So, I'm sitting in Starbucks on Euclid Ave. right across from PlayhouseSquare and I'm enjoying an ICED latte. Yay for warmer weather! There's been an eclectic mix of music in here since I sat down. Most of it is stuff I've never heard before but some of it I quite like...you know, the typical, really great indie music you hear at Starbucks. Plus, there was a little Talking Heads thrown in, which brought back childhood memories of MTV.
Tonight is the last tech rehearsal before opening night of my cabaret! I'm feeling a lot of things. Excited, confident, hopeful, nervous, stressed, like I could almost pee my pants! All at the same time! It still feels a little bit unreal to me. I'm debuting my very own solo cabaret in Cleveland, in my old hometown among family and friends, at the second largest performing arts complex outside of Lincoln Center!
I remember when I was about to step onstage at Carnegie Hall to sing with my church choir two years ago. I said to myself, "You may never have this opportunity again. So, don't be nervous. Just go out there and sing like you belong here!" I'm hoping to accomplish the same thing tomorrow night. On a smaller stage in an intimate cabaret venue, as Lora likes to say, "in the basement of PlayhouseSquare." Still, at PlayhouseSquare nonetheless, and performing my own show...something that started out as just an idea and grew into this tremendous opportunity for me. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to just sing like I belong here.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
First Tech
Well, my first tech rehearsal for Sole Mates is behind me! We rehearsed in Kennedy's last night with lighting, sound and the band. I even rehearsed in costume but no makeup.
I can now breathe a big sigh of relief! It went very well! I felt a little rough or awkward in a couple places, mostly in a physical way. (Should I sit or stand at this point? What do I do with my hands? Am I too still? Too animated? That kind of thing...) It took me a little while to get my bearings in the actual space. However, musically I felt very good about it. My singing felt effortless. (Thanks Sally!!!!) I wasn't freaked out by hearing myself in the monitor. The band gave the music a new energy, which in turn pumped up my energy level. There were a couple minor places where we stopped to fix things, but overall YAY! I really feel that the show will be ready for its big debut this Friday!
Now I just have to figure out how to perfect my hair and makeup!
I can now breathe a big sigh of relief! It went very well! I felt a little rough or awkward in a couple places, mostly in a physical way. (Should I sit or stand at this point? What do I do with my hands? Am I too still? Too animated? That kind of thing...) It took me a little while to get my bearings in the actual space. However, musically I felt very good about it. My singing felt effortless. (Thanks Sally!!!!) I wasn't freaked out by hearing myself in the monitor. The band gave the music a new energy, which in turn pumped up my energy level. There were a couple minor places where we stopped to fix things, but overall YAY! I really feel that the show will be ready for its big debut this Friday!
Now I just have to figure out how to perfect my hair and makeup!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Load In
On Saturday, we had load in at Kennedy's to prepare for tech rehearsals and performances of Cleveland Cabaret Project's "Cabaret Sampler With Heart & Sole" featuring Lora Workman and Paul Hoffman's tribute to Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, "This Could Be the Heart of Something" and my cabaret, "Sole Mates."
Sound equipment was brought in. Lights were hung. Dressing room was cleaned. I hot glued the lids shut on a bunch of shoe boxes. Exciting stuff! Here are a couple photos...
The stage in Kennedy's.
We have a disco ball!
Sound equipment was brought in. Lights were hung. Dressing room was cleaned. I hot glued the lids shut on a bunch of shoe boxes. Exciting stuff! Here are a couple photos...
The stage in Kennedy's.
We have a disco ball!
The Story Behind My Cabaret
Since the plan is to write a lot about my cabaret experience over the next couple weeks, I figured I better provide a little bit of backround information.
In the spring of 2008, I signed up for an 8-week workshop called "Cabaret 101" at PlayhouseSquare in Cleveland. I had always been curious about the art of cabaret and I love to sing, so I figured why not?! The workshop was taught by Lora Workman, a cabaret performer and member of PlayhouseSquare's Education and Outreach staff, and Charles Eversole, musician and Artistic Director of Cleveland's Singing Angels, and the eight weeks culminated in a performance showcase, in which each participant performed his/her own 15-minute set. Long story short, it was an amazing experience for me! I found that I really loved cabaret and felt right at home in that setting.
While working on my 15-minute set for class, I was inspired with the idea to expand my love of shoes into a full 50 minute solo cabaret. When I mentioned this to Lora toward the end of the workshop, her response was, "You have to do that!" Of course, other things were on the horizon for me at that moment, namely my summer at the Esper Studio which would lead to the eventual move to New York. So, I put the shoe cabaret on the back burner for a little while and focused on other things.
It was approximately one year ago that I started seriously working on developing my solo cabaret. I began to develop a script, think about what songs I wanted to sing, bounced ideas off of famliy and friends, had a few happy hour brainstorming sessions with Lora. Last summer, I got together with Charles (or Chuck as he is known among friends) and we bagan to work on music. My script went through a couple incarnations. Songs changed over time. I got my friend and fellow actor Doug Kusak on board to add his brilliance to a couple of comic bits in the show. The move to New York happened. I travelled back and forth for a couple weekend rehearsals and worked in the city with my voice teacher, Sally, and my friend and accompanist, Caitlin, to keep the music work moving forward.
