Indigo Blue’s grandiose step-down act (Photo courtesy of Derek Jackson)

~ Written and photographed by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo) with additional photography courtesy of Derek Jackson

Special thanks to my fellow photographer Derek Jackson for use of his photos for this article.

Another Burlesque Hall of Fame weekend has come and gone. It was four days packed with so much burlesque that by the end of Sunday night’s show, I couldn’t fit any more burlesque in my head. The Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend is the annual fundraiser to help fund the Burlesque Hall of Fame - the non-profit museum dedicated to preserving and promoting the art, artifacts and traditions of American burlesque – originally founded by burlesque legends Jennie Lee and Dixie Evans. The highlight of the weekend is the crowning of the new Reigning Queen of Burlesque, which went this year to Australia’s Imogen Kelly. (Stay tuned for an interview and Derek’s photos of Imogen in “BHoF 2012 Weekend: Part 2”, coming soon).

The complete list of winners:

Reigning Queen of Burlesque 2012, Miss Exotic World: Imogen Kelly (Sydney, Australia)
First Runner-Up: Ophelia Flame (Minneapolis, MN)
Second Runner-Up: Trixie Little (New York, NY)
Best Troupe: The Peek-A-Boo Revue (Philadelphia, PA)
Best Duo: Frenchie Kiss and Jett Adore (Chicago, IL)
Best Boylesque: Russell Bruner (Portland, OR)
Best Debut: Ruby Joule (Austin, Texas)
Most Dazzling Dancer: Perle Noire (New Orleans, LA)
Most Classic: Ruby Joule (Austin, Texas)
Most Comical: April O’Peel (Vancouver, BC)
Most Innovative: Koko La Douce (Switzerland)

2012 Legend of the Year: La Savona

Thursday night was the Movers, Shakers and Innovators showcase hosted by Blanche DeBris and Mat Fraser. Friday night was the Titans of Tease 55^th Annual Reunion Showcase hosted by the World Famous *BOB*. Saturday was the big night- the 22^nd Annual Tournament of Tease hosted by Nadine DuBois and Scotty the Blue Bunny.  Finally, Sunday night’s Icons and All-Stars show, hosted by Bastard Keith, rounded out the weekend.

Each year at BHoF, the previous Reigning Queen does a step-down number right before the announcement of the new queen. This year Indigo Blue mesmerized the crowd with her wonderful farewell routine.  In the interest of full disclosure, I was lucky and honored to be part of her act (as prancer and Indigo Blue lifter, Man Johnson). The stage was so huge you could set up several slip n’ slides on it (maybe that’s an act for next year?) and Indigo’s supporting cast broke out their best moves to try and fill it.  Featuring Seattleites Ernie Von Schmaltz, Sir Eddie Van Glam, and Mickey Doe Eyes, the rest of the ensemble included performers from across the country: Bazuka Joe, Switch, Bronwen, Joseph St. Altered, Alotta Boutté and former Kings of Burlesque Captain Kidd, The Evil Hate Monkey, and Tigger. Coordinating the entire three-part affair was Inga Ingénue.  Part one featured Indigo rising from beneath the stage as four loyal subjects genuflect to Her Royal Highness. Next was a down-and-dirty striptease with Indigo alone on stage.  The final act, which involved the whole company, ended with Indigo’s “Crown on the Ground” for the next queen and Indigo’s ascension into the air.

After one of the rehearsals Indigo shared her gratitude with the cast and talked about the origins of the act. The day after the actual performance, I asked Indigo to elaborate on that for this blog:

POC: What was your idea for your step-down number at BHoF 2012?

Indigo:  A lot of the inspiration for this act came from the music itself. I received two pieces of music from Scott Ewalt, “We are The Champions” and “Rumble”, both really unusual versions. Also a piece of music called “Crown on the Ground” by Sleigh Bells from Lola Spitfire.

I knew that I wanted to do something that was comical, sensual and spiritual at the same time. And that I really wanted to involve a wide variety of people. And I specifically wanted to use folks who had assisted me in my routines over the last couple of years.

What I wanted to do in the final piece of music (“Crown on The Ground”) was create a really visually exciting piece but also one in which I symbolically and actually take the crown off of my head and place it on the ground to figuratively and literally hand it over to the next queen. Then the final piece where I rose into the ceiling, it was really interesting because since I was a small child I’ve been drawing pictures of a woman with her arms back and her legs out and a big, red explosion coming out of her chest, like an explosion of love and power and passion just pouring out of her chest. A couple of years ago I was doing a dance intensive in Brazil and had a really strong vision of that image come back into my mind. And I wanted to do a real dance piece, a legitimate dance piece in which I invoke that image and I had that imagery. I was real excited that in this piece by rising up into the air with red wires bringing me up to the ceiling I was able to invoke that image and be that love and that power.

POC:  How did you feel when it was all over?

Indigo: As soon as it was over I had to rush and do some business (crowning the next queen) so I wasn’t able to absorb it immediately but about a couple of hours later I digested it. I got so much incredible feedback from people. People were really moved and really excited about it. The response I got was so enthusiastic. People kept wanting to come up to me and talk to me about it, about what they saw, about how they felt, about what it made them think which was really exciting that it was evocative and inspiring. Later I just felt satisfied and proud that I executed what I wanted to execute and that I got to do it in such a wonderful, loving space with such incredible people.

Possibly Indigo Blue’s most phenomenal exit ever (Photo courtesy of Derek Jackson)

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Here are more photos from our friend Derek Jackson- please visit him at HERE:

Jeez Louise and Ray Gunn (Photo courtesy of Derek Jackson)

Trixie Little (Photo courtesy of Derek Jackson)

Ophelia Flame in a gown by Seattle’s Danial Webster Design (Photo courtesy of Derek Jackson)

Peek-A-Boo Revue (Photo courtesy of Derek Jackson)

Perle Noire (Photo courtesy of Derek Jackson)

Portland’s Russell Bruner (Photo courtesy of Derek Jackson)

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Photos from BHoH 2012 Day 4 by POC Photo:

Roxi D’Lite (POC Photo)

Bastard Keith (POC Photo)

Jo Weldon singing after receiving a Sassy Lassy Award (POC Photo)

Captain Kidd (POC Photo)

Dirty Martini (POC Photo)

Julie Atlas Muz (POC Photo)

Kalani Kokonuts (center) with help from Cherry On Top (left) and Lola Frost (right)

Michelle L’amour (POC Photo)

The Stage Door Johnnies (POC Photo)

Trixie Little and Evil Hate Monkey (POC Photo)

Photographer Don Spiro receiving a Sassy Lassy award with Gin Minsky and Perle Noire looking on (POC Photo)

Legend Toni Elling (POC Photo)

Legend Tiffany Carter (POC Photo)

Legend Marinka (POC Photo)

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Photos from Day 1  by POC:

Midnite Martini (POC Photo)

Melody Mangler (POC Photo)

Ginger Valentine (POC Photo)

Alotta Boutte (POC Photo)

Anita Cookie (POC Photo)

Audrey DeLuxe (POC Photo)

Minnie Tonka (POC Photo)

Bazuka Joe (POC Photo)

Blanche DeBris and the Bishop of Burlesque – stage manager David Bishop (POC Photo)

Inga Ingenue (POC Photo)

Iva Handful (POC Photo)

Lola Van Ella and Sammich the Tramp (POC Photo)

Mat Fraser and Blanche DeBris (POC Photo)

Tigger! (POC Photo)

~ Written and photographed by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo) with additional photography courtesy of Derek Jackson

Special thanks to my fellow photographer Derek Jackson for photo use in this article.

Reigning Queen of Burlesque 2012 Imogen Kelly (Photo courtesy of Derek Jackson)

During BHoF weekend at The Orleans Hotel and Casino, the surreal moments just after one of the burlesque shows lets out or during an intermission are some of the more memorable. It’s the mix of two worlds: the glittery crowd of performers, producers, fans & photographers, and the slot machine junkies pulling the levers (or in this modern age of technology, pressing buttons) for a hopeful cash payout. As one world spills out of the theater, it’s always fun to watch the other world look on in amazement and wonder at the sudden flood of people dressed so fabulously and outrageously. It’s hard not to appear like a deer caught in the headlights through all of this; I often get lost in all of it myself. (Whom shall I talk to? My Seattle peeps? Friends I’ve made at previous festivals? Facebook crushes?)

After the Sunday night show I was able to briefly talk and snap a few photos of the new Reigning Queen of Burlesque, Imogen Kelly, from Australia. I love to hear about a performer’s personal burlesque history. It doesn’t matter if they’re new to the scene or seasoned pros. That’s the great thing about festivals- you meet so many people from across the burlesque world and get their own histories and perspectives on this great art form.

Naturally I wanted to hear about Imogen’s burlesque career. I first saw Imogen at last year’s BHoF in her cheeky and provocative “Let Them Eat Cake” performance, then again this year in her fabulous winning routine. I’m hoping she’ll be able to make it to the Seattle area in the next year to see her again. That certainly is a possibility as The Burlesque Hall of Fame has introduced the inaugural Queen’s Tour (developed with the help of Miss Indigo Blue), in which the Reigning Queen of Burlesque will act as an ambassador for BHoF. One of the places on that tour is The Vancouver Burlesque Festival in May 2013, and as Vancouver is so close to Seattle I’m sure we can persuade Imogen to come to Seattle before or after.

Here is the list of festivals (so far) that the Reigning Queen of Burlesque, Imogen Kelly will headline:

• July 2012: Toronto Burlesque Festival, Toronto, ON
• February 2013: Southwest Burlesque Festival, Albuquerque, NM
• April 2013: Texas Burlesque Festival, Austin, TX
• May 2013: Vancouver Burlesque Festival, Vancouver BC
• June 2013: Colorado Burlesque Festival, Denver, CO

Imogen, currently on tour with the Australian Burlesque Festival, answered some of my questions via email the other day during some down time:

POC: Can you give a brief description of your origins in Burlesque?

Imogen: Essentially I was living in a punk ghetto as a teenager- so it started with needing to eat. I got a job in one of the local strip clubs, provided I wore a wig over my mohawk. This is all pre-table dancing and they only had stage shows, so I learned very quickly how to do a full length show. It was a fun job. The dressing rooms were full of old vaudevillians so I basically learned my schtick from them. Shortly afterwards I got into university studying performance art, so I started making performances that deconstructed striptease and everything I was seeing at work, eh voila!!! A style was born.

POC: What influenced your decision to get involved?

Imogen: It wasn’t so much a decision to get involved, when I started doing this there was no one else doing it- it was my art. I had a core group of feminist performers around me who were simply just fighting to get women spaces to perform. We have always called ourselves performance artists. It has become known to the world as neo-burlesque but we never originally identified as that. As for me I was just doing my thing.

POC: What keeps it fascinating for you now?

Imogen: I love watching burlesque grow and change. I love seeing all of the different interpretations of burlesque and also seeing how the world has changed to love striptease.

POC: How is Burlesque doing in Sydney? What has helped its progress there?

Imogen: The Sydney burlesque scene is very special to me as I was one of its pioneers. It’s a pretty pumping scene, perhaps tough to crack into. But it has some wonderful promoters and a plethora of unusual talent. Our audiences love huge sexy, fun acts- that’s one thing I can say. Sydney has the most fun-loving audience in Oz. I think that comes down to the fact that it’s such a gay old town. What has most helped its progress is that it was founded by professional performers, so performers have been paid properly from the word go. We expect a high level of professionalism from our promoters and to be treated respectfully by venues.

POC: Now that a few days of passed, what are your thoughts on being crowned Reigning Queen of Burlesque?

Imogen: Well it’s been a few weeks now and I’m having a great time! I certainly came home to a hero’s welcome. I haven’t really had a lot of time to think about it as I’m touring with The Australian Burlesque Festival.

POC: What are some of your plans for the future?

Imogen: I’m just mapping out what I am going to do with this wonderful title. There is talk of a cock rock band, a B-grade clown porn and a spaghetti western but firstly I would like to focus on The Queen’s Tour. As a part of my tour as Reigning Queen, I will be doing interviews with each city’s legends and the revival’s pioneers, probably for independent TV and the Burlesque museum. (BHoF)

POC: Do you have any burlesque heroes in your life, either Legends or contemporaries that you admire?

Imogen: Elizabeth Burton is one of the first women I met on the job and is one of Australia’s few surviving legends. She definitely keeps me going. She is 65 and still performing! One of the first things I’ve been able to do with this title was to actually give images of her to the museum- which is important for Australians to see their own legends being recognized. Other than that I am always inspired by Julie Atlas Muz for the fact that she seems also to have performance art as an undercurrent in her burlesque. I also have to mention my good friend Glitta Supernova. She is one of my oldest performing pals and started in the same way I did, at the same time. I guess we’ve been able to watch one other grow. It’s quite an amazing thing to see twenty years of another artist’s work.

Ok, who wants to go to Australia with me?

See more about Imogen here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Imogen-Kelly/211726038906314

Imogen at BHoF 2012 (Photo courtesy of Derek Jackson)

A starlet on the rise: Imogen at age 18

Imogen’s “Let Them Eat Cake” number at BHoF 2011 (POC Photo)

Imogen with her Reigning Queen of Burlesque trophy (POC Photo)

~I’ll see you on the stage, or behind the stage, or in the crowd. Happy summer to all- it looks like it’s going to be a pretty awesome burlesque summer.

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Here are some additional photos from the weekend…

BHoF Day 3 by POC Photo:

Calamity Chang (POC Photo)

Koko La Douce (POC Photo)

Chicava HoneyChild (POC Photo)

Cleo Viper (POC Photo)

April 0′Peel (POC Photo)

Gin Minsky, who dedicated her act to Diane Naegal (POC Photo)

Kitty Bang Bang (POC Photo)

Banbury Cross (POC Photo)

Nadine DuBois (POC Photo)

Ruby Joule (POC Photo)

Tansy (POC Photo)

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Legends Night by POC Photo:

The Swedish Housewife Presenting Legend of the Year to La Savona (POC Photo)

Bambi Jones (POC Photo)

Ellion Ness (POC Photo)

Georgette Sante (POC Photo)

Gypsy Louise and The Stage Door Johnnies (POC Photo)

Haji (POC Photo)

Holly Carroll (POC Photo)

Jean Idelle (POC Photo)

Shannon Doah (POC Photo)

Viva La Fever (POC Photo)

Kitten DeVille (POC Photo)

World Famous *BOB* (POC Photo)

Sinner Saint Burlesque in “Blood Sugar Sex Magic” (POC Photo)

~ Written and photographed by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

Every time I have been in a funk- you know, one of those “the world sucks” or “nobody understands me” moods or just having a plain old fashioned bad day- going to a burlesque show always makes me feel better. It’s true. As the performer’s clothes fall away, so do all my cares. If I were a therapist I would prescribe a generous helping of striptease therapy to all my patients. This was the case last Thursday, when I saw the lovely ladies of Sinner Saint Burlesque in their new show Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic. (Thanks for curing what ails me).

