The
City of Sydney Cabaret Convention 2003:
The Showcase Evenings and the Master Class
Sydney Town Hall (May 27th through 31st - 2003)
Sydney, Australia
When Geoffrey Williams and Michael Freundt staged the first Sydney
Cabaret Convention in 1997, it was their intention to create a forum
for the development of new talent. The event was focused on the Showcase
Evenings during which young performers were given the opportunity
to present a short selection of material. Williams and Freundt hoped
that these young artists would better perfect their craft by being
exposed to the work of the best Australian cabaret performers. In
addition, they would gain in confidence by performing before an appreciative
and supportive audience of aficionados.
Throughout successive
conventions, it became evident that this model for developing talent
was not working. Far too many young performers were not ready to meet
the demands of performance before an audience. They needed coaching
in how to select the right material for themselves, as well as the
skills needed to "sell" those songs effectively. Aside from the Singer,
Actor, Dancer course at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts and
the program at the Western Australian Academy for Performing Arts
and some smaller privately run programs, there were few places for
young artists to learn such skills.
Cabaret professionals
and supporters of the Sydney Cabaret Convention were also dissatisfied
with the talent quest element of this event. For established artists,
there seemed little point in performing during an event that seemed
to have degenerated into a sort of "amateur hour" that lacked essential
entertainment values. Audiences, on the other hand, grumbled about
paying good money to listen to a selection of singers who were often
unready to perform in public. By the end of last year, it was clear
that the event needed a serious "re-think."
Ron Creager, the artistic
director, decided that it was essential that the Sydney Cabaret Convention
be entertainment. To do that, two things needed to happen: established
performers had to be lured back to the event AND young artists in
the Showcase Evenings had to be more rigorously selected. Using his
many contacts in the cabaret and show business community, Creager
was able to get many great performers back to this event. That insured
a high-level of entertainment and also provided the young entrants
a chance to learn "how it is done" by watching great cabaret throughout
the Convention. In Creager's vision, the Cabaret Convention would
provide participants with even greater opportunity to learn from professionals:
the second half of each Showcase Evening would consist of 2-3 established
artists. Now all that was needed was a talent pool of artists.
In past years, selection
of the 40-42 acts for the Showcase Evenings was made on the basis
of audio and video material that was submitted to the organizers of
the event. More often than not, this method did not provide sufficient
evidence of performance ability. Ron Creager and Christopher Coogan
(the producer), along with Ann Hoban (Manager of Events for the City
of Sydney, the sponsor of the Convention), decided that the only option
was to hold live auditions. They would not rely on cassettes or videos
unless it was impossible for the performers to travel to Sydney for
the audition. Given the vast distances between cities in Australia
and the high cost of travel, this meant that the talent pool would
be drawn for the most part from Sydney and environs. Over a period
of weeks, the audition panel listened to over 80 performers and considered
30 video submissions.
As a result of this arduous
process, each of these twelve participants in the Showcase Evenings
was a winner before walking onto the stage of the Sydney Cabaret Club.
They had been selected to appear in the Sydney Cabaret Convention
2003. In addition, three of them were given the chance to work with
Kerrie Biddell (one of Australia's most distinguished teachers of
cabaret, jazz and musical theater) in a Master Class. In theory, these
young contenders should have demonstrated outstanding work. Certainly
the Winners I already discussed in my second report were very fine.
But what about the other eight performers? They were all technically
competent. Why were their performances less than satisfying?
The answer to that question
is not simple. In previous years, I have detailed a number of problems
(pitfalls) that young performers often encounter when performing cabaret
at the start of their career. More important, they did not fall prey
to the most obvious ones that have been so painful in the past (using
canned accompaniment and doing impersonations were among the worst
of these). In virtually every case, these performers were predominantly
let down by their choice of material. Rarely did they give evidence
that they had set out to construct a "set" of songs that created a
coherent showcase of who they were and what they could do.
Before considering problems
of these other artists, I want to single out one of the few acts among
this group that was very successful on its own terms: Sharon Wisniewski
and Larissa Gallagher. They presented an elegantly crafted act detailing
their friendship over the course of 25 years during which they realized
that they wanted the same things out of life: fame, sex, money and
each others' boyfriends. The wit and sheer good humor of their act
was backed up by a very clever medley of popular songs that made this
a very popular entry. Unfortunately, only one group was eligible for
The Corporate Gold Award.
In the case of the other
seven acts, two artists chose to perform original material. This is
risky in the context of an event where all the others entrants are
working with established material that is often known and loved by
the audience. In this case, these two performers, Joanna Weinberg
and Ken E' (Peter Fyfe) were presented in an evening of new Australian
material. "Acting" as a character instead of being oneself is questionable
in cabaret when the object for the artist is to make a personal connection
with the audience. Using a persona in the act causes distancing from
the public. This was certainly the case with Peter Fyfe, performing
as the flamboyant fashion designer Ken E'. Though his songs were central,
this was more stand-up comedy than cabaret. On the other hand, Joanna
Weinberg made a very strong impression with her act about the plight
of immigrants to Australia. One song, "We're the Privileged of the
Refugees" was quite moving. However, I found myself longing to hear
this performer singing more traditional cabaret material, given her
beautiful voice and charming stage presence.
