Scarlett O’Hairdye of Unnatural Redhead Productions (JLD Imagery)

“The sparkly influx into my life has been really delightful.” – Scarlett O’Hairdye

~ Written by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

Scarlett O’Hairdye of Unnatural Redhead Productions brings us a new themed burlesque show this Friday and Saturday (November 1-2) at The Jewelbox Theater at The Rendezvous: Boobs and the Bard – A Shakespeare Burlesque!

Scarlett is definitely no stranger to themed tribute and nerdlesque shows. In the past year alone she’s performed in The Burl-X-Files, JOYStick! Level 2, Behind the Blue Door: A Dr. Who-Inspired Cabaret, Accio Burlesque! A Burlesque Tribute to Harry Potter, An Evening at Merlotte’s: Burlesque Inspired by True Blood, I Love the 80′s! A Totally Gnarly Burlesque Tribute as well as her last production The Sugar Frosted Crunchy Flake Friday Evening Cartoon Hour and just a few weeks ago, Bechdel Test Burlesque. Due to her keen appreciation of Shakespeare and absolute passion for burlesque sparkliness, it was only a matter of time before she brought Boobs and the Bard to the burlesque stage.

“Boobs and the Bard was something that came up about a year and half into my burlesque producing and performing career. There is just a lot you can draw from with Shakespeare, and doing a Shakespeare themed show.” Scarlett says.

Before we talk about stripping to Shakespeare, I like to get into the history of how ordinary citizens succumb to the sparkly and irresistible world of burlesque. So I met Scarlett at Cafe Pettirosso amongst the very loud clinking and clanking of silverware and coffee cups. We both had mint tea (don’t print interviews always make it a point to tell you what the subjects are drinking/eating?) and I set out to get the lowdown on Scarlett’s burlesque origins and glittery associations.

POC: What was your introduction to burlesque?

Scarlett: I actually went to a friend’s recital (at Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque 101) in the fall of 2010, and I saw everybody perform and I was like, “I need to do this, this is a thing I need to do.” I couldn’t sign up for winter at that point so I registered for spring of 2011… I registered for spring real early; and then I was thinking about it a lot. My first [non-recital] burlesque show was Stripped Screw’s Christmas show that year. I started going to more shows and I signed up for a variety of dance classes too because I was just really excited about wanting to do everything I could to prepare for it. It was also kind of trying to do something that would distract me from the fact that I wasn’t taking the burlesque class yet.

POC: Did you have any previous experience with performance?

Scarlett: I actually grew up doing community musical theater. My very first play was Showboat and I had the line “Momma, momma, here come the captain.” So I had a lot of theater experience. Also, in early high school I got into going to Anime conventions and cosplaying. So I was sewing a lot of my own costumes and going out in somewhat public venues in crazy outfits and uncomfortable footwear for a couple a weekends a month. I was comfortable onstage and I was comfortable with the idea of wearing weird costumes in front of people. There’s definitely a certain hurdle to get over the idea of actually taking off that weird costume in front of other humans, but I like to joke that I traded my dignity for some magic beans when I was a little kid and that the beans weren’t actually magic. I find life’s a lot more fun if you don’t worry about embarrassing yourself.

POC: What excites you about burlesque/nerdlesque?

Scarlett: I really enjoy getting to self-cast. I think it’s great that in burlesque you can choose to play a character you wouldn’t normally get cast for in a play if you were auditioning for somebody else. I really enjoy just the whole DIY aesthetic. You can do everything from the ground up. You have complete creative control over something you’re creating. Having done art professionally for other people for a really long time, it’s really refreshing to do things entirely like just what you want to do and not necessarily concerned with whether it’s going to please the client. And I really like seeing people use their 3-5 minutes on the stage to do something new and interesting and maybe tell me a story that I didn’t know I was going to be told when I came in.

Mod Carousel (Jazzy Photo)

Scarlett: I think that applies to nerdlesque just as much as it applies to regular burlesque. I feel that nerdlesque is useful as a marketing term; a themed show just tells people what direction the show is going to go once you’re in there. But there’s nothing inherently different from a Star Wars themed show than there is to a show that’s just a mix of classic and neo-burlesque. It’s just the Star Wars one probably has some in-jokes in it.

I want to do acts that I can perform anywhere that don’t require a backstory for the audience; that’s one of my goals for 2014. I want to do acts that you wouldn’t look to qualify them as a nerdlesque act but I want to do them without giving up my nerdiness and my awkwardness and my enjoyment of being funny and a little bit silly on stage.

Hattie Hellkat and Tootsie Spangles (Photo by Amanda Jane)

POC: You mentioned that you fell into producing by accident. How did that happen?

Scarlett: My 101 class actually decided that we wanted to create a troupe. We all really liked performing so much [that troupe, Sass Boom Bang Burlesque, had two shows in the summer and fall of 2011]. After the fall show most of the people in the troupe were like, “I just don’t really have the time for this, I can’t devote as much time to this as this needs.” But by the time we made that decision I had already booked Iva Handfull for what was going to be our February show and I didn’t want to cancel that booking. So I had these dates and I had this headliner… I’ll just open this up and produce a show. It went pretty well and then people started asking me when my next show was going to be and I was like, “Oh ummmmmm, May?” and then I kind of just kept producing.

POC: It looks like you will be very busy in 2014…

Scarlett: I’m moving into producing on a bi-monthly basis for my own shows in 2014. I felt that once I got to the point that I was selling out single night shows, then I can do a double night show. If I’m selling out my single night shows this consistently then I can produce bi-monthly instead of quarterly. I will have 5 shows that are going to be solely Unnatural Redhead Productions in 2014. The December show is going to be in association with Jo Jo Stiletto Events and then me and Sailor St. Claire are talking about co-producing a show (potentially in November) and then me and Randi Rascal are thinking about doing something together for May.

POC: You’re also quite the costumer to the burlesque crowd.

Scarlett: I was reluctant at first to actually make costumes for other people because I wasn’t sure my sewing chops were up to the task. But people would ask and I would look at what they wanted and I would break it down in my head and say “Okay, I think I could actually do that.” Then people would hear that I did costuming and would come to me and I would just look at what they wanted and I would say “Yeah, I think I can do that.” And I have turned “Yeah, I think I can do that” into an actual…something that is making the majority of my income now. That was unexpected but delightful.

POC: What’s it like performing with your husband, Bolt Action (who you met at an Anime convention right)?

Scarlett: Yes. Working together has been really great. He’s just always up for whatever I kind of need him to be up for. And basically that started out because for the first troupe show that my 101 class did, I wanted to do this personal trainer act but I needed a personal trainee and nobody in the troupe could really do it because they were working on their own acts, so I was like, “Sweetie, do you want to let me manhandle you on stage?” and he was like, “yeah I guess.” And then he had a good time and somebody asked him to do a solo act for a nerd theme show that fall. He had this idea to do an Aquaman routine and it’s probably become his signature act.

Bolt Action & Scarlett (JLD Imagery)

POC: Your wedding back in May was a burlesque extravaganza.

Scarlett: It was. My wedding was attended half by family, friends, and knitters, which is my other big group here in Seattle, and half by sparkle people. The sparkly influx into my life has been really delightful.

POC: Back to Boobs and The Bard, can you tell me a little about your fondness for Shakespeare?

Scarlett: We all had to read Shakespeare and there were definitely some plays I was more interested in reading than others. My favorite was probably “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream”. I read it willingly and on multiple occasions. My next favorite is “Twelfth Night”. I have an appreciation for somebody who has written so much and written with such a variety of characters. For the show, I’m super excited that I was able to arrange Iris Explosion to come out from New York to be my headliner. I actually contacted her on a recommendation from Jo Jo Stiletto who said she had an awesome speak and strip from the end of “Much Ado About Nothing”. She has three Shakespeare pieces so I said to her, “You’re closing the show, here’s the feeling I would like the end of the show to have. Which one do you want to do?”

New York’s Iris Explosion (Photo by Steve Olender)

*****

To find out which one Iris chose, you must come to the show. In addition to Iris Explosion, the cast includes: Jesus la Pinga, Scarlett O’Hairdye, Bolt Action, Queenie O’Hart, Tootsie Spangles, Hattie Hellkat, Solange Corbeau, Olatsa Assassin, Sailor St. Claire, Trojan Original, Paris Original, The Luminous Pariah, and will be hosted by Rebecca Mmm Davis.

Man, if only Shakespeare were like this in high school.

Get tickets HERE.

This weekend!

     Written by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

BurlyCon comes but once a year
and when it comes you’ll know it’s here
a magical glittery cloud does appear
rising above and spreading good cheer

Rising above and spreading good cheer at the Doubletree Hotel at SeaTac that is. That’s right, BurlyCon VI kicks off this week and is poised to be the most-attended BurlyCon yet. Each year gets bigger and bigger…how will they take the group photo this year, I don’t know. It was quite a feat to accomplish that task last year; however we did manage to set a Guinness World Record for the largest fan dance.

Once again burlesquers will converge on The Doubletree. It’s always great to meet people you’ve heard about as well as reconnect with those you met at last year’s Con or perhaps another burlesque festival around the country.  At BurlyCon the worldwide community gets to come together under this burlesque umbrella to have a little fun and learn from each other.

