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The Village Conservatory is providing an opportunity for the next wave of musical theatre artists in Winnipeg to showcase their talents.
A Lot of Night Music/Musique de la nuit is being hosted at Le Patio 340 in St. Boniface on May 22, and has been a launching point for artists getting their foot in the door professionally. The theme of the concert – "I Hope I Get It!" - gives audiences a preview of what will be on display: audition pieces being performed in front of an audience before being taken into the professional world.
“This is a great chance for people to test out that material on an audience and basically just show what they’re capable of and what they would be busting out if they really wanted to audition for a role,” explains Daphne Finlayson with The Village Conservatory.
Audiences in the know that are in the know about musical theater will correctly assume that pieces by Stephen Sondheim will be a prominent part of A Lot of Night Music (the title is based on his award-winning show A Little Night Music from 1973). Finlayson notes that it’s a chance for audiences to hear some deep cuts from the composer’s output, as well as pieces from musicals they may never have heard about before.
“It’s a little bit like elevated karaoke,” Finlayson laughs.
Fun as it may be, A Lot of Night Music serves as valuable performance experience for The Village Conservatory’s students, some of whom haven’t had as much time performing on a stage over the last few years due to public health lockdowns related to COVID-19. “One of the things that I really love is getting to see people kind of test out more of a cabaret approach to their songs,” says Finlayson. “So, it’s not just ‘go up, sing, scurry away’. There’s introducing a song, why you picked it, what you’re hoping to do. And so, reminding them that every part of an audition is important to sell who you are as an artist.”
Finlayson notes that the audiences at A Lot of Night Music are keener than most to buy what the emerging artists are selling, giving an added support for the performers. “We have some wonderful regulars who have no interest in going on stage themselves, but they come every month because they love watching people be creative and excited about musical theatre,” she says. “It’s one of those wonderful environments where if someone flubs a lyric or maybe doesn’t quite reach that note, people cheer anyway, or they cheer even louder because the point is not to crush it. The point is we’re having fun.”
The "I Hope I Get It!" edition of A Lot of Night Music takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. at Le Patio 340 in St. Boniface on May 22. More information can be found at The Village Conservatory’s Instagram page.