For about six years now, Sinner Saint Burlesque has been performing every Thursday night at Club Noc Noc in Seattle with many well-known performers having been part of this troupe over that period. Their current line-up is Evilyn Sin Claire, Doña Dei Cuori, Lady Tatas, Jesse Bell-Jones and Polly Wood. Each of these ladies add their own magic to the troupe as well as being fabulous in their other burlesque/performance endeavors outside of Sinner Saint. Over the years they have developed an intern program for up and coming burlesque performers (their current interns are Lotti Glitterati and Nikola Teas-la). The woman who brings it all together on stage is the host Diva le Déviant, “The Bitch in Charge”. Diva took some time to answer questions about their current show and her history with the troupe:

Diva le Déviant (POC Photo)

POC: How is hosting Sinner Saint different from hosting other shows…like one-offs, Skinny Dip etc.?

Diva: One of the main differences is the audience. The audience at the Noc Noc is a unique beast and I’m sure just about ANYBODY that has hosted our show feels the same way. Our audience tends to be pretty rambunctious and loud, which is a lot of fun but also a challenge. As an MC I’ve really had to master ways of letting the audience know that I am present with them and responsive to them, while at the same time being entertaining and moving the show forward. If the audience feels like the host is just “filler” between acts they’ll talk quite a bit and there you are, onstage, feeling like you’re performing to a wall of sound. I’ve developed a number of strategies for keeping our audience engaged and the more I perform in that venue, the more I notice the audience really is WITH me listening intently and having a conversation with me.

The other main difference is working with this specific troupe. The principal performers of Sinner Saint Burlesque put so much intentionality into developing their personas and acts and the “brand” of Sinner Saint Burlesque so everything they bring to that stage is well crafted, including the way I talk about them and intro their acts. Yes, I certainly do quite a bit of improv on stage, but how I contextualize them matters to these performers more than any others I’ve worked with. They understand that the way I intro them has the power to add value and layers to the material they’re presenting so they are much more directive and collaborative in the MC process than most performers. I find it challenging and rewarding to be held to a higher standard and to receive critique and feedback from them.

POC: What’s it like working with this troupe?

Diva: It’s fun, sexy, and HARD! We work a lot of hours in order to present high quality entertainment that is smart and sophisticated. I love that this troupe spends so much time together rehearsing, work shopping and critiquing acts, and collaboratively building shows so that the final product is cohesive. They put time and attention into so many aspects of the craft of burlesque performance from their hair, makeup and costumes, to act choreography, and the show’s story arc. It’s an honor to work so closely with artists of their caliber. They are inspiring me to pay close attention to every detail of what I present on stage and are helping me take my own art to new levels.

POC: With other Sinner Saint shows, I’ve usually seen a show with a theme and acts, new or old, based around that theme. With this latest run (Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic) it seems there was more of a carefully constructed narrative than previous runs (though I didn’t see the last one) with completely new acts. Was that something Sinner Saint explicitly wanted to do for this latest run?

Diva: Yes, absolutely. One of the things I have done prior to working as the resident host of Sinner Saint Burlesque, probably most notably with the Beebo Brinker Cabarets, was to write narrative cabarets. I really love doing this because it still allows cabaret artists the freedom of creating and rehearsing their acts on their own, but gives the audience the experience of a more cohesive show that tells a story. So when Sinner Saint approached me about coming on board and we had conversations about my role and what our work together might look like, I asked them if this is a format they would like to try out. They were very receptive to the idea because as a troupe they are always looking for ways to raise the bar and increase the entertainment value of their shows. So we created out first narrative cabaret, Behind the Pasties: A Burlesque Mockumentary, together while they were in London performing at the Brick House and I was here in Seattle maintaining the weekly revue. Since we were creating the show at a distance and didn’t have much rehearsal time together, I wove that story together based on acts each performer already had in her repertoire. The show ended up being really silly and lighthearted, a fun little stomping ground for us to try on this new format together and work out the kinks. We learned a lot together about how to present this format in front of our rowdy audience while staying true to Sinner Saint’s process, values, and aesthetic and I think all the learning we did is evident in the quality and cohesiveness of Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic. This show feels solid and grounded…and of course, SEXY. Not all of the acts in this run are brand new, but there was a high bar for making sure we could plug old acts into the storyline in a meaningful way.

POC: How did you first get involved in Sinner Saint Burlesque? (I think the first time I met you was at the show that Scotty The Blue Bunny hosted which was in July 2010-and you were in the audience with me)…

Diva: Wow! You have a good memory, Paul! This is, indeed when you and I first met. I had become a fan of Sinner Saint Burlesque in late 2009 and really loved their host Nicole Lucas. I was a budding cabaret performer at the time and felt like Sinner Saint Burlesque was a venue I’d like to try my hand at. I approached Audrey McManus, who was their producer extraordinaire at the time, and asked if they ever booked guest hosts. She let me know that occasionally when Nicole was sick or had another gig they would hire an outside MC for a night or two and that she’d keep me in mind. Well, it turned out that they needed help stage managing before they ever needed a guest host so Audrey asked me if I might be interested working with the troupe in that capacity. I gave it a try and found that I really enjoyed stage managing. I think Audrey, the smart woman that she is, knew that I had a lot of interest in the troupe so she wisely kept inviting me back to help with various things so my role evolved from stage manager, to guest host, to PR maven. The troupe has been through some major changes in the last two years with Nicole moving to Texas, Audrey stepping out of her role as Producer so she could focus on being an awesome mom, the troupe has now traveled to London to perform twice, and the principal performers have decided to own the Sinner Saint Burlesque brand and make it their own officially licensed business…fast forward to 2012 and now I’m working alongside awesome performers and entrepreneurs that I am also a fan of. It’s pretty rad.

POC: What plans do you all have for the future?

Diva: We’re currently in the process of creating our next run but that information is super-sexy-top-secret at the moment so I can’t tell you what we have up our…ahem…sleeves…

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Special upcoming guest stars are:
The amazing Flirty Sanchez on July 5th
And the burlesque mayor of NYC, Jonny Porkpie, July 12th

Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic closes on July 26th. Check HERE for info & tickets.

Here are some more photos from last Thursday’s show:

Solange Corbeau and Penelope Rose (POC Photo)

Polly Wood (POC Photo)

Lady Tatas (POC Photo)

Doña Dei Cuori (POC Photo)

Evilyn Sin Claire (POC Photo)

Lotti Glitterati (POC Photo)

Lotti Glitterati (POC Photo)

Doña Dei Cuori (POC Photo)

Nikola Teas-la (POC Photo)

Doña Dei Cuori (POC Photo)

Lady Tatas (POC Photo)

Diva le Déviant (POC Photo)

Polly Wood (POC Photo)

Evilyn Sin Claire

Evilyn Sin Claire (POC Photo)

Sinner Saint Burlesque & their Diva (POC Photo)

Al Lykya as Dr. Horrible (Photo by Inti St. Clair)

~ Written by Paul O’Connell (with additional contributions from Jessica Price)

“Nerds and boobs and Joss Whedon might be the cause of the sell out…but a damn good show is what will make my audience want to give burlesque a second try.” – Jo Jo Stiletto

Summer is coming to a close, and with it we reach the end of “The Summer of Nerdlesque” (as it was affectionately dubbed by producer Jo Jo Stiletto). Four prominent themed shows (Behind the Blue Door: A Dr. Who-Inspired Cabaret, Stark Naked: A Nerdlesque Tribute to Game Of Thrones, JOYstick! and Whedonesque Burlesque: Burlesque Inspired by the Works of Joss Whedon) played to sold out audiences throughout the summer. (Full disclosure-I was in both Whedonesque and Stark Naked). Of course this isn’t the first time burlesque has been devoted to geek culture or parody. Historically, burlesque has been a form of commentary on popular culture- but never before have there been so many shows in Seattle mining the seemingly endless supply of pop culture underdogs. And they’re doing it with impeccable attention to detail.

The Norse Goddess as Thor (Photo by Inti St. Clair)

Man Johnson as Mal Reynolds (Photo by Inti St. Clair)

In addition to this summer’s main shows, many individual acts within variety formats have incorporated fan-based inspiration (Iva Handfull’s Napoleon Dynamite or Prince tributes, for example). Black Lodge Burlesque, a David Lynch themed show, hits Seattle October 12-13 courtesy of Portland producers Sign of The Beast and Go Go Rocket. Also from Portland, Critical Hit Burlesque will soon collaborate with Jo Jo Stiletto for Geeklesque Unites!

Lady Laycock as Buffy (Photo by Inti St. Clair)

Jake Groshong as Captain Hammer (Photo by Inti St. Clair)

While burlesque has always given performers license to formulate ideas based on hidden obsessions, with nerdlesque it might just be something you never openly admitted was sexy before. (Jo Jo Stiletto breaks this down in her article over HERE). With this much buzz about the actual substance and the future of nerdlesque, one thing is clear: it’s brought new faces to shows and triggered many new ideas. In live performance, that’s never a bad thing. With this in mind, we talked to the producers of this summer’s crop of shows (Vixen Valentine of Behind the Blue Door, Wiggy Stardust and Madeline Rider of Stark Naked, Steve Stone of JOYstick!, Jo Jo Stiletto of Whedonesque) about their experiences and what the future holds for burlesque and its geeky sibling.

Lady Laycock in JOYstick! (JOYstick! photos by Jackie Kingsbury)

We started off by asking what doors have opened regarding new concepts for burlesque, and where these types of shows might go in the future…

Jo Jo: I wouldn’t say that what these shows are doing is exactly new to burlesque. It’s merely repackaging. I know that I’ve seen many acts that are heavy on the narrative or commentary on pop culture. So while I think Miss Indigo’s Wonder Woman act is brilliant for standard audiences…imagine her doing that act in front of an audience comprised with folks who are very well versed in the history of Wonder Woman. That audience will lose their minds.

Miss Elaine Yes in JOYstick!

Madeline: There is a line when creating fan art between impersonation or imitation, and parody or satire, and when creating these acts it’s important to address your underlying motives and ask yourself who you are creating for. Pop reference is a huge tool within burlesque but I think the same problem that exists in the non-nerdlesque world, exists in the nerdlesque world- that when I, as a producer, am charging people money to see my show, I am obligated to deliver them entertainment worth their dollar and that THAT takes work. At the same time as a newbie producer, creating within the nerdlesque genre was an incredibly safe and empowering experience because I was surrounded by people like me who got what I was aiming for. But like I said, with power comes responsibility.

Wiggy: I was worried about creating this show because even though it sounded FUN and potentially lucrative, I am really interested in projects that are socially engaged, and wasn’t sure if this project would fit the bill. Luckily, working with a similarly-minded co-producer and choosing some really awesome and thoughtful talent meant that those were conversations we had, and that we could parody pop culture instead of just reproducing it outright. And it is great to be working within the framework of a fantasy novel, because it attracts a different audience than other burlesque shows. You get people in the door that haven’t necessarily been to a burlesque show before, who are there because of the theme, and you can nerd out with them. It’s really exciting.

Iva Handfull

Fosse Jack

How well do these fan based cultures/themes and burlesque play together?

Vixen Valentine: Fans of a particular niche are very passionate about it and love being around people who feel the same way. Burlesque is also a wonderful voice of the audience, to bring to light the stories that might not have happened, but we all wish that did.

Lady Drew Blood as The Wall in Stark Naked (Stark Naked photos by Joshua Weiner)

Jo Jo: Nerd culture and burlesque culture are excellent bedfellows. Fan culture, when you boil it down, is really about passion. Burlesque is about exploring passion in front of a live audience. Nerdlesque doesn’t need to only be about fan art. Some nerd acts have no “source material” in pop culture. Busty Keaton in Boston does an act in which she shows her own history of getting bullied and then transforms into a super hero. Also, the Wil Wheaton act that Scarlett O’Hairdye created for Whedonesque Burlesque, when you strip away the Wil Wheaton merkin and insignia pasties, is just an act about a kid that grows up to be cool. It’s the “It Gets Better” nerd act.

Paris Original as Cersei Lannister with Trojan Original as Jaime

Wiggy: I think the two go together very well. Burlesque is all about constructing fantasy (even a straight glamour piece does that). When you combine the over-the-top elements of burlesque with the over-the-top elements of high fantasy (as in a fantasy novel), there is so much potential to use narrative and create little alternate worlds, realities, and character sketches. Fan fiction is already ridiculous and hilarious, and adding burlesque into the mix makes it sexy and opens the door for cultural critique.

Steve: These worlds mesh together excellently. Cos-Play itself is one of the original public odes to nerddom and nerdlesque is one of those branches that have been created from that. For years, nerds were told to hide their obsessions and were constantly ridiculed in one way or another for it. Nerdlesque challenges those cultural norms as well as the ones that burlesque on its own does. The challenge for the performer, however, is staying true to what they are representing. These cultures are built on staying true to canon. A performer’s lack of knowledge of a character can easily lead to a negative response from the audience.

Violet Tendencies as Daenerys Targaryen

Legendary NYC performer Tigger! once said of burlesque performance that as males, we are here by invitation. The originating subject matter of the 4 biggest nerdlesque shows this summer are mostly dominated by males (meaning the writers, creators, or ideas came from a somewhat male-centric foundation). We wanted to know the producers’ thoughts about bringing these male-based shows into the primarily female world of burlesque? Are fan-based shows providing a new playing field in which creative women and men can collaborate in burlesque?

Vixen Valentine: When you take these male-based shows and bring them into a female dominated art form like burlesque you change the voice and perspective. We can take the things we love and celebrate it or take something that didn’t sit well with us and satirize it. The entire subject is up for scrutiny and allows the performers to give their own take on it.

Wiggy: Madeline and I were hyper-conscious of the way that women are portrayed in the Song of Ice & Fire series. There are some moments in those novels where women are totally equal players, and others where sexism is the driving force, and we wanted to address that by encouraging those playing female characters to be strong and sexy, and have agency. I think it’s especially great for our female-dominated genre to be exploring some male-based narratives and characters, since in those books, males are often subjects while women are objects. The stories we (women) often hear do not have women as agents in their own lives, even if they are the main characters of the books, movies, or shows we watch. Writing and performing our own stories, even if they are based on characters from elsewhere, is a fantastic and potentially empowering exercise. Taking male and female characters out of those novels, giving them agency, and telling a story about them can recontextualize them, and that is really important for women to be doing in particular.

Madeline: Burlesque has historically provided a forum for the marginalized to be heard. Like Wiggy said, we are integrating burlesque performance within already established fan-culture and as women, an under-represented population within nerd culture, are given the opportunity to tell the stories the way we want to. I’m not sure if this is collaboration or cross-pollination since we have pulled our inspiration from the work of male mega-celebrity writers, directors, and creators but I think it could be should we decide to work personally with local opposite-gender authors or film-makers. Maybe that’s what’s next: Sustainable Nerdlesque.

La Petite Mort as Direwolf

Jo Jo: Hollywood is dominated by men. Gaming culture is dominated by men. Nerd culture is dominated by men. Comic book stores are dominated by men. Ah, but in burlesque, you’re right, the women control the space. It’s a space welcome to male collaboration, as you well put it. Burlesque needs more exploration of male influence…all expressions of “maleness”. But, also, burlesque needs more attention as being a feminist art form. The founders of GeekGirlCon seem to understand that. I think that’s pretty powerful on its own. A feminist geek convention has embraced burlesque. That says something about subverting the traditional male gaze associated with burlesque and male dominated nerd culture.

I’d argue that the Whedonverse is already a pretty feminist space. Yes, Joss is a man. But, frankly, he is one of the most feminist writers in Hollywood. And many of his important collaborators are women. Jane Espenson was a great role model and influencer of our show.

