Q&A with Nightlife Award Winner Lisa Asher

Young Lisa Asher, a regular fixture at the Friday night After Party in the Laurie Beechman Theatre, recently won her first Nightlife Award.

Tell me about your show, and how you developed it.

The show was called "Stranded in the Moonlight, the music of Michael Peter Smith". Basically this show grew out of my love of this man's songwriting. I had been performing several of Michael's songs in my shows over the past several years, and they always got the most attention. People would ask me about them after a performance, and they were always singled out by reviewers. So I decided to put together an entire evening of his work.

I have a good friend, Peter Glazer, who is also an award-winning director, and a very close friend of Michael's and I approached him about the project and he jumped on board. We made a couple of trips to Chicago (where Michael lives) to meet with him and hear more music, and the piece just flowed from there.

What do you feel the Nightlife Awards mean to the Cabaret community, as opposed to other awards?

I feel that the Nightlife Awards have significant credibility attached to them, as the winners are selected by critics, journalists, editors and other entertainment professionals who regularly attend live performance events. These are the people who really know what is going on in this town - and they see it all - cabaret, jazz, comedy, theatre - so they have the proper context in which to judge. The nightlife awards are not a popularity contest, and that means a great deal to me.

What does the award mean to you, personally?

It is a tremendous acknowledgment of my work. And the fact that I took a big risk, doing an entire evening of music written by a songwriter who isn't well known, really paid off. I trusted the material, and I trusted my instincts, and this award validates that.

Now that you're an award-winning singer, what's the next step?

Trying to make rent next month!

Truly, the next step is never really clear. There is no logic in this business. There is no path or set of rules to follow. You just have to keep putting yourself out there, best foot forward every time and pay attention. This award, needless to say, is a great marketing tool for me to add to my press kit and to use to generate interest in my work. It is the kind of acknowledgment that has weight, because it is something that can't be bought, it has to be earned.