The Talon, Southern Miss Alumni Association Magazine, Spring 2004, pages 29-31
Mama Mia!
Sharon "Mama" Spell '95 has taken the Pittsburgh cultural scene by storm with her cabaret show, rock band and artwork
by Dana McCranie
Like many people, Sharon "Mama" Spell '95 had a fear of public speaking. Unlike many people, she overcame that phobia in a very public way -- by performing in her own cabaret show.
Spell's career in comedy began innocently enough. She went to her first show at her friend Todd Marciani's apartment with the intention of performing comedy, but she was unsure of how she'd bring her humor to life. "Todd was encouraging nonetheless and helped me get on my comedic feet," Spell says.
At a cabaret night in Marciani's vibrant red living room, he handed her his Mr. Microphone and said, "Go." Though spell can't recall her material -- it was most likely "old jokes from a joke book," she says -- she can remember how frightening but rewarding it was. "The experience emboldened me to try it again and this time, use some of my own jokes," she says.
The Pittsburgh resident enjoyed making people laugh so much that when a local coffee shop owner expressed interest in having her performing at his establishment, she couldn't turn down the opportunity. So, at The Sip Cafe, where she once served lattes and cappuccinos, Spell took the stage once again in search of laughter.
The night before her debut, she prepared outlines and program guides for her show, and on the day of the show, she says she was "so-out-of-my-mind-nervous." The performance didn't go the way Spell, a perfectionist, had planned and she says she was "devastated" afterward.
She spent the next day on her couch crying and watching television. She had always been funny in small groups, but the stage was unfamiliar, scary territory. "I remember thinking, 'Five years from now I'll be laughing at this,'" she says.
Spell says the emotional but inspired reaction to the show was due to its importance. "This was the beginning of my developing my voice on stage [and elsewhere], and this was scary stuff," she says. "Boy, was I organized back then. Now I scribble set lists for myself just minutes before the show, bless my heart."
The Sip Cafe soon became Spell's favorite venue, and it was where she says she felt the most "audience love." While Spell's beloved cafe is no longer around, she finds much support in The Quiet Storm, a current favorite establishment. "That, and Carnegie Hall," she quips.
During the cabaret's beginning, Spell had trouble getting people to attend the shows, but these days, she relies on a list of fans' email addresses to publicize her next appearance. She also keeps in contact with her audience through her Web site, mamarama.net.
Spell's venues vary in size and location. She's taken her humor to New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland and, of course, her home state of Mississippi. Spell performs for small and large audiences -- her Pittsburgh audiences usually range in number from 12 to 120 -- but she confesses she prefers to see the audience's faces. "I'm happy if one person shows up, so long as she pays. I will get my six dollars," she says.
To simply call "The Mama Spell Comedy Cabaret" stand up isn't doing it justice; the show is more like very funny performance art. Spell says some people come to the show and at first look puzzled, as if they don't know what to think. But as she begins to sing her satirical songs, the audience starts to realize what is going on. "Oh, she's being silly," Spell says in a childlike voice.
Todd Marciani describes Spell and her cabaret as "uniquely satisfying." "She has that very special ability to inhabit a cliché -- be it a pop song, a hackneyed yarn, or an overused sitcom plot -- and give it new dimensions, both hilarious and poignant," he says. "Her range of cultural references and influences is wide, if not encyclopedic, but rather than use them to overwhelm or intimidate, she handles them with a deft, Southern warmth. Her shows and her character always inspire me, suggesting interesting ways to be good and kind and creative in a world where those qualities aren't always so easy to maintain."
Spell presents her humor through semi-autobiographical stories and catchy songs. Her Southern velvet voice tells anecdotes about the oddities of daily life while her fingers accompany on the keyboard, producing the unique and hilarious mixture that is The Mama Spell Comedy Cabaret. Since its beginning in 1997, the show has evolved in many ways. "It's become more and more autobiographical with some shading here and there," Spell says. For example, the cabaret diva pays tribute to Hattiesburg by singing of its hospitality and charm through silly and strangely informational lyrics. "As a robot from Mars living on Earth, the show pretty much writes itself."
A Talented Artist
Listening to The Mama Spell Comedy Cabaret, which overflows with song, wit and laughter, it's hard to imagine that she could be equally talented in another area. But Spell's original passion was for drawing and painting. She graduated cum laude in 1995 from Southern Miss with a bachelor's of fine arts degree, specializing in those two areas.
