NightLife: Much Ado About La-Ti-Do

By Amanda L. Andrei

A Monday night in Dupont Circle.

Traffic is light, bar activity is subdued. Everyone knows Metro will close at midnight, and taxis are easier to grab. Monday: not your typical going-out night.

But in the heart of the neighborhood someone is singing her heart out, eyes closed and hands wrapped around the mic. Someone is reciting a poem from memory, not even glancing at his notes as his body sways with the words. Someone is performing a Broadway duet with his best friend, the pianist behind them supporting every melody.

Welcome to La-Ti-Do, the first and only weekly “cabaret and spoken word series” in the District of Columbia.

Every Monday night, performing artists of every genre—poets, musicians, singers, actors, playwrights—gather in the cozy, jazzy interior of the Black Fox Lounge on Connecticut Avenue and spend two hours sharing their voices with a captivated audience of Asians, Hispanics, blacks, whites; men, women; straight, LGBTQ; young, old; college students and professionals. Founders and hosts Don Michael Mendoza and Regie Cabico emcee the event, sprinkling comedic commentary between songs and occasionally performing.

This month, La-Ti-Do (the name comes from the music scale) celebrates its first birthday.

Mendoza and Cabico met as cast members of Every Night I Die, a Filipino drama produced at the 2011 Capital Fringe Festival. Mendoza had recently graduated from American University, studying musical theater and performing in professional shows. He also served as theater coordinator for BloomBars in Columbia Heights. Cabico had been long-involved in poetry slam and theater. He published works in various anthologies, while performing and teaching at around the world.

“When I met DonMike, I saw my younger self,” Cabico relates. “I knew that as a Filipino male actor-singer, you were screwed in this business, and I knew that DonMike would be in a stronger place if we produced what would be La-Ti-Do—which is the mixture of my two art forms that I love, singing and speaking.”

Mendoza sees La-Ti-Do building new relationships within the arts community. “The DC arts scene is usually a struggle for newcomers, especially for artists of Asian American ethnicity to make a decent break into the community,” he explained. “Over the past year, La-Ti-Do has evolved into a space where artists both new and seasoned gather every week.”

Each La-Ti-Do night includes a mix of performers, and a feature artist who appears several times. Most are rising D.C. stars such as Chris Mueller, Nila Kay, and Tara Trinity. But some visit from New York, California, Canada, and Scotland. Composer and pianist Jonathan Tuzman, an active member of the D.C. musical theater and cabaret scene, fills the downstairs lounge room of Black Fox with plaintive tunes, rousing ballads, and well-known show numbers. Audience members snap their fingers during songs and poems, whooping with delight and encouragement, and bursting into ecstatic applause as performances end. The energy in the room is that of pure joy.

“The inspiration for La-Ti-Do was to create a safe place for artists to perform on a weekly basis where they could express their art to the fullest and not feel like they were being harshly criticized or judged,” says Mendoza. Cabico adds, “I believe that poetry can revolutionize American theater and that La-Ti-Do is servicing the theater and spoken word community in D.C. By default, I feel that we have created an Asian American Theater Company without being a not-for-profit or without thinking in the traditional box.”

Mendoza and Cabico face challenges running the organization and producing the shows. Black Fox owners Russwin Francisco and James McGlade have been supportive, which has led to creative collaborative efforts between the venue and the event.

Both Cabico and Mendoza cite as their favorite La-Ti-Do experience We Love You Long Time, a night featuring only artists of Asian and Pacific Island ethnicity. Collaborating with SULU DC, they showcased singers, musicians, dancers, spoken word artists, actors, and a playwright. “It felt like a real theatrical night,” explains Cabico, “where everyone left feeling Asian American power and love.”

As La-Ti-Do completes its first year, Mendoza and Cabico hint at expanding to other cities, as well as collaborating with local theaters. There’s talk of “giving back to the community” through outreach and philanthropy, and producing their own first musical. “DonMike and I have spent lots of time building La-Ti-Do in a parental way,” Cabico says. “It’s our garden, our baby.”

“Personally, I love La-Ti-Do because it is what kept me going and positive during a really tough time in my life,” Mendoza reflects. “My advice to anyone else is just to trust in your decisions and give in to your passion.”

And so if you find yourself on a Monday night near Dupont Circle, swing by the Black Fox Lounge. Listen for that piano, that song, that poem. And make that night a La-Ti-Do night.

La-Ti-Do happens every Monday night from 8-10 PM at the Black Fox Lounge at 1723 Connecticut Avenue NW. Be sure to also join DonMichael and Regie as they celebrate the show’s one year birthday on January 21, 2013.