How Cats, Creativity, and Community Collide at the Catbaret

Don't Miss the Next Catbaret! 🐱🎭
There’s always a new Catbaret show coming up—whether in person in NYC or virtually! Grab your tickets at CatbaretShow.com for a night of cat-themed comedy, music, and burlesque!

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Hello, kitty cats! Welcome back to Tails and Tassels! I'm your host, Gemma Smith—animal advocate by day and host of the Catbaret, a cat-themed variety show in NYC by night! In this episode, we're diving into the story of the Catbaret, where cats, creativity, and community collide.

Discover how this one-of-a-kind NYC variety show brings together performers and cat lovers for a night of laughter, music, purrlesque, and connection. Whether you're a burlesque fan, a cat enthusiast, or just curious about how art and feline fun combine, this episode will leave you inspired and smiling!

Resources:

• Follow Catbaret on Instagram: @catbareshow
• Check out a sneak peek of the Catbaret with this [YouTube video of our show’s opening]! More exciting footage is coming soon, so stay tuned.

Links:

• Follow us on Instagram @tailsandtasselspod
• Gemma's Website

Get in Touch:
I’d love to hear from you! What do you love most about the Catbaret, or what questions do you have about the show? Connect with me on Instagram, email me at tailsandtasselspod@gmail.com, or leave a comment!

Thank you for listening—I’m paws-itively thrilled you're here!

Transcript

Gemma Smith (00:06.382)
Hello Kitty Cats, welcome back to another episode of Tails and Tassels, the podcast that explores the lives of burlesque and nightlife performers, their craft, their cats, and how these two worlds intertwine. I'm Gemma Smith. By day, I work in animal welfare, and by night, I host and produce The Catbaret a cat-themed variety show in New York City. In today's solo mini episode, I'm going to share the story behind The Catbaret. 

Gemma Smith (00:36.512)
its origins, growth, and purpose. Also, I wanted to provide some context for you listeners about the show's connection to the podcast and performers. I'm interviewing so many burlesque and nightlife performers who have been in the cat beret, and so I thought I'd take a little time to share more about the show. In addition, I thought by me sharing the evolution of my show, 

Gemma Smith (01:02.976)
It could inspire others to start their own creative projects, whether a burlesque variety show or something else. And for those who are new to the podcast and haven't been to the Catbaret, the Catbaret is a cat-themed cabaret variety show with comedy, music, sometimes magic, and burlesque, or as we like to call it, purlesque. Currently, the show is held quarterly at Caveat. 

Gemma Smith (01:30.912)
a theater that seats over 100 cat lovers on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, and we also offer live stream tickets for only $10. So cat lovers everywhere can join the fun. So I decided to create the Catbaret in 2018. This was a creative outlet for me after transitioning from acting to full-time work in animal welfare. You know, I got divorced in 2016 and my life really changed. 

Gemma Smith (02:00.534)
I realized that I needed a full-time job versus many different little survival jobs to support myself, but I really miss having a creative outlet. My initial inspiration started when I was attending local comedy shows at QED Astoria. This was a comedy venue in my neighborhood, and I had this light bulb moment. What if I create a cat-themed variety show? 

Gemma Smith (02:28.334)
So I pitched it to QED and my show was accepted. And I pitched it as a monthly show. And initial themes were things like, it's a pussy party, meow-y Christmas and happy Hanukkats, and meow-dy-graw. And the show had truly small beginnings. know, the first few shows maybe there were just 12 to 15 audience members who were mostly my friends. Over time, the show evolved. 

Gemma Smith (02:55.206)
I started building relationships with burlesque and nightlife performers. When I first started, I recruited my friends, right? My actors, singer friends. I tap danced. I played the trumpet. We had some comedy, some singing, some violin. And then I put some castings out for other variety acts and discovered burlesque. 

Gemma Smith (03:18.61)
And this discovery led me on my own personal journey into performing burlesque. I started taking classes at the New York School of Burlesque within a year of producing the cat beret. And over time, there was a growth of audience. You know, at the beginning, I was genuinely happy. So if this helps anyone out there who's starting small, if there were one or two people who came to the show who didn't know me, the first few shows, I was thrilled. 

Gemma Smith (03:46.082)
But over time, the audience grew, the community grew, as well as the production quality. I added show photography and videography and partnerships with local rescues. Now I'm collaborating with cat rescue organizations like Rescue NYC and Koneko Cat Cafe across the street from caveat, as well as now collaborating with bigger brands who donate products to our raffle, like Travel Cat and Cat Lady Box. 

Gemma Smith (04:16.398)
my roster of performers grew and overall the quality of the show grew, I produced less often. I found that producing the show every single month was a lot for me and I started moving towards every other month and then to quarterly. For me not to lead to burnout, that was truly crucial. In 2023, there were some big milestones for me. You know, after, and this is after about five years. 