In painting, Spell learned how to make mistakes work for her. If she makes a weird mark on the canvas or a paint smear, she knows how to transform the mixtures of color into a work of art.
To see Spell's artwork up close, Hattiesburg residents needn't go far. Her senior honors thesis project was a mural on the Southern Miss campus; she completed her requirements for the university's Honors College by painting the southern exterior walls of the Center for International Education. In fact, it was Spell's involvement in the mural project that helped her find similar work in Pittsburgh.
A few months after she moved to Pittsburgh, she was hired to assist Robert Qualters on his Homestead Mural Project. The mural project consists of 42 boards that hang from the street lamps along East Eighth Avenue in Homestead, PA, and depict 21 images of the city's industrial heritage.
Like the cabaret show, Spell's career as an artist has also been successful. Her work has been displayed at galleries in Pittsburgh and are in private collections around the country. "My most important accomplishment is that I am still creating art...I exhibited a collaborative visual arts show last year and that fact gives me joy."
Spell will exhibit a new series of smaller works on paper for a Pantheon group show in Vicksburg in May. "The pieces don't have to be huge -- or even good -- for them to be important, the important thing is to keep learning and keep working," she says.
Born to Boogie
Comedy and art weren't the only places she found a niche. Spell plays keyboard and sings lead vocals for The Mofones, who describe their music as "loud, theatrical, schticky pop." Spell uses the skills she developed during her 10 years of piano lessons, "and I can scream and holler," she says. "We have a lot of fun rockin' out."
These days, Spell is keeping busy with all of her creative outlets. In December alone, she performed nine cabaret shows. Managing her demanding schedule lately has become a bit of a challenge. She said she takes lots of naps and then laughingly adds, "especially behind the wheel."
The Mama Spell Comedy Cabaret and its star have been described as "uniquely satisfying."
In addition to a hectic schedule, Spell also successfully balances the demands of different roles. "If anyone asks me if I'm a comedian or a performer, I tell them that I am an artist. It's an all encompassing term, and it is the most important part for me," she explains.
With so much opportunity in front of her, Spell is trying to figure out her next move. After taking her cabaret to New York, Spell says she'll decide on her next goal. For now, however, she knows she wants to take her cabaret on the road this spring. "In the arts, you can take a break, but you're never done," she says. "There is always one more painting to paint or one more person to make laugh."
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Mama Mia!
Sharon "Mama" Spell '95 has taken the Pittsburgh cultural scene by storm with her cabaret show, rock band and artwork
by Dana McCranie
Like many people, Sharon "Mama" Spell '95 had a fear of public speaking. Unlike many people, she overcame that phobia in a very public way -- by performing in her own cabaret show.
Spell's career in comedy began innocently enough. She went to her first show at her friend Todd Marciani's apartment with the intention of performing comedy, but she was unsure of how she'd bring her humor to life. "Todd was encouraging nonetheless and helped me get on my comedic feet," Spell says.
At a cabaret night in Marciani's vibrant red living room, he handed her his Mr. Microphone and said, "Go." Though spell can't recall her material -- it was most likely "old jokes from a joke book," she says -- she can remember how frightening but rewarding it was. "The experience emboldened me to try it again and this time, use some of my own jokes," she says.
The Pittsburgh resident enjoyed making people laugh so much that when a local coffee shop owner expressed interest in having her performing at his establishment, she couldn't turn down the opportunity. So, at The Sip Cafe, where she once served lattes and cappuccinos, Spell took the stage once again in search of laughter.
The night before her debut, she prepared outlines and program guides for her show, and on the day of the show, she says she was "so-out-of-my-mind-nervous." The performance didn't go the way Spell, a perfectionist, had planned and she says she was "devastated" afterward.
She spent the next day on her couch crying and watching television. She had always been funny in small groups, but the stage was unfamiliar, scary territory. "I remember thinking, 'Five years from now I'll be laughing at this,'" she says.
Spell says the emotional but inspired reaction to the show was due to its importance. "This was the beginning of my developing my voice on stage [and elsewhere], and this was scary stuff," she says. "Boy, was I organized back then. Now I scribble set lists for myself just minutes before the show, bless my heart."
The Sip Cafe soon became Spell's favorite venue, and it was where she says she felt the most "audience love." While Spell's beloved cafe is no longer around, she finds much support in The Quiet Storm, a current favorite establishment. "That, and Carnegie Hall," she quips.
During the cabaret's beginning, Spell had trouble getting people to attend the shows, but these days, she relies on a list of fans' email addresses to publicize her next appearance. She also keeps in contact with her audience through her Web site, mamarama.net.