The summer of nerdlesque was feminist burlesque, without a doubt. JOYStick! was a fundraiser for GeekGirlCon, a feminist geek convention. And, despite the completely insulting review from the Seattle Times that seemed to think this show was targeting fanboys and their boner potential, I believe these shows were created for a feminist geek audience. It’s about everyone’s boner potential.

*************

Here are some things coming up from our producers:

Valentine Vixen has been hired to take Behind the Blue Door to Con-Volution 2012 in Burlingame, California the first weekend in November.

Vixen Valentine (Photo by Ralph Gayle)

Wiggy and Madeline would love to take Stark Naked to Portland and incorporate some PDX burlesquers to the show. (This is definitely a real possibility since our dear Madeline has moved to Portland this summer).

Madeline and Wiggy of FauxDust

Steve Stone will be hosting Geeklesque Unites! on October 19 at Re-Bar as Vanadium Silver. Steve and Kelly Clark of GeekGirlCon will be starting a production company known as Lost In Thought Productions; they are working with Lady Laycock (JOYstick!, Whedonesque) to produce An Evening at Merlotte’s in the winter. They’re also hoping to present JOYstick! Level 2 next summer.

Steve Stone, aka Vanadium Silver

Jo Jo’s next production is Geeklesque Unites! with Critical Hit Burlesque from Portland, Oregon. Next up she’ll be at BurlyCon, where she will host a “Nerdlesque Happy Hour” in hospitality. She will also be part of a panel on nerdlesque featuring speakers who’ve had firsthand experience performing, producing and researching nerdlesque. Her next big concept show will be the Burl-X-Files (an X-Files tribute show) in summer 2013.

Jo Jo Stiletto with Paul Philion

Jo Weldon addressing the fan dancers at BurlyCon 2012′s attempt to break a world record. (POC Photo)

~ Written and photographed by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

Last weekend saw the closeout of Seattle’s 5th annual BurlyCon, “a community-oriented professional growth and educational convention for Burlesque performers, fans, and aficionados”. Each year the convention keeps getting bigger; you can tell by the increasing number of attendees in the annual BurlyCon class photo. Corralling so many burlesquers in line for a minute gets harder to do with each passing year.

One of this year’s BurlyCon highlights was the successful attempt to break a Guinness World Record for “Largest Fan Dance”. This feat was accomplished by 252 dancers in tradtional costume waving their feather fans to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony for a full five minutes. The attempt took place at the ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel on the second day of BurlyCon. Volunteers stationed outside made sure all fans and costumes were on par with Guinness requirements before people were let in (specifically, fans had to be within the 12” to 50” range). As the eager particpants walked into the ballroom, volunteers did an official head count, not including official volunteers, videographers, and photographers (of which I was one). Over the next half hour people streamed in with giant fans, small fans, and everything in between.

Led by Jezebel Express, the assembled burlesquers performed a 6pm run-through where everyone followed along to a video than had been posted on BurlyCon’s website in the weeks leading up to the attempt. People continued to stream in and find their places in the ballroom; the main factor, of course was that at least 250 people had to participate. As the start time approached I could see some worried faces wondering if there would be enough dancers to participate- but by 6:30 volunteers counted a total of 252 lovely fan dancers.

Jezebel Express (NYC) Photo by POC

Though the dancers successfully met the Guinness requirements for setting a record on the first attempt, a second successful attempt was made as a backup. The next official step in the record-setting process is to send all evidence to Guinness and wait for official confirmation.

Before the attempt: EmperROAR Fabulous looks on in excitement.

Before: the ladies of TUSH! ready themselves with the other dancers

Afterwards, I talked with Cherry “Killer” Tomatoes, who was in charge of bringing this glamorous undertaking together…

Cherry “Killer” Tomatoes, one of the most essential organizers of the attempt.

POC: How did you get involved in this project?

Cherry: The Guinness attempt started when Waxie Moon made a joke about setting a fan dance record. Never one to turn down a challenge, soon after that Indigo sent off an application for setting the record to Guinness and the attempt was set in motion. I became involved because as a member of the Events Committee for BurlyCon and it was a good fit with my skill set.

Miss Indigo Blue, never one to turn down a challenge.

POC: What were the things you had to do to make this happen?

Cherry: This project involved understanding the very strict guidelines set by Guinness for setting a record, then creating a plan. This was a massive, risky undertaking. We had to create choreography for a five minute dance that a large number of people could learn quickly and do simultaneously in tight quarters, which Jo Weldon and Jezebel Express put their brilliant creative juices into. We had to get at least 250 dancers registered, and assemble a large team of volunteers and officials for the event. Because of our tight non-profit budget, we did not fly Guinness officials out to witness the event, which meant we needed to gather official witnesses, stewards, timers, photographers and videographers to observe the event and gather evidence to present to Guinness as proof that we set the record. We had a plan for just about every second for the day of the event so that it would run smoothly. Not to mention, a little hurricane got in our way- we weren’t sure that everyone registered would make it in time due to travel delays and flooded neighborhoods!

POC: How did you feel when the record was set?

Cherry: When I found out that we set the record on the first try, I felt pure joy and intense relief. But what really got to me was announcing it to the room and hearing everyone in the room cheering.

POC: How long before this record becomes official?

Cherry: We will submit the package of evidence to Guinness this week, after which we’ll have to wait around eight weeks for the Guinness officials to review our evidence and see if they agree that we met their guidelines. We made two attempts (and did it perfectly both times) so I am very optimistic that Guinness will agree we set the record!

POC: How do you feel about your role in setting this record, or BurlyCon in general?

Cherry: This was an amazing experience for me personally. I think it was really special for BurlyCon to have this collective performance experience together, for us to accomplish this as a team and further bond our community. Nothing like this has ever been done before! I am really grateful.

POC: I certainly felt a strong sense of community, which has always been one of the more appealing aspects of burlesque here in Seattle for me. And I felt it at BurlyCon while taking the different classes and attending the thought-provoking panels…I felt it during the meet & greets and the “Under the Deep Blue Sea” Dance Party. I felt it as I met new burlesque friends from across the country. Even at the crazy after parties at different suites, acting crazy and playing games (like Cards Against Humanity) I felt it. I truly love being amongst the glittery, fabulous, outrageous men and woman of burlesque.

Sometimes she’s Daddy… le Déviant (POC Photo)

“I asked the troupe what it would look like if we did a show about sexual revolution…” – Diva le Déviant

~ Written and photographed by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

While recovering from the nasty “BurlyCon bug” that everyone seemed to get at the annual convention this year, one of the shows I managed to venture out to was the new Sinner Saint Burlesque production, Revolution.  I took some photos and met up with some awesome photographers who were also there: Seattle’s Greg Holloway and Don Spiro from New York City.  We had a three-way…um, conversation about geeky photography stuff and the nature of burlesque in NYC and Seattle while waiting for the show to begin. I wouldn’t mind perpetually socializing before burlesque shows or being backstage getting ready for one…but, back to Sinner Saint.  The troupe and co-writer/host Diva le Déviant have been striving to find a new voice at Noc Noc with a narrative format- challenging themselves as well as their audience by trying a different approach to their long-running weekly show.  It’s been an interesting process for the troupe and their longtime fans, and the format continues to evolve with the current show.

Revolution gives a nod to feminist movements throughout the ages and from across the globe, exploring themes as they relate to sexuality such as beauty, shame, and humor. According to Diva le Déviant, the idea began shortly after 2011’s  Beebo Brinker  “lesbian pulp cabaret” series (which Diva – aka Sasha Summer Cousineau- co-produced with Lyla la Coeur and Cherry Manhattan).  “The Beebo project entertained people, but it also really moved people because they feel the relevance in their lives today,” Diva explained.  “So I thought about that idea…something that aesthetically draws people’s attention, but then holds their interest in a deeply personal way.  I realized that everybody struggles in some way with sex, gender, and sexuality and that in the year 2012, a presidential election year, there are a lot of difficult and painful conversations being had in very public ways on these issues.  So I asked the troupe what it would look like if we did a show about sexual revolution.”

Evilyn Sin Claire

Polly Wood

Diva then took a brief hiatus while the ladies of Sinner Saint Burlesque (Jesse, Tatas, Evilyn, Polly, Doña, and Nikola) worked on developing the concept of a show about sexual revolution. When Diva returned, they submitted a list of acts and had sketched out an order in which they felt they should be presented.  Based on this framework, Diva came up with a narrative to weave throughout the show.  “As I watched these acts become realized in rehearsal, I’m not going to lie…there were moments when I cried,” Diva admitted. “There were moments when I, one of THE MOST POLITICAL people I know, felt a little bit scared that some of the pieces might feel triggering to people or might offend a few audience members.  Mostly though, there were moments of feeling a swelling pride.  In the process of creating this show I felt lucky to be working with other artists whose values were so like mine and who felt so committed to telling this story right by being unapologetic and truthful.”

Doña Dei Cuori

One of the most intense and emotional acts of the new production consists of the entire troupe and is performed to a song called “Beautiful” by Me’Shell NdegéOcello. Doña Dei Cuori, the creator of the act, explained its origins were rooted in nudity.  “The ‘Beautiful’ act started as a brainstorm about nudists,” she told me. “I played a lot with nudity and as I did more research on being nude, I discovered a few things: one, I have a lot of judgments about nudity. Two, society has a lot of judgments about nudity. I reflected more and more about body image and vulnerability.  Eventually what I got to was ‘shame’. We as a society shame the hell out of our bodies and sexuality. The piece became a work to have a personal revolution, by inviting freedom from shame. My hope was to offer the audience a few minutes where they could feel free of their body/sexual shame.”

Doña Dei Cuori

“I really wanted a way to engage the audience more deeply, so we asked them to give us their secret, their shame,” Doña continued. “We then share their story through movement, and release them of it. I won’t speak for everyone else, but it is a piece that has worked for me, personally, to identify my own shame and vulnerabilities. I loved playing with the embarrassment, anger and disgust all related to shame, as well as the relief, freedom and self-acceptance.”

Catch Revolution every Thursday night at Noc Noc until December 27 (except Thanksgiving) -  you can visit the event page HERE.

Nikola Tease-la

Nikola Tease-la

Lady TaTas

Evilyn Sin Claire

Evilyn Sin Claire

Lady TaTas

Daddy le Déviant

The ladies of Sinner Saint…

…and a triumphant finish.

~ Written and compiled by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

How do you get your yule tide cheer? Egg nog? Caroling?  Mistletoe? Forget about sugar plums- how about visions of sparkly, snowflake-covered boobies dancing in your head?  This month there are plenty of holiday and winter themed shows where you’ll see all kinds of bodies joyously glistening on the magical stages of Seattle…and these gals and guys will make sure your holiday wishes come true.  Here are some highlights of the holiday shows- although this doesn’t include everything happening in Seattle in December, it’s a noble start if you’re craving some wintry burlesque:

WinterWood

Could this be a double entendre?   “A Gossamer Wing Production featuring a variety of dark, sparkly, and myth-based burlesque numbers to usher in the magic of winter. This show will take the audience on a journey through a wintry woodland where every shadow and movement hides another story.”

Performers of Winterwood include:
Fuchsia FoXXX
Persephone Illyri
BoomBoom L’Roux
Scarlett O’Hairdye
Whisper De Corvo
Sailor St. Claire

Hosted by Mr. Bawdy

December 2nd @ 8:00 at The Can Can

http://cancan.strangertickets.com/events/6507110/winterwood

Stripped Screw Burlesque presents: The Best Burlesque Pageant Ever

Stripped Screw’s two new members Seraphina Fiero and Lady Drew Blood will make their debut with Stripped Screw’s annual holiday extravaganza. “Stripped Screw takes on the true meaning of Christmas in this throw back to your childhood Christmas pageants. Misfits, wise men and a shining star all come together to form one magnificent disaster. Find out why everyone is in such an uproar over the Screws, as Seattle’s gritty glam burlesque troupe twists this classic Christmas tale and gives it the sexy sultry perversion that they are known for in The Best Burlesque Pageant Ever!”

Three shows December 7^th & 8^th @ 8:30-Dec 9^th @ 6:30 at Columbia City Theater

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/292466

Butches Unwrapped! Celebrating Female Masculinities

 Want a chance to see some extraordinary holiday visions, including but definitely not limited to the swagger-styled alter ego of Sinner Saint Burlesque’s Lady TaTas, or Germanic genderbender Daddy Le Déviant?  “What type of…err…PACKAGE do you hope to receive this holiday season? At Butches Unwrapped we invite you to join us in peeling back the layers of gender, sex, orientation and attraction as though they are the wrapping paper on this star-STUDded film and cabaret extravaganza.”

Hosted by Daddy Le Déviant

December 8^th @10:00 at Rebar

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4895214719#

Can Can Castaways: HOLIDAY CABARET: featuring the CAN CAN CASTAWAYS!

The Castaways never fail to spice things up from their home deep within the warm breast of Pike Place Market at Can Can Kitchen & Cabaret.  “A spectacle of holiday cabaret, comedy, burlesque and modern dance comes together each winter to enhance the festivities of the season.”

Four shows-December 7^th, 14^th, 21^st & 28^th. All shows @ 10:30 at The Can Can

http://cancan.strangertickets.com/events/6227720/show-pony-featuring-the-can-can-castaways#event=6227715

Morbid Curiositease-The Solstice Edition

And now for something completely different: “A debaucherous evening of music, sideshow, tease and more awaits you. Solstice is upon us and only the most carnal of offerings will suffice.”

Hosted by the dapper Vincent Drambuie

December 8^th @ 10:00 at The Rendezvous Jewel Box Theater

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/293445

Tempting Tarts Burlesque presents: Visions of Sugar Plums

With this show- held on 12-12-12, which according to the Mayan calendar marks the end of the world-  the Tarts bring up an alarming prospect: “This could possibly be the very last burlesque show you will ever see!  We’re hanging our stockings by the chimney with care… Wouldn’t you like to watch us take ‘em off?”

Hosted by the Cavorting Mouthpiece Dickie Gazoonie

December 12^th with two shows @ 7:00 & 8:30 at The Rendezvous Jewel Box Theater

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/302651

The Pin-Up Angels: Christmas Stockings -A Cabaret For Our Troops

This is the 5th holiday season that the Pin-up Angels present Christmas Stockings. All proceeds will benefit the care package fund used to send morale boosting gifts to deployed troops. “This show is a very important fundraiser to make sure we can send our care packages through the spring.  We often create a cast from performers within The Pinup Angels as well as reaching out to our generous local burlesque community.  We are very excited this year to have our entire cast of performers come from within The Pinup Angels’ ranks.”

Hosted by Sydni Deveraux, Produced by Miss Kitty Baby

December 13^th @ 7:30 at The Rendezvous Jewel Box Theater

http://christmasstockings2012.eventbrite.com/#

HOMO for the Holidays

Now in its fifth year (a show which has become a POC Photo tradition to see on Christmas Eve): “Homo For The Holidays! is a hearty holiday fruitcake packed with rollick-some reindeer, enticing elves, ghostly guests, sexy snowstorms, agile angels, musical Maccabees, and new ways to define coming home. It’s not Christmas in July, it’s Pride in December!  Light your menorah, stuff your stockings, and join our chosen family in celebrating our favorite wintry holiday of all, Homo For The Holidays!”

