I have been living in New York for eight years, and in that time I have had an incredible time in the theater community here. I have worked as a lighting designer, technical supervisor, actor and singer and loved every second of supporting the visions of other artists. While I made a lot of original work when living in New Orleans, I have always shied away from it in New York, due to the increased competitiveness, difficulty accessing resources, and the double-whammy of philanthropy pulling away from the arts and the Trump administration's attack on queer art. That's why I'm asking your help to get my very first original cabaret work in New York up on its feet!
The work is called "The Bergman/Lansbury Test 2"; it's a gonzo, tragicomic cabaret dive into the horrors of gaslighting. But of course, since I'm a goblin, we do it through a trojan horse: Mx. Asa Metric, my cabaret alter-egret, uses a simple lounge-singer cover set to create an unhinged set of sequels known as the Gaslit Diva Cinematic Universe (GDCU if you’re nasty). But as the lounge set progresses, with a live band in town, something breaks—Asa finds herself trapped in a world where her actions mean little and logic means even less. Is she the gaslit diva? Or the gaslighter? Maybe she’s just crazy after all…
This is part of a genre I have been playing in that I like to call ‘Cabaret that Eats Itself’. This would be a legit lounge singer set, with songs by Tom Waits, Laurie Anderson, Cole Porter, Little Annie, Scott Walker, and more. However, this is also a fully realized piece of environmental theater, embodying the lounge atmosphere and twisting it around to heighten both a genuine connection to the audience and a sense of unreality.
This production may seem like a "solo show" but baby, this is a family affair! We have ten collaborators to pay, from musicians to designers to producers and documentation divas! B/LT2 is being shepherded with help from brilliant creator and creative producer Dante Fuoco, musical direction by Maya Sharpe with a band that includes Bread Rastegar, Bernice 'Boom Boom' Brooks and more, alongside a boffo design team. Almost the entire budget will go towards paying our incredible team of artists. Help keep queer independent theater alive!