Spell's venues vary in size and location. She's taken her humor to New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland and, of course, her home state of Mississippi. Spell performs for small and large audiences -- her Pittsburgh audiences usually range in number from 12 to 120 -- but she confesses she prefers to see the audience's faces. "I'm happy if one person shows up, so long as she pays. I will get my six dollars," she says.
To simply call "The Mama Spell Comedy Cabaret" stand up isn't doing it justice; the show is more like very funny performance art. Spell says some people come to the show and at first look puzzled, as if they don't know what to think. But as she begins to sing her satirical songs, the audience starts to realize what is going on. "Oh, she's being silly," Spell says in a childlike voice.
Todd Marciani describes Spell and her cabaret as "uniquely satisfying." "She has that very special ability to inhabit a cliché -- be it a pop song, a hackneyed yarn, or an overused sitcom plot -- and give it new dimensions, both hilarious and poignant," he says. "Her range of cultural references and influences is wide, if not encyclopedic, but rather than use them to overwhelm or intimidate, she handles them with a deft, Southern warmth. Her shows and her character always inspire me, suggesting interesting ways to be good and kind and creative in a world where those qualities aren't always so easy to maintain."
Spell presents her humor through semi-autobiographical stories and catchy songs. Her Southern velvet voice tells anecdotes about the oddities of daily life while her fingers accompany on the keyboard, producing the unique and hilarious mixture that is The Mama Spell Comedy Cabaret. Since its beginning in 1997, the show has evolved in many ways. "It's become more and more autobiographical with some shading here and there," Spell says. For example, the cabaret diva pays tribute to Hattiesburg by singing of its hospitality and charm through silly and strangely informational lyrics. "As a robot from Mars living on Earth, the show pretty much writes itself."
A Talented Artist
Listening to The Mama Spell Comedy Cabaret, which overflows with song, wit and laughter, it's hard to imagine that she could be equally talented in another area. But Spell's original passion was for drawing and painting. She graduated cum laude in 1995 from Southern Miss with a bachelor's of fine arts degree, specializing in those two areas.
In painting, Spell learned how to make mistakes work for her. If she makes a weird mark on the canvas or a paint smear, she knows how to transform the mixtures of color into a work of art.
To see Spell's artwork up close, Hattiesburg residents needn't go far. Her senior honors thesis project was a mural on the Southern Miss campus; she completed her requirements for the university's Honors College by painting the southern exterior walls of the Center for International Education. In fact, it was Spell's involvement in the mural project that helped her find similar work in Pittsburgh.
A few months after she moved to Pittsburgh, she was hired to assist Robert Qualters on his Homestead Mural Project. The mural project consists of 42 boards that hang from the street lamps along East Eighth Avenue in Homestead, PA, and depict 21 images of the city's industrial heritage.
Like the cabaret show, Spell's career as an artist has also been successful. Her work has been displayed at galleries in Pittsburgh and are in private collections around the country. "My most important accomplishment is that I am still creating art...I exhibited a collaborative visual arts show last year and that fact gives me joy."
Spell will exhibit a new series of smaller works on paper for a Pantheon group show in Vicksburg in May. "The pieces don't have to be huge -- or even good -- for them to be important, the important thing is to keep learning and keep working," she says.
Born to Boogie
Comedy and art weren't the only places she found a niche. Spell plays keyboard and sings lead vocals for The Mofones, who describe their music as "loud, theatrical, schticky pop." Spell uses the skills she developed during her 10 years of piano lessons, "and I can scream and holler," she says. "We have a lot of fun rockin' out."
These days, Spell is keeping busy with all of her creative outlets. In December alone, she performed nine cabaret shows. Managing her demanding schedule lately has become a bit of a challenge. She said she takes lots of naps and then laughingly adds, "especially behind the wheel."
The Mama Spell Comedy Cabaret and its star have been described as "uniquely satisfying."
In addition to a hectic schedule, Spell also successfully balances the demands of different roles. "If anyone asks me if I'm a comedian or a performer, I tell them that I am an artist. It's an all encompassing term, and it is the most important part for me," she explains.
With so much opportunity in front of her, Spell is trying to figure out her next move. After taking her cabaret to New York, Spell says she'll decide on her next goal. For now, however, she knows she wants to take her cabaret on the road this spring. "In the arts, you can take a break, but you're never done," she says. "There is always one more painting to paint or one more person to make laugh."
back to news
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