Catbaret Show Highlights and Behind-the-Scenes

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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In this solo episode, I’m sharing an inside look at the most recent Catbaret!, my NYC-based cat-themed variety show! From behind-the-scenes moments to my personal reflections on the last show, you’ll get an unfiltered look at what it takes to bring this production to life. Plus, I’ll share my opening monologue from the show!

Watch the opening monologue on Youtube! Watch here

Resources & Links:
🎭  Capezio Fishnet Tights – My Go-To for Performing! Buy here
😺  Shop Catbaret Merch – Tees, Totes & More!
🎙️  Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Stay Connected:
🐾 Follow Tails and Tassels on Instagram: @tailsandtasselspod
🎭 Check out Catbaret: @catbaretshow
🌐 Visit Catbaret's website: catbaretshow.com

Got a story to share about your cat? I’d love to hear from you! Message me on Instagram or email tailsandtasselspod@gmail.com.

Thanks for listening—I'm paws-itively thrilled you're here! 🐾✨

Transcript

Gemma Smith (00:00.396)
to get a sense of you all, so can you make some noise if you just love cats?

Gemma Smith (00:15.918)
Hello Kitty Cats and welcome back to Tails and Tassels, the show where you pounce into the lives of burlesque and nightlife performers, their craft, their cats, and how the two worlds intertwine. I'm your host Gemma Smith by day, I work in animal welfare, and by night I host The Cat Beret, a cat-themed variety show in New York City. Today's episode is a recap of the Galentine's Day Catbaret Show.

I'll be sharing some behind the scenes moments and I'll even be playing some audio from my opening monologue of the show. And a quick personal note, I want to be honest with you all that I tend to overthink these solo episodes. I repeat myself, I go back and edit, I just overthink and overthink when I'm recording them. But I feel way more natural on stage. When I'm on stage at the Catbaret,

It's in real time, right? So I can't stop myself, rerecord, edit anything out. It's live. And I really feel natural and confident on stage. I am present. I'm way more present hosting the Catbaret. Same goes for interviewing folks on this podcast. I love chatting with people. And I'm listening to their stories, asking questions, learning about them, being curious.

And because there's a real person that I'm talking to, it feels a lot more natural than me in my walk-in closet, AKA voiceover booth in my Brooklyn apartment by myself. And so today I'm gonna try to lean into just being more natural, not going back and repeating this intro again and then choosing the best one and overthinking it because that is costing me honestly a lot of time.

and bandwidth and I want to, like my word of the year, if you listen to the new year episode, play and I've been taking things pretty seriously. So this is a form of me playing today. So hopefully maybe you'll notice a shift in my energy. That's my intention. So I just wanted to share that with all of you today. All right, let's dive in. Show recap and some highlights. So.

Gemma Smith (02:28.652)
I always get very anxious leading up to the show. I have anticipatory anxiety. Are tickets gonna sell? Are people gonna come? And yes, tickets sell. People come. It was a big crowd, a big community of cat lovers in the audience. Some folks that had been to shows before, a lot of new people. Someone was there wearing a sash. I think it said death to her 20s. She was turning 30.

There were tons of people there. The theater felt pretty packed. And of course, everyone was wearing their cat ears. And what I'm very excited about is all of the performers were totally new to the cat parade. You know, I have a lot of artists that I've connected with. You've heard them on the podcast that have been on the show once, twice, maybe more. And I love working with them again, but I also find it really important.

for myself, for the audience to diversify my lineup, to connect with new performers, different performers, different types of acts to keep the show fresh. And so this show definitely had variety show vibes, right? It was Galentine's, we're celebrating felines and friendship. There were a lot of gal pals there, but I also want it to be inclusive to all cat lovers. And so I really focused on...

know, our besties, how our cats are our besties, how we have human besties too, and the whole vibe of the night felt really in that vein. And speaking back to the new cast of performers, there were two burlesque performers that I actually know and I've worked with in other capacities, but they've never performed in cat beret and they were both fantastic, Desiree De sade and Amber Lyoness.

