The trick to developing a credible impression, says Venetian headliner Gordie Brown, is to first pick someone who is widely known. “Dr. Phil, for example, has a very recognizable voice, so I made a choice to learn him. I tape a series of shows, or just go online to YouTube, where the audio is good enough to get the tone of his voice. I just get that voice in my head, over and over, concentrating only on his voice.
“When you’re watching him perform, you subliminally pick up mannerisms. You start to pick up those things, the hand gestures, how he puffs out his chest and how his lips pucker up. You pick up the body language through that process, and you know you’ve got it if you can stay away from it for three days and come back and nail it.”
And it’s not a rare gift, says Brown, who performs about 100 impressions in his stage show. “If you have an ear for tone and can make a connection to the voice, you can do it. More people can do it than they think.”