Say Gay Information Page
Thank you for your interest in taking part in the next Bay Street Cabaret show. Please read this page carefully and fully. I know it’s long, but it’s important because I think this has the potential to be a very special show.
CONCEPT
The tentative title is “Say Gay: Telling Our Stories with Music from LGBTQ+ Artists, Allies, and Icons” and it’s a series of (mostly) monologues touching on everything from coming out to bullying to AIDS to violence to trans issues and more. Each monologue is accompanied by a song, most of which will be solos plus a couple of full group choral numbers and sing-alongs.
A portion of the proceeds from the show will go to the First City Pride Center (more on that in the Budget and Donations section below).
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE & REHEARSALS
The show will be held on Friday, June 24 at 7:30pm and on Sunday, June 26 at 7:30pm, bookending the First City Pride Center’s Stonewall Block Party on Saturday, June 25. There is a chance that we may be asked to perform some of the songs and/or monologues during the event, but that is TBD.
Because this is mostly monologues and solos, rehearsals will look a little different and be more flexible. The group rehearsals will focus mostly on the group choral numbers. The schedule below is tentative, but please review it carefully against your anticipated schedule.
- Sunday, June 5 from 3-6pm – Cast meeting and read through
- Monday, June 6 to Friday, June 10 (days or evenings) – Solo and monologue rehearsals. These will be individual sessions that can be scheduled around all of our availability and can be in person or on Zoom. I’d like to get 2 hours of rehearsal time with each performer during this week, which can be done all at once or broken up into 1 hour segments.
- Saturday, June 11 from 2-6pm OR Sunday, June 12 from 2-6pm – Choral rehearsal where we will go through the two choral numbers with our musical director.
- Monday, June 13 to Friday, June 17 – Solo and monologue rehearsals. Same as above with another 2 hours total per performer.
- Also during this week on an evening TBD (whatever we can find that will be the best for the most number of people) we will have another group rehearsal to block group numbers and rehearse the choral numbers again.
- Sunday, June 19 from 2-6pm – Full on-book run through with music and at least 1 hour of choral rehearsal.
- Monday, June 20 from 7-10pm – Scenes and songs run through (order TBD based on availability) plus at least one hour of choral rehearsal
- Tuesday, June 21 from 7-10pm – Full on book run through with music.
- Wednesday, June 22 from 7-10pm – Tech/dress (off book)
- Thursday, June 23 from 7-9:30pm – Tech/dress (off book)
OVERVIEW AND MUSIC
The scenes are written gender neutral unless otherwise indicated. Each song features a link to YouTube to watch/listen to the original (where available) and an MP3 of the karaoke version with a guide vocal (where available) or sheet music.
Please note the order of these scenes may change.
Act 1 Scene 1: Kai
A lighthearted scene about a person trying to come up with the right way to come out to their parents, which leads into “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 1 Scene 2: Agatha
A lighthearted scene that becomes more serious toward the end about life as a drag queen, which leads into “I Am What I Am” from La Cage aux Folles.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 1 Scene 3: Parker
A tongue-in-cheek scene about a person “graduating” from a gay conversion therapy camp, which leads into the piano version of “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga.
Act 1 Scene 4: Jessie
A serious scene about a person who has had a relationship that involved domestic abuse, which leads into “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 1 Scene 5: Max
A lighthearted scene about a southern man or woman who had an experience involving a trans student and a bathroom, which leads into “Brave” by Sara Bareilles.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 1 Scene 6: Hayden
A scene about an older gay man (can be played by any age) trying to navigate gay life, which leads into “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 1 Scene 7: Bailey
A person of size talks about body shaming and life in the gay community, which leads into “Good as Hell” by Lizzo.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 1 Scene 8: Lee
A serious scene about a person who was the victim of a gay bashing incident, which leads into “Rise Up” by Andra Day.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 1 Scene 9: Riley
A scene about a teacher at a school board meeting talking about Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which leads into “Roar” by Katy Perry. Note, this is currently featuring the regular version but may switch to the acoustic version or a version by Boyce Avenue.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 1 Scene 10: True Colors
A series of infographics about AIDS will lead into a choral rendition of “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper.
