DRESS TO IMPRESS

How important is it to dress for stage these days? I think it’s very important. I am personally tired of seeing people step on stage slovenly or uber casual when I’ve just paid $30 a ticket and I got all dressed up for them! I want the whole package…I want the whole experience…I want the pizzazz!

 

• Remember that people who come to your show want to feel like they are going out for a night on the town. If they look better than you do, it is not very respectful to your audience.
   
• Many times, the audience is living vicariously through you…THEY want to be on stage looking great and singing. If you take away the initial “ta da” when you step on stage looking great from them, it’s already set a tone of your level of professionalism. I love when an artist takes the stage and there’s a whoop about how they look.
   
• You do not have to spend a fortune or wear a sequin gown, but you do have to be neat. My friend and I call our usual black flowy pants and black sexy top with lots of bling our “Cabaret Uniform”.
   
• You must dictate how your Musical Director and band dress. My guys always ask me what the dress code is, but they are always what I call “casual neat” depending on the gig, unless it’s a fancy gig that requires a suit, jacket or tux.
   
• Even if your Musical Director is playing one tune for you in a group show, you must insist that they show up appropriately attired. I did a show recently where a very well-known pianist showed up in shorts and sneakers. Not cool to the host of the show and they are still a reflection of you on stage.
   
• There are, of course, circumstances there the dress code can be relaxed based on the type of club you are working in and/or the type of show you are presenting. My friend did a country tribute show and the whole band wore jeans, checkered shirts and cowboy boots… totally acceptable in any club because the theme dictated the “costume”.  

 

• Another male friend used to wear his shirt untucked with his tie loosely untied around his neck…he was a crooner, and this totally gave me the 4:00am walking down the street crooner vibe so it worked for me. In the Sue’s Views video on this topic on my YouTube channel, I mention Elaine Stritch appearing on Broadway in a white shirt and leggings…1) she’s Elaine Stritch and 2) that shirt was couture and cut in all the right places.

 

• In a day and age where people do not dress for the theater or even for the opera, AND where Cabaret performers fight for the same respect as artists as the performers who work on Broadway, we have to raise our bar. We have to strive to make the genre of Cabaret the special event that it is…a one hour, intimate, lyrically moving, musically inspiring “event” that deserves to be an alternative to theater and opera and bigger concerts.

 

• It all starts with us and the image we present….so let’s clean up our act and present as the professionals that we are…let’s all dress to impress!