Hosted by BenDeLaCreme

Produced by DeLouRue Presents

Twelve shows-December 14^th, 15^th, 21^st, 22^nd, 23^rd, & 24^th. Two shows per night @ 7pm and 10pm

At West Hall in the Oddfellows Building.

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/290222

Land of The Sweets: A Burlesque Nutcracker

The longest running holiday burlesque show in our fair city, Land of the Sweets sets a precedent year after year and has become for many, an annual tradition.  “Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann are back at Seattle’s illustrious Triple Door for their seventh annual installment of Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker. A spectacle of ecdysiastic pageantry, Land Of The Sweets has delighted holiday revelers since 2006, giving the ballet a bawdy makeover!”

Hosted by Jasper McCann

Thirty shows from December 11^th thru the 27^th at The Triple Door. Show dates and times vary, please check here for more information:

http://www.landofthesweets.com/

http://www.thetripledoor.net/Calendar.aspx

A dazzling array of lipsticks by Atomic Cosmetics. (POC Photo)

~ Written and photographed by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo) with additional photos by Ji Ji Lee

“Honestly, I’ve never felt as welcomed and cared for as I do in the burlesque community.”
~ Dr. Jen, Atomic Cosmetics

There are many fascinating and interesting people in the world of burlesque, and I always enjoy hearing their personal histories and about how burlesque manifested itself in their lives. I’m not just talking about performers- there are producers, costumers, photographers (ahem) and even…doctors. In this case I’m talking about Dr. Jennifer Dietrich, who earned that distinction by earning a PhD in Biochemistry/Biophysics from the University of Kansas in 2004. So how did this particular doctor become “Dr. Bad Jen”, supplying Seattle’s burlesque community with healthy and safe skincare and makeup through Atomic Cosmetics/Xerion Skin Science?

Like a lot of people involved in the burlesque community, it was by purely by chance that she ended up becoming a darling of the Seattle burlesque world. Six years ago Dr. Jen stumbled across the EWG (Environmental Working Group) website. In particular, she came across the site’s cosmetics database listing the hazardous levels of ingredients contained in various products on the market and realized many of the products that she used had a bad safety rating. “I was horrified to learn that they got a 7 or higher on the hazard scale,” she said. “I immediately threw everything in my bathroom away in a panic. Of course, then I had no choice but to roll up my sleeves and get busy with some emulsion chemistry.”

Pretty in pink: Dr. Jen (POC Photo)

Since Dr. Jen is all about science, taking the next step was quite easy. “I really just needed to do a bit of research, and then I was good. I did have to purchase things to get started, but it was worth it to me to have non-toxic skincare. I never thought of selling my stuff at all, but then people kept commenting on my skin and how great it looked, and asking me for the products I was using.”

While slowly discovering she was becoming a makeup maven, Dr. Jen moved to Seattle and caught her first burlesque show. Like many before her, she had no idea what burlesque was and fell in love with the art form immediately. “I love the creativity, the theatricality, the DIY attitude, and most of all, the rhinestones!” (She’s not kidding about the rhinestones. Just head over to her space inside Retail Therapy- on Capitol Hill near the corner of Pike & Broadway- and you’ll see; she’s currently on a rhinestoning frenzy over there).

Dr. Jen became adamant (and still is) about letting people know how toxic makeup can be, especially for performers sweating under hot lights in heavy drag on a regular basis. “Stage makeup is some of the worst stuff out there as far as toxicity goes.” Since she opened up her store in August 2012 she has been very busy, which she attributes to the fact that people, not just performers, want healthier alternatives. “This makes me super happy, because when I started doing this, nobody listened to me when I talked about how dangerous the products in the world were.”

Jars of skin-safe glitter (POC Photo)

Seattle burlesque performer Inga Ingénue (Miss Viva Las Vegas 2011) was first introduced to Atomic Cosmetics when Dr. Jen was simply an online presence a few years ago; now Inga is one of her biggest fans. “I have incredibly sensitive skin; artificial fragrances and harsh chemicals make my face very, very unhappy,” Inga told me. “Meeting Dr. Jen was like a dream come true! It’s pretty common knowledge that toxins, preservatives, and added mystery fragrances are just plain bad for your longterm health, and should be avoided as much as possible anyway; I want to stay healthy and perform until the day I die!”

“Dr. Jen is brilliant and smokin’ hot- I am SO lucky to know her and have access to her amazing work,” Inga continued. “I wander into her lovely Capitol Hill shop all the time to chat, eat gluten-free cookies, and name lipstick colors. ‘Ingénude’ is my personal favorite, of course.”

Inga Ingenue in Atomic Cosmetics (Photo by Ji Ji Lee)

With a rising demand amongst showgirls (showboys, too), I asked Dr. Jen how she goes about making new products. “It’s quite a process! First I decide what I want the product to do for the skin. Once I’ve established that, I research. I determine which oils will work best for what I want, then I look for actives that actually have some science behind them. This is critical- there are so many things on the market right now being touted as the next big thing in skincare, and in reality, there isn’t a shred of science to support those claims. Once I know what oils and actives I want to use, I decide what the best way to deliver those actives will be (i.e. in a cream, a serum, etc). From there, it’s just emulsion chemistry. Once I make a product, I test it on myself, and if it works on me, I send it off for safety and stability testing, and then it goes to my small army of showgirl guinea pigs. Because, you know, ‘tested on showgirls, never on animals’.”

Did I mention she gives a 25% discount to burlesque and drag performers at her store?

Jinkx Monsoon in Atomic Cosmetics (Photo Ji Ji Lee)

The current popularity of Atomic Cosmetics doesn’t mean Dr. Jen has abandoned her other scientific endeavors. She’s been in the science field for 16 years now and has a bachelor’s degree in Pathogenic Microbiology in addition to her PhD. As Dr. Jen puts it, “…It is mostly due to the fact that I love science like a bad boyfriend…no matter how badly it treats me, I just…can’t…quit….it.”

I asked her to explain a few of the scientific projects she is currently working on that are near and dear to her heart. “I have another company that I formed in order to pursue research on two main projects. One is an early Alzheimer’s detection assay. The goal with this assay is to provide people with a reliable, early detection assay. Currently, there is no lab test that can be done to determine whether a person has the disease; diagnosis is based on some kind of voodoo done by MDs, and can only be confirmed post-mortem. I would really like to figure this out before I get much older- I sure as heck don’t want some silly MD trying to diagnose me with nothing more than his opinion.”

“My other project is my favorite one. I’m working to blur the lines between computer and brain by building a processor out of neuronal spare parts. There is a thing in computation known as Moore’s Law, which states that the numbers of transistors on a chip will double every 18 months, and we’re rapidly getting to the point where that is simply not going to be possible anymore. At some point, the current paradigm of transistors on a silicon chip will no longer be useful. My idea is to harness the massively parallel processing power of the brain and blend it with the brute force computational ability of modern computers to create a much more powerful computational architecture. In English: I want to build the brain in a vat. Or if you prefer it in movie terms, I’m gonna be the person they travel back in time to kill.”

Yes, Dr. Jen is that brilliant- and funny as well. See for yourself if you visit her fabulous space in Retail Therapy (maybe you can even help her with those rhinestones). The space is a fun, pleasant, and very soothing place to be. Photos of many Seattle burlesquers line the walls- in full Dr. Jen makeup, of course. (Full disclosure- she even fed me key lime pie during our interview).

Kitten LaRue in Atomic Cosmetics (Photo by Ji Ji Lee)

Dr. Jen told me her ultimate goal was to win the Nobel Prize in physics and bring three strippers to the award ceremony. Why three? “Because I have to have more strippers with me than the guy who won the Nobel for PCR,” she replied. Who knew the Nobels were so hip? Perhaps there’s a new gig all burlesquers should aspire to get to….start making those Nobel Prize pasties.

Visit Dr. Jen and Atomic Cosmetics online at http://www.xerionskinscience.com/. Or visit the mezzanine level at Retail Therapy: 905 E. Pike @ Broadway, Seattle.

Jett Adore performing at the New Orleans Burlesque Festival (POC Photo)

~ Interview by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo), with additional text by Jessica Price

What’s a little ambiguity in the XX/XY sex chromosome department between friends? 2013 is shaping up to be the year of the MAN. Truthfully, the momentum for male burlesque has been building for years and years (just ask Scott Ewalt the next time he lectures at BurlyCon) but with the rise in popularity of showcases like the New York Boylesque Festival, now in its second year, male performers reinventing burlesque in daring and innovative ways seems more possible- and visible- than ever before.

This week’s picks of the glitter are just a few ways to celebrate the beautiful and bawdy boys of burlesque/boylesque:

Thursday night (February 28) at Central Cinema, Wes Hurley’s latest film Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel kicks off a monthly screening series hosted by none other than RuPaul’s Drag Race-r Jinkx Monsoon and Waxie Moon in the flesh. Get tickets HERE, and if you miss it, BenDeLaCreme hosts the next screening on March 28.

For your “early warning” file, next month (March 27 to be exact), KINGS: A Boylesque Extravaganza takes place at the Triple Door. This show is incredibly exciting for obvious reasons (um…Evil Hate Monkey, Russell Bruner, Waxie Moon, Stage Door Johnnies, and Mat Fraser all on one stage???), but the show will also be filmed for a new movie produced by Seattle filmmaker Deirdre Allen Timmons- yes, Deirdre of the now-famous burlesque documentary, A Wink and a Smile. Get tickets HERE.

The Stage Door Johnnies at BHoF (POC Photo)

But lest we get too carried away with the future, let’s talk about the present. Our top pick for this week is Boys! Bois! Boyz! Starring Jett Adore at West Hall on Friday, March 1. For those that haven’t yet seen Jett perform, many burlesque aficionados are already familiar with his oh-so-dreamy name: Jett has been honored with multiple Burlesque Hall of Fame wins including 2010’s “Most Innovative” and “World’s Best Burlesque Group” (with Stage Door Johnnies), and is current titleholder of “Best Duo” with Frenchie Kiss. Many other talented specimens of masculine perfection appear in this week’s show- Trojan Original, Daddy Z Deviant, Waxie Moon, and Paris Original, just to name a few. The show will be hosted by Ernie Von Schmaltz for two shows at 7:30 and 10pm. Check out the whole package (yeah, that’s what we said) and book tickets HERE.

Friday, March 1 at West Hall

We talked to one of the show’s producers and performers, Fosse Jack, about putting together this boylesque showcase:

BSP: Can you tell us a little about how the Boys! Bois! Boyz! series was developed?

Fosse Jack: Actually the idea was suggested by Miss Indigo Blue! She wanted to do a boylesque show starring Jett Adore, and invited Sir Eddie Van Glam, myself and EmpeROAR Fabulous to produce it in tandem with the Academy of Burlesque. With both Eddie and I on board, she suggested we build off the previous Boys! Bois! Boyz! shows and build something awesome. Working with Miss Indigo Blue and EmpeROAR on a producer level has been an amazing experience.

The concept for Boys! Bois! Boyz! was born during a Burlesque 202 class in which Sir Eddie, myself, Man Johnson, Piston Chambers, Rip Curl and Summer Lovin worked together under the tutelage of Waxie Moon. Piston had been the driving force behind getting us all together, with the idea of having a “boylesque takeover” of the class. During the show Sir Eddie expressed interest in doing a boylesque show, and asked me if I was interested in producing. I came up with the name, inspired by Lady Gaga’s song “Boys, Boys, Boys”, and by the varied aspects and representations of masculinity in burlesque (hence the three different spellings).

We produced the first just over a year ago, as a Double Feature Burlesque Show with the Pin-Up Angels, and then again in May as an opportunity to perform the Waxie Moon & Ensemble “Cum Together” act. Our first show, hosted by Daddy Z Deviant, was built around a ‘celebration of boydom’ and featured various types of boylesque, including drag king performance and clowning. Our second show, hosted by Flirty Sanchez was a more story-driven idea and had a boy band theme. Boys! Bois! Boyz! Starring Jett Adore goes back to the ‘celebration of boydom’ and will feature a wide variety of boylesque talent.

BSP: What are some of your goals in producing shows like these?

Fosse Jack: For me, I want boylesque in Seattle to get a little more publicity. We have a LOT of amazing talent and very few shows or groups dedicated to it. Throughout the past few years I’ve seen boylesque troupes try to form but the appeal of each was limited to a particular demographic. Only Mod Carousel has been able to maintain its shape and force.

That being said, I believe that there is a need to introduce more people to boylesque, and vice versa, Seattle’s boylesque performers to a wider portion of the burlesque audience. Much of the desire for this type of show has been expressed by fellow burlesque performers; but if marketed correctly, and in providing a wide variety of boylesquers, we can make ourselves noticed and hopefully build steam for a wider and more enthusiastic boylesque audience in the Emerald City and surrounding area. Ultimately I would like to see Boys! Bois! Boyz! lead to Seattle’s own mini-boylesque festival. New York has the market on that right now, but to my knowledge the West Coast is behind. Whether this could come to fruition or not is hard to say, but a boy can dream.

BSP: Can you explain a little about your introduction to burlesque?

Fosse Jack: I was introduced to burlesque by Polly Wood. Polly and I went to college together and toured in the same dramatic troupe. We were close and stayed in touch after college. I knew she was getting into burlesque and talked a couple of friends of mine into going to a show with me. I had no idea what to expect, let alone have any clue that the art form would call to me as it did. Anyway, it was a Columbia City Cabaret hosted and produced by Tamara the Trapeze Lady that gave me my first introduction to burlesque. My friends (both young women) talked about how fun it would be to perform an act, largely joking, but the same thoughts played in my head in a more serious fashion.

I came up with my name – Fosse Jack, combining the last name of my favorite choreographer (Bob Fosse) and an uncommon pet form of James (my birth name). I also liked the inadvertent double entendre: Fosse is derived from the Latin for ‘bone’ and well, Jack should be self-explanatory. About the same time Polly changed her [stage] name and without thinking we had created duo Jack & Wood, a name that still makes me giggle like a ten year old boy.

Waxie Moon was the first boylesque performance I ever experienced, and I remember being both a little shocked and more than a little intrigued the first time I saw him as The Rat King in Land of the Sweets. Polly had introduced me to Waxie and mentioned that I had an interest into getting into burlesque. Waxie told me about the first Boylesque 101, at the time an informal event. I was not able to join that class but the thought remained in my mind. A few months later I saw Through The Looking Glass where I was reintroduced not only to Waxie but also to EmpeROAR Fabulous. It was EmpeROAR Fabulous who gave me my debut performance at his Fresh Air show, which raised money for a charity in his mother’s name… About a month after that Polly Wood and I launched our very first Jack & Wood Show, and produced it on a monthly basis for about a year until other projects took over. We are just now returning to this project and have re-launched Jack & Wood at The Can Can.

I’ve been performing on and off for the past several years, working for smaller shows at The Jewelbox, Can Can, and Re-Bar and performing more recently in large productions at Theatre Off Jackson and The Triple Door. I have also been (though inconsistently) reviewing burlesque shows, largely as an exercise in objectivity and self-education but also in an attempt to bring a self-awareness to the Seattle burlesque community in relation to other ‘mainstream’ art forms. As burlesque becomes more and more in the public eye the demand for consistency and high standards increases and we should all be aware of this.

BSP: Any other parting thoughts on burlesque/boylesque in general…?

