Meg Beckel is leaving her day job in favour of the spotlight as she takes the NAC’s Fourth Stage on Feb. 11, but don’t expect her to reveal the secret talent she will perform.
“Not a chance, man!” she laughs. “I can just tell you I’m not juggling and I’m not dancing.”
The Museum of Nature CEO is one of several prominent Ottawa personalities who have signed up to perform in support of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival as part of the company’s Don’t Quit Your Day Job fundraiser.
“I thought, ‘Hey, why not?’ ” says Beckel. “(At) The Museum of Nature we like to break out of the mould and have fun.”
The third annual cabaret variety show will feature the hidden talents of Ottawa restaurateurs, CEOs and journalists alike.
Beckel says she initially agreed to participate in the show without having a clue as to what she will perform, but assures she has since decided on an act which she claims can hardly be considered a talent.
“Doing something that is not speaking about the museum or discussing financial statements is totally out of my comfort zone,” she says.
Magnetic North’s artistic director Brenda Leadlay says she was surprised by Beckel’s immediate willingness to take centre stage – but it’s the surprising talents of Ottawa personalities such as Beckel that make this event so successful.
“The people of Ottawa are pretty fantastic, there’s a lot of warmth and lot of accessibility,” she says. “(They) are hugely supportive of the arts and of worthy causes, I’m really impressed.”
Leadlay says past performers have brought surprising amounts of comedy and emotions to the stage. She says the audience will see everything from the hilarious – such as former Kitchissippi councillor Katherine Hobbs’ lip-synching parody of Beyoncé’s now infamous rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner, to the heartfelt, including CBC news anchor Lucy van Oldenbarneveld’s soliloquy about growing up in Hamilton.
Proceeds from the event are added to the festival’s programming budget: production costs, advertisements and other planning.
Magnetic North celebrates the Canadian theatre scene by putting on shows across the country during the summer. The festival highlights theatre companies across Canada while providing actors with national and international exposure.
Leadlay says fundraisers such as the Great Canadian Theatre Company’s annual production featuring a cast of lawyers inspired Don’t Quit Your Day Job.
“We thought it would be great to create a show where we . . . would engage the public and put the public on the stage,” says Leadlay.
The cabaret is different than other occasionally dry fundraisers because it’s such a fun night, she says.
“It puts amateurs on the stage, taking a risk in the way that performing artists take risks all the time to give them a strong sense of what goes into being a performer,” says Leadlay. “It turns the tables.”
She says one of the evening’s highlights comes from the banter between the host, judges and performers.
Eric Coates, artistic director of the Great Canadian Theatre Company, will be returning as head judge for the third time.
“I find the thing that I appreciate the most about the performance and I really try to celebrate that as much as possible,” says Coates. “If I can find some common ground that I have with that person that I can make a sport of, then I will do it.”
Philanthropist and former theatre critic for the Ottawa Citizen Barbara Crook, who Leadlay says surprised audiences with her powerful renditions of Broadway show-tunes at a past fundraiser, and journalist Patrick Langston will round out the judges’ table. Actor Pierre Brault will also return as the master of ceremony.
However much the judges may enjoy poking fun at the performers – and each other – Coates says he appreciates the courage and good nature of Beckel and the other volunteers.
“It’s a very vulnerable position for a non-performer to be in,” says Coates. “It demonstrates just how much people care about Magnetic North by allowing themselves to be in such a terrifying situation.”
Tickets for the night are on sale for $75. For more information about the Magnetic North Theatre Festival and Don’t Quit Your Day Job visit magneticnorthfestival.ca