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The 'voice of entertainment' touches down in Turlock
Terry Fator
"Americas Got Talent: Season 2" winner Terry Fator will bring his unique one-man-show to the Turlock Community Theatre on Oct. 26. - photo by Photo Contributed

 

 

Winning Season 2 of NBC’s "America’s Got Talent" was a life-changing moment for Terry Fator. The one-man-show performer will soon bring his multiple talents to the Turlock Community Theater and also share his experiences competing on the popular television program now in its ninth season.

 “There is a reason I am called the voice of entertainment and that is because I do the voices of the most iconic singers that have ever lived and you are going to see dozens of impressions, lots and lots of great music, lots and lots of comedy, and a little bit of ventriloquism,” said Fator. “I use the ventriloquism as a vehicle to do all of the other things that I am able to do and so I will be doing some by myself, some with puppets. There will be points where we get a little bit poignant and we focus on some of the lower parts of my life; that is not very long but you’ve got to show the lows too.”

Fator explained that his show is not just about ventriloquism, but a show about entertainment with singing, dancing, comedy and storytelling as well.

“I take the audience through the entire experience of what it was like to be on 'America’s Got Talent,' how that felt and I will tell you it is so much fun,” expressed Fator. “People are going to leave that show on a high.”

Born and raised in Texas, Fator knew at the age of three that he wanted to entertain people. Around eight or nine years old, Fator started entertaining people with his magic skills and focused on that. He then dabbled in hypnosis for a bit and at the age of 10, he moved his complete focus to ventriloquism.

“It is something that I just had a natural talent for, I was able to do it within just a few hours of picking up a book. And then I bought my first puppet at Sears and it was just one of those things that I absolutely loved doing,” added Fator. “I didn’t realize what an uphill battle it was, but the funny thing is my focus has always been to use ventriloquism to showcase my other talents.”

Fator also spent 15 years as the lead singer of a band in Texas and would do impressions of Axel Rose, Garth Brooks, Ozzy Osbourne, to Randy Travis and many more.

Fator performed anywhere he could, from birthday parties to county fairs, schools to churches.

After trying everything he could possibly do to get noticed, he was almost ready to give up on his dreams and then he got accepted to "America’s Got Talent: Season 2." On occasion Fator gets invited back to the show to perform.

“A lot of the crew, camera people, producers, directors, a lot of them were people that were on my season and they tell me they still use me as an example to the new contestants,” said Fator. “When I got accepted to be on 'America’s Got Talent' I relished every moment while I was there.

“I smiled all the time.”

According to Fator, the other contestants were frustrated because of the work schedule which could entail late nights and early mornings with a very minimal amount of sleep. They would also complain about not getting paid, however, to Fator the countless dollars’ worth of advertising they would get every time they stepped on stage was worth it.

“So to me I had such an upbeat positive attitude because I realized that ‘this is my shot’ so the entire experience was so incredibly positive for me,” said Fator. “I can say the entire time was such a joy and such a pleasure.”

After his win on AGT, Fator was offered a deal in Las Vegas at the Mirage and has been living in Vegas for the past five years. Most of the year he performs Monday through Thursday at the Mirage in Las Vegas, which gives him the weekends off so that he can travel around the country and perform shows other places.

A headlining gig at the Mirage in Las Vegas, a music CD, “It starts tonight,” a DVD, “Terry Fator: Live in Concert,” a book, “Lamu, The Christmas Kitten,” apparel and other merchandise … Fator is living his dream.

Fator will be performing for Central Valley fans at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26  the Turlock Community Theatre. For ticket information, visit turlocktheatre.org.