Admit it.
That image above is totally what you picture when you see the word Cabaret right?
Well today's guest blogger is going to get you thinking a little differently.
Take it away Seth!
Cabaret often gets marginalized or belittled. People often say, “Oh, anyone can do a cabaret” or “Cabarets are just narcissistic.” While, indeed, anyone CAN do a cabaret, not everyone can do a GOOD cabaret. And while cabarets are indeed narcissistic by nature, they don’t have to be overrun with self-indulgent material.
All good cabaret, like all good musical theatre, tells a compelling, cohesive story that enlightens and entertains an audience at the same time. Cabaret allows the performer the opportunity to hone his/ her craft while working on material he/ she feels an authentic connection to. Performers cannot be comfortable playing other people until they are comfortable in their own skin. Cabaret, a most personal form of theatre, gives artists the chance to explore their own skin in a safe environment – to find out how far it stretches, as it were. Individuals are unique, and cabaret gives the opportunity to expand that uniqueness – to find interesting, innovative interpretations, while not being shackled by the confines of anyone else’s vision.
From an audience perspective, cabaret is the most intimate of experiences. There are no distractions from sets, lights, costumes or flying spectacles. Furthermore, an intensely personal bond is formed due to the performer’s proximity; it is akin to seeing into someone’s soul. The audience, viscerally, learns more about the person on stage than they can anywhere else –including a twitter page.
Cabaret is an opportunity to build the foundation of a lifelong career. The skills learned there are seminal to a prolonged career in theatre, comedy and even film & television.
After all: life is a cabaret, old chum. So why don’t YOU come to the cabaret?
---Seth Bisen-Hersh
Musical theatre composer/ lyricist Seth Bisen-Hersh has been doing cabarets at Don’t Tell Mama since 2002. He produces, emcees and accompanies weekly musical theatre talent showcases there, and has done almost 150 featuring over 500 performers since 2007 and will be having another round of auditions Wed, Jan 19, 2011. For more information, please visit sethbh.com – and check out his new web series, the craft for he honed via cabaret – youtube.com/EveryDayaLittleSeth. Also, he’s now on twitter attwitter.com/EvDayaLilSeth!
Seth
Seth Bisen-Hersh
Composer/ Lyricist/ Accompanist/ Vocal Coach
seth@sethbh.com
http://www.sethbh.com
Comments