Stripper’s Holiday, November 2023

Dear Constant Reader,

I found this in my drafts folder. Whoops!

Five years ago I attended Michelle L’amour’s Stripper’s Holiday. Follow the link to read about that experience and what exactly is a stripper’s holiday.

I was so excited when I heard she was offering SH again. There was so much interest, she decided to run two sessions and offered me a spot in the November one, which worked well with my schedule. Last time we were in Los Angeles, but Michelle now lives in Las Vegas. I haven’t been there in at least ten years!

I had a very easy flight (direct from Boston), which left in the afternoon. That was so weird — I’m used to getting up in the middle of the night for pre-dawn trips to the airport. Then I met up with Tessa Trueheart from upstate New York, who had been on the same flight and we waited for Red Velvet to arrive from San Francisco. Red was the only person, other than Michelle, that I knew in this group. In a lot of ways that was good — going into this with a mostly-rasa tabula.

Michelle picked us up and took us back to her place. Las Vegas sure has changed since I was last there! It been over a decade at least. There definitely wasn’t a stadium before…

Michelle’s rather swanky apartment complex had a guest suite, where we were staying. It worked out extremely nicely that it happened to be right next door to her apartment. Once there we met Dinah Dare, from Glasgow, Scotland, who was barely awake. The rest of us weren’t much better and went to bed soon after meeting Lavendelle, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Demi Entendre from Tulsa, Oklahoma who were staying in Michelle’s living room. There was supposed to be one more person, but she unfortunately had Covid and canceled.

For the next four days, we would go over to Michelle’s in the late morning for breakfast and receive the food tour. That is, there were a lot of options spread out over the kitchen (we had a number of people with food restrictions and Michelle has her own requirements) from which one could assemble their plate. No one went away hungry. 

At noon we were in the studio where we were joined by our fellow strippers, who were locals: Meilani Venus, Glitter Ginger, and Buttercup. For the next four hours we worked. Hard.

Every session started with a warmup. Then we’d work on technique or learn a choreography. These were real challenges, as befit an advanced workshop. I was sweating so much as we drilled our boa choreography that bits of ostrich feather were sticking to me in a not particularly sexy fashion. 

Each day three people would present a routine for feedback from Michelle. I was in the first group with Dinah and Buttercup. Performing for other performers is always nerve-wracking, but performing for Michelle freaking L’amour, knowing you’ll get critique is a whole nother level. Yes, I know that’s what I was there for, but my lizard brain wouldn’t stop freaking out.

After everyone performed and got their feedback, we would have a relaxing movement session to close things out and go back to Michelle’s for dinner. Once again we had the food tour and many delicious options. I am definitely making the butternut squash stelline “risotto” sometime.

On the last day, everyone performed their acts again for a final round of feedback. We also received Michelle’s initial notes from when she viewed our videos, so we could really see how far we’d come.
Last day in the studio
It wasn’t all hard work! Although I was still on East Coast time and was pleased that I could stay awake until 10pm, others went on nighttime excursions. One night some folks went to The Haunted Museum, and the next to Lost Spirits Distillery to see Michelle perform. I stayed behind with the others for snacks and conversation before climbing into bed to do my crossword puzzle. I am such a party animal.

I did join everyone for dinner at Tacotarian, a vegan taco restaurant. I’m not a big fan of fake meat, but there were some purely veggie offerings and the batter-fried avocado tacos were delightful! Tacoterian
Then drinks at Stray Pirate, a dog-pirate themed bar (trust me — it worked). The decor was excellent, but it was crowded and very noisy. I hear the drinks were excellent, but I knew even one cocktail on top of jet lag and a very physical day would put me out. I was just about getting tired of standing and having trouble hearing anyone when a table opened up. I ended up having an excellent conversation with Demi. Stray Pirate
The last night we all went to The Fluff Follies at The Mint Tavern. I hadn’t seen Audrey Deluxe since I did Burlesque Bingo in The Before Times. The show was fun — fluffy like the name implied — and had some creative acts and talented performers. It was inspiring to see Michelle perform with her huge fan. 

The highlight for me was that Tiffany Carter was in the audience! It was so good to see her. She, Demi, and I all have something in common, which isn’t something I talk about muchMina, Demi, and Tiffany Carter

The last day was travel day. Some of my fellow strippers were gone before I even woke up. Those that remained — Dinah, Demi, me, and Michelle — spent some leisurely time in the hot tub, before Michelle drove Dinah and me to the airport for the long flights back to reality.
Hot tub
I was back in my own bed before 2am.

