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Markee de Saw
Markee de Saw is an international cabaret performer, classically trained singer, and highly skilled musical saw player. Her powerful operatic voice has wowed audiences across the U.K. and Europe and has earned Markee a sterling reputation as one of Scotland's top variety performers. Although originally from California, she has made Scotland her home and become a veteran of the Scottish cabaret scene with a career that has lasted almost 2 decades.
How did you get your start?
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I like to think that I came out of the womb as a performer, but I made my first debut on a stage at age 4, and started working professionally as an actor in Hollywood at age 6. I started singing opera at age 9. I studied music and theatre at University and now have several postgraduate degrees in the field. I made my debut as ‘Markee de Saw’ almost 20 years ago on the Panopticon stage here in Glasgow.
How did you become a cabaret performer?
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When I first moved to Glasgow I hoped to continue my career as a theatre/musical theatre/operetta performer, but realised quickly there weren’t many opportunities in that profession outside of London. At the time the cabaret scene was just starting up in Glasgow, and I ‘accidentally’ fell into it. And it’s the best accident that has ever happened to me.
What is cabaret?
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Cabaret is typically a show that has various different performers in it, all doing special talents, although I do solo shows as well. Cabaret is very similar to variety shows, although I like to think it’s a bit darker, sexier and more likely to be found in a dark underground bar. Also the audience at cabaret shows play an important role in the show itself, whether they are actually brought up on the stage or chatting to the performer from their seats, a cabaret audience should never be quiet!
Why did you start playing a musical saw?
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I had hoped to become a singer in the cabaret scene, but the competition was very high. One producer told me that ‘they had enough singers’, to which I blurted out ‘but I can play a musical saw!’ This wasn’t a complete lie, I could play it, I just couldn’t play it well! I got booked immediately, but I only had a week to actually learn to play a melody on the saw, which is one of the hardest instruments out there. There is a reason there aren’t very many of us! I ended up performing, playing my saw very badly, but I sang well, so they booked me again. However, because I had debuted with the name ‘Markee de Saw’, I figured I needed to learn how to play the thing, otherwise the name was pretty silly. Luckily after almost 2 decades of playing it, I’ve become a very skilled musical saw player. My musical saw and I have now been all around Europe, I am one of the most in demand cabaret performers in Scotland, and one of the leading musical saw players in the UK.
I’m not the first person to play a saw though, the musical saw has a long rich history in the variety and cabaret world. It is hard to know who first tried it, but it was likely lumber jacks in the 1800s. It quickly made its way into variety and vaudeville in the early 1900s. The most famous saw player is Marlene Dietrich, who used to be a cabaret singer and musical saw player like me. I like to think I am carrying on the tradition of all these fabulous variety performers who came before me. .