Set in Chicago in 1932, Emmett Humphrys is a disgraced detective turned private investigator. His ex-partner, Detective Lawrence Rankin, asks for Humphries help on a peculiar homicide: the owner of a popular nightclub called The Serpentine has been found shot and his office robbed. On his person, the detective finds a small key, the only clue to who may have wanted this man dead. While exiting the P.I. office, Detective Rankin gets the courage to ask Eunice Hartley, Humphreys' loyal and lovesick secretary, out to The Serpentine on a date. Eunice reluctantly agrees. Shortly after, Marion Childs enters the P.I. office. She is the fiancé to the recently deceased nightclub owner. Distraught, she pleads for Humphreys help to find her fiancé's murderer. Humphreys' agrees, much to the dismay and uneasy of Eunice. Humphreys begins his investigation by visiting The Serpentine during the day. He meets Lovey St. Claire, a silent business partner and the club's resident songstress. Lovey swears she has no idea who could have killed the owner, and that she herself has no reason to want him dead. While Humphreys visits the club that evening, he finds himself in the arms of Marion, eventually ending upstairs in the office of the club. Marion then drugs Humphreys and steals the key given to him by Detective Rankin. The next morning, Humphreys is confronted by Eunice about spending time with the victim's fiancé after hours, and further expresses her suspicions of Marion. Humphreys dismisses Eunice, and attends to Marion, who has just had her apartment broken into and ransacked. She gives him a lead to a warehouse, where Humphreys runs into Frankie Bonaducci, a notorious mobster. Having collected important evidence from Frankie, Humphreys reports to Detective Rankin on the lead, while separately, Eunice has deduced that Humphreys is in fact walking right into a trap. Humphreys goes back to the Serpentine, where is met by Marion. Marion reveals how she killed her fiancé to take over the Serpentine to operate it as a front with Frankie, and now plans to shoot Humphreys to tie up loose ends. Having followed Humphreys to the Serpentine and overhearing Marion's plan, Eunice jumps out from her hiding place and is shot and killed by Marion. The Serpentine undergoes a bust and Marion is arrested. Back at his office, Humphreys is left to drink and reflect on his missteps, as the memory Eunice haunts him.
November 2017
Photos by Chris Hutcheson and Sly Pereira
Show Times:
Thursday November 23rd, 2017; 8pm Sunday November 26th, 2017; 8pm Tuesday November 28th, 2017; 8pm - EXTENDED RUN! Location: Revival Bar, 783 College Street, Toronto Script: Knox Harter Group Choreography: Knox Harter, Adam Martino Director: Knox Harter Assistant Director: Dana Thody Producer: Knox Harter Costumes: Knox Harter, Kaitlind Gorman, Kingpin's Hideaway Props and Set: Knox Harter Promotional Art: Adam Tupper Media and Marketing: Knox Harter Video: Liam Jaeger, Charlie Quinn Video Editing: Knox Harter Ticket Price: Early Bird $20; Advance Standing $15, Advance Seating $25, Admission at the door $35 |
Within five months Knox wrote the script for The Silent Goodbye. Inspired by detective films in the 1930s and the book “The Big Sleep”, The Silent Goodbye aimed to create a compelling mystery narrative with a cinematic aesthetic that playfully poked at tropes in the film noir genre. Rehearsals were held at Knox’s apartment five to six days a week, but were separated by ensemble members, leads, dance rehearsals and scene work. It was an intricate game of scheduling Tetris for Knox, that in hindsight she would say was half luck. The cast was excited and dedicated about the content and the energy seemed electric in every rehearsal. Members of the show bonded quickly, which seemed to add extra dynamic to the work. Adam Martino was originally cast in the role of Humphreys, but was scheduled for emergency throat surgery two weeks before the show opened. Martino suggested Robbie Fenton, who quickly picked up and adapted the role
“I was impressed not only with Robbie’s pick-up of the content, but his commitment to creating a character and making adjustments as they were needed. The transition was seamless because of who Robbie is as a professional. After the show closed I struggled to see anyone else other than Robbie in the role of Emmett.” - Knox Harter Knox was personally proud of having pushed herself in every artistic avenue, from writing, to choreography, to direction, to performance. The original run was only two shows, but with tickets selling out one week before closing, a third show was added last minute, which then quickly sold out as well. Audiences were enthralled with production, and feedback was ecstatic, from the dancing, to costuming, to individual performances in the cast.
