When it comes to music and the performing arts, improvisation is not simply ‘making stuff up’.
A freestyle rapper doesn’t create entirely new words on the spot, a jazz pianist doesn’t formulate new scales, chords or keys on stage; the foundation of improvisation lies in preparation, deeply understanding the fundamental building blocks of the art form and combining them in fresh new ways.
Award-winning cabaret performer Isabella Valette, who brings her new show to Geelong this weekend, is a prime example.
“Cabaret Time Machine is an improvised cabaret set in a different historical era every single night,” Valette said.
“The audience votes via QR code from a menu of different eras, and based on what they pick…we essentially craft a brand new original show on the spot.
“So all the songs, the rhymes, the lyrics, the dialogue, the jokes, the characters, everything is made up on the spot, spontaneously, in the moment.”
Though the show is created live on stage, Valette and musicians David Peake and Jaron Why, have months of research, planning and rehearsal to draw on.
“I have always loved history, but I had to do a deep dive with documentaries, a lot of writing notes,” Valette said.
“I wrote out sheets for each historic era, of facts, events, people that were alive and things that happened in those times.
“Then we would meet up and listen to songs from those eras, unpack the chords and common movements, and be like, okay, what would it sound like if we improvised a song in the style of, say, Hotel California?
“Then for eras like ancient Rome or ancient Greece, where the instruments we’re using weren’t invented back then, we looked at movies set in those times, such as Gladiator, and their interpretations of that music, because we felt that would sit in popular consciousness.”
Valette said she was proud of the show, which was awarded Judge’s Pick at this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival, and comes to Geelong as part of the Melbourne Fringe Encore.
“It’s joyful, playful, warm, a very unique and personalised experience,” she said.
“It’s as live as it gets…and I think it’s a fun gateway into another world where anything can happen.”
Cabaret Time Machine is at GAC on Saturday 25 October. Visit geelongartscentre.org.au for tickets and more information.
