It's Showtime!
Standard reporter Angela Scappatura is playing Sally Bowles in the Garden City Productions presentation of Cabaret. She’s been writing about the experience and process of building a community theatre production...
People often ask if I’m nervous for Cabaret to begin.
I think about it, try to attach a word to the feeling but can’t.
The fact is, performing has been my job for the past decade. You rehearse, obsess about the small details — will my band members arrive on time? Can I stand in four-inch heels and move around without toppling off the stage? You pull it all together then perform. Some shows are electric, others feel like they’re weighed down by an immovable object.
But, all the while, you’re hoping to reach at least one person in the audience — make them feel something, connect.
Two months ago, when I was cast as Sally Bowles in the Garden City Productions presentation of Cabaret I was anxious. I’m a journalist and singer who used to act and dance. How would I measure up to people like Todd Melville, the actor who plays Cliff, Sally’s love interest and who’s been in 33 shows? Would the director regret the decision to cast an awkward-feeling jazz musician as one of the most iconic female Broadway characters? Would my English accent elicit a nails-on-a-chalkboard reaction?
There were certainly moments of ineptitude during rehearsals: elbowing Melville in the face when I tried to twirl and sit on his lap; failing to memorize seemingly simple lines like “What?” “Why? “You’re joking.”
Trying to drink a raw egg (something I have yet to do).
But there have also been triumphs — however small. Like overcoming my fear of leotards and embracing Sally’s less-than-modest attire; mastering the act of singing and dancing at the same time (and on a chair no less!); learning how to pronounce Worcestershire sauce consistently; managing 16-hour days and a four-hour total daily commute without cracking up, losing my job or falling asleep mid-sentence; making new friends.
It’s hard to be in a show without getting close — and sometimes clashing — with the other players. Everyone seems to get sick at the same time (about a week before opening night), all deal with the stress of missing families and social lives. They’re juggling work and rehearsals and trying to overcome their own theatrical insecurities.
But the one thing that seems to trump all that, is the desire to put on a good show.
And Cabaret is a challenging play to do. Set in the late ’20s in Berlin, Cabaret tells the story of people trying to find their way through life as the Nazis rise to power. It’s dark but there is still humour, sass and moments of joy. This is musical theatre after all.
While the show and the role of Sally propelled me far out of my comfort zone, I’m getting that familiar pre-performance feeling. Obsessing, but about different things: Should I use duct tape or electrical tape to secure a mic pack to my behind?; Will anyone see me if I change dresses behind a curtain on stage? How will my parents react to my first, nearly non-existent costume?
And in the end, when the curtain parts and the band strikes that first chord, I know all the talented people I’ve spent the past two months with are working for the same thing. To connect and entertain.
Angela Scappatura is an award-winning Canadian singer, musician and songwriter. She’s performed at Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall and spent the past decade playing in Canada and overseas. Her original music has been broadcast on national and international radio. ascappatura@stcatharinesstandard.caCabaret presented by Garden City Productions
Mandeville Theatre, Ridley College. 2 Ridley Rd., St. Catharines March 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, 31 8 pm and March 18, 25 and April 1 at 2 pm.
Tickets can be purchased online through gcp.tix.com or at the door. Adults $28, students and children $18, $5 for high school students (at the door only with ID). For more information visit http://www.gcp.ca/