“It’s still our best and most successful show to date. It validated something deep within me and set my high standards even higher.” - Knox Harter |
February 2019 - The Cancelled Show
Planning for production began in late December of 2018. After recovering from the cancelled Ballyhoo, Knox quickly jumped back on the horse and started planning the 2019 year, deciding to revive what was High Society Cabaret’s most successful show to date: The Silent Goodbye.
With some of the original cast being unavailable because of other engagements, Knox set out to reach new talent, as well as see familiar talent in new roles. One new member of the ensemble had skills in stage combat, which Knox was excited to employ, and began discussion with this cast member to start planning what that role would look like. However, through a series of miscommunications, this cast member began asserting herself on the rest of the cast without the knowledge or inclusion of Knox before rehearsals even began . These actions were inappropriate and could have created uncomfortable working environments for other cast members. A tense series of correspondences followed, including phone messages between the cast member and Anna, one of which left Anna in a state of displeasure at the cast member’s words and behaviours. Just before New Years Eve of 2018, Knox had made the difficult decision to terminate this cast member. In retaliation, this cast member attempted to create distrust with the remaining cast.
With some of the original cast being unavailable because of other engagements, Knox set out to reach new talent, as well as see familiar talent in new roles. One new member of the ensemble had skills in stage combat, which Knox was excited to employ, and began discussion with this cast member to start planning what that role would look like. However, through a series of miscommunications, this cast member began asserting herself on the rest of the cast without the knowledge or inclusion of Knox before rehearsals even began . These actions were inappropriate and could have created uncomfortable working environments for other cast members. A tense series of correspondences followed, including phone messages between the cast member and Anna, one of which left Anna in a state of displeasure at the cast member’s words and behaviours. Just before New Years Eve of 2018, Knox had made the difficult decision to terminate this cast member. In retaliation, this cast member attempted to create distrust with the remaining cast.
“I mean, it was effective, to say the least. It didn’t matter that I believed I was doing the best for the show and for the work environment I was trying to create, I had hurt this girl’s feelings just by saying “no”, and in her mind I think it meant I had to be punished. This was at a time when we’re *just* starting to incorporate language around safe spaces and inclusion without necessarily knowing what that actually looks like, and those ideas were being weaponized against me. I had a lot of personal meetings with a lot of different people trying to explain what my boundaries around working were and why I set them, but I found I was often just met with a laser-focused and targeted character assassination. There was a lot of “people would like you more if you were just nicer” or “everyone’s afraid of you,” and that, to me, spoke to a very telling projection I was receiving, and the expectation for me to perform a certain kind of femininity as a woman in a position of power.” - Knox Harter
The Silent Goodbye was originally set for February 4th-6th, 2018 at Revival. While watching Instagram stories, Knox happened upon promotional posts by a local drag queen for a show featuring a couple of RuPaul’s Drag Race queens set to appear at Revival on the dates Knox’s had thought she’d booked. Knox inquired with the queen on the dates, and learned that the drag event had put down a rental payment on her set dates. To Knox’s recollection, the venue owner had recently shown a disinterest in communication with Knox and High Society Cabaret, and this particular snafu cleared up any ambiguity in Knox’s mind.
Exhausted by the conflict with the dismissed cast member and the attempts to reschedule the venue in a secure way, Knox ceded to the notion that this show was not meant to happen at this time, and cancelled production in mid January 2019.
Exhausted by the conflict with the dismissed cast member and the attempts to reschedule the venue in a secure way, Knox ceded to the notion that this show was not meant to happen at this time, and cancelled production in mid January 2019.
