BWW Interviews: Sara Farb Talks Ben Folds - Cabaret Evening 02/16

The third entry in the Acting Upstage Theatre Company's "Dark Night" Cabaret Series is next Tuesday, February 16th, when Toronto up and comer and audience favourite Sara Farb takes the stage to present "Sara Farb Does Ben Folds." The evening will be an entire night of Ben Folds' songs, old and new, as interpreted by long-time fan Sara Farb. Mark Selby will play the keys and Anton Rubisov will be on the drums.

Sara Farb has been performing professionally since the age of nine, when she starred as Young Jane in the world premiere production of Jane Eyre at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre. Growing up, she also appeared in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat starring Donny Osmond, Cameron Mackintosh's Oliver!, and Canadian Stage's A Midsummer Night's Dream in High Park. Making the transition into her adult career, Sara has been seen all over Toronto, in LKTYP's The Wizard of Oz, Harold Green Jewish Theatre's The Sisters Rosensweig, Acting Up Stage's Edges, which she also co-produced, and the Rose Theatre's Songs for a New World, as well as numerous film and TV appearances. Sara is one of Toronto's best-loved young cabaret artists, and has performed alongside some of the country's leading theatre stars. A few years ago, Sara had the privilege of performing at Joe's Pub during an evening of her friend Paul Gordon's music. Sara's Dark Night cabaret last year, "Songs By People I Dig", was a huge success, and she is thrilled to be working with Acting Up Stage once again on this wonderful series. She took a few minutes to talk with BWW about her love of theatre and about what to expect at this Cabaret evening:

Your performance is going to consist entirely of Ben Folds music, are you a big fan?

I am a big fan. Ben Folds was the first recording artist I developed a legitimate appreciation for, and it happened when I was in high school, so pretty late. I think it may be because I only listened to musicals. But I discovered Ben Folds and fell in love with the honesty and wit of his lyrics and how incredible his melodies were. I knew, and still know, his Rockin the Suburbs album pretty much off by heart.

Your performance is the third in the new "Dark Night" series; do you think this is something that can be expanded into an on-going event?

I hope so. Toronto performers are really into doing cabarets lately, which I think is awesome. The thing about this specific event is that it belongs to Acting Up Stage, so it only occurs when that company is doing a show. Which makes it only ongoing until the show closes and they don't have the theatre anymore (they are currently producing Light in the Piazza). But I think it's certainly a wonderful example for any theatre company out there looking to maximize public appeal. Having artists perform on a show's off night is a great opportunity for the company and for the artist.

A lot of people aren't very familiar with these types of "cabaret" style performances, what can someone look forward to if they come out to see the show?

What's great about cabarets is that each one is different. The performer puts together a show that relates to them specifically in some way, so no two cabarets are the same. For this particular show, I've chosen not only some of my favourite Ben Folds songs, but ones to which I have a certain relationship. What makes a show more interesting than if a person were to simply stand and sing (this would be a concert more than a cabaret) is when a performer involves its audience and allows it access to his or her life, likes, dislikes, experiences, etc. My relationship with Ben Folds' music covers a variety of aspects of my life. So the audience can expect to get to know me and Ben Folds all at the same time.

The "Dark Night" series runs when Light in the Piazza is dark, have you had a chance to see that show and what did you think of it?

Kelly Cameron's love affair with the theatre began when she was just five years old, on an outing to see the Original Canadian Cast of Les Miserables at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. She instantly fell in love, and since then has been lucky enough to be involved in various theatre activities and productions, including a regional production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and a local production of Where the Sidewalk Ends. She has also received training from various teachers throughout Southwestern Ontario in both piano and voice, and competed in vocal competitions for which she received a few awards. Her writing career started almost by accident, when she had the opportunity to become a ghostwriter for up and coming businesses. She continues to do this, writing the content for all sorts of companies who are starting websites and looking to find their voice. Her passion and love for theatre led to her becoming involved with BroadwayWorld where she is thrilled to be writing for the Toronto contingent of the rapidly growing website. When she isn't at the theatre, you can generally find her firmly planted in front of her trusty Blackberry - tweeting, Facebooking or partaking in other such social media activities to ensure that those who want to know are kept apprised of everything that Toronto theatre has to offer. Other interests include movies, art, music, shopping, fashion and martial arts with the occasional foray into the world of finance. Follow Kelly on Twitter at @broadwaybabyto Creep her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelly-Cameron/500187141

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