Says the BurlyCon website:  “BurlyCon is a community-oriented professional growth and educational convention for Burlesque performers, fans, and aficionados.” Last year I made sure to take as many of the different types of educational classes as I could.  Some of the ones that stood out for me: Slow Burn with Lola Frost, Eye Contact with Peekaboo Pointe, This is Your Stage with Alotta Boutté, The Cheeky Reveal with Coco Lectric , Strip Hop with Angelique DeVil (very early in the morning mind you) Also there were many interesting panels such as The Nerdlesque Panel and Size and Body Panel.

Guest of Honor-Wild Cherry

This year BurlyCon’s Guest of Honor is Wild Cherry from New Orleans, whom I had the honor of seeing perform at New Orleans Burlesque Festival a few years back. This year also boasts an amazing group of presenters, including first time presenters Ray Gunn (our current “King of Boylesque” from this year’s BHoF), Kitten de Ville, and Perle Noire, as well as returning presenter Michelle L’amour (Have you seen her “Butthoven’s 5th Symphony” yet?) So. Many. Classes.

Check the schedule and I’m sure you’ll wish there were two of you because you just won’t be able to choose between which awesome class that you want to take at 2:15.  While you’re at it, download the brand new Guidebook mobile app for your phone or tablet.

Ray Gunn-Current King of Boylesque (photo by Kaylin Idora)

Michelle L’amour (photo by Bruno O’Hara)

In addition to the classes, panels, dances, peer reviews and meet & greets, there is BurlyCon after dark. That’s what I call the unofficial exploits of the BurlyCon attendees once the final events are done each day. (Incidentally, that’s where I learned about Cards Against Humanity for the first time at 2am in the morning at Ed Maloney’s crazy, swingin’ suite). And don’t forgot about the special, burlesque hot tub action (unfortunately there’s a limit on how many of us can be in there at one time).

Perle Noire (photo by David Woodley)

Kitten de Ville (photo by POC Photo)

If I can stress one little piece of advice, it’s make sure you have plenty of vitamin C, zinc, Purell or whatever your miracle shield is to stave off colds. The BurlyCon Bug is a vicious flu that can inflict a world of hurt.  This is Seattle in November, after all.

I hope you all have a magical time over these 4 days. Can you imagine what a Burlycon summer camp would be like?

Check out Burlycon for more info.

Jezebel Express who lead last year’s record breaking fans dance (photo by Don Spiro)

The Bishop of Burlesque (photo by Don Spiro)

Slow Burn with Lola Frost
(photo by Don Spiro)

Meet & Greet with Velvet Ice & Ellion Ness (photo by POC)

Meet & Greet with Eve Harmony, Jeez Loueez & Cora Vette (photo by POC)

Meet & Greet with the lovely ladies from BC (photo by POC)

Meet & Greet with Polly Wood & Jesse Belle-Jones (photo by POC)

~ Written by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

This Friday and Saturday, November 16^th & 17^th at Theatre Off Jackson, Clown Stripper Productions presents The Naked Show. Why is it called The Naked Show, you might ask? Well, the entire cast will be naked (what else did you expect?); because of Seattle’s obscenity laws, no alcohol will be allowed in the same space as the nakedness.

“Although I find pasties and merkins compelling, I just think they’re the biggest slap in the face to obscenity laws,” says producer Randi Rascal. “I find this hilarious because they’ve told us we can’t show something and so we’ve said, ‘Okay well if we can’t show it, we’ll cover it, we’ll bedazzle it, put tassels on it and we’ll light it on fire.’ Now it’s way more attention grabbing than a nipple could ever be. Which I think is a brilliant demonstration of non-compliance and fuck you to these silly obscenity laws,” Randi quips.

Randi Rascal performing in Boom Boom L’Roux’s Late Nite Review

Heidi Von Haught from Sinner Saint Burlesque’s Special Feelings Show

I met with Randi Rascal and Heidi Von Haught, the two ladies of Clown Stripper Productions – the duo responsible for the show – to disrobe to the sweet, supple details of The Naked Show. (Full disclosure, I am in this show as Man Johnson because when Randi Rascal asks you to get naked on stage… you fucking do it) Individually, Heidi and Randi have both had illustrious and varied careers in the burlesque world. Heidi and her former troupe The Von Foxies won “Best Troupe” at Burlesque Hall of Fame weekend in 2007, and Randi competed for “Best Debut” at BHoF 2011. More recently, Heidi and Randi are known for producing the show That’s F*cked up!

POC: Why The Naked Show?

Randi: We like to be naked.

Heidi: I’m pretty much a nudist.

Randi: We both really like to be nude. When did we start talking about this?

Heidi: I don’t know.

Randi: It’s been a back burner idea for a long time. Then we just got sort of galvanized to do it. Jonny Porkpie has a shirt with a cupcake leaping out if its wrapper screaming “Nuuuuuude”, which really kind of captures both our feelings on nudity and our intent of this show.

POC: What were some of the hurdles you came across in combining nudity and performance during the production of this show?

Heidi: One of the difficult things we dealt with was trying to figure out who’d be the host because we didn’t want to fall into the clothed male host/naked lady paradigm. Or the clothed host/naked cast paradigm in general. We thought about having Ernie [Von Schmaltz] host it but Ernie has a vibe that is a little sleazy, that’s part of his thing. Finding a way to do a show that was more naked that we usually get in burlesque without being more pornographic necessarily or sleazy…

Randi: Although a certain amount of sleaze is kind of good fun. One of the biggest troubles we had to figure out was…a lot of vice laws in Seattle were written for strip clubs. Well all of them were. They’re all written with strip clubs in mind. You know, certain distances with no alcohol is the big one. No alcohol in the same space as…

POC: As a naked nipple.

Randi: Yes a naked nipple. So there is a very uncomfortable grey area between nudity for strictly titillation reasons and nudity for artistic reasons. Artistically speaking, our show kind of lands between these two. It’s low art, naked low art but kind of high art sometimes. But also kind of trying to get you hard sometimes.

Heidi: We wanted for all of those things to be options.

Randi: We want confused art boners.

Heidi: So we have some numbers that are really performance arty.

POC: What was the criteria for submissions?

Randi: We told people that we wanted anything that uses nudity to make a statement about culture, art obscenity and vulnerability. We don’t just want people to do their usual numbers, but naked.

Heidi: That’s kind of what most of our shows are about at this point. Like, sure it’s supposed to be fucked up but it’s not just supposed to be fucked up for the sake of being fucked up. It’s supposed to be fucked up for a purpose. Although their certainly is going to be nude for the sake of nude or fucked up for the sake of being fucked up in there because that’s part of people’s experience.

Randi: It makes it fun to throw in a little nude for the sake of nude.

POC: What’s it like to put a show like this together, book the place and get all the people together? Was it like another notch on your belt?

Heidi: So this next summer will be my tenth year in burlesque. I feel like after ten years of burlesque you really kind have seen everything that there is. It’s just harder to get me excited about things and this feels like a challenge that is scaring me and that’s exciting to me. I’m a junkie for new things. I can’t do things too many times before I start getting bored.

Randi: We’ve both been seeing kind of the same tropes over and over again in burlesque. Which is not to say you can’t do an old thing, do it really well and have it be incredibly entertaining to watch but the type of art that it seems like we’re both interested in and moving towards is a little bit different than what you would usually associate with burlesque. We’ve always been interested in doing things that are boundary-pushing. Obviously That’s F*cked Up! is a compendium of what is boundary pushing. Boundary blurring is also compelling and I think that the next stuff we do is definitely going to have even more elements of ‘what does it mean to tease or do sexual performance in 2014’.

POC: What about the idea of nudity being uncomfortable and keeping things behind closed doors?

Randi: You don’t want to make your privates public.

POC: Yes. I think a lot of people react in certain ways when they see it out there.

Heidi: Even in doing this show the number that I’m doing makes me really uncomfortable because it is naked in a way where I feel like I’m showing way more than I am comfortable with and it’s not just because I’m nude, it’s the way in which I’m going to be nude. That’s been really interesting for me to experience.

POC: What type of feelings are you having with this?

Heidi: Shame and embarrassment. I’ve been saying that Heidi is an asshole and she keeps making Megan do things that Megan is totally mortified by. [Heidi's real name is Megan]. But Heidi is obsessed with what will make a good show and Megan is just like, “Goddamnit. Really? You’re going to make me do this. This is fucking horrible.” But I told my friend Kat that I’m afraid I’m going to chicken out. And she said “Oh great, those are the numbers of yours I like the best, the ones where you say you might chicken out.” That’s why this feels like an important challenge to me. We’re already doing something that’s boundary pushing, sexual art in an era where there is still sexual repression. But then what this show is trying to do is push the boundaries of the boundaries already being pushed. How could we take this thing that’s already pushed really far even further? How could we make the nudist strippers explore their edges of discomfort?

To see how the nudist strippers explore their edges of discomfort this weekend, get tix here.

