Oh, The Glamourous Life!

Dear Constant Reader,

Let’s try this tip thing again this week…

Feather fans, corset strings, wigs, and other burlesque staples are indistinguishable from toys by pets. Store your precious things carefully.

This is not inspired by a real life incident. However, realizing that Albert was an unusual cat who respected boundaries and that Bartholomew is a more typical adolescent cat, I have taken steps to protect certain belongings from his notice.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 14 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,

We are deep in the heat of summer and not all venues have air conditioning. I remember being on tour in July and there was one place where the theatre had AC, but the dressing rooms didn’t, nor did the tech booth. It was brutal. Today’s tip can help alleviate some of that misery.

Use an insulated lunch bag as a micro-cooler.

The day before your show, open a bottle of water and drink about an inch. Now stick it in the freezer. Before you leave, put it the frozen water in your bag with a cold bottle of your favorite beverage and some snacks. I like bite-sized pieces of chilled fruit, like grapes, strawberries, and orange wedges. When it’s really hot, I add some salty items, like pickles, nuts, popcorn, or chips (make sure anything crispy is a container that will keep condensation out). Filling the bag as full as you can will help keep everything cold longer.

The frozen bottle will act as an ice pack to keep your snacks chilled and then you can drink it when it thaws. Bonus, the frozen bottle feels great on the back of your neck when it’s so hot and humid that you feel queasy. Ask me how I know.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 14 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,

I’m trying this weekly tip thing again. These tips are for always you, but sometimes they are for me too.

Waiting until you feel that the time is right to start (or re-start) a project is a form of procrastination. Just start.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 14 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 been a really rough week. Thank you to everyone who reached out in one way or another. I appreciate all your good thoughts and well wishes.

I’ve probably given you this tip in one form or another, but it’s worth saying again.

You don’t have to do everything yourself. Ask for help. Even if it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.

Be kind to each other.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 16 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,

Things are not so great right now and I wasn’t sure I could come up with a Friday tip. As usual Scratch came to my rescue with this one.

Hope for the best; prepare for the worst.

Although this is what I’m doing in my personal life, it also translates to performers and producers. What could go wrong? You forget a costume piece. A performer no-shows. The audience isn’t what you expected. &c. And then what do you do about it?

Hopefully everything will go smoothly, but you’ve got a plan in place in case they don’t.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 16 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! This is coming to you from Richmond, Virginia where I will be performing in the first show of the inaugural RVA Burlesque Festival tonight. If you’re in the area, check it out!

This tip comes from Devastasia:

To make your shoes easy to put on, store them with a tennis ball in the heel.

If you’re going to take off your stockings (something Devastasia does beautifully), you need to take your shoes off first. That’s the easy part. Putting the shoes back on gracefully can be a challenge. And it’s always the heel that gives one grief, as it has somehow shrunk since the shoes came off a minute ago. The tennis ball trick helps the heels stay wide so you can slip them on with ease!

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 14 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! Time for a tip!

Don’t wait until the last minute.

Sometimes these tips are for you and sometimes they are for me…

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 14 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.