Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1510560
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 OCTOBER 2023 5 CULTURE A violet-coloured opportunity for young performers A group of emerging artists will soon produce and perform a cabaret show that will shadow The Shrinking Violets' upcoming production, Miscast – An Atypical Cabaret. Here, the group – named The Indigo Collective – share their journey towards this uniquely Violet-tinted performance opportunity. IT isn't often that performers have the chance to play against their typecast – and even less often that they can cast themselves in their most coveted roles and cre- ate a show under the guidance of veteran theatre practitioners. Yet, that's precisely the oppor- tunity that seven young perform- ers in Malta recently discovered, when leading theatre company The Shrinking Violets announced an open call for a group of aspiring artists to devise a show in tandem with their next production, Mis- cast – An Atypical Cabaret. Working closely with their men- tors The Shrinking Violets – well- known actors and practitioners Maria Buckle, Jo Caruana, Chiara Hyzler, Cathy Lawlor and Denise Mulholland – the self-named The Indigo Collective has created Mu- sical Matchup – The Who's Who Cabaret. "We wanted to make reference to The Shrinking Violets, who set this whole thing up and have been mentoring us throughout the pro- cess – but we still wanted to make it clear that we are a different group of creatives. While indigo is still purple, it is a distinctly dif- ferent shade to violet," shares The Indigo Collective, explaining the reasoning behind their name. The lucky chosen seven who make up the Collective are Nikolai Azzo- pardi, Julia Camilleri, Ella Coppi- ni, Kaylie Magri, Rebecca Darma- nin, Kyra Lautier and Lilla Kedves. "As a group, we have been work- ing really well together, allocating roles such as casting, directing and various other decisions to mem- bers in a democratic way. You'd think that we'd be at each other's throats by now, but somehow it's working!" they add with a laugh. An important aspect of the Mis- cast project was to create an op- portunity for young creatives to explore being part of a collective and to experience what it's like to create a show from the ground up, explains Denise Mulholland. "The Violets are all educators and we all understand the importance of empowering young creatives," she says. "Putting up any kind of show is expensive and sometimes the related costs can prove to be a stumbling block for emerging artists. We wanted to help relieve those pressures, with the financial help and logistical support of Arts Council Malta, Palazzo Parisio and Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, and we also offered The Indigo Collective a venue, lights, sound and rehears- al space. Apart from helping with the logistics, we also wanted to share our experience and advice wherever we could." While the young actors had the freedom to make their own deci- sions and choices, they knew they could always rely on the help of the Violets. As long-time follow- ers of the established company, the 'Indigos' were super excited about this opportunity to expand their knowledge under the Vio- lets' mentorship. "This platform seemed like the perfect opportu- nity for us to learn and grow, while gaining experience in areas we are passionate about within the thea- tre space," they share. "They were always ready to help us, give us feedback and offer wisdom. For instance, when we needed help with the harmonies for our group numbers, Cathy Lawlor came to the rescue." In Miscast, all five founding Vi- olets – joined by other top actors Mikhail Basmadjian, Thomas Camilleri, Joseph Zammit and Lu- ca Zerafa – will finally take on the roles they have always dreamt of performing. In Musical Matchup, their younger counterparts have also chosen their dream songs – including numbers from Anasta- sia and Hamilton, among others – but then swapped their choices with other members of the Collec- tive. "When developing the concept, we knew that our show would feature alongside The Shrinking Violets' Miscast and that this was going to be our introduction to the local theatre scene. So we de- cided to conceptualise our show around theirs," they explain. "Fol- lowing the concept of dream roles, we chose iconic songs that vary in dynamics, themes, musicality and emotions, wanting to keep the programme exciting. You can ex- pect catchy tunes and a lot of har- monies!" Miscast – An Atypical Cabaret promises to be an entertaining cabaret show full of surprises, laughter and catchy music from popular musicals such as The Book of Mormon and Les Miséra- bles. The same is true of The Indi- go Collective's Musical Matchup – The Who's Who Cabaret, with a key twist: the miscast young performers of today could, with the help of such opportunities as these, become the best-cast stars of tomorrow. The Indigo Collective's pro- duction of Musical Matchup – The Who's Who Cabaret will be performed on Sunday 12 November at 3pm at Palaz- zo Parisio, Naxxar. Tickets are free but should be reserved on indigocollectivemalta@gmail. com. There will also be a collec- tion of donations for Opening Doors Association. The Shrink- ing Violets' production of Mis- cast - An Atypical Cabaret will be performed on 10, 11 and 12 November also at Palazzo Paris- io. This project is supported by the Arts Council Malta, as well as Aġenzija Żgħażagħ and Pala- zzo Parisio. More information about The Shrinking Violets is available at www.facebook.com/ shrinkingvioletsmalta.