“It touches a lot on sexuality and different aspects of what a traditional relationship should be like. The two main characters are in a very weird open relationship, and I try to put more emphasis on these things, I try to convey that the things we are showing are ok and normal,” Boris says. By Alexander Stamatov Nearly two years have passed since the COVID-19 outbreak started, and in those two years, the Broadway Performance Club (BPC) has not been able to perform musicals. In the 2021/2022 academic year, BPC has planned to break the two-year streak of no performances with the musical Cabaret, directed by Boris Dechev, a senior student at AUBG. There is no specific date yet, but it is expected to premiere at the end of March/ beginning of April, 2022. The music for Cabaret was written by John Kander, the lyrics by Fred Ebb, and the book by Joe Masteroff in 1966. It was adapted from the “I Am a Camera” play by John Van Druten. The story is set in the 1930s in Berlin, Germany, as the Nazi rise into power. The action takes place in the Kit Kat nightclub. As a period of change in a social, political and cultural way, the musical shows how people turn to the underground nightlife as an escape, which usually involved much prostitution. “It is specifically about how we as people, sometimes instead of confronting the issue at hand, doing something about it, and fighting for what is right and what is meaningful for us. We instead do not do anything and ignore the problem because we think it is going to solve itself, but in the end, it does not,” Boris says. that the time is perfect for a musical such as the Cabaret to hit the stage because of its social message and meaningfulness. “I think it is a great statement, especially in these difficult times where we are struggling with something big like the pandemic, which is causing political and social instability, and it is similar within the musical. There is this thing that musicals are usually seen as this fun, dancing, singing, and party mood, but there are a lot of musicals which have that great balance between the fun stuff and have sad, meaningful messages, and this is such a musical,” Boris says. One of the struggles they faced during the auditions was to find male actors and singers, but they were surprised by the general interest in the musical. “The musical has been sort of inactive for the past two years because of COVID, and we did not have huge expectations. We thought that people would not be as excited about the musical anymore, but when we started, we saw so many people hyped about the entire process,” Boris shares. In the end, they gathered a full cast of people and started the rehearsals. All the directors gather for meetings to discuss what impression they want the musical to ultimately give to people. Still, Boris leaves room for the actors’ creativity: Elizabeth Ivanova as Sally. Prolet Boneva for AUBG Daily. whatever she wants to, and she also has this very interesting self-defense mechanism where she traps herself in a little bubble of happiness which helps her to evade reality,” Elizabeth says. As a person who has never worked in a nightclub, it is hard for Elizabeth to portray someone who does. That is in terms of the way Sally carries herself, the body language and all the sexuality that she conveys. Still, Elizabeth has found similarities with Sally regarding her emotional experiences. She can deeply relate to what Sally is going through and her goal to achieve happiness with her partner, which is something that she never manages to do in the musical. Boris not only directs the musical, but will also be on stage portraying the role of Emcee. The character of Emcee has only music numbers in the performance. Even though he is not part of the acting scenes, his presence on the stage is very powerful. The two most famous characters in Cabaret are Sally Bowles and Emcee. Elizabeth Ivanova, a junior student at AUBG, will portray Sally, the leading female role, in the upcoming musical. Sally is one of her favorite characters in the whole musical. “She is very fiery, she is everywhere, she does A Broadway Performance Club rehearsal. Prolet Boneva for AUBG Daily. BPC’s choice for a musical is a complex and challenging process that takes place during the summer before the academic year. Some aspects that influence the decision are whether the musical has an interesting plot and is easy to advertise, as well as whether it has the opportunity for dances. At the end of the summer, they were left with a couple of options, but Cabaret seemed to strike a perfect balance between all the important elements. Not only that, but BPC also thinks 10 Fall 2021 | AUBG Daily “I ask actors to do it as they feel it, and then I see how things look and try to adjust things so that it fits with the idea that we have already.” Boris loves the part of the work process when an actor or director gives something of his own to the piece. As a musical written in the 1960s, Boris says that it can feel a little bit outdated, so he tries to give something of himself to the musical to modernize it. Boris Dechev in character. Prolet Boneva for AUBG Daily.
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