“So Big, So Small,” a cabaret event where first-year, fourth-year and fifth-year members of NU Stage came together to support one another and perform short, creative acts, was a resounding success in AfterHours Sept. 22.
As NUStage members started their acts, many audience members used their phones to take videos. There was an air of anticipation in the room as the lights glared down on attendees and performers. Cabaret hosts and NU Stage Co-Directors of Outreach and Publicity Elaina Murdock, a third-year English and graphic and information design combined major, and Rachel Ochoa, a fourth-year health science major, organized the event to bring students — both performers and non-performers — together.
Ochoa said she had been singing for most of her life, starting in church and school choirs before pursuing musical theater in middle school and beyond.
“NU Stage was a great way for me to get involved at Northeastern,” Ochoa said. “I performed two songs, one of them was a duet with one of the freshmen for the cabaret portion.”
The cabarets are a recurring event — NU Stage does two or three per semester. However, it was the first with a focus on first-years and soon-to-be graduates.
The event was an opportunity for first-year students to immerse themselves in performing on stage while making connections with current, older NU Stage members.
“It’s to highlight the new members so that they have a chance to perform, outside of the auditions that happen at the beginning of each semester,” Murdock said. “We also wanted a chance to highlight our seniors, who will be graduating soon.”
The audience wholeheartedly supported the performers — especially those they knew personally. Rocio Ostuni Lima, a first-year international affairs major, had been looking forward to the event and was eager to watch her friend and roommate perform, she said.
“We all came to see Sofia perform. I like to support her music,” Lima said. “I think it’s fun that I have a personal connection with the performer, it makes me proud of what she is doing.”
The audience was entertained, cheering the performers during their acts as the music filled up the room. One such performer was Sofia Núñez, Lima’s friend and a first-year student in the Explore Program, who stepped on stage during the show.
“‘I’m singing ‘Naughty’ from ‘Matilda: The Musical,’” Núñez said. “In high school, we did [the show] and I was the understudy, so it’s great that I have the opportunity to perform tonight.”
Núñez also performed a duet with Eve Gujral, a second-year health science major.
“I like to sing, and I don’t get the chance to because of my major,” Gujral said. “I’ve been singing for six years. We are singing ‘Some Things Are Meant To Be’ from ‘Little Women.’”
After the cabaret, there was an open mic portion in which anyone could perform. Several people performed various acts, ranging from poetry readings to stand-up comedy.
“The open mic portion gives them the opportunity to sing or perform anything that they would want to. And that’s especially important for this cabaret, since we only involve the freshmen and seniors at first, so that gives an opportunity for the rest of the club to sing afterward,” Ochoa said.
The occasion was very joyous and brought students together.
“I loved tonight’s performance, everyone did such a great job,” Lima said.
