The Drama Club held a cabaret fundraiser called “The Art of Being You” in the Black Box Theater on Friday to benefit two organizations, The Trevor Project and March for Our Lives.

The club donated all of the profit they made from the cabaret to both of the organizations. The Trevor Project is focused on suicide prevention efforts among the LGBTQ+ community and the March for Our Lives Foundation is focused on curbing gun violence.

Twenty-year-old theater major and club president Natalie Dion said she partnered with Theater Professor and Club Advisor Martin Flynn to help get the Drama Club back up and running. Dion said putting on an event before the semester ended was a goal for them.

“I dreamt up this idea because I wanted to do something to benefit queer rights,” Dion said. “Then with the recent mass shootings, I wanted to also contribute to the March for Our Lives Organization because I wanted to do something more than offer thoughts and prayers.”

Dion also said she felt this was a great way to showcase the talents of the Drama Club.

Flynn said he was glad his students pushed on and were able to make the event happen.

“The Drama Club had to start from scratch and the goal was to have an event,” Flynn said. “I’m glad we have a club again and I think tonight was a success.”

Dion said the event had some technical difficulties before the show, but that it was just a part of the journey.

“There were some mishaps, but the most important thing is that we kept going and pushed through, that’s what performing is all about,” Dion said. “At least you did it.”

Pricilla Kumar, a 43-year-old film and media studies major, said she was really happy they were able to do the fundraiser and that it was a great way to end the semester.

“The cabaret was sort of like our last hurrah and I think everyone did a great job,” Kumar said.

Dion said the performances were a culmination of what they had been working on throughout the semester and had been meeting to practice.

The club kicked off the show with a brief improv scene setup by scenarios randomized from the audience’s answers.

Then the room silenced and went dark as Dion walked out.

She performed the song “What Baking Can Do” from “Waitress the Musical.”

Dion called the musical one of her dream musicals to play in and said some of the themes were relatable to the show.

“The themes of the show at its core are about persevering through the face of the unexpected, which is something I think we all can identify with in some way,” Dion said.

Josy Bennett, a 20-year-old music major, said she felt the club maintained a great energy through it. She sang the songs “Beautiful” by Queen Naija and “All I Ask” by Adele.

“I think the show went pretty good and everyone did a great job,” Bennett said.

Bennett said her song selections were a representation of her own music tastes and a symbol of the title of the cabaret.

“I realized my playlist was a lot of heartbreak songs and I found one that I really loved,” Bennett said, “It just talks about her struggle and how she sees it as beautiful and I feel like I can relate to that a lot.”

You can offer donations to both The Trevor Project and March for Our Lives on their websites.