KARIN MUIZNIEKS winner of ‘Under Our Wing’ Award
The Butterfly Club is thrilled to announce that the winner of its 2007 “Under Our Wing Award” is …
KARIN MUIZNIEKS
AWARD BACKGROUND
The Under Our Wing Award is presented annually by Melbourne’s home of cabaret to recognise emerging talent. Out of more than 100 new works presented at The Butterfly Club each year, only one cabaret performer annually is selected for this award.
The 2003 recipient of this award was Tim Minchin, who has since gone on to win the coveted Perrier Best Newcomer Award at the world’s largest festival, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and is now regularly selling out in large venues across Australia, the UK and shortly the USA. The Butterfly Club was the first producer to recognise and tour Tim’s extraordinary talents and nurtured him for two years as a regular performer including his first show in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival before his rise to international acclaim.
Other previous winners:
2004 Daniel Maloney (winner of a Cabaret Green Room Award in 2007)
2005 Reuben Krum (currently performing in the Naughty Show at The Butterfly Club)
2006 Sammy J (won the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s Best Newcomer Award the same year)
After escaping the Ballarat Arts Academy in 2005 with a bucketful of Music Theatre degrees, Karin crash-landed on Melbourne’s comedy circuit and now performs stand-up, cabaret and improvised comedy and piano. Her work has featured on TV (Planet Nerd, TheatreGames LIVE, The Breakfast Show) and stage including Triple Trouble and Can’t Afford a Real Show? for the 2007 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
The Butterfly Club’s David Read said Karin was about to perform her fourth new cabaret at the venue since graduating and every show improved on the high standards set by the previous one. “Karin is a performer who is cementing her multi-faceted talents across almost every aspect of stage performance. She is an impressive song writer, accomplished musician – playing an array of instruments – in classical, popular and jazz genres and has a stunning voice and lovable comic characterisation.”
“Like all of the previous Under Our Wing Award winners, Karin fits The Butterfly Club’s preferred style of cabaret. While we welcome all forms of cabaret, we favour those of the European model that reflect the style of performance for which cabaret was originally created – shows that satirise or reflect contemporary life and enlighten audiences.”
Karin’s upcoming show is entirely original material. “If you look back at our previous Under Our Wing Award winners, their unique appeal has come from the fact that they all are talented musicians who craft original songs or sensational rearrangements,” David said.
Karin’s new show, called “Better at a distance”, is cheeky, charming, sly and disarming, and is best enjoyed, well, up close really … in The Butterfly Club to be precise.
Written, composed and directed by Karin Muiznieks, accompanied by the young virtuoso James Simpson.
Venue: The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank Street, South Melbourne
Preview (for reviewers / industry): Sunday 11 November at 8.00 pm
Dates: Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 November
Times: 9.00 pm Thurs – Sat / 8.00 pm Sunday
Ticket price: $20 full / $15 concession and for groups of 8 or more
Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com
Duration: one hour approx