And now...in less than 1 week, "Sole Mates" will make its debut in Kennedy's Cabaret at PlayhouseSquare! All I can say is, WOW! I can't believe the moment is almost here. The time went by so fast!
Tomorrow starts tech week. More details and photos to follow. Stay tuned!
In the spring of 2008, I signed up for an 8-week workshop called "Cabaret 101" at PlayhouseSquare in Cleveland. I had always been curious about the art of cabaret and I love to sing, so I figured why not?! The workshop was taught by Lora Workman, a cabaret performer and member of PlayhouseSquare's Education and Outreach staff, and Charles Eversole, musician and Artistic Director of Cleveland's Singing Angels, and the eight weeks culminated in a performance showcase, in which each participant performed his/her own 15-minute set. Long story short, it was an amazing experience for me! I found that I really loved cabaret and felt right at home in that setting.
While working on my 15-minute set for class, I was inspired with the idea to expand my love of shoes into a full 50 minute solo cabaret. When I mentioned this to Lora toward the end of the workshop, her response was, "You have to do that!" Of course, other things were on the horizon for me at that moment, namely my summer at the Esper Studio which would lead to the eventual move to New York. So, I put the shoe cabaret on the back burner for a little while and focused on other things.
It was approximately one year ago that I started seriously working on developing my solo cabaret. I began to develop a script, think about what songs I wanted to sing, bounced ideas off of famliy and friends, had a few happy hour brainstorming sessions with Lora. Last summer, I got together with Charles (or Chuck as he is known among friends) and we bagan to work on music. My script went through a couple incarnations. Songs changed over time. I got my friend and fellow actor Doug Kusak on board to add his brilliance to a couple of comic bits in the show. The move to New York happened. I travelled back and forth for a couple weekend rehearsals and worked in the city with my voice teacher, Sally, and my friend and accompanist, Caitlin, to keep the music work moving forward.
And now...in less than 1 week, "Sole Mates" will make its debut in Kennedy's Cabaret at PlayhouseSquare! All I can say is, WOW! I can't believe the moment is almost here. The time went by so fast!
Tomorrow starts tech week. More details and photos to follow. Stay tuned!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Less Than Two Weeks Away...
YIKES!
My cabaret is opening in less than two weeks! I'm kind of freaking out about this. I'm not so much freaking out about the performance part. I have the usual bit of nervousness, but for the most part I feel good about the show itself. I have been working really hard on this project for about a year...the script, the music. My performance will come together just fine.
I'm freaking out about the business part of it. I have never self-produced a show in my entire life! There's a LOT that goes into it. I knew that going in but had no idea how much it would stress me out. Granted, I am not doing it alone. My friend Lora is co-producing, as we are both performing our sets each night as a cabaret sampler. She has done this before, many times, Thank God! Her expertise has been invaluable, and I am truly learning every step of the way.
Still, I am freaking out a little bit. Will enough people actually come to see this thing?! We pretty much have to fill Kennedy's every night to make back our investment. And it's not just about breaking even. I WANT people to see my show! I keep having nightmares about walking onstage to an empty house!
Okay, deep breath. Hopefully, it will all turn out okay.
My cabaret is opening in less than two weeks! I'm kind of freaking out about this. I'm not so much freaking out about the performance part. I have the usual bit of nervousness, but for the most part I feel good about the show itself. I have been working really hard on this project for about a year...the script, the music. My performance will come together just fine.
I'm freaking out about the business part of it. I have never self-produced a show in my entire life! There's a LOT that goes into it. I knew that going in but had no idea how much it would stress me out. Granted, I am not doing it alone. My friend Lora is co-producing, as we are both performing our sets each night as a cabaret sampler. She has done this before, many times, Thank God! Her expertise has been invaluable, and I am truly learning every step of the way.
Still, I am freaking out a little bit. Will enough people actually come to see this thing?! We pretty much have to fill Kennedy's every night to make back our investment. And it's not just about breaking even. I WANT people to see my show! I keep having nightmares about walking onstage to an empty house!
Okay, deep breath. Hopefully, it will all turn out okay.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Making Some Changes
Time to get back in gear and spend some updating this thing! I've been neglecting it more than I had intended to. I've also been busy adjusting to life in a new city and the intensity of my studies. What can you do?!? Anyway, certain life and career events have been inspiring me to get my blogging groove back!
I'm playing around with different layout templates, colors, backgrounds, etc. I want to add some new photos and features. Stay tuned. It's a work in progress.
I am also going to be writing a lot about my cabaret experience in the next couple weeks. I am debuting my first one-woman cabaret, Sole Mates, in a little less than 3 weeks. The work has taken me on an amazing journey so far. So far, the journey has been kind of like a cross-country drive. As crunch time is here, the journey is starting to feel more like a roller coaster ride at Cedar Point!
More on that later...
I'm playing around with different layout templates, colors, backgrounds, etc. I want to add some new photos and features. Stay tuned. It's a work in progress.
I am also going to be writing a lot about my cabaret experience in the next couple weeks. I am debuting my first one-woman cabaret, Sole Mates, in a little less than 3 weeks. The work has taken me on an amazing journey so far. So far, the journey has been kind of like a cross-country drive. As crunch time is here, the journey is starting to feel more like a roller coaster ride at Cedar Point!
More on that later...
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