/ Don't hate the media, become the media.
Jello Biafra

Where did your fascination with American Presidents come from and do you have a favourite?

I was always obsessed with history, my parents were in the military so for family vacations we went to historical battlefields and museums. And when I was little I had this dinner placement that had all the US Presidents on it and I memorised them all pretty early on. (I had friends! But yes I also skipped recess to hang out in the library) The Presidents are the easiest way to track American history, I mean you can denote historical eras by the reigns of kings etc but we can do it from Presidents. They’re like the leading player in the drama of America. At least that’s what I was taught to believe.

It has hard to pick an absolute favourite, I love many for many different reasons. I mean, have you ever seen young Rutherford B. Hayes? He’s a dreamboat. And I lately have been thinking about how incredible John Quincy Adams was, he started in the public service when he was 13, traveled the world and was one of the foremost abolitionists in the country.  But if I had to pick just one it would of course be Abe Lincoln. His humour, his ability to hold paradox, his struggle with depression makes him so human to me. I wish I could have met him.

Can you tell me how Happy Birthday, Mr President! came about, what was the inspiration behind this new show?

I thought a President had to be someone special, someone who we as a country could hold up as an ideal. And then 2016 happened and well…that theory got destroyed. I started doing this show on June 14th, 2018 (I’ll let you look up whose presidential birthday that was) to kind of make myself feel better. Since then the show has morphed into something that’s less about making myself feel better and more about living in the tension of American history. But it’s also fun. Because if we can’t laugh right now we’d probably never stop crying.

Have you always had a passion for cabaret?

I had a passion for musical theatre, in fact it was the only music I listened to until I turned 14 and then I moved from Texas to New Jersey where people listened to things other than country and Christian. My world exploded and I got obsessed with all genres of music. I became one of those annoying music teens who always had to know the coolest new artists. Cabaret is a form that lets me marry my musical theatre core with my appreciation for  popular music. And it’s kind of like stand-up but less vulnerable because if I ever feel self conscious I can fall back on a song.

Do you have any tips or advice for anyone wanting to get into cabaret?

Make your show about something other than “your journey.” I think people were interested in my show right away because it was about something very specific. It can absolutely end up being about and should be about something particular and personal to you, but having a great hook will get you booked.

And finally, what do you want your fringe audiences to take away from Happy Birthday, Mr President!?

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1. How incredible my band is, these guys rock, I can’t wait for you to hear them

2. How complicated history is, and how we can retell history in our own image

3. How stellar my Winston Churchill impression is, now THAT is really going to wow the crowd.