Correction: In original version of this article published on Nov. 1 Vika Stubblebine was misquoted. Stubblebine is performing a song from the musical “Next to Normal.”
Tonight, the sounds of rock ‘n’ roll will be oozing out of Kerckhoff Grand Salon as the Musical Monday Night Cabaret continues with its second and final installment of the quarter.
The evening’s theme, “ROCK OUT: Songs from the Emotional Edge,” will include 13 performances with songs ranging from “Tommy” to “Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog.”
Vika Stubblebine, a second-year musical theater student and cabaret coordinator, has worked hard the last few weeks to make sure the event runs flawlessly. Tonight marks Stubblebine’s first performance with the cabaret where she will have the opportunity to perform one of her favorite songs.
“I really love “˜Next to Normal.’ It’s a rock musical, and I am singing one of my dream roles,” Stubblebine said.
The coordinators of the cabaret series said that they plan to shake things up this evening with the addition of two more musicians, a guitarist and drummer. Previous cabarets have included only a pianist.
“It will be interesting to see how the performers react to a larger band tonight,” said Hunter Bird, a third-year musical theater and directing student and artistic director of Act III Theatre Ensemble.
The Musical Monday Night Cabaret is an entirely student-run, themed performance series on campus and is open to more than just theater students. Past participants have ranged from musical theater to statistics students.
There are no real auditions for the cabaret. Interested students can sign up for performance slots on the Musical Monday Night Cabaret Facebook group page. Students from all majors are encouraged to sign up, and there is no quarter-long commitment.
“There is very minimal commitment. You just sign up on Facebook, show up to one rehearsal to make sure you know the song, and then you perform,” Bird said.
The series is a part of a larger theater group, Act III Theatre Ensemble, and started over a year ago under the direction of Bird and musical theater alumna and former cabaret coordinator Rachel Lee, who handed down the coordinator position to Stubblebine this fall.
The cabaret has since had six performances, all of which were standing room only or close to that point.
“The point was to create a space where if you want to sing in front of a group of people, you can. We created the Monday Night Cabaret series as a way to string songs together around a loosely correlated theme and have a great evening,” Bird said.
Stubblebine will announce the winter quarter’s cabaret theme ““ “Oldies, But Goodies: Songs that Make You Swoon” ““ at this evening’s show. Stubblebine said that she wants to take the series outside of UCLA and work directly with the community. The performers will perform at Belmont Village, an assisted living community.
The cabaret camp looks forward to tonight’s event.
“I think this is a great opportunity for students to come together and share their art. I am excited for the cabaret,” said Jen Fingal, third-year theater studies student and managing director of Act III Theatre Ensemble.