Encouraging Young Makers of History
Through artistic expression and connectivity
Our Mission
Music means something! Music carries experiences and emotions like no other, it is powerful. Our youth are powerful too! We bring thought-provoking cabaret style performances and workshops elevating the voices and stories of underrepresented people in history, to the classroom. We spark our youth to see themselves as makers of history and social change, connecting students to the past and their role in the present by empowering their artistic voice.
What is Cabaret?
Cabaret is a style of performance that emphasizes direct interaction with the audience through banter and a personalized approach to the material, creating a unique and engaging experience that blurs the lines between storytelling and musical expression.
Guiding Principles
Connectivity
“The state or extent of being connected or interconnected.” The cabaret setting is made for the purpose of connection. ………………………………………………………………………….
Education
Experiencing history through song empowers students to reflect on their own lives and perspectives. Sparking discussions on important social matters, and the impact of music and art on society.
Artistic Expression
Encouraging students to use their voice to impact their environment. Artists share how their personal experiences inform their performance. ………………………………………………………………………
Program Structure
Connect
Each session will begin with a connecting exercise such as a game or activity.
Perform
The story will begin, told by the performers through music.
Inspire
Performers will lead a workshop, Q+A, or development activity to empower students to know their voices are meaningful, and impactful.
Leadership
Lead Adviser
Dr. Roosevelt Griffin
Programs
Examples of thematic musical programs under development are Bridge over Muddied Waters – a personal history of the struggle for civil rights; The Great Filipino Songbook; How Women Won the Right to Vote; Riding for America—Black jockey Isaac Burns Murphy; The Great Migration; Her Chance to Dream—to empower young women; Being Different Can Make a Difference; Blacklisted—the Songs McCarthy Didn’t Want You to Hear and more.
KEYNOTE PERFORMERS eager to create school-worthy prototypes from their original shows include:
● Cynthia Clarey: In her acclaimed Bridge over Muddied Waters opera-
turned-cabaret singer shares her perspective and reflections on political and racial issues in the US. This personal show delivers a universal message: the end to bigotry and prejudice.
● Sean Harris, singer. Southside-born tenor Sean Harris is noted for his
crossover repertoire from opera to standards. Blind since age 14, he offers an
inspiring story of resilience
● Carla Gordon offers her acclaimed program, Blacklisted—Songs McCarthy
Didn’t Want Us to Hear
● Rae-Myra Hilliard introduces the first two African-American women composers to make their mark in classical music, Florence Price and Margaret Bonds
● Nancy Hays opens the book on the most successful athlete in US history, Black jockey Isaac Burns Murphy
● Claudia Hommel, actor-singer, reveals the complex relations between
Americans and French including the legacy of African American expats in Paris in
the Jazz Age and Souvenirs of Paris 1950
● Anita Kallen and Catherine Thomson of HERstory Musical Shows – Anita and Catherine celebrate women’s achievements with two dynamic musical shows: HERstory: The 19th Amendment and the Power of the Vote; and HERstory: Trailblazing Female Firsts..
● Madeline Morgan sings The Great Migration —Blacks moving from the South to the urban North
● Lou Ella Rose, singer, director of SamaSama Project explores the Great
Filipino Songbook in the context of US colonial history
● Patricia Tyson, composer, singer, classical pianist, whose inspirational
choral works have been performed by local high schools.
Diverse Voices in Schools Artist Bios
Soprano Kimberly Jones is an alum of the Ryan Opera Center with the prestigious Lyric Opera of Chicago. She has performed with opera companies and orchestras worldwide, including Chicago Opera Theater, Haymarket Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Connecticut Opera, and in Germany, France, Italy, and Singapore, and is on the voice faculty at Roosevelt University and Depaul University.
Lou Ella Rose is the lead singer and founder of Filipino folk-fusion band, SamaSama Project. A musical theater actress for Repertory Philippines and Tanghalang Pilipino in Manila and Theaterworks in Singapore, she dabbled in Philippine Television acting in soap operas, the Knowledge Channel, and ABS-CBN’s Wansapantaym. Lou is a newscaster for Chicago Philippine Reports on Cable TV throughout Chicago and writes for Via Times News Magazine on happenings, celebrity features, Filipino culture, food, and travel. As an active community leader, Lou is an alumni and President Elect of Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO). She is passionate about sharing Filipino culture in the modern world and supports all outstanding Filipinos around the globe.
Madeline Morgan got her music education the old fashioned way—from a family who believed in performance and were performers themselves. Her style is laid-back and her musical preference is jazz.She has sung in church choirs, community choirs and the Sounds Good seniors choir. She has performed at Davenport’s Cabaret several times, produced and directed projects Ella and Sarah with Judy Narcisse, at Infinity and her Luncheon Jazz series.
Patricia is a composer, choral director, vocalist and classical concert pianist. While she works as a registered nurse in hospice, her life’s passion is music. “Music is healing for the body, soul and spirit.” Patricia majored in music education/choral and voice at Chicago Music College of Roosevelt University. She taught private piano and voice and was a choir director and minister of music for various churches across the country. Patricia is an ordained minister; also serving as a Builder and active member of the Jewish progressive Mishkan Synagogue in Chicago.
Cynthia Clarey joined the cabaret world in Chicago after 35 years as an international opera singer. She can be seen on film in L’incoronazione di Poppea with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera and in the award-nominated Porgy and Bess directed by Trevor Nunn. She came to Chicago to teach at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, retiring in 2022. She is a member of Chicago Cabaret Professionals and has performed at several venues in Chicago and beyond. Her show Bridge over Muddied Waters launched the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s new programming for the African-American Network.
Anita Kallen and Catherine Thomson are both cabaret singers and theater actors. In the summer of 2010, they were among 38 students from around the world selected to attend the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University and work with Broadway veterans like Faith Prince and Tovah Feldshuh, as well as cabaret legend Julie Wilson. Since then, in addition to their solo cabaret shows, Anita and Catherine have produced four successful two-woman shows: Dangerous Women; HERstory: The 19th Amendment and the Power of the Vote; HERstory: Trailblazing Female Firsts; and their newest show, HERstory: A Century of Songwriting Sisters. All the HERstory shows are meticulously researched and crafted, as a form of musical storytelling that takes their audiences on a journey to entertain, educate, move, and inspire. HERstory shows play at theaters, libraries, senior residences, community centers, & civic, religious, & corporate events. You can learn more at HerstoryMusicalShows.com.
More bios coming soon!
Teachers
Please reach out to us if you would like DVIS in your classroom. In your message please include your name, the name of the school you teach at, what class you teach, what grade level(s) you teach, possible dates you are interested in, and program(s) you are interested in.