Fosse Jack: I have not always liked the term ‘boylesque’, in fact I refer to myself as a ‘burlesque’ performer in most cases. I don’t believe there is a great deal of difference between these two facets of the art form, with one exception. It’s hard for boys (whether male by birth, identity or persona) to perform ‘classic burlesque’ as the rules of the classic are not easily applied to non-breasted glamourites, or to the place ‘men’ hold in the social psyche that convention enforces on our community as a whole. Even Waxie Moon and other gender-blenders who perform, at times, in a classic style (and do so beautifully) are not received the same way as a female artist would be. It’s just a fact of the social eye.

But as Boy/i-Burlesquers are becoming more numerous, and are integrating themselves, their styles and their talents with the greater burlesque community, I think they will in time gain more of the spotlight. This has been done in Chicago with Jett Adore and the Stage Door Johnnies, in New York with their no-holds-barred performers like Tigger!, and to some extent with acts like Chippendales, and can be done with the amazing variety of local talent.

Our part in the art of the tease is still being formed, our contributions only just being recognized. There is steam building here, and I want to help that steam get things moving. In another couple of years, I would like to see the ‘boylesque’ aspect of BHOF be on equal or near-equal footing with the classic aspect, and the title of Reigning King of Burlesque or (as I prefer) ‘Prince of Tease’ to be something solid to work toward, not just a glorified honorary mention.

In the meantime it is important for us to continue to read the audiences, push boundaries in such a way that we awaken an appreciation for what we do. Shock value can be effective but not in the long term. The waters are warming up, slowly, we just need to apply a little extra heat now and then.

******
Visit Fosse Jack at www.fossejack.blogspot.com.

International man of mystery: Fosse Jack in Burlesco DiVino (POC Photo)

Inga Ingenue and Fosse Jack (POC Photo)

The Stage Door Johnnies at BHoF (POC Photo)

Ah, Jett Adore.  The name rolls gorgeously off the tongue, sending one into a reverie of fleeting moments shared recently in Seattle… there was the brief but flirty warm-up at the debut of Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel at Central Cinema, a set of blush-inducing seductions at Boys! Bois! Boyz! at West Hall, and the absolutely stunning dalliances (both solo and with handsome counterparts The Stage Door Johnnies) at KINGS: A Boylesque Extravaganza last week at The Triple Door.  We’ve fallen in love with Jett Adore.  And we’re not the only ones.

Jett has traveled extensively, headlining all over the world in over 50 cities, touring most recently throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. As some may recall, he was awarded the Burlesque Hall of Fame’s “Most Innovative 2011” as well as sharing the title “World’s Best Duo 2012” with Ms. Frenchie Kiss. Jett is also one of The Stage Door Johnnies, Chicago’s premier male burlesque trio, who scooped up the Burlesque Hall of Fame’s “World’s Best Burlesque Group 2011”. The troupe were awarded “Artists of the Year, 2010” by The Burlesque Innovation Guild and are ranked among the World’s “Top 10 Performers” by 21ST Century Burlesque. All this, and they manage to star in their own weekly show in Chicago. The Stage Door Johnnies are magnificent together; individually, they’re unique and just as sublime.

Paul and Jessica of Burlesque Seattle Press recently took a moment to get to know the delightful man referred to as “The No-Pantser Romancer”- Jett Adore:

BSP: Hi Jett! Where are you writing from now?  (You’ve been traveling quite a bit from your home base of Chicago we know, including a few recent stops in Seattle.  You also toured Australia last year…)

Jett Adore: I am back in my palace in Chicago, Illinois. Yes, we Stage Door Johnnies have been very busy. In the last several months, we have had our show in NY also starring Liza Minnelli and Alan Cumming, and we toured our show late last year in Australia for a little over a month with the Schlepp Sisters, Minnie Tonka and Darlinda Just Darlinda, and host Nadine Dubois. Since then, I journeyed on my own to headline in New Zealand for a few weeks for the 20th anniversary World Busker’s Festival in February, then a few big shows in Detroit and Chicago, and finally on to my Mini-West Coast Tour which brought me to your divine city.

BSP: Can you tell a little (for those that don’t know you just yet) about how you discovered burlesque, and a little about your trajectory as a performer?

Jett: I was born on the Isle of Romantica, where I was reared by my royal family with the virtues of love and sensual expression. Since childhood, and on my magical journeys since leaving my homeland, I have continually been offered the great fortune of working in the worlds of professional theatre and dance. Along these journeys, I had been involved in several annual events incorporating choreographed, polished, highly stylized dance into an elaborate exotic male theatrical experience. I have also been dear friends with burlesque icon Hot Toddy since we were both but wee sproutlings, and it is he who had the vision to bring together the three Stage Door Johnnies: Bazuka Joe, Ray Gunn, and myself. The ladies within the world of today’s exciting burlesque revival have since been largely responsible for our opportunities to shine our bright naughty bits all across the world. Without their continual welcoming embrace, we would have gone nowhere.

BSP: How would you describe your personal style and/or individual take on male burlesque?

Jett: First, I imagine, I pretend…that nostalgia actually exists for male burlesque just as it does for the legendary ladies. I dream, what if, when burlesque was at it’s original height of popularity, male performers had been just as prominent and mainstream as women who have made history? How would those men have translated the genre? I aim to allow indulgence in a fantastical male character who, just as so many of the divas of burlesque history, has a playful sense of humor without sacrificing legitimate sex appeal. I aim to explore masculinity, and to draw on icons and images which promote it, exploit it, twist it, exaggerate it, expand it. I never intend to bend gender, but I ask, always as a man, what can be provocative in the contrasts between delicacy and muscularity, softness and brawn? Is there a bit of fancy in football? The iconic romantic male image, in and of itself, may indeed be considered in many ways inherently feminine, what with all his writing of love letters and giving gifts of thoughtful bouquets and trinkets, his tenderness, charm, and immaculate, glamorous elegance, despite his brute strength. The rest of Jett Adore is mystery and secrets and plenty of gemstones, and to try to sort through it all would spoil the magic.

Jett Adore (Photo by Roxi D’Lite)

BSP: In recent years, men in burlesque (many of whom have been performing since neo-burlesque’s initial resurgence) have been more widely recognized, put ground-breaking work out there, and been a strong creative influence on the art form as a whole.  Do you feel like in your travels, people outside of the performance community are starting to wake up to the fact that men can embrace this form of performance too?

Jett: We Stage Door Johnnies have been immensely fortunate that our aesthetic has always been well received in the burlesque community and beyond. We have never had to struggle to be embraced as men in this art form, but have never taken that fortune for granted. It has since the beginning been our mission to embody a male counterpart to classic female burlesque in a way that does not mock, but rather glorifies the art of the striptease.

The vast majority of audiences I encounter, though, are largely virgins to burlesque of any kind, and come, I think, expecting less than the life-changing adventure they eventually experience. This is, of course, one of the most exciting things about burlesque. There is both great opportunity and great responsibility to bring the most polished, most innovative, most moving representation possible of this theatre we call burlesque, as it is often the first impression the audience will have to this genre.

I believe burlesque at its very core is universally rousing regardless of a performer’s gender or an audience member’s sexual preference. Though the crowd may roar at the glimpse of an exposed bottom or rhinestoned nipple, what they are applauding in that moment is an innovation, a surprise, a brilliant bit of artistry. From the elderly who attach to the nostalgia, to the stylish gay men who can’t get enough of the glitzy divas and elaborate costumes, to married couples, to bachelorette parties and fratboys, the beautiful melting pot of the burlesque audience all join together to embrace and rejoice in the fun and freeing art of striptease, whether or not the performer’s gender matches that of their usual sexual desire. What I have found fascinating is the positive and enthusiast feedback I and the other Johnnies have received from heterosexual men. They come for the ladies, but, to their astonishment (indeed, it is often all they can do not to groan and squirm as soon as a male performer is announced), they somehow find a cleverness and theatricality to our acts, which allows them to watch and enjoy and be roused, even inspired and empowered, by a guy getting naked. That’s breaking down boundaries. I love that.

Jett, in a little taste of his ode to beautiful plumage.

BSP: Did you ever imagine that being involved in this art form would hold such opportunities for you, and what have been the most cherished moments for you so far?

Jett: Before I was awakened to the rather obvious fact that theatre is much more exciting when people are getting naked, I never dreamed anything close to the life I am living. I am continually touched and overwhelmingly inspired by my beloved friends who are in this business. There are cherished moments at every turn, and heartbreak at every farewell. Attending the annual Burlesque Hall of Fame shows and awards ceremonies these last several years has certainly concentrated many of those kinds of moments. It is hard to top the gratitude felt at the recognition extended by some of the best of one’s peers. Better even is having the opportunity to acknowledge those peers for their own magical inspiration.

BSP: Finally- how would you characterize Chicago burlesque in a short sentence or two?

Jett: Chicago has some of the best of neo and classic burlesque and it is being produced in more and more spectacular venues. I am so fortunate to be part of the scene here; we’re all upping the bar for each other.

Jett reclining with a special friend.

Visit the spectacularly talented, spectacularly handsome Stage Door Johnnies HERE.

Closing night of Texas Burlesque Festival 2013

~ Written and photographed by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

By now many of you know my excitement about attending burlesque festivals and events. Meeting new burlesquers and saying hi to returning ones makes me just want to jump into a big, naked burlesque hot tub with you all. And this year’s Texas Burlesque Festival was no different. Produced by Lynn Raridon and co-produced by Jigglewatts co-founder and 2010 Queen of New Orleans Burlesque, Coco Lectric, the TXBF – now in its sixth year keeps getting bigger and better. This was my third straight year attending and the second as performer Man Johnson (my perverted, absurd boylesque persona).

At times it’s a still a surreal experience for me performing burlesque. Like everyone else I have my bouts with nerves etc. and usually get along just fine. However the particular act I was fortunate to be invited to perform (at the Thursday night showcase “Nouveau Nuit”) would be the first time it would be done in public. Although I was pretty sure it would come off okay, there’s still that uneasy feeling…similar to when you’re climbing the ladder to the highest diving board at the community pool. Then just as they’re announcing your name, you say “this is it” and then you take the plunge.

My main concern though was my assels. (Assels for those of you who somehow don’t know, are just like tassels for boobs except you put them on your ass.) Not that they wouldn’t spin, because I in fact practiced my ass off thanks to Lady Drew Blood’s expert guidance in assel theory. But would the assels still be sticking to my butt by the time I hit the stage? After all, we’ve all seen pasties fly off.

As I watched the show in full costume I kept wondering to myself, “are they coming off???” and I would feel my butt to see if they were still attached. But it was all just silliness- the act went off without a hitch and I had a pretty good time up there, with both assels and front tassel (yes, that’s a cock-tassel) spinning beautifully. It was also nice to be Runner Up as Audience Favorite for the second year in a row.

The Texas Burlesque Festival is three nights with an Audience Favorite picked on Thursday and Friday that is invited to compete at the Saturday night showcase.

Here are the 2013 TEXAS BURLESQUE FESTIVAL details:

Thursday Night Audience Choice Winner: Lady Luck- Austin, TX
Runners Up: Man Johnson, Sherry Bomb and Ron Dez Vous
Friday Night Audience Choice Winner: Cruel Valentine- Chicago, IL
Runner Up: Ginger Snaps, Jasper St James, Mary Lynn Mayhem
Saturday Night: Best Costume- Tiny D- Brooklyn, NY
Best Use of Prop/Novelty- Bobbie Burlesque- Hollywood, CA
Best Ensemble- Queertini Time- Austin TX
Most Original- Crimson Skye- London, UK
Best Tease Factor- Franki Markstone- St.Petersburg, FL
Best Solo- Peggy De Lune- Columbus,OH/London UK

One of the best things about TXBF is Cora Vette as the Emcee. With her dirty jokes, powerful singing voice (she totally rocked “Barracuda”) and constant harassment of certain stage hands, it’s impossible not to have a constant ear to ear smile on your face. This year’s TXBF had ASL interpreters for the Thursday and Friday night show. I loved how Cora would start one of her jokes with “A man was jerking off,” and then she would quickly turn towards the interpreter to see how you would sign that.

The headliners for TXBF were current reigning Queen of Burlesque, Imogen Kelly, Dirty Martini, Camille 2000, current Queen of New Orleans Burlesque Angi B. Lovely, Ruby Joule (last year’s best debut at BHOF), two-thirds of The Stage Door Johnnies (Ray Gunn & Bazuka Joe), and Coco Lecric, who did a tribute act to Wild Cherry.

Coco Lectric’s tribute act to Wild Cherry (costume by Sherry Bomb)

I asked Coco to elaborate on how her tribute act to Wild Cherry came to be:

I don’t really know where to begin when it comes to my Wild Cherry tribute performance. When Cherry and I spoke about it this past September, I immediately became thrilled and nervous! Hailing from New Orleans, Wild Cherry worked the touring circuit from the late 1950s through the 70s. There are no videos of her during her touring years, but her incredible performance style and before-her-time abilities made me want to share her career with audiences and fellow performers. She was such a physical performer, using tumbling techniques, balance and exotic floor work. The first day we met for her to train me she had abdominal isolations and foot work ready to go. The gracefulness of her arms was the first thing I noticed about her when I saw her perform for the first time, and there she was teaching me to do it! She was very sure to include her signature moves from her signature piece, a number in which she spun, gyrated, isolated her movements and traveled across the stage in the splits in a teal costume.

I met with Wild Cherry a few times, but each time was packed with so much knowledge that I had to take notes and run home to practice. Through the year I learned to invest in a good set of knee pads, a thicker yoga mat and some really good gel to keep my own signature Bettie bangs slicked back so I could wear Cherry’s signature ponytail. In my attempt to truly do justice to Cherry’s tribute, I did my best to maintain her style and personality. She didn’t smile often, she would zone out at times during this piece and really get into the music; she was tiny and tough. While I couldn’t quite pull off the “tiny,” I dug into that part of myself that is intense and serious…and physical. A photo shoot with Steve DeMent got me into character as we tried, take after take, to recreate Wild Cherry’s famous promotional picture and I went through her signature moves, hoping for one good frame. We were very lucky to get several pictures that capture her intensity and exotic feel.

Legend Wild Cherry, and Coco’s brilliant recreation of that famous photo with the help of photographer Steve DeMent.

Fellow Austinite, costumer extraordinaire, and producer of the Bat City Bombshells burlesque troupe, Sherry Bomb, was hard at work examining the Wild Cherry costume Miss Indigo Blue so graciously let me borrow, and studying images of Cherry online. After hearing about my concerns, Sherry was quick to adjust the costume so I wouldn’t trip over the panel skirt or fall out of the cape. When I picked it up a couple of days before the show, it was covered in rhinestones and sequins. I couldn’t believe how much love and care she put into it. It looked just like Wild Cherry’s in its original color, and it was perfect!

I don’t think I slept at all the night before I performed during our Friday Night: Night of Legends. I hadn’t been this nervous is quite some time. I realized that because I was doing my best to “be” Cherry and not myself that the techniques I use to fall back on when I’m on stage were no longer available to me. I couldn’t wink and smile to get the audience on my side. I couldn’t start into an improvisational dance to get myself out of a jam without feeling like I wasn’t doing as authentic of a job as I could have.

