Aviva Zafrin: Taking on the NYC Cabaret Scene by Storm
I sat down with my friend, Aviva Zafrin, college student by day, up-and-coming cabaret star by night, who graciously told me about her performing experiences, navigating Tik Tok fame, and screaming “Fuck!” in front of Norm Lewis.
Aviva Zafrin is a name to remember. The 21-year-old is a graduating senior in New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Drama program, but she’s also a rising star in the NYC cabaret scene.
The LA-raised, New-York-based creative was excited to return to the stage after a tumultuous college career that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, while learning remotely, Zafrin came to the realization that “[she] is [her] own moneymaker,” and it was time to start taking herself more seriously as an artist.
During Zafrin’s junior year, her mother introduced her as a singer to the owner of an East Village cabaret club, who, upon hearing her voice, invited her to perform. Zafrin returned to sing at the club often, and she began to dabble in the open-mic scene around the city, including at the famous Birdland Jazz Club. That was just the beginning.
The exuberant actress’s passion and talent has already taken her to new heights. She was invited to stage her first solo show last June, and when she performed her second solo show in October, she sold out the venue. She recently made her 54 Below debut, and she starred in an NYU mainstage play just last week. She is currently in the process of creating her own play through NYU’s Experimental Theatre Wing, and she is looking to do her next solo cabaret show this summer. Luckily, she was able to sit down for a few minutes and share her unique journey with immense gratitude for all that she’s learned.
Can you describe what you do outside of school, specifically about your career?
I am a cabaret singer… [I] schedule the rehearsals, [choose] what songs we’re going to do and what cuts we want to do, and curate an entire show. With the help of my music director, of course, whom I love dearly… It’s more than just performing, and I think that it’s so important for artists to have a dialogue, open dialogue with their audiences and peers. It’s not a performance without an audience. It was really important to make sure that it’s for them, like I’m singing for them.
How do you curate the material for the shows?
I have a playlist on Spotify of every single song that I would love to sing on a stage… I have two songs that I’ve written, and currently one’s finished, and I sang it at my first show… It takes me a very long time to curate songs. It’s not that I’m picky, but it has to mean so much to me… I do have a list of songs I can say that I love to sing, 80s songs and 70s songs… a lot of rock and Blondie, Tina Turner, Freddie Mercury, a lot of Whitney, Patti LaBelle. Things that are dynamic… I also love to have wildcard songs, songs that no one would ever imagine [being performed.]
So do you have a favorite song that you love to sing, or maybe a top five?
“River Deep, Mountain High” by Tina Turner is one of my go-tos. Another one is “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer!.. Those are my favorite songs to sing when I’m dancing my face off. For slow, sad songs, “Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga, “The Winner Takes It All”. If I really want to blow some socks off, then “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston.
A quick pivot from just the cabaret singing, what was it like being Tik Tok Famous?
It was weird!… I was singing, and I felt like I was getting recognition for my talent, and that I was entertaining people, and I was having fun… People knew me as a really good singer on Tik Tok. That’s how people knew me, but I started to cringe at myself for the content I was making. I was growing. I was getting older. I wasn’t that person anymore… I [was] going downwards with Tik Tok, but not as Aviva… I had 190,000 followers on Tik Tok, and now I have 160,000… but I’m not deterred by it… I had to stop valuing myself in the validation of others, and I learned an important lesson seeing my followers go down… I don’t need to sacrifice my integrity to keep followers up. The people that stay are meant to stay, and the people that go are meant to go… [Tik Tok] did not exist 40 years ago! It was your voice, a cup of soda, and a dream, so you just gotta work for it… Overall, Tik Tok is an amazing tool, and I’m very blessed that I was able to have an audience, but I also know that I can do more than just Tik Tok.
So why do this all in New York, specifically?
New York’s the only place to fucking do it… There’s an essence and a feel that New York has that other places cannot replicate… I also know that New York is the only place where I can go [anywhere] and say, “Do you have a bar here to sing?” It’s just the perfect place to do it. New York is the place to be.
Do you have any crazy stories about being a singer in New York?
Norm Lewis came to a cabaret show I was in, and my voice cracked so horribly that I screamed, “Fuck!” in the middle of my song. I continued, but it was really embarrassing… But I’m human too! My voice cracks too!.. I can say that I made a mistake, and I can grow from it… It’s such a New York story. He’ll remember me for screaming “fuck!” when he sees me onstage again… He’ll probably just always think of me in that moment, but at least he’s thinking of me.
This might be a difficult question: why do you love being an artist?
Because I don’t see myself doing anything else. Because it’s the only way that I’ve ever been able to fully express myself. I first started singing in temple, and that was the only way I could talk to god… Sometimes I think music can say things that words can’t… it’s still spoken; it’s just more air. That’s what singing is: just a little bit more air… I’ve always been singing because that’s how I pray… I also love to perform!.. I’m an artist because I’m always entertaining someone. I was always in trouble for bringing attention to myself… I love to perform for people because they’re giving me their attention willingly! Everything is performance.
What advice do you have for other young women in the arts, specifically in NYC?
Know that you’re worth everything, and that you can’t make yourself smaller for someone’s benefit, or because you feel like you’re being too big. That doesn’t exist, especially not in New York… Also stay safe. Be around people you trust. Have a support system. If you think you’re doing too much, do more… If you don’t feel safe, don’t be afraid to set boundaries. Really just make sure that you are a hundred percent your own person… You are your biggest fan. So treat yourself well.
