Oh, The Glamourous Life!

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s Friday the 13th! But you’re lucky today because I have a tip to share…

It’s great to interact with audience members! But only if they want to interact with you.

Some people love it when a performer comes up to them and makes them a part of the show for a moment. Some people loathe it. They may not want to be singled out, be the focus of attention, or be touched.

I’ve written before about not touching performers without consent, but the reverse is true as well. When I was at the RVA Burlesque Festival, the host, Ego Von Hubris, laid down the rules, as a good host does. One of them was “Consent is mandatory!”, which I though was simple and concise.

If you are going to interact with an audience member, follow the first rule of stage combat — make eye contact so they know something is coming. And read their body language. If they drop their gaze, or look uncomfortable, move on to someone else. It doesn’t matter if it’s something as chaste as offering them your finger tips so they can help remove your glove,  if they don’t want it, find an eager participant.

At a recent show, Devastasia was doing crowd work and mashed some people’s faces into her cleavage. She came up to one audience member and registered the look of panic instead of anticipation.  So, she stepped back and shimmied instead. Everyone was happy with that.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s the first tip of 2023!

I’m jumping off of last week’s tip about items that need to be replenished. It’s also about interacting with the audience.

Toss a little something to the audience.

Audiences love to be given little gifts. It makes people feel special to have a little part of the show — and a little part of you. I’ve seen people go crazy over scraps of ribbon.

Obviously you don’t have to do this with every act, but once in a while, it’s a nice surprise and a treat. Be reasonable about what you give out and make sure it’s something you don’t mind never seeing again.

Sometimes they want to keep it as a little memento. At the climax of her computer geek number, Betty tears open her t-shirt and throws it into the audience. She’s been asked to sign the shreds. (Harking back to last week’s tip, she has a stash of t-shirts that a former employer was going to toss and was glad to give to her — is that upcycling?)

Sometimes they want the opportunity to return it to the performer. During La Vie en Rose, I pull rose petals off my breasts and toss them out. I once had someone carefully gather up each one and pour them into my hands after the show.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s the last Friday of 2022! I don’t know about you, but I am so ready to say farewell to what has been a terrible, terrible year for me. I know that just turning a calendar page doesn’t mean a fresh start, but I can hope.

Anyway, here’s your tip!

If you consume something during your act, replenish it as soon as possible (or have a plan to do so before the next performance).

By “consume”, I don’t necessarily mean “eat”, but something you use once and can’t use again. This could be a giant paper bag you cut your way out of, a t-shirt, you tear off, whipped cream you spray on your butt, &c. You don’t want to be caught at the venue, missing a vital component of your act because you forgot to get another one.

Betty Blaize has an act where she cuts her costume off with a knife. She keep rolls of ribbon on hand to reset the costume pieces after each performance. For “French Champagne“, I need a bottle of champagne. I’m not going to keep one on hand, just in case I get booked with this act, but it’s on my pre-show checklist.

When performing an act like this, where you have to make or procure something every time, consider the additional time and expense when you’re negotiating with the producer. Also, it might not be an ideal act for multiple shows in a row depending on how complicated the reset is.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday!

Quick note from B.A.B.E. before I get to your tip. Classes resume in January. Introduction to Burlesque classes will be at Tony Williams Dance Center, as they’ve been for the past year, but in February we’re moving to the Asylum CoLab at Faneuil Hall. We are excited about that! However, we’re less excited that we have to raise our prices for classes. We’ve kept the same rates for 15 years, but they’ll be going up a little in February. If you want to save a little, take classes in January — and sign up before New Year’s Day to get the Early Bird discount!

Okay, here’s your tip.

Claim your name (stage name, troupe, and/or school name) on as many platforms as you can.

Even if you’re not planning on using them right now, it’s a good idea to stake your claim. The reason I’m “miss_mina_murray” on IG is because someone else grabbed “missminamurray” first — and she’s a cat. Having consistent user names is the best, if you can manage it. B.A.B.E. is “StudyBurlesque” everywhere that we have a presence.

However…

Don’t be a jerk. No squatting!

That is, don’t grab a domain or user name that you know someone else might want and just sit on it so that they can’t have it. It’s petty. Although I know that you’d never do something like that, dear reader.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s a blustery Friday here in Boston and I was trying to come up with a tip that suited the weather, but instead the chaos that is my sewing room/office/video recording and editing studio inspired this.

When facing a big task,  break it down into tiny ones.

Looking at a big project can be daunting, but making it a series of much smaller projects can help a lot. You know what they say about how to eat an elephant — one bite at a time.

You could make detailed to do lists. For example, if I’m making a new costume, I’ll start by listing every costume component, and then writing down every step for each one. Sometimes it can get pretty granular if I need the motivation of more things to check off the list. “Prep fabric” could be one item, or it could be broken down to “buy fabric”, “wash fabric”, “dry fabric”, “press fabric”.

Another approach is to set a timer for a short time, like 15 minutes, but no goofing around, you have to spend all the time on the task. I find having a hard end time helps me keep focused to do as much as possible before the timer goes off.

And then there’s the number method — pick a small number of items to deal with, like put away five pairs of shoes, or answer three emails.

Have you tried any of these techniques to accomplish a big task? Do you have tricks of your own?

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s Friday again! It’s also the closing weekend of the ScroogeCo. Holiday Office Party, our fun, interactive show at Chelsea Theatre Works. I hope you’ll join us!

I taught chair dance to the intermediate students at B.A.B.E. last month and that inspired your tip.

Add specialty feet to your chair.

Depending on how you’re going to be using your chair, you have a couple of options, all of which you can get at the hardware store.

If you want to make sure the chair doesn’t slip out from under you, add rubber feet. They slide over the legs and provide traction.

If you are going to be moving the chair around, use furniture glides. They’re plastic or felt disks that nail or stick onto the feet and let the chair move smoothly and with less noise.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s Friday again!

This week’s tip is something Jo Weldon said recently and really stuck with me. I’m paraphrasing:

Burlesque is a dialog between performer and audience. Give them time to react before you go on to the next moment in your act.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Dear Constant Reader,

Starting this Friday you can see The BeauTease and friends and apprentices in The ScroogeCo Holiday Office Party. It’s not one of our typical theatre shows, but an evening of interactive fun. Join the party to celebrate the merger of ScroogeCo and KKringle Inc! There will be games, holiday music, drinks at the bar, singing, dancing, magic and of course, burlesque. The show is Dec. 2-4 and 8-10. Tickets are available now.

Now for your tip!

If you have pets, make sure precious things like boas, fans, D’Lish robes, rhinestoned shoes, &c. are kept secured when you aren’t actively using them.

As the Martha Stewart of Burlesque, I’m often asked what to do when a cat pees on a costume or a dog chews on Pleasers. Prevention is key! I admit that I need to take my own advice. Albert A. Cat was such a restrained gentleman that I got lazy and left things lying around because I knew he’d leave them in peace, no matter how many feathers they had (and he did love feathers). With young Bartholomew, the world is his toybox and I have had to be more vigilant.

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.