Tops Off! Variety SHHH-OH!

I have been in the entertainment industry for over 20 years. When I was a child, I knew I wanted to perform because I would point to the screen while the newest Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen film was playing and say “how do I do that?” My Mother would reply “I don’t know... maybe you need an agent?” I would look at her pointedly, even as an eight year old, and say “then please get me an agent.”

Theater was in my blood! Which was insane because there is not one person in my family that gets on stage or even WOULD get on stage. I was created special. I was created with an addiction to live entertainment.

I got my degree in film and dramatic arts when I was 23 and have been professionally working in the DFW since before that. I am a party princess, professional mermaid, living statue, mime, aspiring aerialist, comedian, improvist, exotic dancer (when necessary), and stilt walker. To say that I am a Jack of all trades when it comes to rich people and their parties- is an understatement. I am your jester, eagerly dancing in your court. You’re welcome.

When Covid hit in March of 2020 I was laid off from my event coordinator job at the production company I act for. My beloved industry was hit in the kneecaps, Nancy Kerrigan style, and the world shrugged their shoulders as we crumpled to the ground. We laid there in pain for a year and have just recently started to hobble our way back up to gain our footing.

I decided to produce a show. All of my friends in the industry got vaccinated and really wanted to come back into live entertainment with a BANG! So our friend at Haltom Theater graciously allowed us to assemble a cabaret style show to perform ONCE AGAIN for many beloved audiences. You see, this is where our happiness lies. It lies in popcorn under seats, in the smiles of each dimly lit face, in the bright lights that pull the sweat from our brow, in the cake make up washing off under that salty bead. It lies in the hands that are smacked together over and over after each number. It lies in our hearts... the same hearts that came alive when we saw Mary Kate and Ashley on screen for the first time. (I might be the only one that looked up to the Olsen twins, I really shouldn’t put those idols on my friends.)

This project that is being produced by my business partner and I, under our company Fun Intended LLC, is an anthem for all the jesters out there- that have only been singing “send in the clowns” until just recently. It’s an anthem for the dancers, a credo for the singers, a banner for all the people performing in Urinetown holding an actual “pee for free” banner - because, we are the rebels and we will rise against this virus and sing louder and dance harder and shine that rickety spotlight right in its contagious fudging FACE.

Cry no more. The curtains are ascending up to the catwalk, and our souls are all ascending to the heaven in the sky- where the audiences have taken their seats for the first time in a long time.

This project was created for HAPPINESS! We are throwing our hands in the air (our jazz hands, mother f*ckers!) and while we are instilling and reinstating the happiness within ourselves, we are in turn infecting the masses with this happiness. Take that, coronavirus, we’re infectious too. We spread symptoms of smiles, giggles, gafaws, bewilderment, and standing ovations. We are the theater. So get down with our sickness.

Tops Off! Variety SHHH-OH! Is an original work of art written and produced by yours truly, Kristin “KP” Smith and Jay Gavit. It showcases the talents of aerialists, comedians, magician, and burlesque dancers.

Come one, come all, and feel the happiness coursing through our little performance-ready hearts. “All the worlds a stage!” But we miss our old one. Here we come!