As for my act and some overall thoughts about the event, you’ll have to wait. Hopefully not another six months…

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 20 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 23 May 2024 at 2:45 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Back to School 9/8/23

Dear Constant Reader,

This Friday we had a show at a brand-new to us venue, Electric Haze in Worcester. Since Ava moved out that way, Scratch has been looking for places to have shows closer to her. He was trying to book our Halloween show, Carnal Carnival there, but they offered us this night instead. Scratch had his doubts, as the date was a mere 2 weeks off, but the promotor was sure we’d have a good crowd because of Worcester Pride.

Electric Haze is a hookah bar and live entertainment venue and they had a very nice stage, good tech, great staff, and a spacious corner of their basement as a dressing room. What they did not have was much of an audience. It’s been a very long time since we had so few people in the audience. Maybe it was the short lead time for promotion. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was Pride events elsewhere. Whatever the reason, it was a bit dispiriting.

Scratch asked us if we wanted to go on as planned or cancel. Two of Devastasia’s friends were in the audience and they really wanted to see her Mothman act. And the apprentices had been working very hard on their number. We compromised and decided to do a shortened show. And this is how it went:

Devastasia: “Summertime” (Sam Cooke)
We said goodbye to summer with one of Devastasia’s beautiful showgirl-style acts.

Ava Fox: “The Spy” (The Doors)
This is a slinky chair dance, which we justified as being about secret school crushes.

Scratch: The Mystery of the Vanishing Bandana (magic)
In which the audience sees Scratch learn a magic trick in real time.

Betty Blaize: “Bad Things” (Jace Everett)
Usually when Betty does this act, she’s a dominatrix tormenting… a banana. I this case she was a stern schoolteacher tormenting… an apple. A very bad apple.  He even had a little dunce cap.

Mina Murray: “Stay with Me” (Sam Smith)
The beginning of the school year often means saying goodbye to that summer fling. While it’s somewhat melancholy, I love this fan dance.

Scratch: Sobriety Test (magic)
Scratch did a quick card trick that had the audience questioning reality and their own sobriety.

Devastasia: Mothman (“Harlem Nocturne” but I don’t know which version)
As our visiting professor of cryptozoology, Devastasia showed the habits of the elusive Mothman, complete with hand-painted wings and glowing eyes pasties.

Ava Fox, Phoebe Star, Vivienne Kitt: “Kindergarten” (Unkle Ho)
This is the jewel box number we’ve been doing for years, only with new music and slightly new choreography. Our three naughty art school girls wore short pleated skirts and paint-splattered undies and danced with giant paintbrushes.

As is usual for us, there; are no photos and no video. Someday, someday…

During the  show, members of the band performing after us were trickling in, many of whom had never seen a burlesque show before. A number of people (including the band) told us how much they enjoyed the show. I’m glad we went ahead, but also glad we only did slightly more than half our original material.

After the show I discovered the bar had a relatively extensive mocktail selection, neatly paralleling their cocktail menu.

We’re hoping to return in December for our winter holiday show!

M2These 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.

Published in: on 20 September 2023 at 3:11 pm  Leave a Comment  

Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Greetings from Oregon! I’m in Portland for the first annual Booklover’s Burlesque Festival. If you were one of the lucky ones to get a ticket to the now-sold-out Cozy Classics Brunch, you’ll see me perform The Faerie Queene on Sunday.

Here’s your tip!

When traveling, plan your outfits to bring the fewest items while still looking good.

I know there’s this image of the showgirl with her massive pile of suitcases. Legends would travel with trunks, one for the theatre and one for the hotel. However, these days are over and baggage fees are high. I’ve flown to perform, even internationally, with a carry-on suitcase and large totebag.

The key is carefully planning your wardrobe to be as small as possible. Obviously, your costume and everything else you need for the show is the most important and takes precedence in your suitcase. Beyond that, be as minimal as you can. I’ll wear a comfortable dress on the airplane (and change out of it when I arrive, so I can wear it on the way back). I’ll usually bring one skirt and coordinating tops for day time. Evening attire is a little harder, but a classic LBD with different accessories each night is my go-to. And remember — you really do only need 2 pairs of shoes.