I had one stand-up comedian who hosts Cat's Meow Comedy, so I have to have her on the show at some point. Her name is Meg Chizek. She's a stand-up comedian. I'm gonna be in her show on March 8th on the Upper West Side, Cat's Meow Comedy. It's not about cats, but it's got cat-friendly vibes. So she did a stand-up set. She was hilarious. We also had Diva Lamar.

Gemma Smith (04:42.87)
a singer who I was in the cast of Tabby Twitch's, gotta go back and listen to Tabby Twitch's episode of the podcast. She has a burlesque show called Prime and also has usually a singer. Also Kat Berre show Instagram, I've been posting clips and pics. So if you want to see any of the performers, if you missed the show, I'll be posting. Her song was hilarious and audience participation. So that was really fun. The audience got into it.

And I even performed burlesque. I have a rockabilly act to this song, I love you inside out. And the way this actually originally was is I flipped different pieces of clothing inside out and there's hearts hidden. But I wanted to make it for my cats or for Lionel. He's like my first born, you know? So I did a burlesque tribute to him where I printed out photos of his little orange

face and when I would be like I love you inside out I'd flip the bottom of my dress up and then there'd be his face or on the back of my belt after I took my belt off there'd be his face. That was a lot of fun I don't always perform burlask at the show because I'm so focused on producing. I'll get into that a little more later actually. And then I just want to shout out the two awesome stage kittens. If you've listened to Lady Mabuhay's episode she talks about great tips for stage kittens.

Jenny Pearson, the founding executive director of the Cat Museum of New York City. She was one of my stage kittens. And Lorna Doomed, my dear friend who I've known for years. She actually went to college with me and we produced a Glitter Sisters variety show in the past. And so they sold raffle tickets before the show at intermission. They picked up the clothes from the performers.

They helped with the raffle reveal and they just really made sure that the show was running smoothly. And then lastly, I have to give a shout out to our merch kitty, my husband, Alan, Alan Rubenstein. He wears a cat beret t-shirt. He stands behind the table with my pink leopard tablecloth and little cat beret banner and we sold stickers, we sold totes. I started the show.

Gemma Smith (06:57.454)
2018, maybe 10 people came, merch was not an idea in my future. So that was really cool. Okay, so now some funny or unexpected behind the scenes moments. So I am not someone who likes complicated like costume changes. I like to keep things kind of simple just for my own stress and anxiety levels. But in this show, I decided it would be best for me to do my act after intermission.

I just wanted to start the show in my hosting gown and then at intermission I could have time to change. Because I like to be as prepared as possible just the way I am, I had pre-taped my pasties really well before the show. And so my idea was at intermission I could just change quickly, wouldn't have to worry about that, and change into my burlesque costume for the top of the second act.

But when it was time for intermission, the basties were sweating off and were falling off. And that is a little bit of a fear I have. Like, have you ever had a dream where you're performing or you're taking a test and you didn't study or you're in a play and you didn't learn the lines? gosh, I have that dream all the time. And you're about to go on stage and you, for some reason, didn't learn the lines. And so you're learning them backstage.

This is me really rambling. This is me not, by the way, not overly thinking and prescripting what I'm gonna say. So the scary for me listeners. So you might need to reassure me with a comment or a DM that this works. But yeah, those are dreams that I have. And I also have the dream that I'm performing a burlesque act and I forgot to put pasties on for some reason. I mean, I've seen performers, this has happened. A pasty comes off.

You can deal with it creatively. mean, the worst thing is it's a nipple. We all have nipples, right? But I'd rather have the pasties, they're heart-shaped pasties. I wanted them to have the full effect of the love, love theme. I also thought about doing little lion-o faces as pasties, right? That would be great. I just didn't have the bandwidth to do that. And I did pack extra pasty tape.

