San Francisco native Nicci Nicholas’s new show Nothin’ Can Be Done, debuts on Sunday, September 15 at 7 pm at Don’t Tell Mama with Ian Herman at the piano. Nicci studied at the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT), City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University and with vocal teachers that have included Alix Korey, Kathryn DeHaven and the late Cantor Israel Reich.
Nicci has sung at benefits alongside Sally Struthers, Baby Jane Dexter, Andrea McArdle, Eileen Fulton and Florence Lacey and has performed on the stages of Rose’s Turn, Eighty Eight’s, Brandy’s, Pegasus, Steve McGraw’s, and Don’t Tell Mama. She’s also now a consultant in corporate contract management, specializing in minimizing business risk and efficiently finalizing contracts to the mutual satisfaction of both parties.
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) asks Nicci Nicholas (NN) Six Questions:
NLE: You are a native San Franciscan and studied at the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) and San Francisco State University; when did you realize you had the gift of singing and what were your early influences?
NN: My father was a singer and I grew up about a block and a half from the Pacific Ocean. When I was five or six years old, my father and I would walk along the ocean three times a week and he would teach me to sing. At about seven years old, I used to fantasize that i was working in a Broadway show (never having seen a Broadway show). In High School, I was in Madrigal and the A Capella choir and occasionally did solo parts. I also played piano for our High School graduations. Singing and music has always been a part of my life. Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra. Need I say more.
NLE: After living and performing in San Francisco in the 1980s what led you to move to New York? What is it a hard transition moving from the West to the East coast?
NN: I moved for a job in corporate America. I used to visit New York City with my parents as a child and loved it. When I got the job offer, I figured it couldn’t hurt to live here for a couple of years and then go back home to San Francisco. My two years became 35! I haven’t been able to get out!!
Moving to New York was not difficult for me since I was actually born and raised in the city of San Francisco. San Francisco is simply a smaller, feminine New York. SF has theatre, cabaret, wonderful restaurants and is almost surrounded by water. If I had been raised in the suburbs, it would have been a much harder transition.
NLE: How did you eventually get involved in Cabaret? In San Francisco, in New York?
NN: I couldn’t pursue my Broadway dreams, so I started taking voice lessons—first with Kathryn DeHaven and then with Cantor Israel Reich. After about seven years of training, Cantor Reich told me he wouldn’t give me any more lessons until I got out there to sing. I had a friend who played at a piano bar, so I started performing there (with knees shaking). Then I took a cabaret workshop and ended up performing at The Fickle Fox on Friday and Saturday nights, and a did a couple of split bills until I moved to New York. After getting settled in New York, I was introduced to Helen Baldassare’s performance workshops. I loved Helen’s classes. She is my mentor and dear friend. After seven years of taking her classes, Helen also told me I couldn’t take anymore classes until I performed my own solo cabaret show (again, with the 7 years!). And so I did! And that’s where it all started in New York City.
Having to work in corporate America to pay the bills, there have been times when I was not active in cabaret. But four years ago I retired and have been pursuing my love again.
NLE: What projects were you working on while you weren’t performing cabaret shows before your return in 2010?
NN: I worked as a Contract Negotiator for many years, a job that can be quite stressful and time consuming, not allowing you to pursue much else.
NLE: You have been a great supporter of other cabaret artists over the years. What has that experience been like for you?
NN: I love the intimacy of cabaret and the variety of talent out there It’s also wonderful to see people start out as nervous beginners and become solid performers. I’ve also had the pleasure of working with people like Helen Baldassare, Lennie Watts, Ross Patterson, Ian Herman, Bobby Peaco, Gregory Toroian, and so many others, giving me the opportunity to learn something so valuable from each of them— ot to mention the tremendous support within the cabaret community.
NLE: Which is the most memorable experience you’ve had in your singing career?
NN: Each experience is memorable.
NLE: What do you like to do on your spare time?
NN: Spend time with friends enjoying a lovely meal, a good cocktail and lots of laughs…. maybe even cooking.
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