Now, I’m talking three, four days, not a month. The longer you’re going to be away, the harder it gets to keep your luggage small, but the principles still apply. The more space you save, the more room you have to bring goodies back!

M2These 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.

Published in: on 14 April 2023 at 11:00 am  Leave a Comment  
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RVA Burlesque Festival 2022

Dear Constant Reader,

At the end of March I attended the first ever RVA Burlesque Festival in Richmond, VA. I was so thrilled to be accepted — I’m hardly ever accepted to festivals, I knew four of the producers, and I’d never performed in VA before. However, the festival was originally scheduled for the end of March 2020. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. Two years later and it was finally time!

CaligulaI was performing in the Friday night showcase and flying down Friday morning. I was a little nervous as it was my first time flying in over a year and I had heard horror stories of long security lines and canceled flights. But everything went smoothly and I arrived on time. Which meant I had time to kill before I could check into my accommodations. Fortunately, I was staying a mere couple of blocks away from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and you know I can never resist a museum.

I had enough time to relax, have some lunch, and unpack before heading to the Dogtown Dance Theatre for my tech rehearsal. The venue is a real theatre — professional lighting, wings with multiple legs, backstage cross, marley floor. After so often performing in makeshift spaces, this was exciting! We also got a really nice swag bag.

QZJR3190With plenty of time before the show, I hung out in the dressing room, which was well stocked with snacks and drinks. One of my favorite parts of festivals is seeing colleagues from around the country and meeting new folks. I spent a good deal of time chatting with Lady Fingers, from New York who was set up next to me. It was great to see Ember Sky, recently moved to Boston from Seattle, and Murphy Lawless, who I met at the NOLA Burlesque Retreat.

BackstageThe venue required masks, except on-stage, so I made one to go with my costume. Because I was on second after intermission I was able to watch the first half of the show and saw the above-mentioned three performers before deciding I needed to give my feet a break before it was my turn to hit the stage.

It was a thrill to perform in front of an audience in new city. I’ve been performing this number a lot recently, so between that and the great introduction from Ego Von Hubris, I felt completely confident. The audience was terrific, lots of cheering! Unbeknownst to me, there was a photographer there from the Richmond Times-Dispatch and two pictures of me ended up in their piece.

624479d6ae707.imageHere’s one of them, by Eva Russo from Richmond.com

DSC03989This one is from Milotic D Photography, the festival photographer.

It was a late night, made later when the occupants above my room came home very loudly at 2am, but I was still up bright and early to get a fried chicken biscuit and some tea from Early Bird Biscuit Co. before heading out for the Playing with Panels class with Lottie Ellington.

It was so good to see Lottie again! The class was a lot of fun and gave me some ideas to up my panel skirt game. It was even better to spend a little time with her afterwards, catching up and hearing the  latest about Miss Toni Elling.

One of my least favorite parts of festivals is that I’m usually traveling solo and I sometimes get a little lonely. There was no central place where everyone was staying, like some festivals, so it wasn’t easy to just hang out. In 2020, before the festival was postponed I had made arrangements to share a hotel room with three other women, but I was on my own this time. So I was pleased to join Ember Sky and her traveling companions and local friends for lunch.

PoeAfter that we went our separate ways because I had a very specific sightseeing destination — The Poe Museum. He lived a long time in Richmond, so they like to claim him, but so do New York and Baltimore. And let’s not forget that he was born in Boston and did his military service at Fort Independence, just a short ways from me. It’s a neat museum, spread out through several small buildings around a lovely courtyard. They have a number of great artifacts (and some filler and reproductions). I think my favorite was the candelabra under which Poe wrote “The Bells”. I wish it had been warmer, so I could sit in the garden for a bit. I was hoping to spot the resident black cats.

In the evening I returned for the second night show. Lottie Ellington had recommended Croaker’s Spot where I sat at the bar with a book and enjoyed a crab cake sandwich that was perfection. As thrilling as it is to be on stage, it was nice to sit in the audience and enjoy the entire show. It was a great mix of styles and some really creative performances. There were several that I couldn’t wait to tell the troupe about. I was particularly delighted to see Jaqueline Boxx’s headlining act. She’ll be completing for Queen with it at BHoF, but I’m not going (as usual) so it was a treat to see it live.

I lingered long enough to say my goodbyes, and have an unexpected and excellent conversation with Ellie Quinn, before returning to my lodgings to get a few hours of sleep before heading to the airport for a 6:30am flight.

