"My Secret Place" Showcases New Talent
The American Renegade Theater, NoHo
by Frank McDonough
Eleven-year-old identical twin girls playing “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” on fiddle and banjo with the skill of seasoned pros. A self-styled, self-taught Hendrix-influenced guitarist, banging his instrument so as to produce hauntingly beautiful, albeit strange, melodies. The Metaphysical Self-Awareness Foundation Choir. The G-rated “Clean Comic.” These and other excellent, good, and not so good artists are regularly showcased at My Secret Place, a weekly review and open mike held every Tuesday in studio 2 at The American Renegade Theater here in NoHo.
The atmosphere at My Secret Place is supportive, and the audience is encouraged to act kindly toward the artists. It is a New Age Ed Sullivan Show, vaudeville without the hook, the Gong Show without the gong and with M. Scott Peck, John Bradshaw, and Mother Theresa as judges. It can bring out the very best in the talented, and raise the mediocre to new heights. Each session of My Secret Place brings out unique talent, some, until now, unknown to the public.
In their debut performance, the 35-strong Metaphysical Self-Awareness Foundation Choir almost outnumbered the spectators. Despite what their name might suggest, they performed traditional Christmas carols and other tunes with just a hint of jazz.
There was also more standard fare. Like at many coffeehouses, guitar acts abounded at this session of My Secret Place. The Unplugged influence was strongly felt, with solo, duo, and trio acts—some with provocatively clad backup singers—played a range of music from quasi-rock to plainwrap folk.
Some moments were poignant. Toward the middle of the show, a poet shared a powerful and confessional piece about Jewish guilt and race relations that hit the audience like a lead ball. Although many disparate acts make up any one session of My Secret Place, the evenings usually go smoothly. Host Catherine Curry, a vivacious redhead, introduces each performer in a warm and charming manner. It is easy to imagine that one is in her living room, the original location for My Secret Place. In addition to a handful of regularly appearing acts, Curry selects the best performers from the previous week’s open mike, adds some performers she knows personally, and fills the first part of the show with their 10- to 20-minute acts. Then, after a short intermission, open mike begins, in which anyone who pays the $5 admission fee and signs up can perform. Curry hopes to bring My Secret Place to television, and it would be interesting to see whether the magic that happens live between performer and audience could be maintained on the screen, or whether it would stay lodged in that ethereal place between the performers and the hearts of their audience. ♦