Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! How about a tip?
Get permission before leaving stuff all over the stage, like glitter, water, confetti, torn-up paper, broken glass, &c.
It’s just polite to your fellow performers and producers. You certainly don’t want to be the reason burlesque is banned from a venue. Or piss someone off because your residue got all over their costume or made the stage slippery.
A good way to get permission to make your mess is to prove you’ll disrupt the show as little as possible while still returning the venue to its original state. Have a plan in advance for your clean-up. That may mean bringing a vacuum cleaner or performing on a tarp. Request to perform right before intermission, if possible, so your clean-up doesn’t slow down the show.
I practice what I preach. Or at least I try. “Lizzie Borden” uses water, so I perform it on a faux Oriental rug. Once I forgot the carpet, realized it on the way to the venue, and bought a plastic drop cloth. It should have been fine, if not as aesthetically pleasing. There was this stagehand, who I think really didn’t want to be working this show. I asked him to lay out the plastic near my water bucket and he just sort of tossed the folded-up packet randomly on stage… after my music had started. I tried to go light on the water and still do a good act, but I was cringing every time a splash hit the stage. I felt terrible, especially when the hosts ran out with paper towels afterwards.
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 
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