...At Revival
The Premiere - Sunday February 11th, 2018
Speakeasy at Revival - Thursday March 15th, 2018 Viva Italia - Thursday April 12th, 2018 May Flowers - Wednesday May 16th, 2018 Animated! - Sunday June 10th, 2018 The Birthday Show! - Thursday July 19th, 2018 New Orleans - Wednesday August 15th, 2018 SchoolHouse Rock - Sunday September 16th, 2018 Freak Show - Sunday October 21st, 2018 USO Show - Sunday November 11th Producer: Knox Harter, Anna Jaeger
Director and Curator: Knox Harter Media and Marketing: Knox Harter |
In an effort to expand and at the encouragement of Revival, High Society Cabaret set up to produce its first monthly burlesque and cabaret revue. After two months of meetings Knox and Anna created a structure for Speakeasy at Revival. The goal was to not only give a stage and performance opportunity to the budding burlesque talent coming out of High Society Cabaret, but to provide another performance option for the Toronto burlesque community.
Acts were both approached and hired by Knox, and curated through an application process. Applications required artists to provide basic identifying information, as well as tech and video for the proposed act. Knox would then sift through and respond to applicants with a potential of three different answers. If the act met the requirements of the show, they were accepted and tech was added to a document for Knox to create the set list and show structure. If the act had potential, they were asked to attend a mandatory free 90 minute workshop of the act with Knox. If the act didn’t suit the theme or meet expectations, they were offered free written feedback on the content and a discounted rate for an in person workshop with Knox. Performers were encouraged to apply repeatedly with more than one act if applicable. All performers accepted to the show were paid a flat rate honorarium. The inaugural show was in February 2018 and was met with a large and enthusiastic attendance. Knox would take the opportunity to try her hand at hosting, and quickly developed a taste for it. She would go on to host all but 1 show of the entire length of the Speakeasy productions. The first five months of Speakeasy at Revival were met with solid attendance, delighted audiences and eager performers. By July of 2018, numbers on all sides began to dwindle and the production began struggling to make its proposed budget. Knox also began to get overwhelmed with maintaining the momentum of the monthly shows while also making full productions like La Dolce Vita and Portrait of a Scandal. She was also navigating working with select performers being difficult, as some of them struggled to respect boundaries Knox was making around the production and her time. After taking December off, Knox returned to Revival to start the next year of monthly shows. Unfortunately Revival was no longer being transparent with communication around dates and logistics of working in the venue, and date changes made selling tickets and marketing very difficult. High Society Cabaret would end their relationship with Revival with the last Speakeasy at Revival happening in January 2019. |
...At Katana
Bon Voyage - Wednesday February 20th, 2019
Broadway Bound - Saturday March 16th, 2019 Viva Las Vegas - Wednesday April 17th, 2019 Animated! - Saturday May 18th, 2019 Producer: Knox Harter, Anna Jaeger
Director and Curator: Knox Harter Assistant Technician: Whipple Ash Media and Marketing: Knox Harter |
With inside connections, Anna takes the lead to move Speakeasy from Revival to the Bay Street sushi restaurant Kanata on Bay. The goal was to bring high class burlesque to Bay Street, secure a performance venue that would be profitable, and help High Society Cabaret grow as a staple of the Toronto nightlife scene. Anna hoped this new opportunity would be a no-brainer for strong ticket sales and that a profit would be made not only to pay performers well, but to put towards a corporate costuming budget. During initial meetings the owner revealed that he would not provide a proper sound system and if the show needed lighting to be seen it would have to be provided by High Society Cabaret. Through negotiation Katana agreed to provide the company with a monthly $400 allowance to cover operational expenses for the show within the venue. Knox was able to make that money stretch to provide lighting for the shows.
“I had high hopes for this partnership, especially since I knew the owners of the venue personally as well as the bar manager who was also a former long-time colleague and dear friend. I also knew many of the regular clientele having worked as a bartender for 3 years in the same neighbourhood.” - Anna Jaeger Quickly Anna and Knox noticed resistance from the venue in accommodating live entertainment on site: from the sound system, to communication from management staff, to a general lack of support. On more than one occasion, bar and management staff were not charging regulars admission to the shows, affecting the overall budget and payout to the performers, leaving Knox to pay the difference out of pocket. Knox was also struggling to get consistent and reliable talent, and growing frustrated with certain performers' misbehaviour on site. The shows were becoming difficult to maintain, with too many challenges to navigate. Knox was quickly burning out. After a particularly heated meeting with the management staff, Knox, with Anna’s blessing, cancelled Speakeasy at Katana and terminated their contract. The last show would be in April 2019.
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