Director’s Note

We are born, we live, and we die. A cycle of life that repeats over and over again across the globe and across millenia. Over 100 billion people have gone through the cycle before us and billions more will go on beyond us (hopefully?). Each individual is distinctly unique, living a life that no one else has even come close to living. Yet despite such a staggering amount of differences, there is one thing that every living creature shares across their life. The Fool's journey.

We each experience the journey of the Fool hundreds of times in our lives. Sometimes we may embark on the journey at dawn, and conclude the journey by lunch, only to start a new leg of the larger, overarching Fool’s journey that spans our life, our society, and our species. We share these motifs across cultures, languages, and mental processes in the form of symbols and emotion. For our purposes, we’re focused on the Tarot which highlights these beats and ideas of life in its cards.

I wanted to start workshopping Tarot Cabaret to create a living, breathing piece of theatre that changes from performance to performance, song to song. A show that anybody can connect to. And it has done exactly that! Starting from a sold out workshopping session in Rochester, NY where we did half of the Major Arcana, then growing to the full Major Arcana and audiences pulling the cards to determine our set list at a nearly sold out four show run at the Rochester Fringe Festival.

For this round of Tarot Cabaret, we gathered a group of performers together at 8:30am (far too early) on February 24th. We made tea and hot cocoa, had pleasant conversations as we waited for everyone to arrive before we settled into the living room where we had created space to hold our group reading. Couch cushions, blankets, and tapestries were abound. One by one we each pulled two cards and over the next few days everyone found songs that aligned with their card. Songs could have connected to the imagery of a card, its meaning, the name of the card, or simply because it felt right. I have to say that everyone chose very well! Once we had our song list, I was immediately shocked because of how the songs flowed so well into each other, telling a beautiful story; yet everyone sees their own unique story as their own lives are reflected.

I cannot wait to grow Tarot Cabaret from the seed that is this performance. With plans of frequent performances with fully new setlists, rotating performers, expanding into the Minor Arcana, and using original pieces, Tarot Cabaret has nothing but pure potential. A potential that is thanks to your support for coming and sharing your hearts and energies to this space. Wherever you are on your Fool's Journey, we thank you for joining us here on ours. 

- Stevie B