Champagne Sparkles – is a creative workaholic, she has energy, passion and a larger than life positive attitude with that certain aura about her. Besides having her Canadian Burlesque Troop with which she has been touring in the US, Canada and Europe, she is also one of the members of Immoral Babylon Productions who will soon premiere the new Cabaret Play Berliner Luft – It’s In The Air! illuminating the era of Weimar Berlin.
ib: is there a particular view of Berlin from each different background that you four are coming from? We come from a variety of different cultural backgrounds – Portuguese, German, American, and Canadian, but I think what drew us all to Berlin was the creative opportunities and community. For this project, we’re united by our performance backgrounds and interest in the history of women on stage, as well as the history of the city.
ib: Will we be hearing the classic “das macht die Berliner Luft?” in your play? Natürlich!
Of course, all of us living in Berlin and loving the city, helped make us want to bring the characters here
ib: Is there a personal reason why you chose the Berlin of the twenties for the setting? We wanted to explore liberation of the female body on stage. As a group, we come from backgrounds of theater and burlesque, and we were interested in the evolution of women and nudity in performance. When we looked at where, when and how this evolution happened, it seemed natural that the characters start in America, journey through London and Paris, and end up Berlin in the 1920s, definitely a time of creativity and liberation!
Of course, all of us living in Berlin and loving the city, helped make us want to bring the characters here, as a chance to explore the history of the city and the performers in that time, along with the history of our art form.
People here tend to go out and see art, even if they don’t have a lot of money
ib: How would you compare art in the twenties in Berlin to art nowadays in Berlin? I’m not an expert on art in either era, but from my experience, it feels like there are similarities, between then and now, Berlin attracts creative people, who are interested in exploring a multiple facets of art, crossing disciplines and experimenting. The city wasn’t and isn’t wealthy, and perhaps that leads to building of community and willingness to work together and share. I also find that people here tend to go out and see art, even if they don’t have a lot of money, what little extra they do have is usually spent supporting other artists by attending events!
ib: How did you four ladies come together to create Berliner Luft? Lucky LU, the main author for the play initiated the project and brought Syren Joey, Little Miss Piss and myself in to develop the project together. We’ve been working on the project for almost 2 years, including writing and choreography, and a huge fundraising effort to be able to prepare the costumes, props, etc. The team has also expanded to include Ferkel Johnson on stage and we have a fabulous costumer, backstage and technical crew, along with a gorgeous venue!
I wish for a big success with the premiere
ib: Will you be touring with this piece? That is our hope and plan! We are focussing on the premiere for the play right now, but will be filming it, so that we can present the project to other venues, throughout Germany and further abroad. I can see possibilities for bringing the project to Fringe and other theatrical festivals.
ib: As you kick 2015 off glamourously with Berliner Luft already – what is your wish or vision for the year? My vision for this year is to continue on with more creating and performing. I wish for a big success with the premiere, so that the we have more opportunities to perform Berliner Luft – It’s In The Air! A Cabaret Play! in 2015!
Thank you and good luck!
The show Berliner Luft – It’s in the Air! will have its world premier January 22-24, 2015 at:
Ballhaus Berlin
Chausseestr. 102
10115 Berlin
Doors 19:00
Show 20:00
Aftershow-Party mit Don Rogall – Ein Vintage-Vinyl Feuerwerk!
Interview by Mia Morris / photo left by Jessica Bardosh
