Snake Oil Cabaret - A Christmas Variety Spectacular,

About the event

Vaudeville Variety at it's crazy best. Featuring some of Melbourne's most beloved Musical, Comedy, Sideshow and Burlesque talent and hosted by everyone's favourite quirky set of close knit twins to ever grace the stage.

Welcome to the world of Snake Oil Cabaret.......

Doc Hannibal Figjam has rolled into town and as everyone’s favourite purveyor of the rarest and most effective curatives known the world over he is sure to have something special just for you, and just in your price range too!

As always his darling sister Cherri Figjam will be by his side captivating all comers and demonstrating his series of patented “Amazing Vaudeville Treatments”.  But Doc Figjam and his merry band of talented practitioners won’t be in town for long so be sure you get your fill of their Music, Burlesque and Sideshow offerings before they have to move on!

Yet it wouldn't be a Snake Oil show if we didn't say..........

But wait there's more!

This time around it is not just Hannibal's disarming smile and Cherri's enchanting curves for you to worry about, Cherri's been let off her leash and she's booked an all star cast.  That’s right, they're back and they are more over the top than ever. So get comfy and enjoy the ride and thank you for coming along to the delightfully quirky vaudeville variety show Snake Oil Cabaret.

Why should you sponsor?

The findings from 'Working in the Australian Entertainment Industry: Final Report', from Entertainment Assist and Victoria University October 2016, are damning and highlight an industry in severe distress.  Despite artists being truly passionate about their work, the lack of industry support and toxic culture can no longer be overlooked.   

•  20% of Artists report being addicted to alcohol and /or drugs vs 4.5% of the general community
•  44% of Artists have symptomology identified as Mild to Severe Anxiety  vs 3.7% of the general community
•  Suicide attempts by artists are at double the rate of the general community

​Fundamentally the Arts are about Social Inclusion, it has been proven that participation in cultural and recreational activities has major benefits for our mental health and our social well-being.  A night out to a show with a group of friends has been shown to help us create shared stories where we can define our culture and values and strengthen our support networks as detailed in 'Promoting Mental Health through accessing the Arts' from VIC Health September 2006

When Artists suffer, the Arts at large suffers and we are all worse off for it.

It's not all glitter and applause in the Performing Arts and here at Cherri On Top we want to ensure that all performers have the necessary tools to not just put on ripper performances but to also run their businesses effectively while also ensuring that they don't neglect to care for their mild mannered alter egos.

​​We are dedicated to helping performing artists learn to safeguard and promote their wellbeing by encouraging them to fully realise their potential both on and off the stage.  We aim to combat the rise of mental illness in the Arts by helping performers to properly value their offerings and prepare for a life beyond the spotlight. 

We run workshops to teach wellbeing, business and ethical production skills, we work with young aspiring performers to prepare them for the realities of a career in the performing arts and speak at events to raise awareness of the state of the plight of Australian Performing Artists.  In addition to this we are often called on to provide trauma and counselling referrals and provide support to perfomers reporting incidents to the police or seeking legal assistance.  Our workshops and mentoring services are run at as low a cost as we can manage as a small social enterprise but our referrals and support services are at no cost.  We believe it is imperative that performers have somewhere to turn to when things go wrong and there are so few places from which they can seek information or support without judgement and potential reputational damage that we could not possibly not make ourselves available nor could we charge for our time in these instances.

Your sponsorship will allow us to maximise the reach of our events and make more people aware of our services and allow us to continue to provide these important services as low or no cost to the performers who need them.

Rachel Jansen

Here at Cherri On Top we just love to produce Innovative and Inspirational Events, but with founders who have long been walking the boards themselves our company admittedly has a flair for the dramatic, but it is that dramatic flair and love of the limelight that has seen the Wellbeing side of the Cherri On Top flourish.  Providing opportunities to ensure that emerging and established Performing Artists can learn how to promote and protect their own Mental, Emotional and Financial Wellbeing is a cause that is close to our hearts.

When you work with Cherri On Top you can be sure that you are helping to provide opportunities to showcase Best Practice for Ethical Events.  We pride ourselves on partnering with a range of local and social enterprises that work alongside us for the long term betterment of society, so that whether it is the yummy catering or the Entertainers you can relax in the knowledge that your Event is contributing to a better tomorrow.

From Corporate Events that increase togetherness, Themed Gala Events or Full Stage Shows we have done it all and for you, we will happily do it all again. 

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