Heidi & Randi performing together in the very first That’s F*cked Up! show

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

Two years ago I posted an article here titled “2011: A Year In Photos”. I had intended to do the same thing for 2012 but totally dropped the ball. Most likely I got distracted by this:

The cast of Land of The Sweets from 2012

I vowed this year I would not lame out or get distracted, and that I would meticulously go through all my burlesque photos from the previous twelve months and pick the best of the best, which is not an easy task, let me tell you. This year there were so many burlesque shows in the Seattle area, probably more than any other year thus far.  To accomplish this huge undertaking, I thought why not ask some awesome photographers in the Seattle area for their favorite burlesque photos of 2013: Jessica Drake, Mandy McGee, Rick Priest, Scott Foster, John Cornicello, Greg Holloway, Jackie Kingsbury, Magpie and myself, POC Photo, now proudly present our favorite burlesque photos from the year that was 2013, in no particular order. Enjoy!

Olatsa Assassin in Tuesday Tease-February (by Magpie Creative Photography)

Sydni Deveraux in Blue Velvet Revue-May (by POC Photo)

the Luminous Pariah in An Evening At Merlottes-January (by Jackie Kingsbury)

Polly Wood in Sinner Saint Burlesque’s A Long Kiss Goodnight-February
(by Greg Holloway)

Persephone Illyri at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Burgundy Brixx in Burlesque Royale-September (Photo by Scott Foster)

Seraphina Fiero in Sanctuary-June (by Meneldor Photography)

Waxie Moon in Nightcap at The Triple Door-June (by POC Photo)

Miss Indigo Blue at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Maggie McMuffin in Accio Burlesque! A Burlesque Tribute to Harry Potter-June
(by JLD Imagery)

Stella D’Letto in The Best Burlesque Pageant Ever-December (by POC Photo)

Miz Melancholy in La Petite Mort’s Dark Cabaret-February (by Greg Holloway)

Lady Drew Blood in JOYstick! Level 2-September (by Jackie Kingsbury)

Seraphina Fiero and Olatsa Assassin in Keep It Up-October (by Meneldor Photography)

Lady Jack in Relentless-August (by POC Photo)

Lily Verlaine at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Ernie Von Schmaltz & Iva Handfull in Nerdiversary-June (by POC Photo)

Morgan LaMay-September (by Mandy McGee Photography)

Candy Apples in Starving Artists-July (by Scott Foster)

Ruby Mimosa in The Atomic Bombshells J’ADORE-March (by Greg Holloway)

Evilyn Sin Claire at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Randi Rascal in The Last Burlesque Show You’ll Ever See-January
(by POC Photo)

Tootsie Spangles in JOYstick! Level 2-September (by Jackie Kingsbury)

Tory Tiara & Jonny Boy in Bastille Day-July (by Scott Foster)

Bitsy Rini in La Petite Mort’s Dark Cabaret-February
(by Greg Holloway)

Shanghai Pearl in Blue Velvet Revue-May (by POC Photo)

Paris Original at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Cherry Manhattan in Sinner Saint Burlesque’s A Long Kiss Goodnight-February
(by POC Photo)

Kitten LaRue, Lou Henry Hoover & Inga Ingenue in The Atomic Bombshells J’ADORE-March
(by Greg Holloway)

Lotti Glitterati in The Beatitudes’ Under The Influence-June (by Scott Foster)

Al Lykya in Bechdel Test Burlesque-October (by POC Photo)

Scarlett O’Hairdye, Bolt Action & Whisper DeCorvo in Accio Burlesque! A Burlesque Tribute to Harry Potter-June (by JLD Imagery)

Jesse Belle-Jones in Tuesday Tease-October (by JLD Imagery)

Iva Handfull in Relentless-August (by POC Photo)

Lana Milk N Honey in Lady Lux Burlesque-May (by Mandy McGee Photography)

Lola LeSoleil in Bechdel Test Burlesque-October (by POC Photo)

The Norse Goddess in Accio Burlesque! A Burlesque Tribute to Harry Potter
June (by Meneldor Photography)

Doña Dei Cuori in Sinner Saint Burlesque’s A Long Kiss Goodnight-February
(by Greg Holloway)

Armitage Shanks at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Queenie O’Hart in Tuesday Tease-October (by JLD Imagery)

Maxie Milieu in Bechdel Test Burlesque-October (by POC Photo)

Caela Bailey in Heavenly Spies 10th Year Anniversary-March (by Scott Foster)

the Luminous Pariah at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Jonny Boy & Rainbow in Relentless-August (by POC Photo)

Morgue Anne in Vortex Variety Show-February (by Scott Foster)

The Evil Hate Monkey at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography

Lady Tatas in Sinner Saint Burlesque’s Noc Out-August (by POC Photo)

Fuchsia Foxxx in Jamfest-July (by Scott Foster)

Jesus La Pinga in Burl-X-Files-August (by POC Photo)

Beatrice Belladonna in Carnivale-February (by Magpie Creative Photography)

Bella Bijoux in Disney After Dark-March (by POC Photo)

Olatsa Assasin in Monsters, Merkins & Mayhem-March
(by Mandy McGee Photography)

Inga Ingenue at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Lady Drew Blood in Midnight in the Garden of Glitter and Heels-July
(by POC Photo)

Boom Boom L’Roux in Belltown Burlesque Revue-April
(by Magpie Creative Photography)

Dizzy Von Damn in Burlesque Games-October (by Scott Foster)

Lady Jack in Relentless-August ((by JLD Imagery)

Sabina Soubrette in Tempting Tarts Burlesque-July (by POC Photo)

Tony Tapatio-September (by Mandy McGee Photography)

Boom Boom L’Roux’s Late Night Revue-February (by POC Photo)

Sir Eddie Van Glam in Siren and the Treasured Chests-July
(by Meneldor Photography)

Lada Redstar in Nightcap at The Triple Door-June (by POC Photo)

Bolt Action in JOYStick! Level 2-September (by Jackie Kingsbury)

Scarlett O’Hairdye in A Very Rosy Birthday-April
(by Magpie Creative Photography)

Lucky Penny at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Ace Carter in Rockabilly Daze Burlesque-May (by Meneldor Photography)

Ben DeLaCreme in The Atomic Bombshells J’ADORE-March
(by Greg Holloway)

Evilyn Sin Claire in Sinner Saint Burlesque’s A Long Kiss Goodnight-February
(by POC Photo)

Jovie DeVoe in The Bordeaux Project-February (by Scott Foster)

Mae Kim Beg in Grab Bag 2 Electric Boobaloo-February (by JDL Imagery)

Sailor St. Claire in Return to Winterwood-January (by Scott Foster)

Inga Ingenue in The Atomic Bombshells J’ADORE-March
(by Greg Holloway)

Czech Mate in A Very Rosy Birthday-April (by Magpie Creative Photography)

Madison Avenue in Cinemagician April-(by Mandy McGee Photography)

Donna Denise in Burlesque Royale-September (by POC Photo)

Holly Bordeaux in Siren and the Treasured Chests-May
(by Meneldor Photography)

Tootsie Spangles in Inferno-March (by Magpie Creative Photography)

Violet Tendencies in Evening At Merlotte’s-January (by Jackie Kingsbury)

EmpeROAR Fabulous in Return to Winterwood-January (by Scott Foster)

Ivy Tam-Burlesque Royale-September (by POC Photo)

The Heavenly Spies at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Bolt Action in Burl-X-Files-August (by Meneldor Photography)

Vanadium Silver in AN Evening At Merlotte’s-January (by Jackie Kingsbury)

Nikola Tease-la in The Last Burlesque Show You’ll Ever See-January
(by POC Photo)

Vixen Valentine in ECCC Geeky Burlesque-March
(by Mandy McGee Photography)

Eva Fairwood in Rumpus-August (by POC Photo)

Maria Margiyeva at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Tootsie Spangles & Hattie Hellcat in Accio Burlesque! A Burlesque Tribute to Harry Potter-June (by Meneldor Photography)

Miss Elaine Yes in JOYStick! Level 2-September (by Jackie Kingsbury)

Fosse Jack in Cinemagicain-April (by Mandy McGee Photography)

Sydni Deveraux in Keep It Up-October (by Meneldor Photography)

Diva le Déviant in Sinner Saint Burlesque’s Noc Out-August (by POC Photo)

Scarlett O’Hairdye in Accio Burlesque! A Burlesque Tribute to Harry Potter-June
(by JLD Imagery)

Shanghai Pearl in Bastille Day-July (by Scott Foster)

Kutie La Bootie in Midnight in the Garden of Glitter and Heels-July
(by POC Photo)

Jesss Belle-Jones in Sinner Saint Burlesque’s A Long Kiss Goodnight-February
(by Greg Holloway)

Maxie Milieu in Accio Burlesque! A Burlesque Tribute to Harry Potter-June
(by JLD Imagery)

Trojan Original in Bechdel Test Burlesque-October (by POC Photo)

Tribellas in Bastille Day-July (by Scott Foster)

Sophie Maltease in JOYStick! Level 2-September (by Jackie Kingsbury)

Sara Dipity in Bechdel Test Burlesque-October
(by POC Photo)

LoLo Ramone in A Very Wes Anderson Cabaret-October (by Scott Foster)

Pepper Patootie in Tempting Tarts Burlesque-July (by POC Photo)

Paco Fish in Accio Burlesque! A Burlesque Tribute to Harry Potter-June
(by Meneldor Photography)