Gemma Smith (09:06.508)
because that's what you do, especially to other performers in the dressing room needed. I always like having something like being able to help people. But I left it in my makeup bag, which was actually near the merch table in the audience and I was already halfway naked. So thank goodness Desiree Dessard was there in the dressing room and gave me extra pasty tape. And I got dressed and it was a rush. didn't have like, I wear these like thigh high fishnets. They're actually Capizio fishnets that you just

the top off because they're better, like thigh-high tights don't stay up on me. So these were ones, you know, I cut, these are professional dance tights. I didn't have them quite pulled up all the way where I like. And I also had a little anxiety because my dress the night before, I noticed that the zipper was a little wonky and so I was kind of nervous. I was having a hard time getting it up and I was scared I wouldn't get it down during the show. But, you know, classic.

Pre-show chaos, intermission chaos, and everything worked. The pasty stayed on, the dress came off, and it was a lot of fun. So yes, that's a little funny behind the scenes moment that I thought I would share. Okay, and last thing I'd love to say about the performers is that it's so fun getting to be in a show with other people and getting to know them.

a little better kind of bond in a sense. We're all in this show together. We're sharing this experience. I care a lot about creating hopefully a warm, safe, inclusive kind of space for the performers. I want them to feel valued. And I got some really nice feedback from several of the cast members, which is rewarding for me. It's why I do this, why I care so much. And I also...

like meeting new people and making new friends. So I'm a cornball. I'm real cheesy, but that was really cool for me. Okay, instead of just telling you more about the night, I want you to hear it. Here's my opening monologue from the show. The audio didn't pick up until a few sentences in, so I'll go ahead and start it, and I hope you enjoy.

Gemma Smith (11:35.33)
Galentine's Day show here at caveat and our opportunity to grow our opportunity to grow our community of cat lovers yeah speaking speaking of caveat let's make some noise it's such a great space give it up for caveat yeah while you're here make sure to order plenty of drinks and snacks there's even a pop

seasoning bar back there and make sure to show plenty of love to your server and bartender. And by love I mean tips. Yeah. my goodness I'm looking around. We have such an a meowsing audience. Yes I love when we sell enough tickets that there's also people over here. Because sometimes there's not people over here and I'm like I'd like to get a sense of you all so can you make some noise if you just love cats?

Gemma Smith (12:38.604)
Yes! Make some noise also if you're here with your friends.

Gemma Smith (12:46.504)
Yes, you're in the purr-fect place tonight. And there's cat ears on all of your tables just for you. and I heard it might be someone's birthday today. Maybe their 30th? my gosh, happy birthday, Taylor!

Happy birthday!

We want to acknowledge our livestream viewers. They're hopefully watching at home, cuddling with their cats, and I just want to say we love you too. Now, I see some familiar faces in the crowd. So can I get a big meow if you've been to a cat beret show before? Yes! I like that energy. Can I get another meow if you've been to two shows?

Can I get it? We'll just keep it coming, but I don't know if this one's gonna meow next. If you were at our Meow-Loween show in October. Nice, nice. Well, thank you for coming back. All right, I also see tons of new faces in the audience. So can I get a big, bold, perhaps a somewhat sexy meow? If this is your very first time at the Cat Beret.

I love it. Nice. Well, welcome. If you couldn't tell by the cat ears and the meowing, Catbaret is a cat themed variety show with comedy, music.

Gemma Smith (14:27.886)
or as we like to call it, pur-lusk. Yeah. And we love to mix it up. Like I said, we celebrated Meow-Laween in October. In April, April 24th to be exact, we'll celebrate spring and kitten season with just kitten around. And save the date. I'm bringing it back. December 10th, meow-y Christmas and happy Hanukkah. Yep.

But tonight is all about your besties, human and feline. Yeah. Yeah. And before we dig our claws into tonight's lineup, let me introduce myself a little bit more. By day, I'm a manager at a kitten nursery here in New York City. Yeah. Can I get a meow for anyone else who works at the ASPCA? Yeah.

You're gonna see me take my clothes off tonight. Nice, okay. And I'll be doing burlesque tribute to my cat, Lionel, later in the show. And also, so I have two cats. A big orange tabby who's 11 years old named Lionel. I love him, my son gave birth to him, you know how it is, right? He's survived two urinary blockages.

