James Caldwell High School to Present Virtual Cabaret

Covid-19 will not stand in the way of tradition, as the James Caldwell High School Theatre Arts Program proceeds with plans to hold its annual Cabaret virtually this Friday evening, June 12, at 7 pm.

“Cabaret is a JCHS Theatre Arts Program spring tradition. It is a celebratory way to send off the seniors and share our common love for musical theatre,” said JCHS theatre arts teacher Greg Paradis.

Cabaret showcases the talents anyone who took any part in any of the school’s productions throughout the year. For Cabaret 2020, Paradis and his students had to overcome technological and logistical challenges in order to virtually bring the show into audience members’ homes.

“Computers can only process data so fast, so none of these ‘virtual choirs’ are ever actually done live over Zoom or anything. We had a couple Zoom sessions to coordinate and plan, but then I needed the kids to record videos. They played the song in headphones as they sang along so the sound didn't bleed into the recording, and I layered in a background track. Matching up the vocals was a bit tricky, but really satisfying when it all clicked into place in one of the group numbers,” Paradis said.

The unprecedented state of affairs made Paradis and his students even more determined to navigate through uncharted territory as they worked to create the virtual show.

“Despite – or perhaps because of – the challenges this spring has presented us with, it is even more important to me and to us as a theatre community that we work on our cabaret together,” Paradis said. Our spring production of Into the Woods was cancelled a week before we opened, and some of us felt we lost some of our steam. It's been hard for people who thrive on ensemble-oriented experiences. This has been a powerful reminder that we truly are a family, and that human connections – and the arts – will persevere.”

This unusual time also presented another welcome bonus: Paradis discovered that editing the video of the virtual cabaret could be just as much fun as directing on stage.

“It felt just like being a director. I could use color filters like lighting design, and zooms and cutaways for emphasis, and play with split screens and green screens. I'm used to working on six or seven productions a year, so this has been a wonderful creative outlet for me to focus my energies into during all this, and it was something that it seemed our students are getting really amped up over,” he said.

Light: A Virtual Cabaret, which audiences can watch together from their homes this Friday, features performances by 23 JCHS Theatre Arts Program students, including three songs from the cancelled production of Into the Woods.

“Our theme of Light was a perfect fit right now, in this time of collective spiritual darkness. Light is bright, light is clean, light is pure, light is hopeful, light is joyful, light is dreamlike...we all could use some light right now,” said Paradis.

The show will also feature an assortment of different Broadway and Disney tunes, “some joyful, some wistful, some funny, some optimistic, most familiar,” he added.

The selections range from tunes that Into the Woods actors had been practicing since January, such as “Children Will Listen,” to songs the students had less than three weeks to learn, such as the show’s finale, “Light” from Next to Normal, which they learned by listening to rehearsal audio tracks.

“They’ve all been really remarkable with this,” Paradis said. “I love you, everybody. You inspire me every day!”

Don’t miss Light: A Virtual Cabaret this Friday, June 12, at 7 pm. Participating students will watch together on a Zoom call, and the entire community is invited to watch the YouTube premiere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEh4HEtlTZ0. The link will then remain active as a YouTube video.