Bella Bambina in Lady Lux Burlesque-May (by Mandy McGee Photography)

La Chica Boom in Burlesque Royale-September (by POC Photo)

Sydni Deveraux at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Pinky Shines in Siren and The Treasured Chests-October
(by Meneldor Photography)

Flirty Sanchez and Bella Bijoux in Undressed to Kill-May (by POC Photo)

Waxie Moon at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Karmen Sutra in Tempting Tarts Burlesque-July (by POC Photo)

Violet Tendencies in Undressed to Kill-May (by Meneldor Photography)

Fuchsia Foxxx in Blue Velvet Revue-May (by POC Photo)

Whisper DeCorvo in ECCC Geeky Burlesque-March
(by Mandy McGee Photography)

Tootsie Spangles, Scarlett O’Hairdye & Sailor St. Claire in Burl-X-Files-August (by POC Photo)

La Petite Mort in Dark Cabaret-February (by Greg Holloway)

Duo Rose at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Dickie Gazoonie in Tempting Tarts Burlesque-July (by POC Photo)

Bella Bijoux in Quick Change-July (by Meneldor Photography)

Jovie DeVoe in Burlesque Royale-August (by POC Photo)

Al Lykya in Accio Burlesque! A Burlesque Tribute to Harry Potter-June
(by JLD Imagery)

Shanghai Pearl in Burl-X-Files-August (by POC Photo)

Lily Verlaine at Moisture Festival-April (by Cornicello Photography)

Sinner Saint Burlesque performing for the last time at The Noc Noc-August (POC Photo)

Queenie O’Hart (Photo by Jen Sanders)

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

There’s a new monthly burlesque revue in Ballard called Revelry, produced by burlesque artist Queenie O’Hart. Queenie, like so many other performers here in Seattle, got her start at Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque back in August 2012. Since then Queenie has been very busy on the burlesque stage, singing and stripping in shows such as Tuesday Tease, Behind The Blue Door, Minxes of Middle Earth, Every Sequin is Sacred, The Burl-X-Files, Better Off Nude and the list goes on. Because I love exploring peoples’ histories in burlesque (especially those fairly new to the scene), I had to sit down with Queenie to find out all about Revelry and her burlesque world.

POC: How did Revelry come about?

Queenie: I was at a rehearsal for Accio (A Burlesque Tribute to Harry Potter) and it just ended up being me and Sailor St.Claire. We started talking about burlesque in the Seattle area and she started saying that there needed to be more monthly and weekly revues so that more people could do acts that weren’t themed and things like that; so people could get around more. Maybe give the 101 graduates a little more room to move around and see things. And so that’s really how it started. I kind of took that idea and went with it.

POC: So you ended up choosing a Monday night every month?

Queenie: Yes the first Monday of every month at the BalMar in Ballard.

Sailor St. Claire (POC Photo)

Revelry Host Matt Langston (POC Photo)

POC: What’s the show like?

Queenie: The whole premise, the way I approach the performers is, “What acts do you want to see more of on stage? What acts do you want more audience members to see?” So you can change each month. You can change it up and do two new acts if you want, or you can do the same two. It’s really for the performers to do the acts they want to do.

Eva Fairwood in Revelry (POC Photo)

Tootise Spangles (POC Photo)

POC: Have you performed in them?

Queenie: I haven’t yet. I like sitting back and being able to run everything, so that everything can go really smoothly (laughs).

POC: When you perform burlesque do you sing in every act?

Queenie: I do sing in every act I have.

POC: I was actually at your Burlesque 101 recital back in August 2012 and what I noticed right away was that you clearly had stage time before that. It was obvious in the way you presented yourself. What’s your background on the things you studied (like singing)?

Queenie: I actually haven’t studied singing.

POC: Really? So what was your background as far as performing?

Queenie: I did plays in high school then after I graduated I moved to Boston and worked for a theater company out there called Big Colony Productions, and I did some shows with them and then moved back here. Then I went to massage school and I kind of took a break from theater. I did do a play reading for The Northwest Playwrights alliance but that was about it.

POC: Well where did the singing come in? Were you a natural?

Queenie: My mom said that when I was real young and pretty much up to high school, I was tone deaf. I listened to a lot of Broadway musicals. My dad got me Evita and Sunday in the Park with George on record and I would just sing with those as often as I could and try to pick it up.

POC: Did you have some sort of guidance on how to practice?

Queenie: Bernadette Peters!

POC: Yeah?

Queenie: Oh yeah. Bernadette Peters. Patti LuPone.

POC: So you listened to them?

Queenie: Yes and I’d try to match it as best as I could.

POC: So it wasn’t until senior year in high school that people said “that’s pretty good”…?

Queenie: I was a huge drama nerd in high school. I knew that I had gotten the hang of it when I didn’t want to miss our spring show which was Guys and Dolls and I wanted to audition, so I asked my mom to listen and she said that I actually had gotten much better and that I should try out for musicals.

POC: By the time you took the Academy of Burlesque class, what had you done in the previous few years?

Queenie: I had done some musical theater, a lot of chorus stuff, kind of in the background. I liked to get really drunk and do karaoke so that’s where that started.

POC: What made you take the Academy of Burlesque class?

Queenie: My dad used to watch the “Something Weird” videos of all the old-timey performers, so I had seen a couple of those and I thought those were fun and interesting and then Hattie HellKat [Fall 2011 graduate] actually told me that she was taking the course and so I was just like, “Wow I didn’t know that existed.” So I decided to sign up too.

POC: Had you ever even thought about burlesque before?

Queenie: I hadn’t, but I have zero shame so I used to get naked all the time no matter what.

POC: While singing karaoke?

Queenie: Well that’s a different story.

POC: It depends on how drunk you got.

Queenie: Right. It depends on how drunk I got and how receptive the crowds were.

POC: There’s a couple things with taking a class like this. One is taking your clothes off. Obviously you didn’t have a problem with that…

Queenie: No.

POC: …but there’s also the other thing, of performing. Was there any type of nervousness, any type of doubt with that?

Queenie: I definitely felt like…I think everyone who takes the 101 class has a moment where they say, “I can’t fucking do this!” and wants to flip a table. I definitely went through that because it was really crazy with the costume and everything…I had Inga Ingénue and Shanghai Pearl [as instructors] and they were really good about helping us get through and talking us down off the ledge. I was doubtful about being able to put it all together. As I don’t sew or do any of that, putting together a costume was really scary for me and definitely just getting up on stage and trying to sing and take off your clothes and remember where you’re supposed to be moving and trying not to have that bewildered look on your face. Definitely interesting.

POC: Did you know you were going to sing in the 101 class right away?

Queenie: Yes. I definitely was not a singer when I was younger and I always really wanted to be.

POC: During the process of taking the class did you think it would be a one-time thing?

Queenie: I kind of figured I’d keep doing it. I got really tired of doing actual theater because let’s face it, some directors can be terrible dicks.

POC: What was the next thing you did?

Queenie: I started with Rock Candy Burlesque. They’re down in Olympia. And then I was taking the 202 [Academy of Burlesque] at the same time. Then I did the October show, Sweet Screams with Rock Candy. First show I did after that was Carnival with Vixen Valentine. Then Captain Royale with Violet DeVille and then it snowballed from there.

POC: What is burlesque to you?

Queenie: I think that burlesque is an art form where you get to be your choreographer, your own musician. You can be all of the things you want in a theatrical production and you can make it your own. You can make your own fucking music video to whatever song you want and you can make it awesome. I love that.

POC: What have been some of your inspirations this past year and a half (whether or not they’re burlesquers)? What’s something that you see in a show and you say, “that’s what I want to do”?

Queenie: Inga Ingénue’s Minnie the Moocher. Every time I see that I get so excited. It’s so amazing. And that is the thing where it’s like: that’s what I want to aspire to be.

POC: And what are some of the things you’d like burlesque to aspire to be?

Queenie: I want it to continue to grow and be this awesome thing and become a little more socially acceptable without people saying, “Oh my god you are so brave.” I want people to do what they want to do and have venues to put on the weird fucking acts that they want to do that aren’t necessarily themed. That’s what Revelry is.

**********

Revelry is every first Monday in Ballard at the BalMar. Next show is April 7th, click HERE for info.

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

The most amazing MC for TXBF, Cora Vette-Denver, CO

Legend Ms. Toni Elling

Current BHOF King of Burlesque: Ray Gunn-Chicago, IL

Once again, for the fourth year in a row, I attended the annual Texas Burlesque Festival. By now there is no doubt that I have a deep love for TXBF and for the city of Austin. I was able to perform on the first night as Man Johnson in what I call the “Zipper Act”, and I of course took photos the other nights. Produced by Terri Raridon and Coco Lectric (the fantastic performer and co-founder of the Austin-based Jigglewatts Burlesque troupe), TXBF is now in its seventh year. It certainly was another successful festival – particularly with headlining star power like Perle Noire, The Stage Door Johnnies, special guest and Legend Toni Elling, plus three nights of exhilarating, sexy, funny, and provocative performances.

