Chatting cabaret with Adam Noviello
Once again, our performing artists have managed to adapt to these crazy times.
Joining the list is Adam Noviello, who will be releasing his one-night-only special cabaret show, An Evening With Adam Noviello. Adam is a multi-talented performer, with show credits including Matilda The Musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and most recently, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This cabaret performance was part of a crowdfunding campaign for the production of his first feature film, SPENCER, and was his way to give back to the team that had worked so hard alongside him.
Adam’s show will be aired in 2 acts across two weeks, the first of which being this Thursday 23rd April. I had a quick chat with him about his process of devising a cabaret, and what exactly viewers can expect from this very special performance.
Can you tell me a bit about your performance background? What inspired you to start performing?
Ooooh, I actually remember the moment I knew I wanted to perform. I was 6, and I was spending most of my spare time either wearing out my Mary Poppins VHS, or leaping around my parent’s house singing along to Mum’s Tina Turner albums. Then one day my mother, my most supportive person of them all, asked if I wanted to get lessons singing and dancing; the rest is history.
My passion for being on stage and doing musical theatre came from doing my high school productions. The camaraderie and sense of community that came from being in those shows gave me a place I felt I could be who I was, or rather, who I dreamed I could one day be. It was a beautiful escape. The process of bringing a piece of entertainment to life, the families you create when you do so, and the sensation of bringing joy to people, I knew I had to be a part of it beyond school. I made it my mission very early on.
What was the process of devising/writing your cabaret like?
I find that my shows write themselves very quickly. If I have a really solid idea or concept, it kind of just happens. I find that if the idea is good, or I feel really strongly about it, then the songs that need to be written, or chosen, and the dialogue and design of the show that has to be done, all have a very clear direction. Before I know it, the tickets are on sale and we’re off!
This show was easy. The tickets for this show were a reward for a crowd funding campaign for my feature film project, SPENCER, so I knew I wanted the show to be intimate and to be a tribute to the people who had supported my team and I on the movie. The show had to be about them, not me. It was about giving something back to them. It was about gratitude. So, I just wanted to entertain them. Songs I knew they’d love, jokes, jokes, and some more jokes, and then inviting them in to the journey of the film. I wanted to share the project and the vision with them, because the way I saw it, them buying a ticket to that show, and ultimately helping us to fund post production of the movie, meant that they were now a part of the team. I just wanted to give them a good time and show them my appreciation. So the show feels very celebratory and joyous, and I’m sharing the stage with some of my favourite people: Stephanie Lewendon-Lowe, Andy Johnston, Alex and Chloe Sutton, and the divine Cle Morgan, all in the name of good cabaret fun.
Why is it important to support the live performance industry now more than ever?
As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter what is happening in the world, people will always long for entertainment and the joy of being at a live performance. That is why I/we do it; what the live performance industry is. We work so hard so that, for that time you sit in the theatre, or venue of any kind, you can have an amazing experience and escape into the world of the show. It breaks my heart that right now, it has all gone dark. My show was cancelled, along with thousands of others, and so many of the people in our industry have lost current and future work. And don’t get me started on the lack of support or recognition from the Government.
Right now, it is crucial for us to be supporting the live performance industry, because we need it to come back as soon as possible. We’re all fired up and ready to come back to work, but we need the audience to be there waiting for us. And deep down I know that the longing to go out and experience live theatre, music, comedy, cabaret, all of it… is true and real and in all of us. And if people support live theatre and all the art that is accessible from home right now, and then get out to their favourite venues and buy tickets as soon as we are all allowed to, then, we’ll be there and ready to remind people how amazing and special it is by doing the jobs that we love when this is all over.
What is the most enjoyable number to perform?
There’s a particular moment in act 1 where I do a section of a show I wrote a few years back but never performed, so it’s the first time I’ve ever done it for an audience. I play a larrikin Australian plumber named Glen Waverley, who’s pursuing his deep yearning to be a professional singer by taking singing lessons watching YouTube so… that was a riot for me but, also, the night of the show happened to be my Mum’s birthday, so doing a song for her was lovely. And I absolutely adore singing ‘What Makes A Man A Man’ by Charles Aznavour. My journey to discovering my own gender expression, and growing up being told what defined masculine and what a man should be, all comes to an emotional head whenever I sing that song. It’s a powerful message, and it’s a very important one to me.
Ok, that’s three songs… I couldn’t just pick one!
What can viewers expect from An Evening with Adam Noviello?
Just be prepared to tune in, and have a ball. This show was a ONE NIGHT ONLY gig, so the love and support in that venue, on that night, was just incredible. And what’s more special is that there was never any intention of this archival being shown. But due to this pandemic, and the crisis in our industry, it feels very right to be sharing it now and to hopefully raise much needed funds for the Victorian Actors’ Benevolent Trust. Please tune in to YouTube, Thursday April 23rd for Act 1, and Thursday April 30th for Act 2, and if you can spare a dollar, or 10,000, the support for the VABT would be so appreciated.
