Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Greetings on a frigid Friday! I can hear the wind howling outside my window as I write this and I hope you are all staying warm, especially those of you in places less accustomed to this level of cold. We had a lot of snow dumped on Boston last week and that inspired this tip, which is for everyone, not just my usual audience of burlesquers.

Clear the sidewalk.

I know shoveling snow is a pain in the ass, but it needs to be done. It makes you a good member of your community. Want to be a better one? Offer to do it for someone who might not be able to do it themself. Make sure curb cuts are accessible and fire hydrants are unburied.

If your landlord is supposed to handle snow removal, that’s great, but do make they take care of it promptly.

I’ve seen people who clean a narrow path from their front door to their car. Not okay. Or the folks who technically clear in front of their house, but leave a big pile between their place and the one next door. Really? Think of other people.

You never know when some poor performer is going to be lugging their suitcase to the venue and face an impassable stretch of snow*. Don’t be the one they cuss out.

M2

*This is not me speaking from experience, but I can totally envision it.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

 

Published in: on 30 January 2026 at 12:14 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Pastie Exchange

Dear Constant Reader,

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I’m a Patron of Manuge et Toi Design, which is an amazing resource for burlesque costuming. I’ve learned so much over the years! If you want to up your costuming game, whether for burlesque or not, I highly, highly recommend subscribing.  It is also a lovely and supportive community. This past autumn Christina organized a pastie exchange, pairing participants up.

I checked the IG account of my partner, Aurora Rocket, and saw she had a touch of creepiness in her style. I’d been dying to try making planchette pasties and she seemed like the perfect victim person. 

As is my usual style, I made the pasties with a buckram base and fused a tan satin on to it. I used the duller side of the satin for more of a wood effect.

The designs were done in jet and crystal (Looking Glass Gems), honey (LUX Austrian Crystal), and peridot (PriceLess Crystal) rhinestones. I considered covering the entire surface in honey stones, but I was afraid of losing the impact of the eyes if the entire surface was sparkly.

These pasties were a stretch for me, in terms of shape, size, and decoration. And, being a little intimidated by the challenge, I procrastinated a bit and then realized I was going to be losing six days right before the deadline because I was going to London (woe is me!). I still managed to get them in the mail exactly on time.

Christina organized a live unboxing party on Zoom, so none of us could open our packages until the appointed time. It was hard to wait! I was super-nervous for Aurora to open the box, especially after I had seen so many beautiful and creative pasties made by others. I  needn’t have feared, she seemed delighted.

And I’ve made you wait long enough — here they are!

Planchette pasties

And what did I receive in return? These gorgeous blood drops! You can’t really tell from my photo, but those rhinestones are immaculately set. It’s such a beautiful job. I believe I’m going to replace the bat pasties I wear for “Moon Over Bourbon Street” with these lovelies.

Thank you, Aurora and Christina, and all the other pastie makers for brightening up my December!

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 26 January 2026 at 12:15 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! I hope everyone who is in the path of the big storm stays safe and warm, especially those of you who might not be used to this sort of weather. Here’s your tip!

Keep a spare supply of pastie adhesive with you.

You never know when you might run out, or forget to pack it, or have a colleague in need. There’s a lot of things we can do a show without, but pasties aren’t one of them. And having the pasties and being unable to attach them is somehow worse than not having them at all.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 23 January 2026 at 10:37 am  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! It’s tip time…

Keep a container for discarded sharps in your sewing space.

Sewing requires needles and pins and other small sharp items. Eventually they dull or break or bend and you are faced with tiny shards of sharp metal. Have a designated container where you can drop them while you’re working and dispose of them safely later.

I keep a pill bottle next to my sewing table for just this purpose. The child-proof cap makes me feel secure that the cats, even Bartholomew the engineering genius, can’t get at them. Lots of items can be repurposed thusly — an Altoids tin, a small jar, etc.

Happy and safe sewing!

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 16 January 2026 at 4:42 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s a new year and it’s going to be tax time soon. That alone sucks, but are you also scrambling to get your information together? Here’s your tip:

Set up a system to record your burlesque-related income and expenses.

Whether you use accounting software, a spreadsheet, or a notebook, that’s up to what works best for you. Also, the schedule is up to you — maybe you want to record items immediately or maybe once a month is bookkeeping day. Just don’t leave it all until the last minute. Start now and future you will thank past you for making it easy.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 9 January 2026 at 5:46 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader, 

It’s the first Friday of 2026! I have spent this week having no idea what day it was, but I remembered just in time to send you a tip.

