In these extraordinary and uncertain times of COVID-19, with venues closed and live performance at a halt, NiteLife Exchange is reaching out and covering the effect the crisis is having on performing artists.
The multi-talented David Sabella continues to have a successful and varied career. As a performer, he’s appeared on- and off Broadway—most notably in the 1996 revival of Chicago—and in cabaret; in 2018 he received the Outstanding Performer in a Lead Role award for his work in The Phillie Trilogy at the Fresh Fruit Festival. In classical music, he was a winner of the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition and the New York Oratorio Society Competition, and he has performed leading roles throughout the US and abroad. As an educator, he served as President of the New York Singing Teachers Association (2008-2014) and has been published in the Association’s journal. Sabella has served on the faculty of several and is the author of the forthcoming book, So You Want to Sing Cabaret (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020). He is also the Editor-in-Chief of www.cabarethotspot.com
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) asks David Sabella (DS) six questions:
NLE: You were tracking the advances that the COVID-19 virus was making worldwide early on. At what point did you realize there was a serious situation ahead, one serious enough to affect our industry as it has?
DS: “Tracking the advances“ was really just a few weeks ago. Seems like years ago doesn’t it? I guess I really picked my head up when there started to be talk of school closure. And that happened at least a week before the New York schools actually closed. At first I was optimistic that limitations on crowd size would actually be good for cabaret. I thought if there was a limit of crowd size, as was originally proposed, that people would start to look for more the intimate entertainments and audience sizes that cabaret can offer. But when the Governor said that there should be “no crowds more than 10,” and then “nobody leave your house”—then I knew we were in trouble. Broadway closing down was the last nail in the coffin for me. That was a nuclear bomb for the entertainment community in this city
NLE: Kids that were brought up with devices and in front of computer screens are coming of age. You’ve noted that they are more adept at isolating than older generations. Will this ultimately affect the future of live performance? Will this generation be content to stay at home for their entertainment? If so, what will be lost?
DS: Yes, as I have noted, the millennial’s, and sub-millennial’s, who knows what to call them yet, but the kids that are still in middle school and high school, they are not so greatly affected. They don’t have worries of commerce yet. And, all of their socialization is done on social media apps anyway. My kids are seeing their friends just as often, and in the same way, as they always have. They’re also not having to commute to school. They get their work done pretty quickly, and are not being subjected to any kind of bullying or harassing by other school kids, or adults for that matter. They are very content.
All of this is a double edged sword, however. Yes, they are safer, yes they’re able to do their work online, and do it efficiently, and have a better experience maybe, and yes they’re able to socialize in the way that they always have. But they’re also growing up with a very distant view of humanity. Both of my kids, have a much different relationship to humanity, empathy, and compassion, then I do. I’ve tried desperately to teach these things. But “the machine” has a strong hold of them already and their friends are just the same way. They have all developed a completely different way to communicate with one another. Perhaps their way is just as emotional, for them, as our is for us. But it’s completely different, practically unrecognizable. And then again, right now, so is everything around me. So who is better prepared for this, us or them? Probably them. This is a completely different world, and quite honestly, this experience has shown me that my kids were more emotionally and psychologically prepared for this to happen then I was.
Will it affect entertainment in the future,? NO! Because it already has! We are not living in fear of the future. This is the present we are talking about. This is what happens now. My children will not step foot into a Broadway theater or cabaret room, unless I drag them. But, they will sit in front of YouTube and be mesmerized by, and fully connected to a performance. (And by the way, they watch YouTube as if it were network television)
Yes, they will memorize the words to their favorite songs, and emulate their favorite artists, as teenagers always have. But their desire to sing is immediately realized on YouTube, or Instagram, or TickTock. They don’t have to try to be in a show, in high school or Community theater. They simply create! Create, post, repeat; all in hopes of gaining enough “followers“ to become a social media “influencer” and have their channel monetized. THIS is already the way of the world. Broadway casting decisions are made in favor of those with greater social media presence, who’s Fanbase can fill seats, and who is a social media influencer. That is completely abhorrent to me, but it is the reality of show-BUSINESS. These days being a triple threat is not good enough. Now, you have to be a quadruple threat, actor/dancer/singer/influencer.
If people are trained in all four of those categories then perhaps nothing will be lost, at least in terms of the development of talent. Many performance art universities and conservatories now offer classes in social media responsibility. In our book, So You Want To Sing Cabaret (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020), Sue Matsuki and I have devoted a substantial portion of our promotion chapter to responsible use of social media and online technologies for the promotion of your art. In addition to all the artistic skills one needs, this has become a required skill. And now, under this new social distancing paradigm, it may be the new professional reality.
What gets lost is up to us. It’s up to the teachers, coaches, directors, music directors, and now the social media teachers/directors, to make sure that each artist is prepared with everything they need for success in both their art and commerce. The cream will again rise to the top. There’s no such thing anymore as being a “big fish in a small pond.“ Now, everyone swims in the big pond of the Internet.