Belinda Wollaston is a
young woman whom I have seen in cabaret around town for several years
now. Though still quite young, she has an excellent voice and a knack
for finding good material. Unfortunately, at the Cabaret Convention
she made the mistake of many eager neophytes of trying too hard to
show us everything she can do, all at once. The material she chose
to sing, such as, "Climbing Up Hills" by Jason Robert Brown and "Life
of the Party" (Lippa), was too hard-edged and alienating. There is
no denying this artist's talent, but she might be more successful
with songs that complement her youth and freshness instead of packaging
herself as a sophisticated "belter."
Luke Stephens was yet
another member of the cast of the Australian company of MAMMA MIA!
who appeared at the Convention. Unlike his more successful colleagues
(Shaun Rennie and Lucy Durack) he seems to have misunderstood the
difference between appearing in musical theater and cabaret. His highly
energetic movement on stage detracted from the charm of what he had
chosen as his opening number ("McDonald's Girl" by Barenaked Ladies).
Even in his slower number ("When I Was A Kid" by Frank and Bryant)
he seemed incapable of standing still and allowing the song to speak
to us. Finally, his decision to perform Porter's "It's De-Lovely"
was questionable because Stephens did not seem to understand the sophistication
of the lyric.
The last three contenders
(Rachael Thompson, Teresa De Gennaro and Karlis Zaid) each had the
benefit of appearing twice during the Convention. Not only did they
have a spot during the Showcase Evenings, but they also performed
for Kerrie Biddell during her Master Class. In each case these artists
were more successful in the latter situation. Perhaps the pressure
of performing during the Showcase caused each of these individuals
to sing too loudly, move too much and generally lose focus. When working
with the very demanding and insightful Kerrie Biddell, each of them
gave ample evidence of the skills that earned them a place in the
Convention.
Rachael Thompson, though
still quite young, has been working on stage for a decade in and around
Sydney. In the Master Class, she performed a moving rendition of "Moon
and Stars" (Brown), demonstrating that had more than enough skill
to deliver a difficult ballad. Yet, for the Showcase she selected
two raucous, up-tempo songs, "Frying Pan" (Mellon & Stenbarg) and
"Stop" (Brown) to open her set. It was only with her final number,
"Isn't This Better" (Kander & Ebb) that she connected with me and
others because of her fine sense of the lyric and her skill in singing
ballads.
Teresa De Gennaro is another
performer whose frantic work in the Showcase let her down. In this
case, her act (about being an Italo-Australian) and medley of songs
let her down. She started at a very high, almost shrill level and
found it difficult to settle down. It was only when she sang "My Own
Morning" (Styne/Comden & Green) that she gave some fleeting impression
of her abilities as a cabaret artist. DeGennaro gave some indication
of her qualities as a performer when she worked with Kerrie Biddell
on "I Want To Be Evil" (Judson/Taylor) in the Master Class. There
her rendition was coquettish and full of wit, qualities that were
entirely lacking in the Showcase performance. Finally, her choice
of popular songs with very general lyrics did not allow her to connect
personally in this set.
Karlis Zaid was one of
the four male entrants in the Sydney Cabaret Convention. A veteran
of many dramatic and musical theater productions, as well as a number
of cabaret shows, this performer was one of the most highly experienced
artists in the Showcase Evenings. Karlis had the unenviable job of
being the first act to appear on the first night. Perhaps that accounted
for his somewhat shaking start, but he was not helped by his choice
of "Delilah" (Reed/Mason) as an opening number. This song has such
strong associations with bad lounge acts that it is hard to know what
he had in mind. The most successful item of his set was "Jeff" (Jeays),
a quirky bit of whimsy that Karlis performed with relish. Once more,
it was his work in the Master Class that gave some indication of his
ability to move us. His performance of "What More Can I Say" (Finn)
was poignant, subtle and very moving. Why wasn't Karlis able to bring
those qualities to his work in the Showcase?
As I said early in this
report, even before stepping on stage each of the performers selected
for the Showcase Evenings was a winner. It takes great skill and experience
to learn how to select the right material and place it in a context
that has focus and meaning for an audience. Shaun Rennie, Kaye Tuckerman
and The Idea of North managed this feat very well, as did Sharon Wisniewski
and Larissa Gallagher.
Fortunately, all the young
entrants had a chance to see an extraordinary line-up of Australian
cabaret artists during the course of the Sydney Cabaret Convention
as a result of Ron Creager's ability to coax these stars to perform
during the second half of each of the four Showcase Evenings. In my
next report, I will tell you about the many pleasures of those four
evenings. Watching such entertainers in action then, along with attendance
at the Master Class and the Gala finale more than fulfilled the function
of the Convention to assist in the development of future cabaret talent.
David M. Schwartz
Reports
of the 2003 Sydney Cabaret Convention
Reports of the 2002 Sydney Cabaret Convention
Reports of the 2001 Sydney Cabaret
Convention
Daily Reports of
the 2000 Sydney Cabaret Convention
Daily Reports of the 1999 Sydney Cabaret Convention
Daily Reports on
the 1998 Sydney Cabaret Convention
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