TXBF hands out awards in the form of lovely ‘Barbie dolls’ designed by Black Mariah for winners on competition night; here’s a list of who took one home this year:

Best Costume: Blaze-Dallas, TX

Best Use of Prop/Novelty: Black Orchid-San Antonio, TX

Most Original: Paco Fish-Parts Unknown

Best Ensemble: Tifa Tittlywinks & Emma D’Lemma-Houston, TX

Best Tease Factor: Franki Markstone-St. Petersburg, FL

Best Solo: Ruthe Ordare-Vancouver, B.C.

Best Costume: Blaze-Dallas, TX

Best use of prop: Black Orchid-San Antonio, TX

Most Original: Paco Fish

Best Ensemble: Tifa Tittlywinks & Emma D’Lemma-Houston, TX

Best Tease: Franki Markstone-St. Petersburg, FL

Best Solo-Ruthe Ordare-Vancouver, B.C.

I plan on trying to get to as many festivals as possible in the next year (and will of course share photos and results along the way), especially since there are many new festivals popping up in addition to the more established ones across North America. The Lone Star State itself currently boasts four burlesque festivals and counting, including the San Antonio Burlesque Festival happening in August. SABF will be headlined by Michelle L’Amour, Waxie Moon and Legend Shannon Doah. (Submissions for that festival are open till May 10 click HERE for information).

Perle Noire-NYC, NY

Jett Adore-Chicago, IL

Coco Lectric-Austin, TX

Stage Door Johnnies-Chicago, IL

Chola Magnolia-Austin, TX

Jasper St. James-San Antonio, TX

Lowbrow Lullabies-Dallas,TX

Ruby Champagne-Los Angeles, CA

Divertida Devotchka-Dallas, TX

Bethany Summersizzle-Austin, TX

Jet Noir-Oakland,CA

Ruby Lamb-Austin, TX

Harlet Davidson-Austin, TX

Ginger Snaps-Austin, TX

Queertini Time-Austin, TX

Lady Jae-Houston, TX

Roxie Moxie-Austin, TX

Sherry Bomb-Austin, TX

Fat Bottom Cabaret-Austin, TX

Gaige-San Antonio, TX

Goldie Candela-Austin, TX

Caramel Knowledge-Los Angeles, CA

Big Al Dente & Kinsey Scale-Kansas City, KS

Di’ Lovely-San Diego, CA

Eva Mae Garnet-San Diego, CA

Honey Cocoa Bordeaux-Denton, TX

Nina La Voix-Brooklyn, NY

Best Ensemble: Tifa Tittlywinks & Emma D’Lemma Throwin’ it Down

The Jigglewatts-Austin, TX

Producers Coco Lectric & Terri Raridon thanking the crowd

~ Written by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

Eddie in the act he’s taking to BHoF (photo by Chuck Saxe)

Each year in June, thousands flock to Las Vegas to be part of Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend. They’ve come to see four nights of glitter-filled magic on stage in The Orleans Hotel. The Saturday night 24th Annual Tournament of Tease is the highlight of the weekend as burlesquers compete in several categories, the pièce de résistance being the “Reigning Queen of Burlesque” category. This year a number of Seattle burlesque artists are performing at BHoF and at the Saturday night tournament. BSP is getting down with these performers to ask them about being involved in this year’s BHoF.

Seattle’s Eddie Van Glam will be competing for “Best Boylesque”, along with Paris Original and Trojan Original (the fourth competitor in the “Best Boylesque” category is Mr. Gorgeous from NYC). One of the first times I saw Eddie Van Glam was at a Tempting Tarts show as a volunteer from the audience, where he then was serenaded by Jinkx Monsoon. Later in the year we took the Academy of Burlesque’s 202 class together. Since then Eddie has been involved in many productions, most recently The Naked Show, A Burlesque Affair to Remember, Thriller: A Burlesque Horror Story, Tuesday Tease, and he performs regularly at The Pink Door. I asked Eddie a few questions and about his origins in burlesque and what it’s like being involved in this year’s BHoF.

POC: What’s your performance background?

Eddie Van Glam: My background comes from two very different (but two very similar) artistic platforms: theater and pro wrestling. My love for theater performance goes back to over 25 years ago when my mom would play her favorite show tunes at breakfast every morning while I sat on my booster seat at the dinner table eating cereal. Watching soon became “not enough”; I wanted to do it too. I was 9 when I started acting in stage productions and in college I did musical theater. Around the same time I started performing, I also found pro wrestling. I admired the wrestler’s Adonis physiques & drawn to the hyper-masculine ballet they presented. They were comic book superheroes come to life. Much like trying my hand at theater, I became a wrestler 8 years ago. That journey brought me to performing burlesque 4 years ago.

Eddie about to cause great pain (photo by Scott Foster)

POC: What was it specifically that brought you into burlesque?

EVG: I vividly remember my first account of burlesque. It was St. Patrick’s Day 2008. I went out to a variety show in Seattle with some friends. To be truthful, I had never even heard of burlesque before. Upon watching the performer, Evilyn Sin Claire, I was hooked. It was magic. After that night, I started looking for more shows to attend. I began studying it, falling for the beauty & freedom of the art form. By 2011, I had become friends with Evilyn and one day she looked at me and said, “Why don’t you do boylesque? Do you even realize your pro wrestling entrance is a burlesque act?” Stunned by the revelation, I thought about what she said. After some consideration, I decided to go for it and I enrolled in Miss Indigo Blue’s [Academy of Burlesque] Boylesque 101.

I was very nervous going into 101, I am a very shy person, and I was nervous what my classmates would think of me and my take on the question “What is Boylesque?” Traditionally, 101 students are taught the “art of the striptease.” But I wanted to do something different. Prior to my first day in class, at my day job as a hair stylist I had a client who told me she got hot watching her boyfriend put on a suit. While building my persona, I felt the best way to introduce “Eddie Van Glam” to an audience for the first time was a reverse reveal into a full tuxedo.

From the 101 in March of 2011, I soon found myself struggling. Audiences were unfamiliar with hyper-masculine males in burlesque and I suffered for it. Audiences would boo or scream obscenities at me and it hurt really bad. I had such a love for this platform to express and share myself, but audiences weren’t ready for it yet. One of my 101 classmates talked me into doing the 202 and I am glad they did. I found the spark again and haven’t stopped since.

Eddie’s “Sharp Dressed Man” from Boylesque 101 (photo by Chris Blakeley)

POC: How do you feel about being a BHoF performer, and what are your feelings on the competitive aspect?

EVG: To say “I feel truly blessed,” would be an understatement. It’s an honor just to be chosen to perform (I know it sounds cliché, but it’s really true.) To me, BHoF Weekend is the pinnacle of our industry. It’s our Academy Awards, our Super Bowl & Olympics all rolled into one. It’s where you see the most innovative & talented performers. They’re game changers. I am humbled to be chosen, because it means I must be doing something right. In terms of the definition of “competition,” I feel it’s a double-edged sword. I, myself am a very competitive person. It keeps me on my toes and gives me drive to grow as a performer. I don’t use it to tear others down or allow myself to be consumed by it. I believe in healthy competition, but I also feel it can be unhealthy if you let it. This is the time for all of us to motivate one another to be the best version of ourselves. This is where we help bring our art form to the next level. Healthy competition allows that.

POC: How are you preparing? (mentally, physically, etc.)

EVG: I’m building towards a very exciting moment. I’m not doing anything different than I normally do, but I’m enjoying the journey. The pay off is getting to be on that stage in June in front of my friends, my peers, my family & the Legends who have paved the path for me to be able to perform. My goal is to give them all a performance of a lifetime.

POC: Who have been some of your burlesque heroes?

EVG: When I first started doing burlesque, I really found myself drawn to and inspired by the performers Waxie Moon (who I was privileged to be trained by,) Evilyn Sin Claire (of Sinner Saint Burlesque,) The Stage Door Johnnies (who doesn’t love them?!) & burlesque Legends Velvet Ice and Eartha Quake. They each have an amazing presence onstage and inspire me in different ways. I didn’t know men did burlesque until I saw Waxie Moon. He is such a larger than life persona that captivates me every time. His execution is done with such surgical precision, all the while maintaining that infectious smile of his. I’m also super jealous of those legs! Evilyn is a modern day, Punk Rock Janis Joplin. She’s real and raw. You can really feel what’s she’s presenting. There’s something to be said about 3 dynamically different men with different styles who come together in such harmony: The Stage Door Johnnies. I love Ray Gunn’s sensuality, Jett Adore’s playfulness and Bazuka Joe’s creativity. It’s a perfect recipe. Velvet & Eartha have inspired me in so many ways. They’ve personally encouraged me when I have had doubts about my performances and their feedback from their experience as performers is invaluable. I really treasure the relationship I have with them.

POC: Any final thoughts?

EVG: Three of the “Best Boylesque” competitors are from Seattle. Yes, I want to win, but more importantly I want that trophy to come home with one of us. Seattle has had a big contingent of winners this year (Jinkx Monsoon, Macklemore, Seattle Seahawks, & pro-wrestler Daniel Bryan.) Myself, Paris & Trojan are going to show why Seattle is a hub for male burlesque. It’s high time that a King resides here.

