‘The thing about my baby, it don’t matter if you’re black or white.’ Michael Jackson sang that to the world in the ‘90s.
But what happens if you’re black and white? ‘Caramel At Best’ is a Brisbane Fringe Festival production by Josh Daveta that looks to answer that question.
What’s the elevator pitch for your show... [Josh] Michael Jackson told us in the early ‘90s that it’s okay to be one colour or the other, but what about the person who is both? Is it okay to be both? Does it possibly mean that there are two people inside the one person? Does that equate to having multiple personalities? Come and witness an exaggerated biopic of the on going battle of a bi-racial human through the catalogue of pop, music theatre and even Disney!
After my show, you’ll walk away thinking... I feel challenged. I feel good. I feel impressed. Thank God I’m not the only person who feels like I’m fighting against myself.
Fringe art means... There are no boundaries. No one else gets to define what is beautiful, trendy or ‘cutting edge’. Fringe art means celebrating the artist. Everyone always brings a tasty meal to the table.
Brisbane’s artistic community is... Diverse and boutique. As someone who is originally a singer/ songwriter and now takes on acting and writing cabaret, I understand the need for a hybrid artist in our city. It means I fit into other slots of our community and take on many other projects that keep me satisfied and excited as a creative artist.
You need to support local, fringe artists because... People seeing the work that is done is imperative to how an artist can grow and also gauge if they are heading in the right direction in what they do.
Any crazy/ weird behind-the-scenes stories during rehearsals? Well, I had two bottles of caramel ice-cream topping poured all over me to create the images for my show’s poster. I also have the most charismatic backing vocals in my team who will always try to ‘out riff me’ in rehearsals. It’s always a loud environment.
I want to achieve great success with my show because I feel proud that I’ve created something autobiographical, but not ‘dear diary’ or ‘these are the songs I grew up with’.
Caramel At Best plays as part of the Brisbane Fringe Festival at the New Globe Theatre August 15 from 6.30pm
