hoped the audiences took away the importance of being their authentic self and believing in themselves no matter what others may say or tell them. We are in a time where simple, ancient principles like the Golden Rule can change the world. We can be ourselves, but let’s simply treat others kindly. It is crucial to promote and touch the younger generations with this thinking. I learn a lot from the younger generation because they want to change the negatives and do a lot that will make a positive and significant impact. This gives me a lot of hope, so with education and edutainment, we can truly achieve a lot. My existence, raised in South Carolina and born in Nashville, Tennessee into an African-American family, is a melting pot. I cannot deny my heritage which is Native American, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Scottish, and Irish descent, and that my ancestors from Africa came to the United States of America enslaved from West Africa. I am so humbled to be alive and the oral stories, traditions, and knowledge passed down to me from all cultures, is what I teach and hope to share with others. I see it as a responsibility and an obligation. 

How would you describe Ventriloquist Queen: A True African Queen in one word? 

Inspiring!

Ventriloquist Queen: A True African Queen ran in August at Assembly George Square Studios - Studio Five at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

 

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