Eddie Van Glam (photo by POC Photo)

Jinkx Monsoon sings to Eddie at a Tempting Tarts Burlesque show. (Photo by POC Photo)

Eddie with Velvet Ice at BHoF 2012 (photo by POC Photo)

Eddie in Thriller: A Burlesque Horror Story (photo by POC Photo)

Eddie Van Glam (photo by Scott Foster)

~ Written by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

This week there are some unique burlesque shows happening in the fair city of Seattle. First up in this week’s Picks of the Glitter is Accio Burlesque! A Burlesque Tribute to Harry Potter.

Accio Burlesque (designed by Scarlett O’Hairdye)

Sailor St. Claire brings us a new version of last year’s successful nerdlesque tribute to Harry Potter with a 90% new cast at the Annex Theater for three nights starting Thursday, May 22.

Here’s what Sailor had to say about some of the new performers this year:

Sailor St Claire: Many of the performers in the show this year are people I have never gotten the chance to work with before as a producer, which is really exciting for me personally. I had dreamed that Flirty Sanchez would be in the show last year as the character she’s playing this year, but that didn’t manifest. She had told me after the show that she had wanted to work with me on a project, but wasn’t an HP fan, so she didn’t feel like she had anything to submit. This year, I put a bug in her ear about it, which in turn made her start reading the series, and she’s found a really unique approach to a particularly irksome character. Flirty jokes that, if nothing else, working on Accio has made her a more literate stripper. I really can’t wait for everyone to see what she’s come up with!

It’s also been great to work with some of the newer faces in the Seattle scene. Verity Germaine comes to burlesque from Seattle theatre, so she knows her way around a stage pretty well. She’s channeling some serious carnival showgirl realness in her number for Accio and I think it’s really going to wow people. And Sin de la Rosa and Will Lykya blew me away with their smokin’ hot duet.

There are also a couple of darker, modern dance-infused pieces in the show from Jesus La Pinga and Maxie Milieu. Maxie’s act is straight up terrifying, and Jesus’s number is very powerful and sad. It brought me to tears the first time I saw him workshop it and I still feel that way even after seeing it 4 times. This is a real departure from the kind of high-energy, campy work we’re used to seeing from Jesus, and I am excited for him to show it to everyone next week! We also have a musician joining the cast this year. Allie Coy is a local singer-songwriter, and a die-hard Harry Potter fan! She’s bringing a couple of her original songs about Hogwarts to share with us before she heads off to play The Warped Tour this summer.

As of this writing, there were only a handfull of tickets left. If they’re sold out you might have to use your own wizardry to acquire some over at Accio Burlesque .

**********

Fertility Rite (designed by Solange Corbeau)

Up next is Fertility Rite. Rarely seen late-night, full-nudity, avant-garde burlesque by some of Seattle’s most well-known performers playing at Ballard Underground for one night only Saturday, May 24 in a midnight show. I asked the show’s producer, Solange Corbeau, a few questions about her latest endeavor:

POC: Tell me about Fertility Rite.

Solange Corbeau: …Having the show in the Ballard Underground is ideal for providing an environment that supports artists and frees them from some of the restrictions performers have to work around at other venues. Here, the acts can be expressive as well as thought provoking and leverage a wider range of subject matter and performance technique to create memorable artistic experiences. It takes burlesque back into the realm of theatre, and that gets me really excited.

POC: What would you like to see for the future of this show?

Solange: I‘d love for this to be a quarterly show. My dream is for it to showcase exceptionally talented performers from Seattle, but also be a destination spot for visiting performers who are known for their more boundary pushing neo-burlesque pieces. I would also love to open it up to other kinds of performers as well. While my heart is very much in the burlesque and theatre scene, I do welcome the addition of other kinds of theatrical and cabaret acts. All nude string quartet? Political puppetry? I’m interested!

Get tickets here.

**********

Bring It

And finally we have BRING IT Seattle’s Burlesque Hall of Fame Fundraiser! This show plays at West Hall Saturday, May 24. Around the country performers hold Legend Challenge events. These events raise critical funds for elderly legendary performers who may need assistance with airfare and accommodations, so that they can continue providing guidance and inspiration to the younger generations.

As Miss Indigo Blue explained, “This show will be an awesome opportunity to see almost ALL of Seattle’s competition acts *without even leaving town!* How cool is that? I’m so proud of our incredible community and all of the artists who contribute to the Burlesque Hall of Fame weekend by competing, applying, volunteering and attending! Oh,and did I mention that there will be a freakin’ CAKE WALK at this show? Dessert and Boobs and Boys! What could be better?”

Indeed what could be better? Check out this amazing line-up.

BRING IT!
Seattle’s Burlesque Hall of Fame Fundraiser
Hosted by
Seattle’s “Reigning Queen of Burlesque, Miss Exotic World 2011″ Indigo Blue!

Starring:
Lily Verlaine – A Living Breathing Work of Art
(three-time contestant and Second Runner Up. 2011 Miss Exotic World)
Ernie Von Schmaltz – The Man, The Myth, The Moustache
(winner “Best Troupe 2008″ with the Von Foxies)
Iva Handfull – The Albino Grace Jones and Queen of Kansas City
(three-time performer at BHOF, first in MISS EXOTIC WORLD category)
Paris Original – Poetry in Motion
(second appearance at BHOF in BOYLESQUE category)
Trojan Original – The Red Hot Manimal
(second appearance at BHOF, first in BOYLESQUE category)
Eddie Van Glam – The Rhinestoned Stud
(second appearance at BHOF, first in BOYLESQUE category)
Violet Tendencies – The Vicious Vixen
(first appearance at BHOF)

With special appearances by
Waxie Moon – Gender Blending Queer Lady Boylesque Performance-Art Stripping Sensation
(two-time performer at BHOF)
and Bolt Action and Scarlett O’Hairdye

Tickets can be procured here.

**********

So you can spend Saturday night hopping from this BHoF fundraiser on Capitol Hill to Ballard for the midnight show of Fertility Rite. Don’t forget to have a snack in between! See you there…

~ Written by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

Ernie Von Schmaltz (John Jacobs)

In our continuing coverage of the lovely Seattle burlesquers performing at this year’s Burlesque Hall of Fame, we bring you “The Man, The Myth, The Mustache”: Ernie Von Schmaltz. Ernie will be performing at the BHoF kickoff show, “Movers, Shakers, and Innovators”. Both Ernie and his cousin Elsa are no strangers to the BHoF stage. In 2007 Elsa/Ernie was a member of The Von Foxies, who took home “Best Troupe” that year. Since then Elsa/Ernie has been a regular in the Seattle burlesque world performing in a variety of shows both as a performer and an MC (most recently, in Better Off Nude: A Burlesque Tribute to 80′s Cinema, The Naked Show, That’s F*cked Up 5! and The Moisture Festival). Ernie also teaches at Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque (where I had the privilege of being under his tutelage…twice).

I asked Ernie a few questions about BHoF.

POC Photo: How different do you think BHoF is from when you and The Von Foxies won “Best Troupe” in 2007?

Elsa/Ernie Von Schmaltz: BHoF has grown by leaps and bounds; not just in attendance and recognition as the premiere burlesque event, but also as a much needed PR and fundraising vehicle for the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum. There have been growing pains along the way but each year the event also seems to get smoother and better organized. BHoF has also really changed in the types of performances you are likely to see onstage. While I remember the first few years I attended, my first year in 2005 was the last year at the goat farm (in Helendale, California) having a wider variety of skill levels, costume quality and presentation, the recent year’s performances seem to be more polished, have more rhinestones, and in general more calculatedly competitive.

POC Photo: Have you performed at BHoF since then?

EVS: I have performed as an ensemble member in Indigo Blue’s step-down act in 2012, and as well as for The Von Foxies’ step-down act in 2008 at The Palms. They were two vastly different experiences; Indigo’s step down act took place at the pinnacle moment of the weekend, right before the new “Queen of Burlesque” was to be announced. The room was positively charged with electric anticipation, both about Indigo’s act, which remains one of my most favorite performance moments ever, and about who the new queen was going to be. It was fantastic to be a part of such a pivotal moment. Contrast that with The Von Foxies step down act, which took place outdoors on the pool deck of The Palms with outdoor lighting, wind, traipsing through the pool area in costume. Security was tight, so no cameras were supposed to be allowed, and it was during Sunday day, when the feeling was more of a lazy hangover sunburn, not so much of a high flying fancy night vibe. It was also at the end of the weekend when, and I believe I can speak for a moment for the burlesque community in attendance that year, we were all pretty fed up with the venue and its treatment of us as a community. It made the group synchronized pee in the pool later that day ever so rewarding!

POC Photo: How do you feel about performing at the “Movers, Shakers, and Innovators” showcase?

EVS: I feel positively freakin’ excited and proud to be performing in the “Movers and Shakers” show! This is my 10th year doing burlesque, and to be recognized as a mover and shaker at this point in my burlesque career feels awesome.

POC Photo: How are you preparing for your performance, mentally, physically, etc.?

EVS: I’ve been eating only raw steak for a month, doing one armed pushups and have hired a personal trainer that will slap my abdominals or buttocks when I do crunches hanging upside down from a bar….ha!

