A cut above the rest

Article and all photos

by MARGIE O'LOUGHLIN

The Meat Raffle held at Patrick’s Cabaret last month wasn’t your typical fundraiser. But then, nothing about Patrick’s Cabaret is typical, so why should their fundraiser be?

Scott Artley, curator of performing arts at Patrick’s since January, really wanted to do something different this year. “What about making the fundraiser a performance? Why not commission artists to create interactions based on good old-fashioned Minnesota games?” he wondered.

It was performance art with prizes. In the center of the Cabaret, tables were surrounded by contestants playing “Meat Bingo.” A dance party cakewalk was gyrating in the corner. A gymnastic form of Twister was being played without a mat, the contestants covered with large colored dots. There was carnival darts, bean bag toss, fishing out of a hat and, last but not least, crop art making. The result was child’s play for grownups, and it worked.

Patrick’s Cabaret is a grassroots, community, arts-producing organization that has been supporting artists in their growth and development for decades. They encouraging performers of all experience levels to try new things, take risks, and present works in progress. The Cabaret is a home and a point of intersection for emerging and established artists working on the edge of culture, whether because of radical content, experimental form or cultural marginalization.

Because all of the games were interactive, energy was created by the artists and the ticket holders playing together. This is a lot like what happens during a regular performance at the Cabaret. The performance space, located in an old fire station at 3010 Minnehaha Ave. S., is intimate. There is a synergy that has developed over time between the artists and the people who support them. 100% of the proceeds from the box office every night go right back to the artists. The Cabaret receives funding from a variety of sources both public and private and the hat that gets passed at intermission is another dependable source of generosity and good will. Sara Jo Lehrer, communications coordinator, said, “Ours is a very unusual business model.”

To round out the fundraiser, people were able to bid on “dates” with the artists of Patrick’s Cabaret. Scott Artley served as auctioneer, auctioning off an evening with several artists while the bids flooded in—some even arriving by cell phone. What were these mystery dates? Storyteller Heidi Arneson’s Scary Backyard Campfire included a toasty blaze, all the s’mores you can eat, and a super scary ghost story. Or, rock the night away with Chris “Bacon” Tarboy (the undisputed local Karaoke King) at the Vegas Lounge in the wilds of NE Minneapolis. Each winning bidder received a meat product as congratulations: SPAM was in the house, as well as Canadian bacon, pork chops and pepperoni. There was something for every carnivore...

Check out the many opportunities at the Cabaret this fall: their web address is www.patrickscabaret.org. There are several cabarets offered each month, as well as music events, West African and modern dance, evolutionary yoga and more. The space is also available for rental at very reasonable prices. As Artley said, “We have established a community around the art that happens here in Minneapolis - be on the lookout for us!”