CHICAGO
- MIDWEST CABARET REVIEWS
HOTLINE CRITIC GOES TO (CABARET) CAMP
Report
by Carla Gordon
Carla
Goes to Summer Camp
When it comes to the art of cabaret, I can't get enough of it. I enjoy
wearing multiple cabaret hats: singer, songwriter, lyricist, and reviewer.
I also feel as if I can never learn enough about it. Thus, I was pleased
to have passed the audition to attend the Professional Cabaret Workshop
offered at the Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts Camp in Steamboat Springs,
Colorado. After speaking several times with the camp's director, June
Lindenmayer, who offered to transport me and my fellow attendees from
nearby Hayden Airport, I sensed how accommodating the Perry-Mansfield
community can be.
The half hour drive from Hayden to Perry-Mansfield is
a joy of green mountains and blue skies. Camp residents include horses
and (we will discover) a mama bear with two frisky cubs. Mark Fifer,
a New York based musical director, who managed the myriad details
of the Professional Cabaret Workshop, dropped each of us at our respective
cabins. (Due to an old ankle problem, I had trouble walking on the
mountainside; Mark showed up in a golf cart each morning to get me
down the hill. It showed the spirit of this program; how it is truly
committed to everyone's success. I'm so grateful I'd like to name
a street after Mark.)
Another delightful surprise at Perry-Mansfield is the
food. The thought of "camp food" conjures images of stuff on a shingle.
Happily, Chef Josh Webster's London broil with portobella sauce had
no trace of shingle whatsoever. The brioche French toast stuffed with
cream cheese and fresh berries was another standout.
Participants and faculty arrived throughout the day
on Monday. Following dinner, the evening's agenda was that each participant
briefly introduce him/herself and sing one song.
I was surprised and delighted by how different each
participant was, as well as by the participants' collective talents.
It was a pleasure to reunite with my friend Susan Winter whom I met
last year at Cabaret Conference at Yale. Winter is a long-time band
singer, with luscious smooth delivery. Yet she has a way with a lyric
and in 2006, when she sang Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These
Years," it stayed with me for a long time. Pam Peterson, my award
winning colleague from Chicago's busy cabaret community has a huge
vocal range and brings powerful physicality to music. Her opening
demonstration was an original comedy tune about middle age. (If I
am nice to her, maybe she'll let me mooch it one day.) I found Kelly
Houston quite remarkable. If you said that one singer could embody
the essence of Billy Eckstine one moment then Paul Robeson the next,
I would be a skeptic. Nevertheless, Houston manages it with honest,
effective phrasing to boot. Colorado resident, Eve Ilsen who is married
to a noted Judaic scholar has a rich alto and connects beautifully
with the story telling aspect of cabaret.
Amy Alvarez has a lilting voice and crystal diction.
This mom-to-be also has a lovely face and sings with depth and heart.
Everyone asks her about New Orleans. Hillary Hogan is another promising
cabaret artist. Trained in opera and dance, Hogan looks like a Modgliani
painting and warbles like a lark. Kate Watson is a fascinating cabaret
personality; she looks and talks like a grown up southern belle, but
brings a sly wit. Skie Ocasio has movie star looks and a gorgeous
tenor voice. Although young, he has a compelling stage presence. My
cabin mate is Jennifer Blades from the Baltimore area. She is classically
trained vocally and her energy is lovely. This mother of two has great
curves and a glorious mane of red hair. Then there's Diana Vytell,
a psychotherapist from Connecticut. When she asks Alfie what it's
all about, she really wants to know. Vytell is elegant. Richard Malavet
has star quality. This handsome baritone sings in English and Spanish.
He is a fine singer, yet with an engaging humility. His fans are bound
to swoon. California based Nicole Dillenberg (being from Chicago,
I mispronounced it Dillinger) is planning show featuring music associated
with World War I. She states that her mission is to be funny in cabaret.
She has a gentle way and I can't wait to discuss vintage music with
my new pal.
Before leaving Chicago, I sought advice from Beckie
Menzie, a former Perry-Mansfield attendee (and musical director for
my upcoming Davenport's show, The Brice Is Right - A Salute to Fanny
Brice). Beckie advised that my "demonstration" be something that "really
shows who you are." I choose my original, inspirational ballad, "The
Voice in Your Heart." I had worked on the lyric for a long time and
changed some words after the World Trade Center events. I introduced
it by saying how it takes courage to stand up and sing before a group
of colleague performers, but that we sing because the voice in our
hearts tells us that we must. I finish the song and hear the word
"Brava" waft across the pavilion: it's Andrea Marcovicci complementing
my song. (She asked for a chart .... Be still my heart.)
The Professional Cabaret Workshop faculty is even more
remarkable. Participants rotate among three distinct faculty teams,
each promulgating a unique cabaret philosophy. The team of Andrea
Marcovicci and her long time musical director Shelly Markham focuses
on lyric text. "If a lyric is well written," says Marcovicci, "the
cabaret singer's job is to interpret the text." Those words reflect
my personal philosophy of cabaret as well. I sang Frank Loesser's
"I Don't Want to Walk Without You" for this class and still revel
in team Marcovicci and Markham's positive comments after.
Team Karen Mason and (musical director) Christopher
Denny place a greater emphasis on subtext. They worked with each singer
to explore the internal layers of text and the "character" in the
song. Team Mason and Denny's approach is to go deep. Denny also reminded
participants of the importance of full vocal charts, personalized
arrangements and the ability to transpose.
I looked forward to working again with Barry Kleinbort
after taking his class in Chicago. With help from musical director,
Norma Curley, I took advantage of Kleinbort's reputation as an expert
on special material. I tried my parody of "Purple People Eater," (original
version by Sheb Wooley) in which the extra terrestrial wants to sing
cabaret. It got good laughs, but Kleinbort suggested that the outro
verse would close better by bringing the narrator back into the story
along with the People Eater's impact on the singer. Kleinbort's advice
is spot on. Kleinbort and Curley also provided me with sage advice
on a medley of "What'll I Do" (by Irving Berlin) and "Where Do You
Start" (music by Michel Le Grand and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman).
"Be careful with songs that can be construed as self-pity," Kleinbort
advises. In an instant, Norma Curley suggested a cut of a few bars
that gave the medley a more optimistic feel.
Norma Curley led daily morning vocal warmups in a way
that was particularly suited to cabaret. Classical vocal music emphasizes
vowels, while lyric-driven cabaret requires precise consonants. Curley's
warmups were very effective. Many of us took them home like prized
recipies.
MORE
- page 2
Entire Article Copyright,
2007 by Carla Gordon
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