Next Open Mic — Monday, November 30th

The next DC Cabaret Network Open Mic will be Monday, November 30th!

Stars Bistro and Bar
2120 P St NW
Washington, DC
Metro: Dupont Circle
8:00-10:00 p.m.
Peter Darling at the piano.
Please arrive a little early to
go over music with Peter.

$10 Donation.

Members-Only Pot Luck Party Sunday, May 17th at 4 PM

All members of the DC Cabaret Network are invited to celebrate CABARET at the annual members-only party for 2008-09 on Sunday, May 17, 2009, at 4 PM.  And if you have not joined for this year yet, please come with a check or cash in the amount of $25 to cover your membership until August 31 and join in the FUN.  Members may bring a guest.

There will be prizes and wonderful food.  Please bring a dish (hors d’oeuvre, main, salad, or dessert) to share with your fellow cabaret addicts and catch up with all your friends.  Drinks will be provided.

Please bring sheet music to sing the afternoon away.  RSVP: Email info@dccabaretnetwork.org and location and directions will be provided.  Also, send information on what food you will be bringing and let us know if a guest will be joining you.

Member recommendation: a great rehearsal tool

from Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus

I’m putting together my one-woman-show “It’s a Jungle Out There” and a program called “SING BOOKS” (instead of reading, I SING picture books made from the text of songs to kids at schools, libraries and bookstores).  To work on these projects, I’ve needed new keys written for many songs, some music transcription and accompaniment tracks for rehearsal.  I stumbled on a terrific resource!  MyRehearsalPianist.com. Beautifully written key changes in PDF files and MP3 rehearsal tracks arrive in email at reasonable prices.

Getting to the Atlas Performing Arts Center and the H Street Playhouse Just Got a Little Bit Easier

From the Washington Post’s Backstage column on January 21, 2009:

“Theatergoers tired of hunting for scarce parking spots around the 1300 block of H Street NE when heading to the Atlas Performing Arts Center or H Street Playhouse can try a new free shuttle. It will run evenings from 5 p.m. till Metro closes between the Gallery Place Metro station (at Seventh and H streets NW) and the Minnesota Avenue Metro station (on Benning Road NE). The shuttle will stop in front of the Atlas, at 1333 H St. NE, which is also near H Street Playhouse (1365 H St. NE). The buses have green-and-white H Street NE logos.”

So now there are no excuses for missing all those great cabaret shows by local performers!

December 2008 Newsletter is Now Available

The DC Cabaret Network monthly newsletter for December 2008 is now available. Check out the latest news and info about cabaret in Washington, D.C. and members of the DC Cabaret Network!

Sheet Music Collection at the University of South Carolina

We discovered this cool new website at USC from reading the Scout Report (thanks Scout!).

The University of South Carolina Music Library has an extensive collection of over 10,000 pieces of popular, sacred, and classical sheet music that can be easily searched, due to the digital sheet music project on the School of Music website. Note that this includes popular music as well!

You can search by song title, composer, lyricist, etc. For music in the public domain, they provide full images of the music. Great way to find that older tune you’ve been looking for, save a little cash, or discover older gems that might round out your cabaret show. Enjoy!

Nuts and Bolts: “Preparing Music for Your Music Director/Pianist”

by George Fulginiti-Shakar

Many people ask “How should they prepare music for the music director/pianist? ” Here are some simple but important “nuts and bolts” answers:

1. Make copies and give those rather than having to fight with a large book that won’t stay open.

2. Make sure the copies are complete with nothing cut off from top or bottom. Using a zoom percentage of 92% or 93% works perfectly.
3. Loose copies are oh-so-much better than ones that are stapled.

4. If you want to connect the copies, put them in a 3-ring binder — no need to back-to-back them for now. Or tape them all together in one long, continuous chain. Personally, I like the binder way better.

5. DON’T PUT THE COPIES IN THOSE PLASTIC SHEET PROTECTORS. NOT JUST YET. They’re impossible to mark without a hassle.

6. Once the musical arrangement is set, plastic protectors are fine. But make sure they are the NON-GLARE type. Yes, a little more expensive, but nothing quite so impossible to read as music with a strong glare coming off it.

Musically yours,
George

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Report from our September 2007 Open Mic Night

Thanks to Michael Miyazaki for keeping track of all the singers who participated in our September Open Mic night. His report of who sang what is available here.

Join Today or Renew Your Membership! Dues Are Due!

It’s “Back to School” and time to renew your membership with DC Cabaret Network.

The membership year is over on August 31. The new membership year begins September 1. To renew your membership or become a new member, send your check for $35 to:

DC Cabaret Network
P.O. Box 6259
Washington , DC 20015-0259

MEMBER BENEFITS INCLUDE:

· DC Cabaret Network Membership Packet, for first time members, that includes valuable cabaret resource information

· A subscription to the monthly email update, The DC Cabaret Network Newsletter, which lists upcoming performances and news from the DC cabaret scene

· Free advertising for your music related events and services in the email update

· Eligibility to include a link to your music-related website from www.DCCabaretNetwork.org

· Access to the current DC Cabaret Network member directory

· Annual MEMBERS ONLY party

· Eligibility to perform in the Members Only Showcases

(A complete list of MEMBER BENEFITS are listed on www.DCCabaretNetwork.org.)