I’ve had a couple of the costume pieces re-made, thank you Jamie Von Stratton! I’ve been doing some peer reviewing with Iva Handfull, Velvet Ice, Serafina Fiero and her husband Rick, Jo Jo Stiletto and Lady Drew Blood; that process was awesome! I’ve also been hitting the gym a little differently to strengthen my ankles and calves for all that fake Irish dancing I’ll be doing. Lastly, I’ve been visualizing myself on that big stage in Vegas, the lights hitting me and me delivering something from my heart that makes the world laugh, applaud, then leap to their feet.

As for other thoughts about this magical weekend; for me this event is my burlesque pilgrimage. Its the longest running event with a direct lineage to the history of this art form. Every year I laugh, I cry, I learn, I’m inspired and I return to my little corner of the world transformed and moved to do more.

Ernie Von Schmaltz (by POC Photo)

Burlesque legend Wild Cherry

Today many of us are deeply saddened by the news of the death of New Orleans burlesque legend Wild Cherry. Some of the most touching tributes we’ve seen have been firsthand accounts from performers that grew to know and love her in recent years (Trixie Little posted some beautiful memories early this morning, as have many, many others).

Back in 2013, Coco Lectric did a tribute act to Wild Cherry at the Texas Burlesque Festival and POC was in attendance.  In looking back, we wanted to share an excerpt from that story, in which Coco sums up what the experience of working with her was like and how intense and physical she was.  (We also encourage you to read THIS excellent biographical piece on Wild Cherry by Rick Delaup, which many of us have read and re-read many times over the years, as information on her was so hard to find).

As Coco recounted to POC in April 2013…

“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…”

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

Sara Dipity, one of the duo which started the peer review sessions “Tassel Talk” (Photo by Dawndra Budd)

~ Written by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

Last month I was excited to be part of Tassel Talk, a peer review of burlesque acts in the works at Annex Theatre that began in January and meets every month. Peer reviews like this in burlesque usually consist of a performer (in this case six performers) presenting acts they would like feedback on and an audience of peers giving constructive criticism. It was such a positive and fun experience because of the sense of community I felt (not to mention the very yummy brunch that was provided), that I decided to get the lowdown on the origins of Tassel Talk by the women behind it: Sara Dipity and Bunny Von Bunsmore. Both women have been performing and involved in theater years before they ever hit the burlesque stage. Sara, who moved to Seattle in 2009, holds a bachelor’s in Musical Theater with a minor in Dance and Human Sexuality. Bunny went to Cornell for Theater and Feminist Studies and moved to Seattle in 2010 after graduation. She is currently working at Annex Theatre as a staff member, actor, and director. Sara and Bunny got their burlesque start at Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

We conducted the interview at Bunny’s apartment while her lovely cat Sage kept us company:

POC: How did you get into burlesque?

Sara: Well honestly I had been fascinated with dancing naked since I was a little, little girl, like just kind of precociously loved that.

POC: That’s funny, a lot of people say that.

Sara: Yeah I had kind of been locked up in church ideals and stuff for a very long time and when I got to Seattle I kind of let go of that. I felt like I needed to go back to who I was and what I loved and it felt like a really good way to explore my own creativity and my body and my sexuality, so that is why I started doing it [burlesque], and then I just seriously googled ‘burlesque class’. Miss Indigo Blue. Perfect. Here, $600. There you go.

Bunny: Before I moved to Seattle I had watched the documentary A Wink and a Smile…I watched that and kind of just filed it away. Like…ha, this is really cool. This is a very cool part of this place where I’m moving. And it was actually with Cocktails at the Center of the Earth (a play at the Annex Theater) that I decided to pursue burlesque because Sailor St. Claire was in the show and I just asked her “How did you start this? How?” and she said, “Well I was moving here from California and it was something I had never done so I did it.” So I took the Academy class in 2012 and it’s been lovely.

POC: For the Academy 101 performance, did you have any feelings about how this was a different type of performance than what you had done in the past and was there any type of nervousness about getting naked on stage?

Bunny: I was nervous but it was kind of like normal performance nervousness for me. It was, “Okay I’m gonna go do this thing that I know I know how to do. I’m just gonna trust that I’m gonna do it. I wasn’t nervous about getting naked. It’s funny some of the other girls in my class put it really well. You’re busy doing so much stuff during a performance. Is this gonna come off the right way? Am I going to remember the right steps? Am I gonna give good face? You’re so busy with other things, thinking about your own nakedness is really the last thing on your mind.

Sara: You know I’d say that I still get that level of nervousness. Ugh, I’m going to perform and get naked, and the second you step on the stage that just goes away. You have to focus on doing your job and getting your stuff done. Self-editing and criticizing is completely unhelpful at that point.

Bunny Von Bunsmore (Photo by Ian Johnston)

POC: I guess that brings us to someone else helping you. So what is Tassel Talk?

Sara: Tassel Talk is amazing. Tassel Talk is a baby from BurlyCon where we were sitting around thinking, man, I have no idea if I’m making good work because I’m not getting a lot of feedback about that. And there was a peer review at the time but it wasn’t consistent…So we decided that we wanted to provide that. Tassel Talk is a morning where a bunch of community members sit down and get together and have brunch and drink mimosas and then six brave people get up on a stage – with full lighting and full sound and all the tech we can give them – and perform for us and then we give about 10 minutes of constructive feedback.

Bunny: We thought really hard about how we could make it the safest, happiest experience possible because it’s a scary thing to get up in front of…

Sara: People you respect.

Bunny: Yeah, it’s scary to do that so we wanted to take the bite out of it. Because BurlyCon peer reviews… I haven’t done one personally. But it’s like, oh so you go into a room, there could be people that you don’t know from other cities sitting there and you just kind of go in and you have your time.

Sara: You get feedback there and that is absolutely valuable but I wanted feedback from people that I am working with every single week. I wanted feedback from people that I’d performed with and understand. We wanted to make it as show-like as possible to benefit the people performing but also to benefit the people watching it. We figured if we added a stage, we added lighting, we added sound that wasn’t coming out of a boom box, you know sound coming out of big stage speakers, people would feel more comfortable performing and people would feel more comfortable to ‘woo’ and such.

Bunny: And Annex has been really generous. They’ve provided our space for free.

POC: So you asked them ‘can I do this thing?’

Bunny: Yeah I asked them and you know it’s half because I’m on staff, they know me. They want to keep me happy. And half because Tassel Talk really aligns with their mission, which is creating bold new work. So we stole a lot of our moderation technique from what Annex does from their progress showings where we have people come in to see a production that’s barely on its feet or hasn’t had tech added in yet, and give feedback.

POC: How do you choose performers to perform in a particular month?

Sara: To get the six, I post on the Facebook event page: “Hello we have open sign-ups.” And then on my own personal Sara page: “Hello we have open sign-ups. Please send me a message.” And generally within the first hour I’ve got six people. Then over the course of two weeks or so someone drops out. People drop out because they have other commitments. And that’s why we have alternates. Every single time, one or two alternates have gone. So that’s how we get the six. I’d love for it to be more but we don’t have that kind of time.

Bunny: We can get it done in less than two hours. We do about 10 minutes of talkback after each one, for a five minute act. It’s plenty of time to really hit everything.

POC: Plus you get to take home the notes.

Bunny: Yeah, we have everybody fill out forms so if they don’t necessarily share in the verbal talk back , they can still write down what they thought. And the performer can take that and they can burn them or they can read them. Whatever they want.

POC: So the first one was in January so now six months later can you share your experience on what it’s been like?

Sara: Honestly it has fed me so much as a person in a community and as an artist where every time I go, even if it’s early in the morning. Every time I go I see at least something incredible and often times many incredible things and it inspires me to go work on my stuff. And the Tassel Talk that I was reviewed in inspired me to make it [my act] better because I walked in thinking “I don’t know if this is good or not. I don’t actually know if this is a cohesive, good piece” but getting that kind of feedback made me think, “Oh OK, it’s alright. It’s a good place to start” and I can go much further with it.

Bunny: And you have a direction.

Sara: We create these things in just a little bubble, in our living room. Gluing stuff to stuff.

POC: Or you just have any idea in your head…

Sara: Exactly. And you hope it comes out cohesive. But then you do it [at a show] and you get a bunch of people saying, “Oh good job.” You don’t know if that’s real…

Bunny: Only in a peer review do you find out. And I’ve been surprised and delighted at the way that people have responded to getting very difficult critic of their work. They’ve been delighted and so excited to go and take it away and work on it. And there haven’t been too many hurt feelings, which is incredible.

POC: Well the idea is that there are certain rules on how you can critique someone, right? Let’s say someone’s on stage and the person watching thinks “I don’t like this at all.” They’ve got to find a way to articulate it, so that’s part of the process for the reviewer as well.

Bunny: We’re very specific with the questions we ask. We start with, “What did you like?” So then it’s love-fest,“Hello, these are the good things. Don’t make those good things go away”. And then we move on to “What was confusing? What was unclear? What do we want to see more of?” So that leads people to think very specifically about what it is that they were missing if they really hated an act or really weren’t jazzed about it. They have to be very specific about what it is that made them have that reaction. And that’s helpful because general negativity is just not helpful.

POC: So let’s talk about the hospitality aspect of it…

Bunny & Sara: Mini Bobbins!!!

