The cabaret scene in St. Louis continues to expand, and this Thursday marks the cabaret debut of Emilie Nevins-Carter, a singer whose sister, Dionna Raedeke, has already made quite a name for herself in town.
Emilie's show, “When We're Together,” is presented on Thursday, July 3, by Mariposa Artists (headed up by Robert Breig, a notable cabaret artist in his own right) at The Chapel Venue. I took a few minutes catch up with Emilie during the final week of rehearsal.
Q: Putting together a solo cabaret show involves a huge commitment, in terms of both time and money. What made you decide to take the plunge?
A: I've been singing in some capacity almost my entire life. I believe that, for myself, singing isn't an optional activity. Over the last several years I've spent a lot of time thinking about where and how I want to continue to use my gift and passion both for my enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of others. Finally, in the last year everything has come together in such an obvious way that I knew the time was now. I chose the setting of a solo cabaret show because I love the intimate way it allows an artist to weave music and story together. And also because of the freedom that an artist has to combine different musical genres. It's more than simply a handful of songs back to back. It allows us to use the elements of music to amplify the story and tell it better than we ever could otherwise.
Q: So what is the story behind “When We're Together”?
A: The arc of the show really tells the story of my life and how love and music have woven themselves into every area of my life and family. The particular lyric “when we're together…” comes from the song “Could I Have This Dance”. To me, the song represents an incredibly significant time in my life and...well…you'll have to wait to hear the rest Thursday night! ;)
Q: Fair enough. I'm always curious as to how performers decide on their artistic collaborators. Your music director is Beckie Menzie is well known in Chicago and your director Lina Koutrakos is famous as both a performer and teacher. What made you decide to work with them?
A: A few years ago, I attended a workshop that was led by these two incredibly talented ladies. My level of respect for them and their respective art is through the roof and their combined encouragement played a big role in helping me decide to do a show. Beckie has the rare gift of being able to go seamlessly from the stylistic extremes of classical piano to jazz/improv piano and everything in between. Lina is such an experienced performer and writer and has an incredible ability to take an artist's vision for their show and turn it into reality. Most importantly, there's the hard-to-put-a-finger-on-it “chemistry” that I have shared with both of them from the very beginning!
Q: What's the most important thing you'd like people to take away from your show?
A: I want people to leave the show feeling inspired to love. Life can tend to knock us down and keep us so busy that we only give love our left over energy or even forget to intentionally love at all. In sharing my imperfect but hopeful story of love through music I hope people will leave filled with a new passion to love their family, love music, love God, love life and love themselves.
For more information on Emilie's show, visit emilie.brownpapertickets.com. The show begins at 7:30 PM on Thursday, July 3, the The Chapel Venue, 6238 Alexander Drive in Clayton. Doors open at 6:45 PM and the admission price includes two complimentary drinks.
The Chapel is a unique performing arts venue that charges no fee to the artists, so every cent of your ticket price goes straight to the performers. The space is non-smoking and wheelchair accessible. Note that while the City of Clayton is discouraging Fair St. Louis attendees from parking on Alexander Drive, it's OK to park there for this show.
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