When packing for a show, last in, first out.

To be efficient backstage, pack your suitcase in the order that you’ll be taking things out. A well-packed bag keeps you from digging through frantically looking for your g-string. It’s right on top because it’s the first thing you’ll be putting on.

And if you’ll excuse me, I need to go pack for tomorrow night’s gig.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 2 January 2026 at 9:03 pm  Leave a Comment  
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10th Anniversary Show 12/6/25

Dear Constant Reader,

Usually, we do two shows at Deacon Giles, an early and a late, and they’re the same show. This time, we did Brrrlesque for the early show, but for the late show, we presented…
IMG_9114

10 years of fine spirits and craft cocktails! And we’ve been there for most of it. One night, about 9 years ago, Brigitte, very drunk, called Scratch, told him that we had to perform at this great bar she was at, and the rest is history!

To celebrate, we decided to do a show filled with some of our favorite acts that we’ve performed there. With one exception, this was entirely different acts from the show we had performed earlier in the evening.

Ava Fox, Betty Blaize, Devastasia: Going Bananas (“Going Bananas” by Madonna/”Day-O” by Harry Belafonte”)
This was probably the first act we knew had to be in the show. Originally created for A (Re)Movable Feast, it was one of the main acts in The Boston BeauTease Go Bananaz!, a show Brigitte had been suggesting not very subtilely for years. There’s a story about that show and the Salem city government, but I shall share it another time, perhaps. Let us just leave it at that Ian, one of Deacon Giles’ owners, is very detail-oriented and ultimately saved the day.

Mina Murray: Moon Over Bourbon Street (Sting)
This was another act that everyone said had to be in the show. It’s one of my Halloween go-tos. However, I realized that it shares some costume elements with a different act and I was going to be doing both in this show. So, I made a brand-new hip belt, which goes with the theme of the act. I only had time to do the bare minimum of rhinestoning, but I’m still pretty  pleased with it.

Scratch: Martini Time (magic)
This time the correct song was on the playlist and everything went off flawlessly.

Ava Fox: In the Mood
We had to have Ava tap dance and this is a cheerful, celebratory number.

Betty Blaize: Sweet Child o’ Mine (Post-Modern Jukebox)
Betty gets to show off her dance chops as well as her costuming with this striptease.

Devastasia: No Diggity (singing: Post-Modern Jukebox arrangement)
Another chance to hear Devastasia’s lovely voice.

Mina Murray: Whole Lotta Mina (“Whole Lotta Love” by Hollywood Vampires)
I love this number. The music absolutely does not go with the troupe aesthetic, but I don’t care (and neither does Devastasia, who always encourages me to do it.)

Betty Blaize: Malambo No. 5 (Yma Sumak)
This is an over-the-top song and a matching costume. Betty has had a feathered headdress and backpiece for a while and, rather than create, say an elegant showgirl act, she became a tropical bird. It’s a gorgeous costume and the act is a touch ridiculous, just like Betty.

Devastasia: Steamroller Blues
I’m not the only fan dancer in the troupe, but our styles are pretty different. Also of note is the Devastasia’s costume is a color would wouldn’t expect from her — bright pink!

Ava Fox: Upside Down (Paloma Faith)
Ava has been working with chairs for a while and I think this is her finest number — and I’m not alone. She performed it at festivals in Scotland and Australia.

Scratch: The Vanishing Bandana (magic)
This is one off the troupe’s favorite magic tricks and we insisted Scratch perform it.

Betty Blaize, Mina Murray: Wim-a-weh (“The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens)
This is without a doubt the goofiest number we have. It’s also one of the oldest. Betty and I came up with it over the course of a week (when I think I had the flu) in like 2007. It contains some authentic ’60s go-go moves and  16th-century Indian dance hand gestures. It’s very silly and somehow, it remains a crowd pleaser.

And that was our last show of 2025!