Sara: She’s great. She got invited to the first Tassel Talk and wrote me and said, “I want to help. How can I help?” And she completely took over food. And it’s the best food. For Valentine’s Day she made chocolate dripped strawberries because she’s adorable. You were a partaker of the food. Did you enjoy it?

POC: I did partake of the food. It was very good. And there’s a jar for donations which goes to her for the food?

Sara: It costs about $50 for the food. So any donations go to her basically and then Bunny and I make up the difference out of our pocket. Which I look at it as a community giving thing.

Bunny: It’s really important to us that the event stay free for the performers because there are lots of opportunities to go and take classes, but they tend to be pricey and that’s fine, and they’re so valuable, but we wanted to have a place where people could come and show their work and not have to spend money in order to make their work better. Annex is donating their space which obviously is such a huge boon to us because space is so difficult to find in the city. And our technician, Alex King is an angel.

Sara: And he’s a professional technician who’s donating his time which is beautiful and I want to hug him all the time.

Bunny: Right. He’s wonderful. He’ll come and tell the performers, “Oh you can just tell your tech to backlight you during this part and it will look great.”

POC: So he’s giving feedback as well?

Sara: Yes. He designed a prop for me. He just gave me a sketch last time and said, “This is how you do that.”

Bunny: He’s one of the best people in the world. Anyway it’s because of donations that we’re running [this]. Annex is donating space, the donated tech, the donated Mini’s time and effort, and people who show up are putting in for food. But we want to make this a little more formalized as far as funding goes for the snacks. So we’re trying to put together a show in December (date and time TBD), showing acts from Tassel Talk that have been reviewed as a fundraiser for next year and to give some money back to Annex…so details forthcoming on that one. It should be a really fun show.

Sara: One thing I do want to say is I wish more people would utilize Tassel Talk. I wish producers would come and audition talent that way. I know I have. I feel like a few other producers have come and said “I’m casting that person now because I know they are fierce”.

Bunny: It’s a place where a completely new performer can come and show themselves and a producer could also come and see, and I think that is really exciting because often you know, the application process for shows is an idea online, but you’re not likely to cast someone that you don’t know or have never seen. So it’s a great opportunity because it’s free and because you just have to sign up. Anybody can get in and be seen.

POC: Well it was a wonderful experience for me… And first of all who doesn’t like socializing around food anyway? It’s people talking and enjoying good food and then they go inside the theater and watch the acts. So it’s a fellowship is what it is.

Sara: It’s burly church. It’s time to go and commune

Bunny: Yeah that’s what makes it less intimidating. You come and you have food and it’s relaxed and casual and you’re just chatting about ideas.

Sara: This a really great way to get to know people you don’t know. There are circles within our community of people that work together all of the time. And this is a good way to make those circles into Venn diagrams. 101 students that are just graduating, if you want to keep performing, come to this. You’ll see so much for free. I mean Iva Handfull did a review once….Crazy. So 101 students, come. Producers, come. Headliners, come give us feedback, if you wouldn’t mind donating your time…

Bunny: …There’s brunch in it for you…

Sara: There’s brunch in it and mimosas and if you gave us the time to tell us how to be better, everyone would get better. Rise all the ships.

 ******

You can see Sara Dipity next in Star Trek: The Sexed Generation in September. Visit her at:

www.songbirdandraven.com

www.facebook.com/songbirdandraven

You can see Bunny (Katherine Karaus) in Balconies opening August 1.

http://www.annextheatre.org/2014-season/main-stage/balconies/

For info about future Tassel Talk sessions, like them on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/peerreviewswithlove

And… check Annex Theatre’s schedule of performances and go to their support page where you can make a donation to a wonderful theater.

www.annextheatre.org/support-us/

Sara Dipity (Photo by Ralph Gayle)

Bunny Von Bunsmore (Photo by John Cornicello)

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

This Friday and Saturday (September 5-6) at Annex Theatre, Songbird and Raven bring you Star Trek: The Sexed Generation. It was only a matter of time before the Seattle nerdlesque scene rallied to produce a show entirely dedicated to the exploration of the final frontier. Like many other burlesque/nerdlesque shows of late, The Sexed Generation is fully scripted. Songbird and Raven is the realization of a dream shared by Sara Dipity and her partner Jacob Farley, who both obtained degrees in theatre (Musical Theatre and Theatre Arts respectively). BSP recently did a story about Sara and her involvement in Tassel Talk: A Peer Review. With a glass of Tranya in hand, I asked Sara about Star Trek and her new production company Songbird and Raven:

POC: Why Star Trek?

SARA: We adore it! Jacob grew up on Star Trek: The Original Series, while I caught Star Trek: The Next Generation in syndication every day after school. In 2013 we decided to watch all of Star Trek together; all six series (Original, Animated, Next Gen, Voyager, Deep Space 9, and Enterprise), and all 12 movies. I had already co-written The Last Burlesque Show You’ll Ever See and was about to co-produce Indiana Bones and the Lips of Destiny, two shows that melded burlesque and theatre. Star Trek seemed like the perfect canon to tackle; the episodes range from comical to deep political-social commentary, so we can explore gender, sexuality, self-worth, and power… and also make ridiculous jokes about Riker’s sexual prowess and Troi’s “psychic whammy.” As the incredible Crystal Tassels wrote about the show, it’s a space-age cultural study in tassels and sequin!

I had toyed around with the idea for a long time, about a year, with Jake always being supportive. I spoke about it with a lot of people and producers I trust and admire until finally I got a kick in the pants from Sailor St. Claire in the form of, “Yes, you can totally do this. Ask Annex for space.” I formed a little snowball of an idea, and she helped me push it down the hill. (Thanks, Sailor!)

POC: How did Song Bird & Raven come about?

SARA: Upon graduation Jacob and I found ourselves thrust into the economic downturn and recession. We both scurried to find jobs while doing our art on the side, and continued on this path for some time. In August of 2013 I felt like I met a breaking point. I found myself saying, “Well, I’m starting my fifth year in a job that I didn’t plan and don’t love. My B plan somehow became my A plan.”

We went into a discussion of dreams; what we wanted, what are strengths were, where we saw ourselves in 10 years, etc. That conversation revealed a vision: I wanted a production company. One that would produce quality work using our shared skills. One that would tell stories not often told. One that would elevate the art forms that I’ve been studying since I first took the stage at age five. We set to work. The goal, produce one stellar show combining our shared love of musical theatre, comedy, dance, and of course; burlesque and Star Trek. And here we are.

POC: What are your plans after Star Trek?

SARA: We have a ten year plan set. We’re solidly in year one. Year two, 2015, involves three burlesque shows: Broadway Babes: A Burlesque Tribute to the Great White Way (at Annex Theatre, March 20-21), World Cups: Burlesque in the Wide World of Sports (location TBD, June), and Star Trek: The Sexed Generation II (tentatively titled “The Wrath of Brawn,” at Annex Theatre, September 10-12). In 2015 we’re also looking to produce a sketch show featuring exclusively female writers and performers, as well as a full length straight-play.

After that? We expand as we can, producing a mixture of theatre, burlesque, and sketch. Our eventual goal is to own a space – to give the Seattle artistic community the space they deserve, with all the bells and whistles (and lights and sound and trapeze rigging etc.) that we can. We’re driven to create a community space; a place for artists to put up their best work, and for the Seattle public to consume it. Our space will be a love letter, a tribute, an offering to Seattle; the best place we’ve ever called home.

POC: Finally, Kirk or Picard?

SARA: I grew up with Picard. He’s strong, diplomatic, smart, dreamy, and Patrick Stewart is an incredible actor. Kirk on the other hand is scrappy and resourceful…and also dreamy. Everyone on the original series is dreamy! Ack! I don’t know! Picard! Kirk! Picard! Kirk! Janeway! Picard! I can’t decide!

******

Incidentally Songbird and Raven will be taking over producing duties for the show Revelry, as current producer and founder Queenie O’Hart is leaving us for New Orleans.

Star Trek: The Sexed Generation

Featuring Performances By:
Lady Drew Blood
Sailor St. Claire
Scarlett O’Hairdye
Al Lykya
Bolt Action
Maxie Milieu
Jesus la Pinga
Crystal Tassels
Olatsa Assassin
Eva Fairwood
Miz Melancholy
Briq House
Sin De La Rosa

Also Featuring:
Maggie McMuffin
Magnolia Monroe
and Verity Germaine

Star Trek: The Sexed Generation

Stardates: 8:00 PM, September 5-6, 2014

Coordinates: Annex Theater, 1100 East Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122

Get tickets HERE.

~ Intro by Jessica, Photo preview by Paul O’Connell (POC Photo)

It’s almost here…Verlaine & McCann’s freshly restructured Burlesco DiVino opens October 1 at Seattle’s gorgeous, subterranean Triple Door.  Last week Fosse Jack (who plays the character “Dario” in the production) contributed a special guest feature on the show’s transformation from its commissioned debut to its third and current incarnation; this week we bring you another sneak peek through the expert eye of BSP’s POC Photo.

Yes, we’re biased…we love our POC…but the photos for Burlesco DiVino are cheeky and dashing and JUST SO GLORIOUS.

Here’s a selection of POC’s favorites from the sessions (catch more of his work over HERE):

Burlesco DiVino, October 1-4 at the Triple Door. Get tickets HERE!