Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! A happy Independence Day weekend for my US readers! I’m continuing with tips on how to be the sort of person with whom people love to share a dressing room. Here’s the latest:
If you’re going to use hairspray, loose glitter, spray-on stockings, &c, ask permission of the other inhabitants of the dressing room.
If your dressing roommates are okay with it, spray or dust yourself pointing away from people, costumes, and food. If someone has an issue, check if there’s some other place you can take care of this part of your beauty ritual.
Like this tip? There are lots more in Miss Mina Murray’s Little Book of Better Burlesque.
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Keep your dressing room footprint small.
If you need a lot of strips of fabric, like for can-can ruffles, corset binding, or quilts, a rotary cutter is the way to go. It’s fast, easy, and accurate. you will also need a special cutting mat and acrylic ruler, but the investment pays off in saved time. Use the lines on the mat to line up your fabric. Set the ruler as a straight edge and run the cutter along side it. Before you know it, you’ll have heaps of fabric strips (or squares or triangles). Just be careful — those cutters are sharp — and close the safety cover when you’re not actively cutting. And replace the blade (it’s easy) when it starts getting dull.
It will make your life so much easier when submitting to festivals or working with a producer. I keep these files handy on my computer and then cut & paste the necessary information as needed. For each act I have the name, a link to the video, the song title, artist and length, a basic introduction, a short description, set up and clean up, lighting and sound notes, and anything else important. 
To keep your lip makeup intact, drink with a straw.
Tip your bartender.
When planning my trip to 
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 