Yes, you heard that correctly. I had to be in Boston in time to teach a 12:30 Introduction to Burlesque class and that was the only flight that would work. Happily, Scratch picked me up at the airport and took me out to breakfast before returning to The Manor so I could get a couple of hours of sleep before teaching.

Another rhinestone for my travel map!
Travel map VA

The festival was fun and ran smoothly (at least from my perspective). It was also very organized. I got my share of the tips within days and photos shortly thereafter. Video arrived only a couple of weeks after the festival. The only downside, as I mentioned above, was not staying in the same place as other performers and spending a ton on carfare. However, overall, a pretty great experience.

M2These 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.

Published in: on 20 April 2022 at 5:04 pm  Leave a Comment  
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The Tale of the Topless Donut Shop

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s story time!

Ten years ago The Boston Babydolls (back before we became BeauTease Burlesque) went on our first tour, Madame Burlesque. I only mentioned this tale in passing, back in the earliest days of this blog

In July 2011, we were in Portland, Maine. Brigitte had heard there was a topless donut shop nearby and we should definitely check it out after the show. So we piled into Brigitte’s little yellow sports car and Scratch’s big black SUV and set out into the hot, sticky darkness in search of fried treats served by topless staff.

We couldn’t find it. So, we pulled off the road to regroup and strategize. I believe into the turn-off in front of a gravel pit. Almost immediately a cop pulled up behind us and went to question Brigitte about our suspicious doings. She cheerfully said something like “Hello Officer! Could you direct us to the topless donut shop?” Thus reassured that there was nothing more nefarious going on than pack of lost and hungry burlesque performers, he told us the whole sordid story.

The donut shop had burned to the ground, a victim of arson. They had valiantly reopened, but never recovered and closed for good mere months before our donut quest. Alas, no donuts for us that night.

One of the people on tour with us that fateful night was Corinne Southern, now one half of The Bottle Blondes. And the incident clearly made an impression on her.

We were so amused when their latest single dropped, loosely based on a true story…
topless donut shoppeListen to it on Spotify, Apple Music, or Bandcamp!
M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 13 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 22 November 2021 at 10:40 am  Leave a Comment  
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BurlyCon 2020: Teaching

Dear Constant Reader,

This year I taught two classes at BurlyCon. I’ve been teaching virtually at B.A.B.E. since April, but this wasn’t the same. There was a bigger audience, new (to me) tech, a moderator, and the class was going to be recorded for later viewing or purchase. I was kind of nervous, to say the least.

My first class was Who’s Who in Classic Burlesque. The whole thing is a presentation and I’ve taught it before, even virtually. Since I was using Google Meet for the first time, I did a trial to make sure my audience could see my presentation, that the film clips would run, and the audio on one of them could be heard. Everything seemed fine.

When class time rolled around, I discovered that unlike Zoom, when screen sharing in Google Meet, you can’t see the rest of the participants. I don’t know how I missed or forgot that. It was completely unnerving and threw me off my game. I tried a couple of different things that didn’t work for one reason or another. If I’d stopped to think, instead of panicking, I could have used my tablet alongside my laptop.

Anyway, I thought I did a terrible job. I get so much visual feedback from a class, even a virtual one, which just didn’t exist. I forgot things, I fumbled, I felt like I wasn’t explaining well, and the audio on that one clip didn’t work. When it was over, I knew that I didn’t want that class recording to be available. More on that in a moment.

My next class was Caring for Your Costumes. I have a lot of fun with it and student questions are a big part of it. I teach this one a lot. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve taught it at BurlyCon now. One of the pieces of feedback I got one year was that the student would have liked to have seen examples of things. The class covers a huge number of topics and it’s really not feasible for me to bring that much stuff when I travel. However, teaching from home…

I gathered a big pile of stuff and set it next to my desk, so I could just grab some show and tell when the topic arose. I realized the day before that something I wanted to demo was too complicated to do in front of my laptop, so I filmed a little video (and I’m inordinately proud of how it came out). I’m quite happy with how this class went and even more so that Christina Manuge told people it was a must-take class! (there might have been a little happy dance on my part…)

So that was the class I was happy with, what about the one I hated? I asked Iva Handfull, the Program Director, if I could re-record Who’s Who and replace the existing version. Yes!

