MISS MERLYNDA
& HER CHEEKY CHATTY PUPPETS!
- Award-Winning Comedy Performance Poet
- Award-Winning Comedy Singer-Songwriter
- Fun Street Singing-Ventriloquist & Puppeteer
- Fun Mix & Mingle Ventriloquist At Events
- Make Puppets & Ventriloquism Workshops
- Talks: History & Techniques of Ventriloquism
Street Ventriloquist At Public Events - All Ages!
www.Merlynda-Romantic-Poet.com
B I O G R A P H Y - C V - B A C K G R O U N D
Merlynda
Born into a theatrical and musical family, Merlynda trained with LAMDA for 10 years (becoming an ALAM and LLAM of LAMDA and awarded 4 Honours Medals in Speech/Acting) - and successfully completed the rigorous ‘The Mastery’ at The Actors Institute, London. Her childhood was spent almost entirely performing in Operetta, Musicals and Dramatic Plays - and - creating Fun and Sweet Poetry and Songs, and Ballet Music, For Children, Romantic Love Poetry and Songs, Humorous and Comical Poetry and Monologues, FairyTale Poetry and Verse-Fables For Children. Later, she added Ventriloquism, Puppetry - and - Punch & Judy Shows to her repertoire - and - she is now a regular Children's Ventriloquist-Puppeteer-Songwriter-Poet - entertaining audiences of children live with her cast of cheeky chatty vintage Ventriloquist Dolls, Dummies and Puppets - as - 'Miss Merlynda & Her Cheeky Chatty Puppets!'
She has performed her Fun and Sweet Poetry - Singalong Songs - and - Dance/Ballet Music For Children - and - her Romantic Poetry, Humorous Poetry, Monologues and Songs - together with Ventriloquism and Puppetry - as themed One-Woman Shows and Acts - in a variety of venues across England.
She also became a professional Illustrator and Cartoonist: ‘Kitty Pigfish Cartoons and Illustrations’ - after studying Fine Art at: Winchester School of Art and The OCA. Her artworks are exhibited in commercial London Galleries, regional Galleries, in France, the USA and Sweden - and are commissioned internationally. An Exhibitions/Client List is available on request. She owned and managed ‘The Barley-Brut Art Gallery’ in Hampshire and ran regular Exhibitions and Art Workshops within the South Downs National Park. She was commissioned by The Art Institute to create a 850,000 word Art Tutorial Course - Title: ‘Master The Art’ (Published The Art Institute: 1998). In addition to being an award-winning and much-published poet and cartoonist. She frequently coaches Art Students privately and conducts Workshops in Painting and Drawing at her Studio-Gallery in Bucks Mills, Devon, England.
Merlynda was assistant to The Chief Barker of The Variety Club of Great Britain and the Managing Director of Columbia-EMI-Warner Bros in London - became a regular Magazine Columnist with The Observer Newspaper & Magazine Series - was a Subs Editor with The Financial Times - anda professional Scriptwriter with Q International. She was the Founder and Editor of: The Poetry Box Magazine andThe Bucks Mills Poetry Magazine.
In 2018, she was the Poet-In-Residence at The Cabin in Bucks Mills, Devon (courtesy of The National Trust) and began opening her Poetry Gallery: ‘The Bucks Mills Gallery’ regularly to visitors.
She was also a participating artist with the: MADHurst Art Trek, the DAN Trek and the ND Art Trek organisations. In 2019 she launched a new mini poetry festival: ‘The Bucks Mills Poetry Festival - A Weekend Gathering of Poets’ bringing together poets nationally and internationally.
Merlynda is currently a professional Ventriloquist - Puppeteer - Children's Poet - Children's Songwriter - Children's Story-Teller - a professional Artist - Illustrator - Cartoonist - Art Tutor - a professional Tarot Reader - I Ching Reader - and - Palmist - and - a professional Ventriloquism & Puppetry Tutor and Ventriloquist Workshops Leader.
Merlynda is happiest of all creating and performing her Funny and Sweet Songs And Poems For Children - together with performing Ventriloquism and Puppetry Live To Entertain Audiences of Children as - 'Miss Merlynda & Her Cheeky Chatty Puppets!' - and - creating and performing her Romantic Love, Nature and Humorous Poems - and - her Love and Humorous Songs - For Senior Audiences.