I spent a considerable amount of time in the trailer with Angi B. Lovely stretching, putting on our makeup and finding ways to relax and get into character. The wine helped. I spoke to 2011 Reigning Queen of Burlesque, Indigo Blue for some guidance and to share stories about Cherry. Her Wild Cherry Tribute performances are stellar and it’s also apparent how our different experiences with Cherry make for different performances of her signature number. When it was time for me to go on…I reminded myself to dig deep, feel intense and sensual.

The lighting and sound were just perfect and lovely. Of course, there are always things I want to improve in my performances, but I was content enough in my show that I could rest easy that night…even though the biggest night of the festival was still upon us.

*** (back to Paul…)

Speaking of Sherry Bomb, she graciously allowed me to stay with her during the festival and then some. She pretty much spent the whole time I was there, sewing, rhinestoning costuming. In fact she was still sewing the beautiful costume she wore on Thursday night right up until we had to leave for tech rehearsal. She also got me hooked on the Dr Who reboot series (thank you, Sherry).

The TXBF performers are naturally mostly from Texas but there are always participants from around the country and the world including Canada, England and of course, Australia. Many electrifying acts wowed the audience. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing a crowd fully pumped up, and watching a performer mesmerize them all. Crimson Skye was one of many performers who certainly did that with her fabulous boylesque routine- and she picked up the award for Most Original in the process.

Those selected to perform in these festivals really bring their A-game, and it’s always apparent how hard they work back home bringing burlesque to the people, whether in a large dance hall/theater or the smallest of dive bars. It’s really an honor and a pleasure to be involved with such a vibrant community in Seattle as well as Austin (which may be my second burlesque home someday) and around the country. I’m always excited to meet new people and learn about their own unique burlesque histories.

On that note- I hope everyone attending and performing at the Kansas City Burlesque Festival and the New York Boylesque Festival this weekend and the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival the following weekend have a grand time.

What follows is a gallery of photos from TXBF 2013:

Day 2

Cora Vette learns some dirty sign language

Cora Vette from Denver-The Texas Burlesque Festival Emcee

Portland’s Baby Le’Strange

Cruel Valentine from Chicago-Audience Favorite on 4/12

Angi B. Lovely from Dallas- current Queen of New Orleans Burlesque

Camille 2000 performing on Legend night

Imogen Kelly from Sydney, Australia- Reigning Queen of Burlesque

Dainty Dandridge from Washington D.C.

Ruby Rage from New Orleans

Bat City Bombshells from Austin

Jasper St. James from San Antonio

Day 3

Blaze from Carrollton, TX

Lady Luck from Austin-Audience Favorite on 4/11

Ginger Snaps & Andylicious as The Flying Widows from Austin

Peggy de Lune from London-winner of Best Solo

Tiny D from Brooklyn-winner of Best Costume

Queertini Time from Austin-winner of Best Ensemble

Crimson Skye from London-winner of Most Original

Bobbie Burlesque from Hollywood, CA-winner of Best Use of Prop/Novelty

Franki Markstone from St. Petersburg, FL-winner of Best Tease

Ray Gunn from Chicago

Bazuka Joe from Chicago

Dirty Martini from NYC

Dirty Martini from NYC

Imogen Kelly from Sydney, Australia- Reigning Queen of Burlesque

Imogen Kelly from Sydney, Australia-Reigning Queen of Burlesque

Red Hot Annie from Chicago

Black Mariah from Dallas

Rosie Rawhyde from Corpus Christi

Emcee Cora Vette as Snow White

Please visit the complete POC Photo sets HERE and HERE, and click on the tag “Texas Burlesque Festival” below to read and view images from 2012 and 2011 here on BSP.

Seattle’s Paris Original will compete next week in Las Vegas in the”Best Boylesque” category (Photo by Eli Schmidt)

~ Written by/interview by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

Another Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend approaches and with that a new Reigning Queen of Burlesque will crowned, along with King of Boylesque, Best Duo, Best Group and Best Debut. The 23rd Annual Tournament of Tease takes place June 1 at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, but the weekender kicks off with the star-studded Movers, Shakers & Innovators showcase on Thursday, followed by the 56th Annual Titans of Tease Reunion showcase on Friday, and finally closing out with the Icons and All-Stars showcase on Sunday.

The Pacific Northwest is well represented on all 4 nights: Russell Bruner, Sandria Dore, and Swing Time from Portland; Nicky Ninedoors, Brother Keys, Sweet Soul Burlesque, Lola Frost, Melody Mangler, Villainy Loveless, Ruthe Ordare, and Burgundy Brixx from Vancouver BC; and from our own backyard Velvet Ice, Trojan Original, Iva Handfull, and Miss Indigo Blue will represent Seattle. Paris Original and Waxie Moon will go head to head (among other great performers from around the country) for King of Boylesque, and Sydni Deveraux will compete for the coveted Reigning Queen of Burlesque title.

We asked the Seattle performers a few questions about performing and competing at this year’s BHoF weekend. First up this week, we bring you Paris Original.

A little background…Paris, a professional dancer, first arrived on the burlesque scene in 2009 in Paula the Swedish Housewife’s production House of Thee Unholy 3. Since then he has appeared in a variety of shows including Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann’s Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker, Burlesco Divino, L’Edition Francaise & Through the Looking Glass: The Burlesque Alice in Wonderland. Paris also appeared in Stripped Screw Burlesque’s Disney After Dark and Clown Stripper Productions That’s F*cked UP! He is also one of the founding members of Seattle’s male burlesque troupe Mod Carousel and performs regularly at The Pink Door.

Paris Original in Through the Looking Glass: The Burlesque Alice in Wonderland (POC Photo)

POC: What’s it like to be chosen to perform in the Best Boylesque category? And what’s it like competing with a fellow Seattle-ite, Waxie Moon?

Paris Original: I feel so honored to have been chosen to compete. I was in such disbelief when I first read the confirmation letter that I had to read it several times to make sure I wasn’t mistaken. I’ve really been trying to push the competition aspect out of my head. I’ve done a few dance competitions in the past and always found that focusing on competing was distracting and ultimately detracted from my performance, so I’m just trying to focus on my performance itself.

I love that all four of us in the category this year [Mr. Gorgeous, Ray Gunn, Waxie, Paris] are such different performers who offer very different things to boylesque and I’m super excited for the opportunity to share what I do with everyone at BHoF.

As for competing against a fellow Seattleite, I’m just proud of us both for getting into the competition at all. I’m really proud of the Seattle scene in general for having such great representation at BHoF this year!

POC: What influenced your decision to choose the particular act you submitted to BHoF?

Paris Original: The act has always been a crowd pleaser. I’ve received many spontaneous standing ovations for that number and often times burlesque performers in particular get really excited about it so out of all the acts in my repertoire it seemed the best suited for BHoF.

Paris Original (Photo by Charlie Ainslie)

POC: Before your first burlesque show what were some of your impressions of burlesque?

Paris Original: When I was first exposed to burlesque I remember thinking it seemed really fun. And rowdy. I liked that there was so much room for artistic freedom and exploration of gender representations. It’s an art form that doesn’t feel as constrained as other forms of performance art, and dance in particular, can be.

POC: Do you have any goals you would like to reach in burlesque or any other performing art?

Paris Original: My current goals are to grow my success and travel opportunities. I have so many ideas that would require much bigger budgets than I currently have at my disposal. It would be so lovely to get to a point where I can make those ideas come to life and share those ideas with the world!

Paris Original in Stripped Screw Burlesque’s Disney After Dark (POC Photo)

Waxie Moon in “Bolero” Photo ©Tim Summers

~ Written by/interview by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

Burlesque Hall of Fame weekend is now less than a week away. Performers from around the world will converge on the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Vegas for four days and nights of nonstop burlesque sexiness, enthralling competition, and pool parties galore.

The highlight is the 23rd Annual Tournament of Tease which crowns winners in a variety of categories – one particularly near and dear to our hearts is “Best of Boylesque”, in which two of the four competitors for the title “King of Boylesque” are from Seattle. This year’s competitors include Paris Original (Seattle), Ray Gunn (Chicago), Mr. Gorgeous (NYC) and of course, the incomparable Waxie Moon (Seattle).

This week Burlesque Seattle Press has been talking with the Seattle performers competing at this year’s BHoF. We’ve already highlighted Paris Original and today we focus on Waxie, the “international gender-blending queer lady boylesque performance-art stripping sensation!”

Waxie has certainly been as busy as any artist or performer can be this past year. Last June he gave an amazing performance at On The Boards with his 17 minute endurance strip, “Boléro”. (Please do this again Waxie). He choreographed “Miracle!” (a re-envisioning of “The Miracle Worker” created and directed by Dan Savage) which had a run at The Intiman Theatre last summer. There was the DVD release of the 2009 documentary “Waxie Moon” and the theatrical release of “Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel” (both films were directed by Wes Hurley). Central Cinema’s monthly interactive screenings of “Waxie Moon In Fallen Jewel” have been hugely successful as well. Waxie also performed in Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann’s Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker and Through the Looking Glass: The Burlesque Alice in Wonderland.

Waxie as The Cheshire Cat in Through the Looking Glass (POC Photo)

Waxie in Land of the Sweets (POC Photo)

He also found time to appear in last year’s Seattle Erotic Arts Festival, Kings: A Boylesque Extravaganza, Boys, Bois, Boyz and most recently the 2nd Annual New York Boylesque Festival. He appears regularly at the Pink Door and performs as one-third of Dance Belt. All this and he continues to teach at Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque. With a year like Waxie’s, inclusion in the “Best Boylesque” category is the luscious cherry on top of a huge, glittery, rhinestoned sundae.

Aside from the long list of Waxie’s accomplishments (we could go on and on), it’s easy to see why he was invited to compete. Waxie’s courageous approach and fiercely unique artistry are hugely influential to anyone that sees him. We wish Waxie and all the performers best of luck at this year’s competition.

And now for our interview… I asked Waxie about this year’s inclusion at BHoF:

POC: What influenced your decision to choose the act you submitted to BHoF?

Waxie Moon: I created the “Purple Man-Eater” act with the idea of submitting it to BHoF this year. I felt the purple gown and gi-normous tulle boa (created by the brilliant Mark Mitchell) was impressive and glamorous enough for the Vegas stage and competition. I think the boa is practically Catherine D’Lish scale. It’s HUGE. I also selected the song for the second part of the act (Muddy Waters’ “Mannish Boy”) because it felt appropriately representative of the idea of “boylesque”.

POC: Please share your thoughts about performing in the “Best of Boylesque” category. What’s it like competing with a fellow Seattleite?

Waxie: I am beyond thrilled to have been accepted for the competition. I think this is the 5th year I have applied for “Best Boylesque”. For that reason, I can honestly say I’m excited for the opportunity just to compete. I am also excited about my boylesque brothers. I think the crowd and judges will go mad for Paris’s extraordinary dancing. Ray is sultry and an exceptional mover, and Mr. Gorgeous is A.DOR.A.BLE. It’s an inspiring, exciting, and yummy group of men to get to share the stage with.

Waxie Moon (POC)

POC: Do you have any goals you would like to reach in burlesque or any other performing art?

Waxie: I am intent on sharing this extraordinary art form as widely as possible through performance and teaching. Combining sex and humor is an incredibly powerful tool for personal transformation. I would love for more people to experience it, as performers and/or audience members. I am also passionate about queer visibility; Waxie celebrates gay Pride EVERY DAY. Honestly, my goals are too many to mention, but they include everything from feature films to a Waxie jewelry line called “The Essence of Luxury”.

Waxie performing at this year’s Moisture Festival (Photo by John Cornicello)

(Photo by John Cornicello)

POC: You got involved in burlesque originally because you were struggling (artistically speaking) as a dancer and wanted to shake things up, and you decided to take a 101 class at The Academy of Burlesque. What does this mean to you now, since burlesque has been such an unexpected and wildly successful outlet for your art?

Waxie: I have become a fuller person in every way through the exploration of the art of burlesque. I am honored to be part of an extraordinary legacy and an evolving art form. I can’t wait to connect with my legendary friends in Vegas and am honored to represent Seattle’s vibrant gender-queer burlesque scene at this international festival. Also my father is coming to support me. That means so much to me. He’s Waxie’s biggest fan.

Waxie Moon in a quiet studio moment (POC Photo)

Sparkly Devil in 2011, competing for the title Reigning Queen of Burlesque in Las Vegas. (POC Photo)

Burlesque Seattle Press is greatly saddened by the news of the sudden passing of burlesque performer Sparkly Devil (San Francisco, California). Sparkly was scheduled to perform at Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend’s Thursday night showcase “Movers, Shakers & Innovators” and was a five-time competitor for the title “Miss Exotic World, Reigning Queen of Burlesque”. She was an active member of San Francisco’s burlesque community and a founding member of the Hubba Hubba Revue.

Our thoughts and our hearts go out to Sparkly, her husband, and loved ones.

~ Paul and Jessica

~ Written by/interview by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

Bella Bijoux & Flirty Sanchez of Quick Change! (appearing here in Stripped Screw Burlesque’s “Undressed to Kill”) – POC Photo

Flirty Sanchez and Bella Bijoux are bringing an exciting production to the Annex Theater July 5-6. Their two woman burlesque show, Quick Change!, is an inventive new undertaking in the realm of most burlesque formats. The show will feature the pair in 9 acts, 3 solos each, and 3 duets. Video segments will run in between (serving as a sort of narration) featuring Flirty and Bella as senior citizens reminiscing about the trials and tribulations of life and their friendship. The flashbacks and memories will serve as the burlesque acts. “I love the challenge with burlesque because it’s kind of ridiculous to think that two people can do a full show with all the costume changes and make it varied enough that people are interested for 75 minutes and aren’t bored seeing the same two pairs of boobs over and over again.”

As always, I love to get the bottom of people’s burlesque history and take a peek at their creative process. And this is certainly true with Quick Change. On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Volunteer Park, I met with Flirty and Bella. First we dined on burritos from Rancho Bravo, which seems to be a popular spot for these two ladies (they were greeted like Norm in “Cheers”). After finishing our meal and showing them my twerking headstand, I tried to get the low down on their exciting new production and how it came about. First however, a little background on these two burlesquers.

Flirty and Bella are graduates of Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque 101 & 202 classes. Flirty first took the 101 class on a recommendation by an improv teacher who thought it would help with some obstacles she was having in that class. (By the way, I think a lot of obstacles could be overcome through burlesque. Imagine a doctor writing a script or boss giving burlesque leave. Surely it would be a better world). As for Bella’s experience: the first burlesque show she saw was a 2007 performance by The Atomic Bombshells at The Columbia City theater while she was still in grad school. She decided that when she graduated she would take the 101 as a means to get out of her head and into her body. Initially she thought it would be a one-time thing, which Bella now says “was a big fat lie”. Burlesque for both Bella and Flirty eventually became an intense passion.

Bella at a Burlesque 202 recital at West Hall (POC Photo)

It wasn’t until Heidi Von Haught asked both of them to be on the BurlyCon programming committee with Randi Rascal (Randi & Heidi btw are two other fabulous burlesque ladies and BFFs) that they really learned some of the burlesque ropes via their mentoring. “Whether they wanted to be or not,” Flirty says. “Just based on the fact that we spent so much time together and they had so much more experience.” The 2011 BurlyCon programming committee was also where Bella and Flirty met for the first time. It wasn’t long after that the pair became very good friends. Flirty remembers, “I think we had very similar backgrounds, upbringings, and values, so it was easy for us to become quick friends without any burlesque involved whatsoever; and then we also have very similar perspectives on burlesque and the kind of art we want to make.”