Originally I was just going to record a voice-over and lay it over my slideshow. But then I thought about how much I hated not being able to see faces, so I learned some more about video editing and decided I would film myself talking and put the slide next to me, like on the news (I was actually thinking of Last Week Tonight, since that’s how I get my news, but you get the picture. So to speak). It took me four hours to film a 50 minute class. It was exhausting. At least it wasn’t four hours straight. I was filming on the last day of BurlyCon, so I took a couple of breaks for classes.

Then I started editing.  It occurred to me that I wasn’t restricted to the images in my existing presentation. I scanned pictures from my collection of Cavalcade of Burlesque (a magazine from the 1950s). The American Burlesque Collection let me use images of some of the items in the museum. It took me three days to edit, which was also exhausting, but I had a self-imposed deadline to hit. And I did. I’m pretty happy with the results!

If you would like to take Caring for Your Costumes or Who’s Who in Classic Burlesque, just click the link. Each class is $20 (of which I get $15) and they’re available until December 31.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 15 December 2020 at 2:33 pm  Leave a Comment  
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BurlyCon 2020: Classes

Dear Constant Reader,

What was it like taking classes at BurlyCon this year? We had three options: on-demand classes which were available at any time, live classes via Zoom or Google Meet where you could interact with the instructors, and recorded classes, which are recorded versions of the live classes, which could be watched at your leisure.

I tried to take as many classes live as I could and here’s a short synopsis. This is over the span of two weeks and there were whole days I went without taking a single class, mostly because the scheduling didn’t work out for me. If the title of the class is a link, you can take the recorded class for $20 until the end of the month (and the instructor will get $15 of that).

You Down with MSP? (Shimmy LaRoux): This was part of the Master track, which as I mentioned previously is for seasoned performers and had an application process. MSP stands for “Minimal Stage-ready Product” and the class is about using a similar technique for creating an act as bringing a product to market. It’s an on-going process of questioning and refinement.

Blues Burlesque (Zelia Rose) If we hadn’t been doing this virtually, it would have been impossible to take a dance class with Zelia Rose, who is in Australia. I set up in Albert’s room, with my laptop broadcasting to the TV and my webcam broadcasting me. Albert was completely uninterested in all this and snoozed the entire time. I discovered, as I lost the connection to Zoom multiple times, that the most convenient place to set my laptop is also a mysterious Wifi deadspot. How annoying. But my tech woes are unimportant. The class was about improvisational blue dances, with three base steps and variations on them.

Best Face Forward (Zelia Rose): This was a BurlyLab, a limited enrollment, hands-on class. It also started at 9:45pm, my time. It’s been many months since I found myself in a full face of makeup at midnight. She had a few useful tips I’ll probably incorporate and it’s just nice to shake things up with a different makeup style.

Pleasure and the Art of the Eyefuck (Jo Weldon): This is not a skill that comes naturally or easily to me and I was looking forward to learning from a master. I was wondering how well this would work virtually and the answer was VERY well. I could see Jo’s face, especially her eyes, much better than in a traditional classroom.

Cohesive Costume Design (Christina Manuge): I have to be honest; I was a little disappointed in this class. I think Christina was too. We watched her three excellent videos on costume design, but that was really all we had time for. I wish there had been more time for discussion. Still, I came away with one new nugget of information.

Fantastic! Advanced Fan Dancing (Coco Lectric): I should have taken the time to set up in Albert’s room, like I did for Blues Burlesque. Instead I thought it would be fine in my sewing room, forgetting completely that I now have a ceiling fan in there. Ooops.

Rhinestone & Embellishments (Frankie Fictitious): Frankie’s costumes are so beautiful and I knew I could learn some new ideas from her. I think I’ll also watch her BurlyLab and see if there’s anything else she covers there.

Illusions of Glamour: The Costumes of Burlesque (Rosey La Rouge): Rosey wrote The Book on the history of burlesque costumes (and I really ought to review it soon). Her presentation was a quick and well illustrated run through that history, plus a little bit about her experience creating the book. Very inspirational.

Closing in on the Reveal: Your Key to Better Burly Closures (Christina Manuge): This was an Intensive class with limited enrollment and I’m lucky to have gotten in because I decided to take it at the last minute. There was a series of videos to watch in advance and the class was a Q & A about them. I had seen them on Christina’s Patreon (if you make burlesque costumes, you really ought to join), so my last minute decision didn’t leave me behind. How wonderful to be able to ask questions “in person” of someone so skilled!

