Feature: O'Neill Cabaret & Performance Conference Moves Online For Summer 2020 Program

The O'Neill Cabaret & Performance Conference is heading online this summer and seeks Fellows from all over. The teaching staff will include Barb Jungr, Lennie Watts, Natalie Douglas, Betty Buckley & more. For years the venerated institution has been providing opportunities in education and employment by molding cabaret artists into working members of the community, from the O'Neill home base in Waterford, Connecticut. Now, as the world remains in various stages of quarantine, those opportunities were in jeopardy, but with the burgeoning use of internet communication, the conference will proceed, as planned, with a new format that will open the program up to people anywhere in the world. The program for 2020 will be a 5-day virtual conference from August 3rd through August 7th, with an easy application that is completely free of charge.

The Cabaret Fellows program is a dynamic opportunity for performers to refine their skills and stage presence with the guidance of an accomplished team of cabaret professionals, led by artistic director John McDaniel. Music directors for the program include Tracy Stark and Mark Hartman, two of the most popular and lauded mds in the industry. Past attendees of The Cabaret Fellows program have gone on to successful careers in the cabaret/concert industry, many of them citing the program as a major influence in their work.

Interested parties need to act now, though, if they intend to participate in the 2020 conference, as the application deadline is May 22nd, one mere week after the writing of this article. The following guidelines have been provided by the organization:

Applications will be accepted through May 22, 2020. All applications are due by 7 pm EST, and early submissions are encouraged. We are only accepting online applications.

The 5-day program will be held online August 3-7, 2020, with daily classes exploring every aspect of performance.

Classes include song selection, preparation, one on one work with music directors, individual coachings, class presentation, show development, venue selection, marketing, and more!

The reduced tuition rate of $800 includes all classes, coachings, and masterclasses.
You can access the application online through the O'Neill website, and there is no application fee.

We enthusiastically encourage women, nonbinary folks, and artists of color to apply.
Our website is a terrific resource for folks interested in learning more. There, we've provided a full description of the program and profiles of our instructors and guest artists. You can check it out all out here: https://www.theoneill.org/cabaret-fellows

For more updates about the 2020 Cabaret & Performance Conference, please follow the O'Neill on social media - and encourage your friends to do the same. If you have any questions about applying to the Cabaret Fellows program that aren't addressed here or on our website, please don't hesitate to reach out to the O'Neill Literary Office, too.

The O'Neill website cabaret page can be found HERE