Muses celebrate the holidays with musical talent

By Jenna Rodcay, Liz
Anderson and Julia Stone
Transcript Reporter
and Correspondents

Milligan Hub, formerly known as the Stuy Smoker, was filled with people on Friday for the Muses’ first ever cabaret show.

The Muses is a student run musical theatre group that works to encourage and promote student performances.

The cabaret was the Muses’ first event of the year and was a winter themed event featuring holiday music and snacks, such as hot chocolate and baked goods. They asked for a donations at the door.

“The event was a fundraiser for the group,” said junior Nick Ehlers, performer and member of the Muses, “Every spring semester, we put on a show and the proceeds are going to support it. Next year we’re thinking about doing a show using music that already exists but writing our own text and storyline, but it’s still just in the idea phase.”

There were a total of 11 student performances, including Pitch Black and the JAYWalkers, along with other duets and solo pieces by students.

“There were a wide variety of acts,” said senior Elizabeth Bartz. “It wasn’t just theatre kids singing show tunes. There were some Christmas songs and pop tunes. It was a great time.”

Robert Nims, a part time faculty member in the Music Department, played the piano for each performance that required it.

After deciding on the winter theme, the Muses supplied potential performers with inspiration “to supply performers an idea of what kind of songs would be appropriate for the Cabaret,” said junior Hillary Fowler, a member of the Muses said. Fowler helped plan the cabaret with several other members of the organization.

She said the cabaret began with showcases, in which student performers were able to audition for the show. The Muses use the word “showcase” instead of “audition” to help students avoid being nervous and not wanting to participate in the show.

“We did not want to turn people away from performing for this event,” Fowler said.

Student a cappella groups, such as the JAYWalkers and Pitch Black, were invited to perform.

Fowler said Muses utilized Facebook to help advertise for the cabaret; students were invited to Facebook events for both the showcases and the cabaret itself.
She said she utilized the OWU Music Group, on Facebook, to invite people to audition and attend the cabaret.

Junior Kati Sweigard performed three different times, for a total of seven songs.

“I felt like all three (performances) were well received,” Sweigard said. “The most fun for me was performing with Cara Slotkin, because we just like to have fun. Our duets come from 1 a.m. jam sessions when we’re avoiding homework, and they’re very low stress.”

Sweigard said she enjoyed the “many genres of performance music.”

“It was so cool to see people just do what they love in a fun, stress-free environment,” she said.

She said the JAYWalkers were her favorite part of the show.

“They are all really talented, sweet guys and I love watching them perform because you can tell they’re having fun,” Sweigard said.

Fowler said she was extremely pleased with the amount of people that attended the event and thought the cabaret was a success.

“We had people standing and sitting on the stairs to watch the performances because all the seats were filled,” she said. “For the cabaret not being a large Ohio Wesleyan theatre or music production, and with little preparation time, I thought the quality of the performances was outstanding. This exemplifies how many talented students and performers there are at our tiny liberal arts school.”

Sophomore Sam Walter attended the cabaret to support her friends who were performing.

“It was really nice to see a lot of people on campus that I didn’t even know could sing,” Walter said.

Junior Kenda Patterson said she also enjoyed the cabaret.

“It was a lot of fun,” Patterson said. “There was a good variety of music and it’s always great to see the talent in our friends and classmates.”