As far as, staying home for your entertainment, or only viewing entertainment in a video format, even if it’s a live video feed, that will probably, and unfortunately, become the status quo for a while. Even after the economy starts to open up, I can’t imagine that the general audience will want to come into a crowded theater where only one person could infect hundreds of others. Honestly, I don’t understand why every night club and cabaret club doesn’t already have a Live streaming Video channel (YouTube, Vimeo, U-Stream, etc)! I don’t know why they don’t live stream every performance. This can be monetized just like seeing the live performance. This could open up the world of cabaret to people all across the country. I think we should be focusing on that. This is an opportunity to expand our horizons, let’s not worry about “How do we survive.” Let’s focus on ”How do we bring this art to many other people across the country.”
NLE: In discussing the science and technology of live-stream performance, you conclude that when synchronous and asynchronous elements are perfected, only the delivery method differs from being at a live performance. Could this be a death knell for the kind of collaboration that takes place when all participants are in one room?
DS: The collaboration between artists still has to occur in synchronous rehearsal. The ability to improvise on the spot, during performance, is something that will take a hit for a while. That is what’s the most lacking in the technology right now. As artists we need to find a workaround within the current technology limitations, and insist that the technology be brought up to speed for our needs. Necessity is the mother of invention. We just have to make sure that the techies who build all this know that this is a necessity.
There have been some great examples of asynchronous performance online recently. Michael Holland’s original (and outstanding) song “Wait“ which featured instrumentalists in several different remote locations, is great example of an asynchronous performance that has the ability to move an audience just as much as (or dare I say, even more than) a live experience.
However, the participation of the audience is a different story. There is nothing like going to a cabaret room, night club, or supper club, and having a live experience that you feel, as an audience member, you were a part of WITH OTHERS. It is a shared community experience unlike any other. Will technology evolve to meet this need? I hope so. I don’t know how, but I hope so.
NLE: You’ve advocated for bolstering technological infrastructure for the future. Sounds like a big job getting those many ducks in a row. Will this ever happen?
DS: Yes, I am certain this will happen. Look at what has happened just in the last three weeks, people of all ages who were never exposed to videoconferencing before, are now very familiar with several different types. People are being pulled, kicking and screaming, into a new era. That is one of the reasons why I wrote Part 3 (Optimizing U) of my article, because everyone needs to learn what’s required in this new age. Many people have said to me, (after testing their Internet speed – something they didn’t know how to do a week ago) “My upload speed is 40 Mbps. I could upgrade for another 10 or $15 but do I really need to?” The answer is YES. Not just for this moment but for the future. You must optimize your ability to develop and deliver your art. Get on board now because it is happening.
NLE: Can we even really foresee where technology will take us and what might impact this might have? How about holograms? They’ve already been used as an element in live performance.
DS: Honestly, I don’t think we can foresee where this will take us, for the good or bad. New technologies are being developed faster than we can possibly imagine. In the last couple of weeks alone I’ve learned and have begun to use technologies that, up-to this point, I didn’t even know existed, and I’ve stayed up on all of this. New and exciting things are just around the corner. Now is the time to make our artistic needs known.
NLE: Ultimately, will any of this matter? Are the discussions we’re having now tantamount to the worries that our forebears had during the industrial revolution, or the dawn of automobiles and airplanes?
DS: At some point I think you’re right. People who are really resisting this technological crossover remind me of those last holdouts who didn’t want to use the telephone or the horseless buggy. The fact of the matter is that these technologies are here to help us and serve us. They bring a massive world of possibility together. And we must, as artists, carve out a niche that is relevant in this new world order. I do think that Art will shift. Art (and especially musical art) has always shifted throughout time. Those futuristic movies where we see people playing foreign instruments and people singing harmonies not yet known to man, are precursor to modern day reality. Remember, when Star Trek first came out there was no such thing as the flip phone, let alone the smart phone. Yet, Captain Kirk flipped up the top of his communicator and was instantly connected to someone that was thousands of miles away. When I was eight years old I used to imagine that I was watching TV and because of the buttons I was pressing on my little school calculator I could affect a change in the show. That now happens. Thank you Twitter.
We have to define what is our job as artists. How do we participate, on what level? How do we carve out an audience market? It’s not just a matter of being different, you have to actually be good at what you do. That’s the thing that will never change, the thing that binds us in this intimate art. The work is still the same work. The Singer‘s work is the same, the director’s work is the same, the music director’s work is the same, the instrumentalist’s work is the same. How we get together to do the work may be different, and how we actually display the work will certainly be different. But the work remains the same. Connect. Connect to the lyric, connect to your audience. Reveal your truth, the truth of the human experience, and have the courage to share it with others. I don’t expect the technology to do that. I don’t even expect the technology to help us do that. That’s simply what we have to do, by whatever means necessary.
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