Has anyone had a male cat who's been blocked? Yeah, it's the most stressful thing, right? I love to joke, I overuse this joke, but he went on Prozac the same time I went on Viewsperon and we're both doing great. I've weaned off actually, but he's still on Prozac and peeing like a champ. yeah. Yes, he's on my table cards along with my little black cat named Luna.

She's asthmatic, so my husband and I give her the inhaler every day. We try every day to help her breathing easy. And so I love them so much. They're truly my best friends, you know? As many of you know as well, are your cats your best friends? Yeah, yeah. All right, well, about tonight's lineup, because we've got a great show for you tonight. It's a perfectly delightful variety show. We've got stand-up comedy, live singing, improv comedy.

Gemma Smith (16:48.532)
We've got a live podcast recording from 6 Degrees of Cats podcast, digging into felines and friendship. And then we've also got three perlusgax. Yeah, give it up. Yeah. And you may have noticed little pink cut out hearts that are all different sizes on your tables. If you didn't get them, you'll get some at intermission.

They're for an audience contest later in the show where you're gonna pay tribute to your bestie, feline or human. And I'm gonna read my favorites at the end of the show and the winner will get a prize. So more on that later. Don't worry about it now. There's also two raffle bags up for grabs in the show if you didn't get a ticket.

Before we started, you'll have another chance at intermission. There's cat lady boxes inside, totes from Rescue NYC, show tickets, all sorts of cool things. All right, and then lastly, if you are still looking for your BFF, well, we've got you covered. In our intermission slideshow, we'll be featuring adoptable cats from Rescue NYC. Please take a look. If you can give them a home, take a picture, send it to your friend. We really want to find them.

loving homes. Okay, yeah, okay. So I think that's everything I wanna go over with you now. But I do wanna set you up for success. We're about to start the show. It's so funny, I feel like I can't go off the carpet, but I can. I'm still in the light. Okay, I wanna set you up for success. So can I get a big meow if you've been to a burlesque show before? good. Okay, you know what to expect.

Can I get a big meow if this, and please don't be shy, we love you, if this is your very first time at a burlesque show? Yes! You know, even if we need someone to meow, right? Because we're gonna go over the three rules of burlesque and also the three rules of just being a great audience member at the Cat Beret. And in order for me to do this properly, I'm gonna call on stage one of my non-feline besties.

Gemma Smith (19:02.643)
Lorna Doomed. So let's make some noise for Lorna Doomed.

Gemma Smith (19:10.402)
Do you like our outfit?

Gemma Smith (19:15.63)
All right. So Lorna will act out and help me with these rules. Rule number one, if you see something you like, make some noise. Okay? You can hoot, holler, cheer.

Gemma Smith (19:33.942)
You can let out a big meow. The only place cat calls, I'm okay with. So what would you do if Lorna were to do a little of this? Nice. Love it. Perfect. Okay. Rule number two, the performers are here for your visual enjoyment. Okay. You can feast them with your eyes and if they want you to touch them, they will let you know. Okay.

So let's see.

Nice. Otherwise, it's all about consent here, okay? So do not touch the performers without their consent. The purr-formers. Okay. And then rule number three. At any time you feel so moved during the show, you can feel free to drop a one, five, 10, 20, 50, $100 bill in our rhinestone true bucket.

If you've been here before, you know I cut the top out with an X-Acto knife all on my own. It might be a little jagged. Just be careful when you're putting the money in. If you don't have cash, there are QR codes on the table cards on your tables. You're welcome to tip us that way and all of the performers will be receiving the tips equally split. All right, make some noise for Lorda Doomed.

Gemma Smith (21:03.318)
You're gonna see her a little bit later in the show and she'll also be selling you raffle tickets and intermission. Okay, are you all ready to get this show started with a little per-lusk?

Gemma Smith (21:19.788)
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. And don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Also join our community on Instagram at Tails and Tassels Pod for more updates and behind the scenes fun. See you next time, kitty cats.