Fundamentals of Online Education – Adapting & Empowering (Robyn Swing): What a great way to close out BurlyCon! Not only did this class give me great ideas for continuing to teach on-line, it also showed me a new way to think about teaching in general. I’m definitely making time for a rewatch before it disappears.

So that’s 10 classes over two weeks (and I taught 2), which is exactly the same as last year, although packed into four in-person days. At least I’m consistent!

I also attended three social events. There were two dances, although I just relaxed and listened to the excellent music. During the first one, we played a party game for a bit; it was fun to connect with people for a while.  Albert stole the show during the second one just by lounging with me. I meant to attend the Jewlesquers’ Shabbat, but there were some tech issues. I also joined in the last minute Teaching the Tease caucus for teachers — thank you Saffron St. James for organizing! It was so great to connect with fellow educators and discover many of us had similar issues and challenges. I felt a little less alone after that.

I’m not including the classes I took (and am continuing to take) via recording. That may become a post of its own. I also didn’t include the classes I taught because those get their own post. Stay tuned!

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 15 December 2020 at 2:33 pm  Leave a Comment  
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BurlyCon 2020: Prologue

Dear Constant Reader,

In a normal world in early November I would fly to Seattle for BurlyCon (and also to see friends and family). I’ve been attending since the very first year and have only missed three (two due to a conflicting show and one because of serious illness). This is not a normal world, so the usual BurlyCon where we all pack into a hotel near the airport couldn’t happen. Instead, they took it on-line.

This was a massive undertaking in a relatively short time. As one of the presenters I got to see a little of how the sausage was made and it was pretty impressive.

Instead of a jam-packed four days with multiple tracks of classes plus other events, the schedule stretched over two weeks. If you couldn’t take a class live, most were recorded for later watching (and will be available until the end of December). If you didn’t have a full pass, you could (and still can) purchase individual classes a la carte.

There were advantages and drawbacks of the on-line set-up, of course. I’ll probably talk about those more specifically as I tell you about the programs I experienced.

I loved seeing the faces of my burlesque colleagues again and hearing voices in The Manor that weren’t just those of its occupants. It always felt so quiet when a class was over. I missed seeing people in person, hanging out between classes, and going shopping. And just being somewhere other than my house…

More to come.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 30 November 2020 at 1:37 pm  Leave a Comment  
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2019 in Review

Dear Constant Reader,

2019 was a year full of challenges. A hard, frustrating, often depressing year. A look back at my journal shows a lot of despair and desire to give up. I feel like we performed less frequently (not true — I performed as many times as in 2018 — but this year we had a number of shows that got canceled). I was not accepted into any festivals this year. On the other hand, I traveled a bit and performed in two new states.

January
I go to Los Angeles to perform at Burlesque Bingo: House of Knyle Edition and graduate from Egypt’s mentorship program. I regretfully turn down her offer to join her house. I get to spend time with Kitten Natividad and see friends. The only downside of the trip was that a class with Michelle L’amour was canceled. Everything else was wonderful.

February
We have a Valentine’s Day show at a new venue, Thunder Road in Somerville, where our newest apprentices help out. I get sick again, just in time to spend my birthday in bed with a bad cough. I also teach a workshop at a college for “Love Your Body Week”. It’s well received and a lot of fun.

March
We perform at the Mardi Gras Ball. I go to Costume-Con, which is local. Maybe someday I’ll even show you the costume and talk about its creation. I travel to Atlanta to perform in Coco Rosé’s anniversary show.

April
April marks 2 years that I’ve been on Patreon. Not much has changed there from when I started in terms of numbers of Patrons. I really need to figure out how to change that. We perform at a private club above a strip club with an interesting dressing room situation. Satan’s Angel dies. I still don’t have the words.

May
I teach a burlesque fitness class for a swanky hotel in Boston. We have a beach party show at Thunder Road and the apprentices, Electrix, Holly Go Harder, Kyra Lida, and Madeleine Minx, perform the solos they created with us. The venue likes the show so much they offer us a monthly slot. I also debut a new fan dance, which I love a lot. Despite performing it at 3 shows, there’s no video. It seems to always be the way…

June
I go to Topeka, Kansas to perform in a fundraiser for a historic theatre. This was probably my best traveling showgirl experience this year! The audience was great, the other performers were lovely, the producer was wonderful. And there was KC barbecue.