Flirty performing at the Pink Door (POC Photo)

“There was a lot to do in the BurlyCon programming – especially the really stressful, layered, complex planning that has to happen – and I just liked the way her brain worked,” Bella adds. “I could see how she responds to stress and complications and being thrown off.”

“It’s by making fart noises with my mouth.” Flirty replies.

They also liked and respected each others’ burlesque talent as they got to see each other perform. “I feel really comfortable doing the ‘sultry sass attack’ and there’s a lot about watching Flirty from the comedy aspect that I wanted to absorb.” Bella mentions. Flirty agrees. “When I watch her slink across the stage I think, ‘oh that’s what it looks like to be a woman’…that’s what sexy looks like.”

Bella as Maleficent in Stripped Screw Burlesque’s Disney after Dark (POC Photo)

Their first act together was for Heidi and Randi’s That’s Fucked Up 3! in February 2012, followed by Stripped Screw Burlesque’s Undressed to Kill (which was reprised in May) and finally in a moving piece for Boobs for Barack back in October 2012. While they were rehearsing and performing in these shows the idea for Quick Change! began to take shape. I asked them more about its origins:

POC: When did you decide that you wanted to do a two-woman show together?

Flirty: I don’t know how our conversations about it started. We joked about being in a two-person troupe because neither of us were particularly interested in being in an actual troupe, so we kind of joked about it that way and then we had this bath bomb called Phoenix Rising. And then decided that was going to be the name of our troupe. So it was just this joke and it became…and I don’t remember when we were talking about it but we were like, ‘no really, let’s do this’.

Bella: Yes. Let’s actually do this…

A recent rehearsal (POC Photo)

POC: Was a two woman show what you always wanted to do together as opposed to a show with you two as primary players with a supporting cast?

Flirty: I was in a two-woman improv troupe and we were performing regularly for 2 years and I loved that format, I loved it. So the idea of doing it in burlesque was exciting because I already knew how a two person troupe operated but I also loved the challenge with burlesque.

Bella: We loved the idea of challenging ourselves to create a full show, something you would want to see where you would see a little bit of everything. You’d see something funny, sexy, silly, ridiculous, sad, political, sparkly, not so sparkly. Like something that would be dynamic enough that you could expect to see in a well put together show and then say how, the hell did you make that happen?

Flirty at rehearsal (POC Photo)

POC: How did you come up with the idea for Quick Change?

Flirty: I was in another improv troupe back in the day and we were supposed to do a show where we were old people at a retirement home and we were going to have photographs and the photographs were going to represent memories. We never did that show but I was very attached to the idea. There was something poignant and relatable about it. And so I feel like that influenced my excitement to do it because that was an idea that was never realized and then I was excited to turn it into a burlesque concept.

Bella: We weren’t compelled by an idea of a Bella and Flirty variety show. That felt like it wouldn’t get us anywhere. I would be bored by that. I remember us having a conversation reflecting on the privilege that we have of creating a life worth living and creating an intentional life and our art is part of what we’re building and so… we’re kind of projecting at future us, but thinking about how you have these opportunities to make magic happen in your life and when we’re old and wrinkly and fabulous, like in our real lives we want that to be what we’ve accomplished. But it’s interesting our characters in this show are not portraying a burlesque life. We’re using burlesque to tell stories about the shit that happens in your life like any normal person.

POC: The acts will be separated by video with the two of you as senior citizens being interviewed about life. Can you tell a little about this aspect of the show?

Flirty: We really just wanted it to be the two of us because we loved the challenge of that, so we decided to not have an emcee and this [the video] was the best way to replace one.

Bella: It has a great opportunity instead of relying on a host to know how to really capture what it is you’re trying to set up for the next act. Our characters get to do that for us. Some of them [the videos] are as brief as thirty seconds and some of them may be more like two or three minute videos.

POC: How has the rehearsal process been going?

Flirty: I think we also have to put on our producer hats at those moments and be realistic about what we want in our show and what is going to be good for the show so there have been certain ideas that have been shot down, lightly.

Bella: Like, ‘that’s interesting but that may not work here’ or ‘I know you super-duper want to send that message but that’s not reading, I can’t tell at all what you’re doing’.

POC: Has anyone else seen the rehearsals or given feedback?

Bella: We’re working with Stell(R) Films [on the video portion], who have been really special.

Flirty: Yeah and they have been good about playing artistic director so they gave us great direction with stuff so we definitely had someone in a directorial position there. As far as our acts go, it’s just been the two of us. We have definitely discussed and agreed that getting outside feedback would be extremely beneficial and intended to do so. I think the reason we haven’t is because we’ve been so overwhelmed with taking care of other more immediately pressing issues…However we have brainstormed ideas [for this show] with other performers in the community and we have given all our acts a lot of thought. And we are 300% confident we are going to bring it on stage.

A recent rehearsal shot of Flirty and Bella (POC Photo)

POC: What does the future hold for both of you?

Bella: I want to travel more and go to more festivals and see what’s happening in other cities. I’m becoming very accustomed to loving our Seattle community and the way it can push and pull and think. You can be sad sexy, you can be a nerd, you can be silly, you can be thematic, you can be classic and we have all of that here. But looking at the bigger picture I want to know what it’s like in other cities.

Bella Bijoux (POC Photo)

Flirty: I feel like we both would love to take this show on the road. That would be a whole new level of challenge though, finding a venue outside of Seattle that can work with our tech needs and hire people in that community to help us with changing and stage managing. Taking it other places would be really cool. But outside of this show I think really what we’re lined up to do is just total world domination… no, I’m just kidding (laughs). I foresee us continuing to work together on stuff. I’d love to do more duets. This will be six duets total for us that we’ve done together with this show and I feel like I don’t think I will ever get tired of doing duets with Bella Bijoux.

(POC Photo)

POC: What are some of you final thoughts about your show?

Bella: The mechanics of actually trying to figure out how to put together a full length show with nine acts and how to divvy up the work and building a set list and thinking about how to actually do that many quick changes took a lot of crafting. I also like the integration of multimedia, integration of some of Flirty’s clowning and improv work that’s gone into it. You know burlesque being the art of the tease after we take our clothes off for the first time, the element of surprise is revealed. So there’s an added challenge to make the story itself compelling, the reveals, the story within each act…to bring it up a notch.

Flirty: We’re really excited to bring something different to the burlesque scene here. There’s a lot of variety already happening but the whole structure of this show is completely different than any other in recent years. I feel like this show is my wet dream because I constantly seek challenge and taking risks in the stuff that I do. I never want to become predictable, ever. That’s like my biggest fear as a performer and I feel like this show is the ultimate challenge.

Bella: This is the most vulnerable I’ve ever felt doing something because I’m not just presenting just one side of my performance. We’re showing you kind of everything. You’re seeing things you’re used to seeing Bella and Flirty do, and things you’re not used to seeing us do. There’s a tremendous privilege we have to be able to put this on the stage for our community to see. Some days I wake up in a state of panic and other days when I watch videos of our rehearsals or I look at our costume pieces or what we’re creating and I get really fucking excited.

****

Flirty and Bella’s two-woman show Quick Change! is July 5-6 at The Annex Theatre at 7:30 pm. Get tickets and info HERE.

Quick Change! (Photo by Witty Pixel)

Behind the Blue Door takes place July 26-28 at Re-bar.

~ Written by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

This Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Re-bar is the return of Behind The Blue Door: A Dr. Who-Inspired Cabaret. After last year’s debut in Seattle and a successful five city tour, Midnight Menagerie Productions has revamped its show to celebrate 50 years of Dr. Who. Unlike last year’s production (which mainly focused on the reboot episodes) this show will focus on the entire run of the series. The show’s producer, Vixen Valentine, recently reflected on Dr. Who burlesque:

“I think that Behind The Blue Door is the most important show that I have produced because it helped me to become a better producer, in pushing myself to take the show as far as I could dream to take it and work hard at creating something I’m very proud of. Not to mention being able to work with amazingly talented performers in Seattle who were as enthusiastic about the show as I was, and I met bigger Dr. Who fans than myself who appreciated seeing routines inspired by the same things they love about the show. Of all the shows I’ve produced, this one tapped into a community outside of the normal burlesque crowds and drew people in so we could collectively enjoy something together that created a vibrant atmosphere to be a part of.”

“I’ll admit, I’m a recent Dr. Who fan; I stumbled onto the tv show because it just so happened to be playing on my roommate’s tv one day,” Vixen explained, when asked what it meant to her to bring the show to the burlesque stage. “I sat down and watched ‘Gridlock’ (from season 3 reboot) and I liked it so much I went back and started watching it from the beginning of the reboot. I didn’t know at the time that it was going to play such a large part in my burlesque life and this show might never have happened if I wasn’t approached by a sci/fantasy convention to curate a show, and instantly I knew what I was going to do. Since I started working on the first production of Behind The Blue Door (last year), I immersed myself in the Who-niverse as much as I could in order to do the show justice which included following along with news, reading facts, watching older episodes, familiarizing myself with the Dr. Who groups in Seattle and finding that community.”

Also significant about this year’s Behind the Blue Door is that it marks the last show Vixen Valentine will produce before she heads off to Europe for the next two and a half years to complete her MFA. I asked Vixen what lead to this fantastic opportunity:

“I have been performing since I was a child. I have worked in several theaters in Seattle. I have my Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of Washington and my other study abroad program took me to England to study theatre at the University of Hull in Scarborough, England. What inevitably drew me into burlesque is that it’s actor creator work, where I am responsible for creating my own work instead of traditional theatre where I did scene study, memorized lines, etc. I didn’t know what to call the type of theatre I was interested in so I just started googling acting schools from the computer lab in Perugia, Italy [where she was continuing her Italian studies in 2011] and the term physical theatre came up. So I did a little bit of research and I realized that the type of theatre I love is physical theatre, this notion of actor creator work that combines inter-disciplinary skills, like voice, movement, etc in order to tell a story. With my new term in hand I started looking up Master of Fine Arts programs in physical theatre and the Accademia Dell’Arte popped up. There are a myriad of reasons on why I choose this school as opposed to the other MFA programs I found. The first is that it focuses on European theatre that not only takes me to live in Tuscany but I will also study at FLIC circus school in Torino, Familie Floz in Berlin, Germany and Continuo Theatre in the Czech Republic. I will have the opportunity to work alongside other performers who incorporate commedia dell’arte, mask making, puppetry, movement, dance, circus arts, cabaret, etc into their work as I continue to strengthen my own voice as a performer. Secondly, the purpose of the program is to challenge the students to push themselves to obtain a high level of mastery in actor creator work which is a challenge I want. I don’t want to be stagnant in my performing abilities so finding a program that compliments the type of theatre I love that will teach me new skills and push me to be even better at what I love seemed to be a no-brainer to me.”

Vixen has already started contacting producers abroad in the hopes of performing and has bookmarked the different European burlesque festivals to attend. She also assures me she will return to her home town of Seattle. I, for one, will say I am jealous of Vixen’s European adventure. BSP wishes her the best of luck on her experience.

Behind the Blue Door takes place July 26-28 at Re-bar. Tickets available HERE.

Vixen Valentine performing as Idris.

The Libertinis (Photo by Jay Nuske)

~ Written by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

I always love seeing new performers and troupes in the burlesque world. Although The Libertinis formed in January of 2012 and have had two shows in March and September of that year, their third show Rumpus, which will take place Saturday August 17 at Re-Bar, is what founding member Tootsie Spangles says is “ …like our coming out at our debutante ball. The past year we’ve just quietly been making productions and kind of figuring out how we work together as a group, and what kind of art we want to make. So it’s a chance for us to showcase some of our work”.

The Libertinis are Tootsie Spangles, Hattie Hellkat, Kiki Cosmosis, Miz Melancholy and the lone male member Woody Shticks. The women of The Libertinis all met at Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque 101 Fall Session in 2011. Tootsie met Woody a year earlier when they were both on a children’s theater tour. “Truly, burlesque is children’s theater with a few more tassels and a little less clothes,” Woody adds.

Hattie Hellkat (Photo by POC)

I had the privilege of seeing that Fall 101 recital with the future Libertinis, as well as their second show last September. Their acts were bizarre, funny, original, outrageous, and sexy: Hattie Hellkat’s sexy daredevil routine complete with gold tricycle, Kiki Cosmosis’ beautiful magic mushroom with exploding spores, and Woody Shtick’s impersonation of a sloth are a few acts that come to mind. I definitely was interested in finding out what drives the troupe and what kind of burlesque they want to create. I met up with two of The Libertinis, Tootsie Spangles and Woody Shticks (or should I say they met up with me at my home) for a little background.

Tootsie received her BFA from Roosevelt University’s Theatre Conservatory in Chicago and has taken numerous clowning classes (her clown alter ego is Oopsie Sprinkles). Woody was part of a professional ballet company growing up and took acting classes in New York City. He recently graduated from Cornish College of The Arts with a BFA in acting with an emphasis on dance.

I asked Tootsie how The Libertinis formed:

Tootsie: After we took the 101 class we all decided that we wanted to continue (in burlesque). It first started off as a group that we would just be there to help critique each other and encourage each other to go out into the community and start submissions and continue to perform burlesque. And then we decided that we wanted to create our own work and become producers.

Woody: In the first show -The Libertinis’ Dreams and Nightmares- which went live in the spring of 2012, the lady Libertinis organized a really brilliant event and brought me in very late in the game to act as host and glue and kind of catch all the loose ends in terms of making sure that their performance was phenomenal. That kind of solidified my involvement to the company as primarily producer. I perform less I would say than the other Lady Libertinis, as a burlesque performer. I’m an actor so I perform quite a bit as another self. I think back to the Lady Libertinis welcoming me and taking a chance, and it all being the best thing for all of us.

Tootsie: Yeah we needed a host, someone that’s very funny, that can keep the show moving along and then also someone to clean up our choreography- and then he became a very integral part of the Libertinis.

Woody Shticks (Photo by POC)

Paul: So what did you think about the whole burlesque thing as a separate art?

Woody: I found it really exciting; I loved the opportunity especially as a dancer. I found the correlation to be really strong and I think that Seattle is such an interesting place for burlesque because of the variety that exists in this city and the forward thinking that comes with burlesque performers in the city. Rather that the strictly dance based or classical burlesque. So I think my initial thoughts of burlesque were very much tied to a dance-based expression and a dance-based exploration. But then working with Tootsie and working with the other Libertinis and with the community at large, I figured out very quickly that there was an endless opportunity for me as a burlesque performer to incorporate genres that I’ve always wanted to try my hand at. You know as an actor you don’t often get the opportunity to self produce in the way that you do in burlesque. I found the opportunity, the open ended-ness of burlesque, and that kind of ‘sky’s the limit’ mentality to be really exciting…to give me excuses to try some things that I was scared of or excited by.

Tootsie: Burlesque is just another physical theater. That’s how I think our way into it. It’s another form of physical storytelling.

Miz Melancholy (Photo by Danielle Moug)

Paul: Do you have a particular style as far as a burlesque troupe is concerned? “This is kind of what we want to do” or “this is what we hope to do”?

