Pinch Cabaret #46

The Pinch Cabaret is KW’s monthly variety show, performance laboratory, and community arts party. An unexpected mix of Circus, Poetry, Clown, Experimental Harp & Electronics, Comedic Essays & who knows what else!

Hosted and curated by salacious bon vivant Ben Gorodetsky. Get ready for a diverse bill that'll surprise audiences and bring together disparate artistic communities!

Featuring:

• Alanna Schwartz is a writer and filmmaker from Calgary, AB in Treaty 7 Territory. Her most credit is a series she co-wrote for OutTV called Eyes in the Woods, and her feature-film Stages of Change is scheduled to shoot in Kitchener in Spring 2026. She will read a few short poems as well as a short micro-memoir piece!
• Erika Lui (they/she) is a multidisciplinary circus, acrobatics, and movement artist. They’ve performed aerial movement arts in and around Kitchener’s Schneider Creek as part of The Creek Collective, with The Chaos Project by Hercinia Arts Collective, and at the Chicago Centre for Dynamic Circus. For Pinch Cabaret they’ll share something spectacular, mysterious, and unforgettable!
• Grace Scheele is an unconventional musical artist noted for her innovative take on experimental and ambient forms. She masterfully interweaves harp rumblings, cinematic drones, textural loops, and candid tape confessions into music that celebrates that liminal ‘in-between’; a place of question, blank existence, or wonder. For Pinch, Grace invites you to ponder 'when do you feel most you?'
• Mary Abdel-Malek Neil dabbles in many things: singer, songwriter, community musician, junk instrument designer, podcast host, writer—and now stand-up comic—who reimagines sacred stories through a feminist lens. Her latest work-in-progress is a book called A Feminist Grapples with the Bible, blending theology, lived experience, and cultural critique into sarcastic, educational comedy that’s sharp, thoughtful, and just heretical enough to keep things interesting. For Pinch she will be reading from her humorous, feminist retelling of her namesake, Mary—turning ancient patriarchy into modern punchlines; equal parts Bible study and stand-up set. No prior belief required (honestly, that might help).
• Allyson Proulx (they/she) has been a practicing artist, based in so-called London, Ontario, for 14 years. In 2021 they began street performance as a clown handing out love notes, and in 2023 she started working with masks and creating performances exploring abolition and transformative justice. At Pinch Cabaret, Allyson will be presenting an evolving piece that is tender, curious, and joyful.

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Advance tickets are $5 / $10 / $20 / $30 - you choose the option that's right for you

Limited tickets will be available at the door

Indigenous community members are welcomed to attend for free.

Enormous thanks to Waterloo Region Community Foundation, Ontario Arts Council, City of Kitchener, City of Waterloo, and The Registry Theatre for their generous support, allowing for accessible ticket pricing!

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Doors: 7:45

Show: 8:00

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VENUE:

We're at Hepcat Swing Studio - 42 Erb St E, Waterloo. Enter from grey door on the far right-hand side of the building, behind the dumpster.

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About host Ben Gorodetsky:

Ben Gorodetsky (he/they)is a performance maker, filmmaker, writer, and producer based in Kitchener, Ontario. They are the creator and former host of experimental variety show Dirt Buffet Cabaret, and former technical director at NYC burlesque theatre Duane Park. His performance work has been presented by The Art Gallery of Ontario, CAFKA, Femme Folks Fest, LUMEN, Open Ears, Movement Research at Judson Church, The Tank NYC, Mile Zero Dance, Guelph Dance Festival, Hillside Fest, Brian Webb Dance Company, Expanse Festival of Movement Arts, Rubaboo Festival, SpringWorks, and the Gas Station Arts Centre. They are the former Associate Artistic Director of Rapid Fire Theatre and have performed, taught, and directed improvisation in Atlanta, Detroit, Austin, Philadelphia, NYC, LA, Reunion Island, Vienna, Ljubljana, Montreal, Toronto, Yellowknife, Calgary, and Vancouver. He is co-creator of political satire comedy duo Folk Lordz (VICE). Ben is the winner of the 2016 Emerging Artist Award at the Mayor's Celebration for the Arts (Edmonton), the Anna Pidruchney Young Writers award, and a nominee for a Canadian Comedy Award and a Waterloo Region Arts Award. He is Creator and Executive Producer of CTV docuseries "MY PET ATE WHAT?", out now on Crave. They teach at UWaterloo, and hold an MFA from Brooklyn College-CUNY and a BFA from the University of Alberta.

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Show poster by Aaron Read