Hear the Full Choral Version on YouTube | See the Sheet Music
INTERMISSION
Act 2 Scene 1: Mason
A romantic scene about a person reciting their wedding vows to their partner, which leads into “Do You Wanna Dance” by Bette Midler.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 2 Scene 2: Harper
A serious scene about an unhoused LGBTQ youth and how they got there, which leads into “No Matter What” by Calum Scott.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 2 Scene 3: Ellis
A metered, spoken word piece about gender identity and pronouns, which leads into “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 2 Scene 4: Aubrey
A dramatic scene about a person who finds out they didn’t get a job because they were gay, which leads into “I’m the Only One” by Melissa Etheridge.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 2 Scene 5: Drew
A comedic scene (with serious undertones) about a person in a nightclub insisting that there is no such thing as monogamy, which leads into “If That’s Your Boyfriend” by Meshell Ndegeocello.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 2 Scene 6: Lane
A serious scene about a person remembering friends they have lost, which leads into “For Forever” from Dear Evan Hansen.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 2 Scene 7: Avery
A funny scene about a preacher who might be protesting against the evils of homosexuality just a little too much, which leads into “Love Shack” by The B-52s. Note that this will be a trio.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 2 Scene 8: Noah
A scene about a person who has been bullied, which leads into “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman.
Watch On YouTube | Listen to Karaoke Guide Vocal
Act 2 Scene 9: You Will Be Found/We Are Family
An ensemble scene about the importance of community, which leads into a choral version of “You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen and a sing-along of “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge.
Watch You Will Be Found on YouTube | See the Sheet Music
Watch We Are Family on YouTube | Listen to the Karaoke Guide Vocal
FULL SCRIPT
The very rough draft of the script is available for download here. It may change as we start to work through the monologues and look at flow, length, and other factors. Please DO NOT SHARE THIS WITH ANYONE without my permission.
MARKETING
The script features a series of “We Are” statements that ties into a marketing campaign I’m planning on pitching to the Center. It will feature real people holding up signs that state things like “We are doctors” or “We are mothers” or “We are your neighbors.” As the LGBTQIA+ community becomes increasingly demonized, this campaign attempts to make connections on personal and deeply human levels to those who may not have been thinking about us in the proper light. I’ll have more info on this soon.
CASTING
Who gets what and how much will depend on how many people are interested and which roles/songs they are interested in. Some may do one solo and the group numbers; others may do more.
Even if you don’t get one of the solos, you can participate in the group numbers if you want to be a part of the show anyway.
BUDGET & DONATIONS
The budget is TBD but will be in the same neighborhood as our last few shows – about $2,000 give or take, most of which will go to advertising and promotion.
Just like past shows, the profits from the door (minus taxes and fees for the club) will be split between performers, however this time it will work a little differently.
- I will be taking a full 100% reimbursement for my expenses (in the past I have only take a portion and then written the rest off as a business expense).
- I will then be donating that entire amount to the First City Pride Center
- The remaining will get split between the performers and each of you will get decide how much or how little of your share of the profits will be donated and whether you want to donate them yourself or add it to the total donated by the Bay Street Cabaret.
- Any of your profits that you contribute to the BSC donation will get matched by me dollar for dollar.
- So, for instance, if the show grosses $3,500 and we spend $1,800, I will take an $1,800 reimbursement and donate that to the Center. The remaining $1,700 will get split between the performers equally. Let’s there are 10 performers so that’s $170 per person. If you decide to contribute $50 of that to the BSC donation, it will become $100 with my match.
If you want to keep all your profits and/or make your own donation separately, that is totally fine as well. I am the only person who will ever know how much you did or didn’t give and I don’t judge. Well, I do, but not about stuff like this because I understand that not everyone has the means to redirect pay toward anything other than getting through their daily life.
NEXT STEPS
- Check your availability against the proposed rehearsal schedule. If you feel like you can commit the time, continue to step 2.
- Read the script and listen to the music. If you like something you read and/or hear, continue to step 3.
- Reach out to me privately via FB messenger or via email/text/phone (info below) and let me know which song(s)/role(s) you’re interested in and any potential conflicts with the rehearsal schedule.
The deadline to contact me about your interest is June 1.
Thank you.
Rick
818-281-2600