Gemma Smith (04:44.526)
of producing the show. There was a bit of a halt due to COVID in 2020 and 2021. It took us a bit of time to come back to live shows. But when we were fully back in 2023, I was selling out the shows at QED. We were featured in Time Out New York. The editor of Time Out New York came to the show. It was truly an exciting time. And by this point, my roster of cat-themed and cat-loving 

Gemma Smith (05:12.046)
comedians, burlesque performers, and singers had really grown and magicians too. In 2023, I decided to set a goal for myself to transition the show to Caveat in Manhattan. Our first show was in April of last year and producing at Caveat expanded the audience capacity. We can now host over 100 plus cat lovers in a warm, 

Gemma Smith (05:37.966)
community-centric space. What I really love about Caveat is that there are tables where people can sit together just like at QED. I really like that warm cabaret seating type space where you can talk with one another at the table and interact and really feel like you're part of the show. Some unique elements of the cabaret that I would love to share with you, especially to you listeners if you've never been, we love a theme. 

Gemma Smith (06:07.788)
I've got to repeat that we just love a theme. So from the beginning, I knew that I wanted to mix it up. I love cats. It's a cat themed variety show, but there's got to be ways we can put a fun twist on it. So for example, this year at caveat, our themes are, Galentine's Day Paw-Tee in February, Just Kitten Around for Spring and Kitten Season in April. We'll have Meow-loween this October. 

Gemma Smith (06:35.692)
and Meowy Christmas and Happy Hanukkats for our holiday show this coming December. And from the beginning, I knew that audience participation is really important to me. It still is to this day. I love to infuse trivia and audience contest into the show. We also have a costume contest at every Meowlloween show where our audience members do a little catwalk and the top costume wins a prize. 

Gemma Smith (07:03.19)
I love raffles because this is a way that I can involve cat-centric businesses and organizations. They can donate an item to the raffle or sponsor us and I'll be able to promote their items at the show and also on social media. So it's a win-win for everybody. And of course, from the beginning, I give out free cat ears to everyone who comes to the show. 

Gemma Smith (07:30.114)
and that's something that I plan on continuing doing. It's fun, it's something you could take home with you, a little potty favor, so many cat puns. But from the beginning, I wanted the audience to feel like they were part of something bigger than just going to see a show. They're part of our community. And I feel that way with the podcast as well, with the performers and audience members. And also inclusivity, it's important for me to make the show accessible for fellow performers. 

Gemma Smith (07:58.574)
and people who work in animal welfare. So I provide promo codes for $10 off the regular admission for any fellow performers or animal welfare workers. And if that's you, you can always shoot me an email at tailsandtasselspod at gmail.com or DM me on Instagram for that code. I do that at every show. Also, if you're listening and you don't live in New York City, we have a live stream for just $10 and it's accessible for seven days after the show. 

Gemma Smith (08:28.694)
If you watch it live, there's a fun chat feature so you can feel like you're part of the action with those also watching at home with their kitty cats. Thinking about community involvement, as I've mentioned before, it's really my purpose to create community for cat lovers here in New York City. And that's why I care about your feedback. I would love to know a call to you listeners. 

Gemma Smith (08:56.43)
Do you have any ideas for future themes or collaborations? Like I said, I have my shows planned for 2025, but I'd love to think of future events or meetups or perhaps shows next year that could have themes that are new to me that I haven't done yet that I just haven't thought of, but you might have this great idea. Please email me your suggestions and I'll share them in an upcoming episode. 

Gemma Smith (09:24.32)
And lastly, I just want to give an encouragement to all of you listening to create your own art, your own work. When I started with Catbaret, I didn't have a lot of experience with burlesque or nightlife producing. It was genuinely a creative project that I felt was my outlet, my fun, my play, and it grew into something more. And so I encourage you, it's okay to start small, to dip your toes in the pond. 

Gemma Smith (09:53.228)
You never know where it will lead you. And please stay tuned. Our upcoming episodes will feature inspiring cat-tastic stories from performers at the Catbaret, from actors, storytellers, singers, musicians, and most of all, a lot of burlesque performers. I absolutely love hosting and curating the Catbaret. 

Gemma Smith (10:18.144)
as well as performing burlesque from time to time at the show. It's my pleasure to grow this community, not only of cat-loving cast members, but audience members as well. And that's a wrap for this episode of Tails and Tassels. So if you have any questions, comments, or just want to say meow, feel free to send us an email at talesandtasselspod at gmail.com. Thank you for listening. 

Gemma Smith (11:01.214)
And don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Also, join our community on Instagram at Tails and Tossels Pod for more updates and behind the scenes fun. See you next time, kitty cats.