Oh, The Glamourous Life!

Dear Constant Reader,

Your faithful corespondent has been laid up in bed this week, unable to do much more than cough delicately into a handkerchief and look wanly fetching in a lacy nightgown. Despite that, I am still able to send out a tip, suggested by Scratch, who has been making sure I am well supplied with soothing cups of tea.

Get some rest. If you haven’t got your health, then you haven’t got anything.
–Count Rugen

Excellent advice. I think I’ll take it now.

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.

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday!

This week’s tip is a continuation of the one about working with food — about a very specific category of food: milk.

Avoid using actual dairy on stage.

Just stay away from milk. It spoils easily and then it smells bad. It’s really hard to get that odor out of your costume and off your skin. And you don’t want the lingering aroma of spoiled milk to be the reason the venue remembers you.

If you want whipped cream, substitute shaving cream. This works really well for pie fights as well as sexier stuff.

If you’re doing a milk pour, diluted white tempera paint makes a decent substitute.

Both wash off well, but they’re absolutely not edible, so don’t let anyone lick you until after your shower!

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.

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s Independence Day here in the US and I’m probably not alone in not feeling very celebratory.

This is tip is from a t-shirt I have with a sentiment that I believe the Founders would have agreed with.

Get angry. Stay hopeful.

Design by The Morbid Curiosity Podcast. (If you want your own, their merch is on sale today!)

Some days it’s easier to do the former than the latter, but we need both actions for change.

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.

Dear Constant Reader,

It has been A Week. Nothing I want to talk about here; suffice it to say everyone is fine.

Here’s your tip!

If you use food in your act, clean up promptly and thoroughly.

Whether it’s a cake smash, a champagne pour, or eating a banana, besides cleaning the stage, you need to clean yourself, your dressing area, and your costume. Not only can food be really messy, it can stink and can draw pests if you don’t deal with it promptly

You already know to protect the stage if you’re doing something messy, but you need to check after the show to make sure no stray bits flew anywhere.

Patrol the dressing room as well. You don’t want to leave stray morsels for the mice or to get on your colleagues’ costumes.

If there’s food on your body and no shower at the venue (we should be so lucky to have a dressing area with a shower!), bring a towel, baby wipes, and anything else you need to get at least the worst of it off before putting on your civilian clothes.

If there’s food on your costume, bring a plastic bag to transport it in and then wash it as soon as you get home. I don’t care how tired you are. I know it’s long-established tradition to put off unpacking your gig bag until you have to pack for the next show, but not in this case.

With just a little care, you’ll be welcomed back to turn yourself into an ice cream sundae again.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 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 Saturday! Yes, I forgot to write a tip yesterday. I took this week off from my day job and I forgot what day it was. Which brings me to your tip.

When you’re traveling, on vacation, or otherwise outside your usual routine, set up reminders for tasks that you still need to do at a particular time.

It’s better if you can schedule things in advance (like I should have), but sometime you can’t and it’s easy to lose track or time or even what day it is. 

I hope you’re enjoying your summer so far!

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 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 week’s tip is about sparking creativity. Sometimes you’re just at a loss when trying come up with a new act or new costume. Try this:

Set some constraints.

It’s actually easier to be creative when you have guidelines. That’s often why themed shows speak to us. So, pick a theme or maybe chose a move you can’t use in your choreography. Decide that you’re going to make a costume only out of materials in your stash. And maybe, while you’re brainstorming within these limits, you’ll get a fantastic idea out of the blue that blows it all to hell. That’s  great too!

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.