Wednesday at Cabaret Summer School, 2013
Already I'm not sleeping well. The excitement and pressure are keeping me awake. After getting home at 10 pm last night I lay in bed with song lyrics dancing in my head. I'm already feeling a bit ragged before the day even starts.
Our day commences with a discussion about show titles. To attract a public audience, your show needs to have an attention-grabbing name. We brainstorm some possibilities for my piece. I write them all down and select one to serve as a working title. By tonight we are expected to have decided on the three songs we want to perform on Saturday night.
We then move into a comedy workshop with Stephen Sheehan. Our shows will combine speaking, singing and humour. We need to create some funny stuff. I've worked with Stephen before, at last year's Summer School, and I've been to one of his comedy shows. He leads us in a discussion about what makes a line funny, and the importance of finding what is uniquely and inherently funny about ourselves. He speaks openly about some of his own experiences.
We then divide into two groups. I'm with Catherine Campbell initially. She works with us on "actions and intentions". What do you want the audience to think or do, what is standing in the way of achieving that, and what are some things you could you do to achieve your objective? We explore this idea through a song of our choice. Mine is "Song of the Jet" by Jobim - my objective is to have the audience "see" Rio de Janeiro and understand how much I want to be there. Out of this discussion tumbles my show title - "Sex with the City - a love affair with Rio". We all shriek at my "Eureka" moment.
The various performances bring both laughter and tears. At one point we all sit in the floor in a huddle, imagining we are children in a gang. Later when everyone is in the grip of emotion, and tears are flowing, I run to grab a roll of toilet paper in lieu of tissues.
Then we swap groups, and I work with Stephen on my song "Two Kites" by Jobim. This is a quirky song, and in singing it, I'm playing the part of the composer Tom Jobim, speaking to me in a "time warp". I have no idea how this will work, or if the idea is worth pursuing. Stephen coaches me on stage, and later brings someone up on stage to play the part of "me". It is all a bit weird, and I'm not much of an actor, but I'm willing to give it a go. The song is in the wrong key for me, and the sheet music is scant; I got it from a friend who bought the guitar music in Brazil. I've not been able to find any other version. Pianist Emma tackles it bravely. I jump awkwardly between octaves, but I'm happy enough with this run-through to decide I'll include the song in my show.
To finish the afternoon session we discuss the suburban tour which is planned for February. I took part in this last year and found it to be a good way to consolidate my piece and to accumulate some "stage time".
In the evening we have a "clowning workshop" with Hew Parham. We need plenty of help to be funny! We play a variety of games to get us feeling creative. Hew then guides us in a brainstorming exercise which leads each of us to produce what he terms a "god poem"; a dozen lines encapsulating a variety of "images and desires" connected with the theme of our show. The results are bizarre and hilarious. We also experiment with playing "dominant" and "submissive" characters.
I've chosen my three songs. I have a title for my show. I'm beyond exhausted, with two days still to go.
Video of "Song of the Jet"
Video of "Two Kites"
Already I'm not sleeping well. The excitement and pressure are keeping me awake. After getting home at 10 pm last night I lay in bed with song lyrics dancing in my head. I'm already feeling a bit ragged before the day even starts.
Our day commences with a discussion about show titles. To attract a public audience, your show needs to have an attention-grabbing name. We brainstorm some possibilities for my piece. I write them all down and select one to serve as a working title. By tonight we are expected to have decided on the three songs we want to perform on Saturday night.
We then move into a comedy workshop with Stephen Sheehan. Our shows will combine speaking, singing and humour. We need to create some funny stuff. I've worked with Stephen before, at last year's Summer School, and I've been to one of his comedy shows. He leads us in a discussion about what makes a line funny, and the importance of finding what is uniquely and inherently funny about ourselves. He speaks openly about some of his own experiences.
We then divide into two groups. I'm with Catherine Campbell initially. She works with us on "actions and intentions". What do you want the audience to think or do, what is standing in the way of achieving that, and what are some things you could you do to achieve your objective? We explore this idea through a song of our choice. Mine is "Song of the Jet" by Jobim - my objective is to have the audience "see" Rio de Janeiro and understand how much I want to be there. Out of this discussion tumbles my show title - "Sex with the City - a love affair with Rio". We all shriek at my "Eureka" moment.
The various performances bring both laughter and tears. At one point we all sit in the floor in a huddle, imagining we are children in a gang. Later when everyone is in the grip of emotion, and tears are flowing, I run to grab a roll of toilet paper in lieu of tissues.
Then we swap groups, and I work with Stephen on my song "Two Kites" by Jobim. This is a quirky song, and in singing it, I'm playing the part of the composer Tom Jobim, speaking to me in a "time warp". I have no idea how this will work, or if the idea is worth pursuing. Stephen coaches me on stage, and later brings someone up on stage to play the part of "me". It is all a bit weird, and I'm not much of an actor, but I'm willing to give it a go. The song is in the wrong key for me, and the sheet music is scant; I got it from a friend who bought the guitar music in Brazil. I've not been able to find any other version. Pianist Emma tackles it bravely. I jump awkwardly between octaves, but I'm happy enough with this run-through to decide I'll include the song in my show.
To finish the afternoon session we discuss the suburban tour which is planned for February. I took part in this last year and found it to be a good way to consolidate my piece and to accumulate some "stage time".
In the evening we have a "clowning workshop" with Hew Parham. We need plenty of help to be funny! We play a variety of games to get us feeling creative. Hew then guides us in a brainstorming exercise which leads each of us to produce what he terms a "god poem"; a dozen lines encapsulating a variety of "images and desires" connected with the theme of our show. The results are bizarre and hilarious. We also experiment with playing "dominant" and "submissive" characters.
I've chosen my three songs. I have a title for my show. I'm beyond exhausted, with two days still to go.
Video of "Song of the Jet"
Video of "Two Kites"
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