Tootsie: We consider ourselves like the love child of a burlesque troupe and a theater company. We fancy ourselves an inter-disciplinary performance ensemble. Burlesque is a huge part of our story telling. We all have theater backgrounds and it was real important to us to have theater as a part of it and creating original narrative works. Stripped Screw [Burlesque], they do a lot of really incredible story telling. It’s very dark, it’s very sexy. Like if Stripped Screw were like black sparkly fringe, I feel like The Libertinis would be like orange dingle ball trim (laughter). We have a lot of elements of clowning in our work as well.

Woody: I think it’s as Tootsie said, a really great balance between the limitless of cabaret but the power of narrative in a theatrical sense so we’re able to blend those things together and find a different way to tell a story than I think any of us have before. And we are not afraid of utilizing text, of utilizing live music, of poetry and dance and cake baking and whatever else we can get our hands on. We have a very active communication in that our company is moving forward even when we’re not performing. So that we are increasing our presence and we’re finding opportunities like this really exciting collaboration with Annex Theater and with other theaters around the country as we continue to spread out feelers.

Hattie, Kiki, and Tootsie (left to right)

Tootsie: Yeah we’ve been kind of hibernating and plotting and planning. Actually at BurlyCon last year, Sinner Saint had an incredible panel about troupe management, which was awesome and a lot of the things that they were teaching in that panel we have enacted in our troupe. We have a manual about how we make decisions and who makes the decisions, and how we communicate with each other and how we work with guest artists. Whether they know it or not they helped us a lot figuring out a lot of logistical things.

Paul: Rumpus is a showcase of The Libertinis’ work plus a few works from guest performers in other disciplines that you as a troupe would like to feature in upcoming seasons. It’s also a fundraiser for next year’s ambitious plans…

Tootsie: When we first came on the scene and started out talking about who we wanted The Libertinis to be and what kind of art we wanted to make… The big troupes that are here do incredible work- like we’re huge fans of the Atomic Bombshells and Sinner Saint and Stripped Screw – and we saw what they were doing and we said ‘okay how can we do something that is different from what they’re doing?’ So we wanted to incorporate other disciplines of art and focus on a narrative as well.

Woody: In the true spirit of a debutante ball, it’s a chance to mingle, a chance to get drunk together and a chance to talk about the kind of community we want to continue to create around The Libertinis and Seattle burlesque and it’s important to us to find crossover audiences we can share. So by bringing in all of these multi-disciplinary artists we can say, ‘Hey how can we share the theater community? How can we share the visual art community? How can we share this cabaret community? How can we blend these audiences to give all of us a larger audience base, but also more love. There’s always room for more love.

*****

And to really convince you to go to this show, Tootsie tells me that there will be cupcakes. Click HERE for tickets and info about the Rumpus show.

Kiki Cosmosis (Photo by Jay Nuske)

Tootsie Spangles (Photo by Amanda Jane)

And…there will be cupcakes.

This weekend!

~ Written by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

This week in glitter land, two shows return in their second incarnations. First up JOYstick! Level 2 this Friday and Saturday (September 20 & 21) at the Columbia City Theater. JOYstick! originally premiered during last year’s epic Summer of Nerdlesque.

Miss Elaine Yes (Photo by Jackie Kingsbury)

“This year was about going bigger and better. Last year was amazing, but we wanted to expand more into a story that ties the show together, and we wanted to include games and gaming concepts that we weren’t able to do last year. We will be featuring everything form Q*Bert to Ezio Auditore,” says Steve Stone, who along with Kelly Clark, make up the production team Smooches and Science Presents.

For Steve, doing a burlesque show was probably inevitable, especially after seeing a certain popular nerdlesque show two years ago. “For as long as I can remember I have either had a keyboard or a controller in my hands. I got the itch to produce after seeing what Jo Jo Stiletto delivered with the original Whedonesque Burlesque. I was lucky enough to be a part of that show and it allowed me to see the true support that the nerd community has for the properties they love. I saw it as an opportunity to relate my love of video games to an audience.”

Lady Laycock (Team Captain)- (Photo by Jackie Kingsbury)

Steve met his future co-producer Kelly while they were both on staff at GeekGirlCon, “the yearly celebration of the female geek” which happens next October 19 & 20 at the Washington State Convention Center (check back here in the coming weeks for more info on the fabulous burlesque show at Re-bar that will kick off that event).

“The original JOYstick! allowed me to meet and develop a friendship with my business partner Kelly Clark. She and I clicked from the first meeting and our skill sets truly complimented each other. After the success of JOYstick! it didn’t take long for us to want to keep this going. After JOYstick!, we ended up trying something completely different with An Evening at Merlotte’s: Burlesque Inspired by True Blood (which was accomplished with the help of Lady Laycock). Kelly keeps me sane and she truly is the ‘Smooches’ to my ‘Science’.

Seraphina Fiero (Photo by Jackie Kingsbury)

JOYstick!
September 20 & 21
@ Columbia City Theater
Get tix HERE.

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Our next weekly pick from the glitter world is The Secret Diaries of Anita Goodmann: True Stories from the Queen of In-Between playing for three nights starting Friday, September 20 at Re-bar. This show was introduced last February at The Ballard Underground. Anita is no stranger to the Seattle burlesque scene, having hosted shows for over seven years as well as producing her namesake show The Anita Goodmann Experience. The Secret Diaries of Anita Goodmann chronicles Anita’s adventures experimenting with drag at the age of 37.

Anita Goodmann (Photo by Debora Spencer)

“I wanted to tell a story and give an account of this journey- which starts at a place where, as a man, I was definitely not my best self- and relate how I was able to turn my life around through the time I spent as Anita Goodmann. The experience of healing as a man while performing as a woman, and the strange course I took in doing it is the basis of the show. It includes some scenes that in retrospect I can’t believe happened, like performing for my uptight then-employers at the EMP Skychurch and dealing out some arch comedy in the process (the video of that is part of the show), and also more down to earth stuff- like how to parent when you are a single manwomanwomanman. Also, people assume a lot about drag queens, so I wanted to clue people in on my life as a heterosexual, punk rock loving, professional female impersonator who loves to do stand-up comedy. People are shocked when I tell them I don’t know any show-tunes, but can talk their ear off about The Replacements or Fugazi.

I asked Anita if there’s anything different in this newest production:

“For this show I am tuning it up a bit, losing a weaker segment and replacing it with a story that the audience was asking me to do if I were to remount the show. The audience wanted to know more about how I manage my relationship with my ten year old son when I have a gender-crossing stage persona. I dive into that more this time around, and have put a segment on gender communication that was too abstract aside, to be revisited later.”

Anita hosting the Bedroom Club burlesque show back in 2007 (POC Photo)

The Secret Diaries of Anita Goodmann: True Stories from the Queen of In-Between
September 20, 21, 22
@ Re-Bar
Get tix HERE.

Since these shows run on multiple consecutive nights- we suggest you check out both…

~ Written by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

Get ready for some campy displays of athleticism and cheeky competition at Re-Bar this Friday night as the Seattle Burlesque Games return for a second year. The show is produced by Miss Kitty Baby – an active supporter of the Burlesque Hall of Fame, which this show benefits. Miss Kitty Baby is also a huge champion of recognizing and honoring our burlesque Legends and of the importance of the Burlesque Hall of Fame, the world’s only museum dedicated to preserving their history.

“There are always things like rent, archiving supplies, and preservation of our memorabilia that can benefit from our donation,” Miss Kitty Baby explained last year on the relevance of fundraising for the museum. “Burlesque has a unique grasp on our history in a way not many art forms or subcultures do. It was also a special request from the stage of the Hall of Fame Reunion [in 2012] that we in the burlesque communities act as ambassadors for spreading the word for the need to support the Burlesque Hall of Fame.”

Recently I asked Miss Kitty Baby some questions about this year’s sexiest benefit (full disclosure-I am also involved with this show, performing as competitor Man Johnson):

POC: What was your experience with last year’s Seattle Burlesque Games?

KITTY BABY: We came up with last year’s idea on a whim and it turned out to be an incredibly fun community builder and the audience went wild. I was just so impressed with how well everyone came together to make it run smoothly. It was a big pile of fun for myself, the performers and the audience. As it should be.

POC: Is there anything different about this production than last year’s show?

KITTY BABY: This year we are adding the After Party. We have the Re-Bar for the whole night so we aren’t as restricted with time. This will allow us to splash around in the Games a bit more. With the added excitement and interest after last year’s show, I think the performers will take it up a notch. The after party will be live jazz by Pervana (the Tuesday Tease band) and a cast of kamikaze strip teasers. They won’t know what songs they are dancing to or the show order. It’s not a competition, but it’s definitely challenging and fun. Oh and thanks to Babe of Belltown, this year we have a five and a half foot trophy for the Ultimate Grand Supreme winner.

…It’s really inspiring to see 46 Seattle burlesque performers and musicians come together in the name of community and support for the Burlesque Hall of Fame. It makes my heart happy to see such incredible support from the performers, our audience and our sponsors.

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The show is hosted by Elsa Von Schmaltz and the celebrity judges will be Jamie Von Stratton and Tamara The Trapeze Lady,

The 2013 Seattle Burlesque Game Team:

Pixie Parcelle, Lady Drew Blood, Bunny Von Bunsmore, MeMe La Saint, Flirty Sanchez, Sailor St. Claire, Cherry “Killer” Tomatoes, Whisper De Corvo, Miss Violet DeVille, Scarlett O’Hairdye, Stella D’Letto, Kutie La Bootie, Karmen Sutra, Man Johnson, Sabina Soubrette, Solange Corbeau, Holly Bordeaux, Huney Bush, Eddie Van Glam, EmpeROAR Fabulous, Dahlia Ste Cyr, Waxie Moon, Boom Boom L’Roux, Lord Richard Longfellow, The Kentucky Dandy, Candy Apples, Dinah Takitov, Queenie O’Hart, Elsa Von Schmaltz, Palomita Mar, Red Delicious, Tamara Trapeze, Dizzy Von Damn, Olatsa Assasin, Cherry Tart, Persephone Illyri , Dessi Devine, Sara Dipity, Jenny Brown, Morgan Gilkeson,Tyson Lynn and Britton Bangs.

Seattle Burlesque Games 2013
Friday, October 4 Saturday, October 5
@Re-Bar (1114 Howell Street, Seattle)

Click HERE for event details and ticketing info, and click HERE to visit the Burlesque Hall of Fame.

Bechdel Test Burlesque: October 18

~ Written by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

This Friday night Bechdel Test Burlesque arrives for two shows at Re-bar. Hosted by Rebecca M. Davis and produced in association with GeekGirlCon and the “Four Redheads of the Geekpocalypse” (the unofficial name for producers Jo Jo Stiletto, Sailor St. Claire, Scarlett O’Hairdye and Portland’s Sophie Maltease), the show has been a collaborative labor of love. “…It has been a true group effort the whole way! If we’ve had this much fun putting it together, I can barely imagine what’s about to happen on that stage. There must be a word to describe it. Maybe… funrageous.” Jo Jo says.

To understand GeekGirlCon’s perspective, Jo Jo says that she went straight to the source: Jennifer K. Stuller, Director of Programming and Events for the annual conference. “We love strong female characters and we love them even more when they are complex and we believe that performance provides opportunities to tell new, challenging and inspiring stories about our favorite female characters and their allies,” she explained.

Jo Jo Stiletto has already earned some spectacular bona fides as a geeklesque producer (Whedonesque and Burl-X-Files are her biggest successes to date), so I went to her for a little background on the one-off show Bechdel Test Burlesque…

POC: Tell me about this show and its relationship with GeekGirlCon.

Jo Jo: Many people have said they had to look up what the phrase ‘Bechdel Test’ means. This is a good thing. But for the GeekGirlCon crowd it’s shorthand to say “this show is for you.”

POC: I am one of those that had to look it up…(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test)

Jo Jo: First, I’ll speak for myself and not necessarily for my co-producers. This show was born out of the idea that geeky burlesque, despite the naysayers, can be more than a gimmick to attract fan boys. Also, in my research this year I heard many things that made me, privately, very angry. In coded language or said outright, I’ve been told that nerdlesque is ruining burlesque. These people have the best intentions. I respect their opinions. Instead of writing about it or discussing at length, I’d rather SHOW people what I believe in.

Bechdel Test Burlesque, to me, feels like taking the gloves off and throwing down. Oh yeah, ruining burlesque? Well, here is Miss Indigo Blue and her legendary Wonder Woman act. I wanted to show that nerd-focused burlesque can be actually really very good, in fact, some of the best. Let’s not forget fun, sexy, and emotional! Also, just because there are a many misogynistic issues in geek culture, convention culture and cosplay, it doesn’t mean that nerdlesque is also inherently problematic. Al Lykya’s “Duke Nukem “ act takes that head on. We aren’t dancing around it: this is show for geeky feminist women by geeky feminist women who aren’t afraid to show it, all of it.

Miss Indigo Blue (Photo by John Cornicello)

POC: How did you decide what acts to choose for this show?

Jo Jo: For curation, we brainstormed around the simple idea of what are the best acts that speak to the GeekGirlCon crowd. Which acts speak to us personally? For me, including performers like Flirty Sanchez was important. She once said she wasn’t nerdy enough for all these themed shows in Seattle. Yet her work, in general, speaks to me so personally as the once awkward, bookish teenager. Scarlett was inspired to create a new act when she met the actress who portrayed one of her favorite sci-fi characters. The actress told her that being reasonable was overrated. So, maybe, that’s a bit of our motto for this show. Being reasonable is overrated. The cast of this show is unreasonably good! It might be criminal to put Miss Indigo Blue, Lola LeSoleil (just recently crowned “Queen of the Alabama Burlesque Festival”), the Shanghai Pearl and Iva Handfull on the same stage. But we didn’t stop there. Check out our lineup. BOOM!

Bolt Action
Flirty Sanchez
Maxie Milieu (formerly known as Lady Laycock)
Sara Dipity
Sailor St. Claire
Scarlett O’Hairdye
Sophie Maltease
Trooper
Trojan Original
Al Lykya

Lola LeSoleil (Burlesque Atlanta)

POC: Some of you fabulous ladies aren’t just producing and performing in phenomenal geeklesque shows, but will be participating in many of the events at GeekGirlCon this weekend, correct?

Jo Jo: Scarlett, Sailor, Rebecca and myself are teaching a class called Show Me How To Nerdlesque at the conference. Sailor is sharing her expertise on the Geeks with Disabilities panel plus the More Than Skin Deep: Geeky Tattoos panel. Scarlett helped create an amazing book on steampunk fashion, thus she is participating in a Dignified Reading from The Ladies of Mischief and Steampunk Knitted Fashions with the Ladies of Mischief. I just heard word that the Shanghai Pearl will be joining a discussion about race and cosplay with Chaka Cumberbatch.

Shanghai Pearl (Photo by Jules Doyle)

Host Rebecca M. Davis (Photo by Jules Doyle)

This is HUGE! I have a feeling this will be the kind of extremely valuable discussion about appropriation and race that I wish could happen at BurlyCon. Oh, and I’m speaking on three panels, Fat Girl, Fan Girl, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Fan Phenomenon, and Changing Culture in Mainstream and Alternative Spaces. Whew!

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As Jo Jo says: “No one can accuse us of being fake geek girls.” And that’s absolutely true. Tickets are going fast . Get yours HERE.