July
We have to leave The Thalia. Certain renovations have to be done and the city of Cambridge’s bureaucracy is making it nigh unto impossible to get the appropriate permits and licenses. We can’t use the space again until the work is done. We spend the next two months scrounging for rehearsal space. It’s very stressful.

August
Rust Belt Burlesque, a collection of photos from Cleveland burlesque shows is published and The Faerie Queene makes an appearance.

We’re still rehearsing in found space, but everyone is trying to make the best of it.
 

September
We have a new home! Welcome to The Arts Nexus, a space with multiple(!) studios. It needs a lot of work, but after a summer of traveling around, it’s wonderful. Also, we start our monthly show at Thunder Road on the second Saturday. We invite Electrix to join the troupe and she says yes!

September is also pretty terrible for me emotionally. I didn’t write about it at the time, because I was so badly wounded. Three former students (one of whom even taught for me) demand to have their presence removed from my school’s website. And a ex-troupe member tells me to kiss off when I reach out. Thanks, ladies, for reminding me just how inclusive and open-minded the Boston burlesque “community” is.

October
We do 3 shows in October, in Cambridge, Somerville, and Salem, with almost no overlap in numbers. It’s exhausting, but the shows are very good.

I win a contest for an incredible unique piece of art. The experience brightens my entire outlook after the soul-crushing events of September. I feel creative again. I host a spooky tea party. I record and edit a Halloween story (learning Audacity to do so). The day after Halloween I get to meet the artist herself in a graveyard in Salem.

November
I make my mostly annual pilgrimage to BurlyCon to teach and to learn. Scratch and I go to Miss Bonnie Dunn’s Le Scandal Cabaret for his birthday. I have a warm spot for this show as it’s where I made my NYC debut (although not in its current location).

December
A very disappointing month. We have no shows at all. Worse than not having any shows, we think we have three and for one reason after another, they don’t come to pass. Very frustrating. On the other hand, I don’t have to work New Year’s Eve.

A very mixed year. Mostly a low one, with a few bright spots. Here’s hoping 2020 is better!

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 13 January 2020 at 10:09 am  Leave a Comment  
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BurlyCon 2019: Sunday

Dear Constant Reader,

And the last day of BurlyCon… I had to pack up my Giant Suitcase so I was ready to check out after my first class.

The Get Down: Floorwork Masterclass (Lou Lou la Duchess de Riere)
What a great class! Almost everything we did were new moves to me, which was very exciting. Also, I could do almost everything — a far cry from a floorwork class I once took that started with drop splits and I ended up sitting most of it out. The one thing I didn’t try was my nemesis, the shoulder roll. I really will try it some day… when I have a spotter… maybe.

After checking out and storing the Giant Suitcase, I couldn’t decide what class to take next, so I took a quick poll of the BeauTease by text and the majority said…

On Beat: Musicality 101 (Lou Lou la Duchess de Riere)
By now Lou Lou probably thinks I’m stalking her. Musicality is something I struggle with, so it was good for me. we looked at the different aspects of a piece of music and did some exercises. There’s one we should definitely try in rehearsal and one that will be good for me to play around with.

Choices! Creative Costuming & Leaving Them Gagging (Aria Delanoche)
This was another quandary. I’ve been impressed with Aria’s costuming since I met her at Stripper’s Holiday last year. However, the class was opposite Jo Weldon’s History of Leopard Print class. Hard choice! I finally decided I’d be more likely to be able to take Jo’s class in the future. Aria shared her Ten Commandments of Costuming and a list of questions to consider when designing your costume. I was particularly pleased by the section on color theory, something I often tend to be too conservative in my color pallette.

After closing ceremonies, I had hours to kill as my flight wasn’t until midnight. This was one of those times I felt pretty lonely traveling by myself. Most people I knew went out to or were performing in a local show, but I was too concerned about getting back in time for my flight. I ended up grabbing a seat by the fireplace in the lobby and working on my embroidery until it was time to head over to the airport. My flight ended up being delayed a bit, so I treated myself to a very decadent hot chocolate and brownie while I waited. Once again, there was no one in the middle seat on the place, so I even slept for much of the flight. I was so happy to get home to Albert and cuddle up with him for a nap.

Whilst writing this, I got my class evaluations. I’m so grateful for all the students who filled out the forms and gave me such great reviews!

As always, I learned a lot at BurlyCon and I’ll see you next year!

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 11 December 2019 at 3:25 pm  Leave a Comment  
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