She also enjoys creating Funny, Sweet and Romantic Illustrations and Cute Cartoons, too - conducting Workshops and Individual Private Sessions in The Arts of Ventriloquism & Puppetry - teaching Drawing and Painting To Students and Groups - and - telling Fortunes using the Tarot - I Ching - and - Palmistry.
She is also popularly known for her informal, cheeky humorous poetry performances for adults as - 'Bluebell Robinson' - and - 'BluebellyLaughs'.
Merlynda’s Awards Include:
The Forward Press Poetry Award/The Golden Grove Poetry Prize, The PIM Poetry Award, The Poetry Rivals National Poetry Slam, The Serendipity Poetry Prize, The Portico Poetry Prize, The Leaf Book-Jacket Award, The National Library Book-Jacket Award, The WM Composer’s Award For Song, The UK International Songwriter Awards - Highly Commended and Semi Finalist Awards for many of her Songs For Children, and as Selected Songwriter: MiDEM, France. Over 100 of her Songs and Keyboard/Piano Compositions are published and her Keyboard Suite: ‘The Toys In The Attic’ was choreographed by The Royal Academy of Dance and premiered at: The EQ International Festival of Dance, in Ireland.
Merlynda’s 16 Solo Poetry Collections Published To Date:
The Romance of Bucks Mills: A Collection of Romantic Love & Bereavement Poems, War Poems: A Collection For Remembrance, Naughty! Naughty! - A Collection of Naughty Comedy Poems For Adults, ACT! Alone Monologues & Verse For Performer & Speakers, Naughty But Nice! - A Collection of Comedy Poems For Adults, The Bucks Mills Funny Times! - A Collection of Comical Odes, Ditties & Illustrations, Merlynda: The Bucks Mills Poet-In-Residence in The Cabin, 6 FairyTales & Verse-Fables 4 You!, The Tale of The Goat & The Wolf (also an Audio Book), Jolly Rhymes!, Tiggee Tatter & Ticklee, Flight Or Fight, The Scarlette Book, A Pocket Collection of Horror Poetry, Kitty Pigfish’s Astrological Canines, Merlynda Requests The Pleasure (Audio Book).
Merlynda’s poems are published in a variety of Poetry Anthologies - including:
Poets Ensemble, Prime Time Poets, Poetry Rivals 2009, Poetry Rivals 2012, Poetry Rivals 2014, Forward Poetry: A World of Verse 2011, Forward Poets 2008, Forward Poetry Poets 2012, Poetry Now 1997, Poetry Now 2013, The Great British Write Off, My Regards To You, Endless Love, Happily Ever After, The World At War, Spring To Life, Diamond Jubilee, Womanly Thoughts, Poetic Destinies, Inspired, Essence of Love, Animal Antics, Echoes of Life, The Gift of Prayer, Into The Shadows, Wasn’t It Funny When, It’s The Way They Tell ‘Em, A Royal Century, Joyful Thoughts of Christmas, United In Inspiration, In Those Days, Words In Praise of Ned Ludd, A Little Book of Serendipity, The Bordon Reflections War Poetry Collection, Mirror Mirror On The Wall (also an ebook) The National Library, The Royal Naval Poetry Collection, The Poetry Society, Addictions Anthology: Despite Knowing (Teignmouth Poetry Festival, 2022). Other Publications: ‘Master The Art’ - Art Tutorial Course (commissioned by The Art Institute) and ‘Cold Shivers: A Collection of Short Stories’.
Merlynda’s Poetry Festival & Other Live Performances Include:
The Chichester Festival, The Havant Literary Festival, The Lanesborough Hotel, London, The Milford Festival, The Ripley Festival, The Beer & Oyster Festival, The Elvetham Country Estate, Civic Hall (G-Live), privately for Baroness Golding and The Law Lords, Port Solent, on the London Fringe Theatre circuit, as supporting Performance Poet to Mike Harding - and headlining, organising and compering at a variety of Poetry Open Mics/Spoken Word Events across England.
Merlynda’s Poetry Radio Broadcasts and Interviews:
BBC Radio Solent, BBC Radio South, BBC 3 Counties, Radio Delta, Spirit FM, Radio Lion (the recording of this live poetry broadcast is frequently re-broadcast). Merlynda was regional BBC Radio’s ‘Poetry Expert’ during the BBC’s ‘Functional Poetry Initiative’.
Please visit Merlynda’s websites for her Poetry Reading Videos - Photos - Publications - Awards - And For More Details: