I want to talk today about the art of Cabaret performance.
Let's make an important distinction right now.
Singing in church, or on the auditorium stage of your highschool or college is not the training ground for the kind of performing I am speaking of, for I DO believe that the only way to understand how to connect with the audience is to get closer to them...physically as well as emotionally.
And the way to do that is to play in a venue that forces you to look into their eyes and guage their response to you. It moves you to communicate with THEM rather than being overly involved with the sound of your own voice. This style of performing that I speak of is called "Cabaret".
Cabaret consists of not just singing, but of interacting with the audience through patter and story-telling.
When you do a "cabaret act", you choose material that will reveal the essence of who you are, one that has the potential of literally casting a spell on the audience and making them hang on your every word, spoken or sung.
When you let them KNOW you, they become your friends and they feel connected and special to be there listening to you.
I am always amazed when I have a student who tells me he/she wants to be the next "American Idol", and then when I ask them to perform for me, they become embarrassed and make some excuse like, "with no mike?" or, "It makes me nervous when you look at me."
Let me say right here and now, if you can't look at your audience, and I mean into their eyes, then you're not a performer, at least not yet. Singing Cabaret-style allows you to learn how to present your own unique talent and your particular spin on life as a performer, for an intimate audience.
And let me add here that a Cabaret Act does NOT have to include perfect vocal technique, for it is more than just singing...much more!
It differs from other onstage disciplines, in that the "wall" between artist and audience is erased. There are no bright lights in your face to shield you from seeing how you're going over.
When you sing in an intimate setting, you are inviting the audience into your world.Cabaret allows you to share who you are and what you feel. And this type of performing can start in your own living room, singing for friends and family members. The idea is to get intimate and tell the story of who you are through your voice and your musical selections, which become woven into your "story".
In cabaret, you can sing anything, as long as it is justified by a personal connection to the material. Cabaret acts can have a theme or not, can honor a single composer or be about someone's life, as long as it's an honest representation of you, the performer, and engages the audience on a personal level.
When I left NYC years ago and was doing a cabaret act on the road, I always included a set of songs about "home". Luckily for me, there are a ton of songs about NYC, so I had a wealth of material to choose from. I'd start out with somethin like, "We'll have Manhattan", and slowly build through 4 or five more songs to the big finale of "New York, New York". My audiences from Peoria to Butte, from Kennebunkport to Phoenix reallyloved that set.
I also had sets of Cole Porter Medleys, Frank Sinatra Songs, and always always always did an entire set of audience REQUESTS.
So what do you want to say at this point in your life? Choose songs that will tell your listeners all about that!
Because keeping your performance honest will convince your audience of your sincerity and make them adore you.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Holiday Gift-Giving! How 'Bout You?
Forgive me, singers, for missing the entire month of November with regard to the newsletter, but I have been preoccupied with some serious health concerns, and I am undergoing continuous procedures and treatments to correct the problems.
I must admit to some depression about the state of my physical self, although I can say that the cliché, “behind every cloud lies a silver lining”, is valid. In the midst of my anxiety and self-pity, I rediscovered the profound love of my two sisters, which I had forgotten was there, and they stepped up to support me through this entire ordeal. They are my angels.
Anyway, my students and I still plan to make the rounds of the senior communities and nursing homes with our holiday music program. I cannot emphasize enough the value of such an exercise, singers. When you share your gifts with others in such a heartfelt way like singing, you generate the quality of JOY. And JOY, it is said, is the key to attracting the desires of your heart into your experience. So I invite you to visit some nursing homes with your karaoke machines and share your talent this holiday season.
Some time ago, we conducted a survey of all our subscribers asking a variety of questions, some of which included age and preferred musical genre.
And my private practice here in Corpus Christi, while it does consist of several mature singers, is mostly comprised of young female singers, ages 11-16. However, the majority of my readers of this newsletter are between 45 and 70, and you enjoy singing Broadway, Country, and most of you prefer Jazz or Cabaret. (BTW, I have written an extensive article about the genre of Cabaret, which I will be placing on this blog for those of you who are interested.)
I bring this survey up again because mainly, when most singers reach age 40, any and all fantasies of singing professionally have already withered and we decide to give up.
I have spoken ad nauseam on the subject of giving up, but let me briefly point out...again...that if you want your life to work, you need to stay connected to the things of life that you love. And if you like to sing....THEN SING!!! The passion you allow yourself to experience causes beautiful things to happen for you, so there is never a valid reason to quit engaging in the activities of your heart and soul that you are passionate about.
And when you consider the singers who are still performing in their 70’s and 80’s, AND, that their audiences coming out to listen to them are still enthralled by the performances, you must admit that it’s never too late. Broadway, Jazz and Cabaret happen to be very forgiving genres, and one doesn’t need to be young and skinny to attract an audience. Think about these singers:
Tony Bennett
Barbara Cook
Elaine Strictch
Carol Channing
Each of these are currently pulling in huge audiences across the country.
Or these, who just about sang until they dropped:
Frank Sinatra
Rosemary Clooney
Peggy Lee
Ella Fitgerald
Each of these artists maintained a huge fan base right up to the end of their lives.
Okay, I can hear what you are saying, “Well sure, they can sing into their 80’s since they were legends at 30 and the public knows who they are. What about us 50 year-olds who never really made it, but we cannot get rid of the “itch” to keep trying.”
To this, I say simply…Perhaps you are approaching it from the wrong angle. The question is NOT how to get rid of the “itch”, but how to fulfill your dream of performing at the age you are now.
I just cannot think of a Loving Spirit that would continue to give you this “itch” if there were not a way to materialize it. I will never believe in a cruel or prankish God!
So what IS there to do about your desire? Again…your job is to share it…and trust me there are people who need for you to do just that.
Do you recall the now famous line from the movie, “Field of Dreams”? “Build it…and they will come”. This seems on face value to be some supernatural admonishment that most people, including some characters in the movie, believe is just some nonsense.
But let’s use something more conventional as an example.
Suppose you are lonely and you desire a mate, maybe just a dear friend.
What do all the commercial magazines tell you to do? Sit alone and wait for the phone to ring? No! They may tell you to go get a make-over, lose some weight, and you could do those things but still sit home and wait. The more new-age publications may suggest that you get out into the world with your new make-over and thin bod…and EMIT an energy of confidence. For it’s THAT, the energy you emit, that will attract the desired person to you.
Another example:
Why is it that people with means are the ones who always seem to win at the roulette table or slot machine, when the poor person using his rent money usually loses it?
The answer is the energy being emitted by these people. The person with money to lose is relaxed and even enjoying himself while gambling, while the poor person is generating a desperate and negative energy.
Instead of fretting and complaining over the fact that you never made it as a professional singer, be joyful that you have been given this talent, and then use it to uplift others….maybe not in Carnegie Hall or Radio City Music Hall, but somewhere.
And the more you share it, the more joy you bring to others, the more happiness you attract to yourself, along with inspired action to take to become a true professional whatever the age.
There is a singer among you who shall remain nameless, who at the age of 60 started to sing at some nursing homes in her city. She became so popular that she had to start hiring other singers to cover jobs that she had double booked. She made sure that the programs performed by these singers matched her own with the kind of music that she had learned was preferred by the audiences she serviced.
Before long she had 20 bookings a week, and it was then that she received inspiration to start a booking agency for the specific purpose of providing entertainment to senior centers, nursing homes and assisted living establishments. She maintains a thriving business to this day, one that has exceeded her expectations and gives her a handsome retirement income, which at 60, she thought had passed her by.
I tell you these things because, I think that what you truly want is the satisfaction and joy singing will bring you, and not so much the fame and fortune. After all, you’re not 15 anymore, right?
And the holidays, my friends, are the perfect time to begin. I am learning every day that it is never ever too late to begin something that can have a positive impact on the rest of your life, no matter how long or short a time that seems to you. Doing something different, thinking about something in a different way, even something as simple as changing the route you usually take to work can be the start of a new and brighter future for you.
Sounds silly? Well, I invite you to try it and prove me wrong.
But DO write and let me know how a small change in the way you do or think something made you feel, okay?
Happy Holidays, Singers!!
I must admit to some depression about the state of my physical self, although I can say that the cliché, “behind every cloud lies a silver lining”, is valid. In the midst of my anxiety and self-pity, I rediscovered the profound love of my two sisters, which I had forgotten was there, and they stepped up to support me through this entire ordeal. They are my angels.
Anyway, my students and I still plan to make the rounds of the senior communities and nursing homes with our holiday music program. I cannot emphasize enough the value of such an exercise, singers. When you share your gifts with others in such a heartfelt way like singing, you generate the quality of JOY. And JOY, it is said, is the key to attracting the desires of your heart into your experience. So I invite you to visit some nursing homes with your karaoke machines and share your talent this holiday season.
Some time ago, we conducted a survey of all our subscribers asking a variety of questions, some of which included age and preferred musical genre.
And my private practice here in Corpus Christi, while it does consist of several mature singers, is mostly comprised of young female singers, ages 11-16. However, the majority of my readers of this newsletter are between 45 and 70, and you enjoy singing Broadway, Country, and most of you prefer Jazz or Cabaret. (BTW, I have written an extensive article about the genre of Cabaret, which I will be placing on this blog for those of you who are interested.)
I bring this survey up again because mainly, when most singers reach age 40, any and all fantasies of singing professionally have already withered and we decide to give up.
I have spoken ad nauseam on the subject of giving up, but let me briefly point out...again...that if you want your life to work, you need to stay connected to the things of life that you love. And if you like to sing....THEN SING!!! The passion you allow yourself to experience causes beautiful things to happen for you, so there is never a valid reason to quit engaging in the activities of your heart and soul that you are passionate about.
And when you consider the singers who are still performing in their 70’s and 80’s, AND, that their audiences coming out to listen to them are still enthralled by the performances, you must admit that it’s never too late. Broadway, Jazz and Cabaret happen to be very forgiving genres, and one doesn’t need to be young and skinny to attract an audience. Think about these singers:
Tony Bennett
Barbara Cook
Elaine Strictch
Carol Channing
Each of these are currently pulling in huge audiences across the country.
Or these, who just about sang until they dropped:
Frank Sinatra
Rosemary Clooney
Peggy Lee
Ella Fitgerald
Each of these artists maintained a huge fan base right up to the end of their lives.
Okay, I can hear what you are saying, “Well sure, they can sing into their 80’s since they were legends at 30 and the public knows who they are. What about us 50 year-olds who never really made it, but we cannot get rid of the “itch” to keep trying.”
To this, I say simply…Perhaps you are approaching it from the wrong angle. The question is NOT how to get rid of the “itch”, but how to fulfill your dream of performing at the age you are now.
I just cannot think of a Loving Spirit that would continue to give you this “itch” if there were not a way to materialize it. I will never believe in a cruel or prankish God!
So what IS there to do about your desire? Again…your job is to share it…and trust me there are people who need for you to do just that.
Do you recall the now famous line from the movie, “Field of Dreams”? “Build it…and they will come”. This seems on face value to be some supernatural admonishment that most people, including some characters in the movie, believe is just some nonsense.
But let’s use something more conventional as an example.
Suppose you are lonely and you desire a mate, maybe just a dear friend.
What do all the commercial magazines tell you to do? Sit alone and wait for the phone to ring? No! They may tell you to go get a make-over, lose some weight, and you could do those things but still sit home and wait. The more new-age publications may suggest that you get out into the world with your new make-over and thin bod…and EMIT an energy of confidence. For it’s THAT, the energy you emit, that will attract the desired person to you.
Another example:
Why is it that people with means are the ones who always seem to win at the roulette table or slot machine, when the poor person using his rent money usually loses it?
The answer is the energy being emitted by these people. The person with money to lose is relaxed and even enjoying himself while gambling, while the poor person is generating a desperate and negative energy.
Instead of fretting and complaining over the fact that you never made it as a professional singer, be joyful that you have been given this talent, and then use it to uplift others….maybe not in Carnegie Hall or Radio City Music Hall, but somewhere.
And the more you share it, the more joy you bring to others, the more happiness you attract to yourself, along with inspired action to take to become a true professional whatever the age.
There is a singer among you who shall remain nameless, who at the age of 60 started to sing at some nursing homes in her city. She became so popular that she had to start hiring other singers to cover jobs that she had double booked. She made sure that the programs performed by these singers matched her own with the kind of music that she had learned was preferred by the audiences she serviced.
Before long she had 20 bookings a week, and it was then that she received inspiration to start a booking agency for the specific purpose of providing entertainment to senior centers, nursing homes and assisted living establishments. She maintains a thriving business to this day, one that has exceeded her expectations and gives her a handsome retirement income, which at 60, she thought had passed her by.
I tell you these things because, I think that what you truly want is the satisfaction and joy singing will bring you, and not so much the fame and fortune. After all, you’re not 15 anymore, right?
And the holidays, my friends, are the perfect time to begin. I am learning every day that it is never ever too late to begin something that can have a positive impact on the rest of your life, no matter how long or short a time that seems to you. Doing something different, thinking about something in a different way, even something as simple as changing the route you usually take to work can be the start of a new and brighter future for you.
Sounds silly? Well, I invite you to try it and prove me wrong.
But DO write and let me know how a small change in the way you do or think something made you feel, okay?
Happy Holidays, Singers!!
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