Australian Cabaret Showcase: Interview with Jeremy Youett

The 10th Annual Australian Cabaret Showcase (December 17 to 22, 2012) promises to introduce a great line up of cabaret talent across Australia this week. The annual event provides a platform for cabaret and musical theatre performers to showcase their talent in front of an audience and before a panel of judges, including some of Australia’s leading entertainers and industry professionals.

Finalists now announced.

Executive Producer Jeremy Youett, founder of Your Management International in Australia and Your Theatrics in the United States, who is currently based in New York as the General Manager of The New York Musical Theatre Festival spoke to Stage Whispers.

What does Cabaret Showcase mean for young aspiring performing artists?

The Showcase has built a reputation as a great place for artists to gain vital industry exposure, especially in the early stages of their careers. It also now provides a significant career advancing opportunity for the winner, with a prize that is unparalleled in this genre in Australia.

Aside from the winner though, each year there are entrants who get picked up by agents, book other gigs as a result of their appearance in the Showcase, or go on to develop and perform their own solo shows across the country, so there tends to be many benefits for the artists taking part.

How has the competition grown over the last 10 years?

The Showcase has gone from strength to strength over the course of 10 years. When Sydney agent Les Solomon started up the 1st Sydney Cabaret Showcase in 2003, it was a modest event that was held over a number of nights and resulted in the winner being given the opportunity to perform an hour-long show at a local Sydney Cabaret Venue.

In its 5^th year in 2007, I took over as Producer of the event with the support of Solomon and since then have continued to develop it. It’s a great launching pad for the winner’s career, which sees them win a fully produced tour of a newly devised show to 5 Festivals in Australia and one in New York, all with flights and accommodation, $1000 cash prize and a significant marketing and publicity package.

Entering the 10^th year this year, we are holding heats in Queensland for the first time, giving Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast residents the opportunity to win a place in the Showcase Grand Final in Sydney, which also includes flights and accommodation to attend the event.

We also are able to offer this year’s winner for the first time, the opportunity to perform their show at The New York Musical Theatre Festival in July 2013, with flights and accommodation thanks to the Ron and Margaret Dobell Foundation. It’s a huge development that we hope to be able to continue in years to come!

Have past winners gone on to do big things?

All of the previous winners of the Showcase have gone on to develop prolific careers in the professional arena and they have all gained consistent industry employment as a result.

The first ever winner, James Millar, has been the recipient of Green Room Awards, has performed, written and directed musicals across Australia and is soon to open in a lead role in The West End.

You might remember Tom Sharah as one of the stars of the recent Channel 10 show ‘I Will Survive’, while Marika Aubrey and Nick Christo have also had great successes. Both are now appearing in Opera Australia’s production of South Pacific.

Gillian Cosgriff had David Campbell produce her debut album, before undertaking a full Australian tour, while Sheridan Harbridge has toured her shows as a result throughout Australia, as well as to Edinburgh, Poland and New Zealand.

Do you have a performance background yourself?

I started my career in the arts as a performer. After graduating from NIDA’s Singer, Dancer Actor course and then WAAPA’s B/A (Music Theatre), I worked professionally as a performer in musicals, including the most recent tour of Fiddler on The Roof and the original cast of Priscilla The Musical.

I was actually also a finalist in the Showcase immediately following my graduation from WAAPA in 2005 and so began my association with the event where I went from performing to producing fulltime. The Showcase in 2007 was actually the first show I ever produced, before moving permanently into a career as a producer.

How would you compare the cabaret scene in Sydney with New York, London and/or Paris?

The industry in New York, for example, is much larger in volume than many other places, so there is a prolific array of work being generated and widely supported. Having said that, for its size, Australian cities such as Sydney and Melbourne have a pretty constant and reliable stream of cabaret artists who continue to produce quality content. Organizations such as The Adelaide Cabaret Festival also continue to ensure that we are encouraging diversity in the genre Australia-wide, by presenting the work of both local and international artists at one of the world’s biggest cabaret specific festivals each year.

There still tends to be a very unique style of cabaret in each of the cities you’ve mentioned though. Each style is usually based in the roots of the genre that originated in each respective city, i.e. the burlesque style that originated and still predominates in France versus the socio-political cabaret scene in Germany, or the political satire and parody typical in Britain.

At the end of the day though, cabaret comes in so many forms and styles that it doesn’t matter what city you’re in, if it’s good, it still has the power to move and engage you.

Is cabaret a growing form of popular entertainment in Australia?

There’s no doubt that the genre of Cabaret goes through highs and lows of popularity overtime, but at the end of the day, it’s really a genre that’s on the fringe and is considered alternative, so there will always be more that can be done to engage new audiences and to encourage greater diversity among those who actively go to see cabaret.

I do think at the current time, the popularity of the genre is on the rise again in Australia. This phenomenon is reinforced by the start of the Ballarat Cabaret Festival this year and the resurrection of The Brisbane Cabaret Festival for 2013. Outside of the festival environment, there’s also a solid rotation of professional artists producing quality content at the moment, which is always helpful in ensuring that audiences going to see Cabaret will want to return to the genre in future.

What makes good cabaret and what will the judges be looking for at the heats and grand final?

I believe that, as with all art, ‘beauty lies in the eye of the beholder’. The genre is usually very revealing, it’s an intimate art form, which can be very exposing for those who perform it. The best of the genre, in my opinion, are bold and innovative shows that make a statement without being too derivative or stereotypical, and are ultimately being delivered by artists who are talented, intelligent and engaging.

Judges will be looking for something that is unique and innovative, that captures the audience and takes them on a journey, albeit a short one in the 8 minutes that each contestant has to claim the stage. That’s in addition to looking for some fundamental basics of performance such as a solid vocal technique, sound story telling ability and a strong concept.

Now that it is in its 10^thyear, is competition becoming more intense and are the stakes being raised?

I think with significant growth of the winner’s prize package in recent years, the stakes have most definitely been raised in many ways. Also by expanding heats in to new states, there has been a noticeable rise across the board in the level of talent taking part. Hopefully, the competition continues to sustain this momentum as more and more people across the country take part.

Are you looking forward to next year’s expansion of the competition to include a 4th state (South Australia)?

I’m looking forward to continuing the development of the Showcase in a number of ways. I’m certainly excited to be able to launch heats in Adelaide in 2013 with the support of Adelaide Cabaret Festival Artistic Director Kate Ceberano! I’m also looking forward to expanding the winner’s prize in some ways, as well as exploring recent interest in the event from a number of commercial television outlets who are keen to support the event in years to come.

The winner of the 10th Annual Australian Cabaret Showcase will receive a prize package including an invitation to perform at the prestigious annual New York Musical Theatre Festival as well as five Festivals in Australia (with flights and accommodation provided), as well as a $1000 cash prize to jumpstart their career. The winner will also receive a photographic and design package courtesy of Blueprint Studios, as well as publicity for their tour courtesy of IP Publicity.

More reading - our chat with entrant Emma Hawthorne.

Heats and Final

QLD Heat:

Berardo’s Restaurant and Bar, Noosa Heads. - Mon – Dec 17

VIC Heat:

Bennetts Lane, Melbourne - Tuesday – Dec 18

NSW Heats:

The El Rocco Room (Bar Me), Kings Cross. - Tues - Dec 18 & Wed – Dec 19.

Cabaret Showcase Grand Final:

The Basement, Sydney. - Sat – Dec 22 at 8pm

Bookings: (NSW and Victoria) www.moshtix.com.au | Ph: 1300 438 849.