An "On Stage" Caberet Performance

Back on Friday night, April 1st I made my to return to performing on stage. It was also a "first time" thing for me. I was part of the First Friday Cabaret Night in the BG On Stage Gaslight Theater.   

As stated on their website: BG On Stage nurtures the artistic and personal development of children, young adults, and adult community members through drama and music education, performing opportunities and live theater experiences. 

The Gaslight Theater is located behind the organization's offices on Chestnut Street in Bowling Green. It is a relatively small venue, with a simple stage set up and room for only about 200 people. 

At the start of 2016, BG On Stage started the "First Friday Cabaret" shows as a means of giving local performers an "open mic" forum to showcase their talents. 

I first heard about it on a local news program in February. I couldn't be a part of the March show, but I managed to get a spot on the program in April. I was one of about 10 performers for the evening. 

However, I didn't perform ventriloquism. For the first time, I played the ukulele in public. I played one of my favorite songs. It was written by Tom Paxton and best known as it was recorded by Peter, Paul & Mary. 

I was really nervous when I went on stage. I was facing an audience  full of people I had never met and didn't know me. I had to find a unique way to introduce myself; not only for just this first performance but any future ones as well. I did what I'm most comfortable doing on stage. I started with a few jokes.

Two of them I'd written myself and the other was an oldie but a goodie my dad used to tell. They all got laughs and set me up for being funny again in the future. 

I did rather well and had a lot of fun performing a song in public that I've been playing since I started learning the ukulele. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of video of my performance. I forgot to start my recorder on my phone. Duh!!!

I also enjoyed several of the other performance during the night as well. In keeping with the "Wild Card" theme of the night (a performer;s choice) there was quite a variety. Among them were: Two sisters who sang a duet from the movie "Tangled", another duo performed "The Time Of My Life" from Dirty Dancing complete with choreography, and a woman who had her 4 year old son "free-style" dancing on stage as she sang. The young man who acted as the MC was quite entertaining as well. 

I have already requested a spot in the First Friday lineup for May. The theme will be "Broadway." I'm not sure exactly which song I will be doing. But I know that this time I will be on stage with one of my ventriloquist partners. 

While it's only a small venue and intended mainly for younger performers, the First Friday Cabaret shows help me to do what I know I need to do more often. That's get out and be seen by as many people as possible. You can't be an entertainer if no one every sees you entertain. You never know where opportunities will come from. Like my stand-up comedy buddy, Rik Roberts, says on his podcast; in this day and age, networking is the key. 

When I do make my 2nd Gaslight Theater appearance, I'll do my best to remember to hit "record" so I can share it with you on my You Tube channel .