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 31 December 2025 at 4:20 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Brrrlesque 12/6/25

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s that time of year again, when we have our annual winter-themed show. We had a couple of traditional seasonal treats and a few new ones. As always, we had Marek on lights and sound and a rare appearance from Matilde as stagehand. The show went something like this:

Ava Fox, Betty Blaize, Mina Murray: “Kindergarten” (Unkle Ho)
This is one of our standard trios, which we’ve been doing for years. Since it’s the holiday season, we had tall peppermint sticks and wore red velvet skirts, newly trimmed with white faux fur by Betty, to replace some really sad marabou. We used to do this to a song called “Booty Swing”, which has a great rhythm and terrible lyrics, so we retired it. After a lot of work, Scratch and Betty found this song, to which Betty adapted the choreography. Although we rehearsed it a bunch, once on stage I reverted back to the old choreography near the end. Ooops.

Devastasia: Snow-woman (“Frosty the Snowman”/”She Made My Blood Run Cold” by Ike Turner)
It’s a shame this act appears only at this time of year, because the costume is amazing. You’ll look at snowmen in an entirely different way.

Scratch: Magic
With the help of the audience, Scratch performed a minor miracle… and was able to finish getting dressed.

Ava Fox: Stocking Peel (“Black & Tan Fantasy” by Dave Rose and His Orchestra)
This act was a one-off joke for our holiday special back in 2020, but Ava decided to make it into a real act. After all, she already had the giant stocking…
Ava stocking

Betty Blaize: Betty, it’s Cold Outside (“Baby, it’s Cold Outside” by Ray Charles and Betty Carter)
We could not have a winter show without bringing back Betty’s classic duet with Dino Martini.

Mina Murray: Sugar Rum Cherry (Duke Ellington)
This is still one of my favorite fan dances. I love it even more now that that fans I had made for it have been refurbished by Donna Touch.

Devastasia: “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” (singing)
We’re always happy to have a chance to hear Devastasia sing.

Ava Fox: Gift-Wrapped Boy (The Big Happy)
Ava is the best present! She taps her little heart out wearing a costume that looks like wrapping paper. And then she unwraps herself, down to jingle bell pasties!

Scratch: Martini Time (magic)
This was a touch awkward as Scratch’s music wasn’t on the playlist — magic of live theatre, folks! However, he’s such a good showman that he was able to use a song from the pre-show playlist and you never would have known, if there hadn’t been the back and forth with him and Marek.

Mina Murray: What Are You Doing New Years Eve? (Post-Modern Jukebox)
Maybe it was a little early in the month to be thinking of New Year’s Eve, but I only ever get to do this act in December. I always say I should come up with a new number for this costume, because it’s glorious.

Ava Fox, Betty Blaize, Devastasia: Reindeer Games (“Stompin’ at the Savoy” by Benny Goodman)
This is another one of our standard trios, created by Brigitte Bisoux, but we wanted to make it more holiday-ish. Picking red, green, and silver costume elements was the first idea. I don’t remember what came next, the antlers or the harnesses with bells, but before we knew it, they were reindeer. So, it only seemed fitting them to have glowing red pasties, which Devastasia skillfully made for them.Reindeer 1

And then we did a second show afterwards with an entirely different set of acts. Stay tuned!

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 30 December 2025 at 5:51 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! It’s practically the Solstice and days are about to start getting longer. I for one, can’t wait. Speaking of light, here’s your tip:

Work in a well-lit space.

Whether costuming or choreographing, you need to be able to see what you’re doing. If your work area doesn’t have good light, you can get a couple of clip lights at the hardware store. They’re not pretty, but they’re fairly cheap and you can move them around. 

A finished product wants to be checked under stage light conditions, but while you’re creating, you should be able to see your work in the best light.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 19 December 2025 at 10:49 am  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! Here’s your tip:

Before taking costumes to the dry cleaner, test a swatch.

Sometimes the dry cleaner seems like the best option to get a costume clean. However, the chemicals they use sometimes interact badly with the trimmings we use. I have heard stories of AB coating coming off rhinestones, glue loosened, and feathers left limp. I personally had some silvery trim that came back permanently dulled (it’s okay, it was only a little and I replaced it with something better).

So, test it first. Take a scrap of fabric from your costume (or something similar if you don’t have leftovers) and attach samples off all your decorations to it. Then take that to the dry cleaner and have them clean it. If everything remained intact and beautiful, you can take the real thing in. If not, you might want to try again elsewhere or figure out another method to clean your costume.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 12 December 2025 at 4:05 pm  Leave a Comment  
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