Gan Dannon

“friend in London named Ben Walters wrote his PhD on cabaret and queer performance art. He told me that he thinks too many performers—Americans especially—confuse cabaret with musical revue. A musical revue, he said, is just a bunch of songs strung together with some anecdotes. But a cabaret needs to grow and change over the course of the evening. It needs to create a relationship with the audience and end in a different place from where it began. It needs to have a reason to exist”
― Ari Shapiro, The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening—A Poignant Journey Through Journalism, Global Connections, and Human Resilience in Today's World

“It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things.”
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid

“I grew up not wanting to be myself.” After they grew up and explored the world, “I realized what I really wanted to be was myself.” That desire to be authentically true to themselves onstage comes through in every one of Viv’s performances.”
― Ari Shapiro, The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening—A Poignant Journey Through Journalism, Global Connections, and Human Resilience in Today's World

“I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. Sylvia Plath”
― Matt Haig, The Midnight Library