May 2019
Photos by Chris Hutcheson
Show Times:
Thursday May 23rd, 2019; 8pm Friday May 24th, 2019; 8pm, 9:30pm Saturday May 25th, 2019; 8pm Location: The Commons - 587A College Street Script: Knox Harter Group Choreography: Knox Harter, Adam Martino Director: Knox Harter Assistant Director: Dana Thody Dance Captain: Alayna Kellet Technical Director: Ashley Groves Producer: Knox Harter Costumes: Knox Harter, Kaitlind Gorman, Kingpin's Hideaway Props and Set: Knox Harter Promotional Art: Adam Tupper Media and Marketing: Knox Harter, Sebastian Hirtenstein Video: Liam Jaeger Video Editing: Knox Harter Ticket Price: Early Bird $25; Advance Admission $35, Admission at the door $45 |
“In hindsight, this production was doomed from the start. I think I was resting on a lot of misplaced faith and hoping lightning would strike twice, but I also don’t think I would have known at what point to make an exit. So I just kept going.” - Knox Harter After losing Revival, Knox meets with her friend Victoria Velenosi and explains she needs a space for the next High Society Cabaret production. Victoria offers Knox one of her venues: The Commons in Little Italy. In exchange for use of the space Knox offers her labour, working 1-3 times a week in the venue doing cleaning, minor maintenance and repairs.
In being forced to take on a part time job for personal financial stability, and foreseeing challenges with remounting this show, Knox asks select members of the cast to help administratively, including a dance captain, social media manager and assistant director. Knox must also recast certain members of the original production and of the false-start February show due to scheduling conflicts. Scheduling rehearsals is a challenge, not only because of Knox’s new limited availability, but the availability of the cast struggles to align, making the rehearsal process inconsistent and difficult to make progress. From the start of the rehearsal process there were problems with the overall functionality of the cast. Previous cast members were seemingly unenthusiastic with the remount, while new cast members were struggling to embody and retain content. Once production closes, Knox and select members would meet for a post-mortem, where they discussed their experiences and observations. Unbeknownst to Knox, the dance captain had neglected her responsibilities, and had contributed to creating a toxic work environment among the ensemble. Some behaviours included, but not limited to, gossip among the ensemble and lack of communication as a liaison between Knox and the cast members. Overwhelmed with logistics and challenges in the new venue, while Knox is working to secure a lighting and sound technician, her assistant director takes initiative to run scenes with the leads of the show. It’s at this point Knox begins facing health issues due to an unplanned pregnancy, which makes completing tasks and making deadlines challenging. With mounting problems and not wanting to add more issues to the production, Knox keeps this information from the cast and crew. The social media manager was unable to perform their duties and unable to carry out simple tasks and regular scheduled distribution of content. Thus, forcing Knox to pick up the pieces in any spare moments she can find. Two weeks before opening, a male member of the ensemble was offered a better paid contract — leaving the production as a cast member and offering to find a replacement. This cast replacement is ill-equipped for the show. He is disrespectful in rehearsals to the cast and crew in its entirety, including Knox, while regularly missing rehearsals scheduled with for his choreography in mind. During the tech of the show, he publicly questions Knox’s professionalism, direction and production, creating an awkward and uncomfortable setting. It is at this moment where Knox rejects this inappropriate behaviour and sets a precedent for expectations in rehearsal settings. During the show run, a member of the production team proves to be counterproductive by interfering with the sound technician and the sound board during the performance, making it difficult for her to properly do her job, and insulting her in the process. This creates moments of feedback, interrupting the production and throwing the performers. Seating and space is limited in the venue, and even with additional shows, the production does not sell well. The space is also small and hot, making it not only difficult and uncomfortable for the dancers, but for the audience as well. Each performance has a myriad of technical hiccups, from falling curtains, to sound issues, to missed cues, to costume malfunctions. The production does not make budget, affecting all performer pay and putting Knox in the red. In a post mortem for the show, the two members of the ensemble, assigned as Dance Captain and Social Media Coordinator, confront Knox on the quality of the show, addressing issues that could have been fixed had they been highlighted in a more timely manner. This information is deeply upsetting, further validating the demoralizing experience as a whole. Exhausted, defeated, and shaken, Knox begins her hiatus for the summer, unsure when she will return. “Oftentimes people are really only in your corner for the good times, because you have something they want, or they see you useful for their own gain. I learned the hard way that you really have to pay attention and work with the right people, and I learned that by working with some of the wrong people.” - Knox Harter |
