Theatre | Oh, The Glamourous Life!

KimBurly’s Tittie Tour: Boo-Bie Tour 10/10/26

Dear Constant Reader,

Since she moved out west, Ava has been seeking shows a bit closer to her and thus has been a regular at KimBurly’s Tittie Tour. She, Devastasia, and Betty performed their ridiculous banana number there over the summer, but I had not joined them… yet.

When Ava told me Kim was looking for some additional performers for Halloween, I applied and was thrilled to be accepted. It turned out Betty and Devastasia were also performing. Ava was performing up in Gloucester at a different show. We get around!

This show is in the back room of a brewery and it’s a huge space with high ceilings. There’s no stage and the lighting is kind of minimal. It’s easy to interact with the audience. Our dressing room, was in the warehouse (how familiar) with plenty of room for everyone.

I only caught glimpses of first half of the show, since I was backstage, but I did see some of the second. Here’s a brief overview of the show:

Kim hosted the show because her scheduled host was sick. Applause to her for stepping in at the last minute.

Opener: Three dancers

Carmen Celeste: Carmen has taken some of my on-line workshops recently, but I fear I didn’t recognize her until she spoke because of her green-tinged hair and scaly makeup. As Medusa she captivated the audience.

Jesterella Minxx: An adorable jester in black and white stripes, she performed an acrobatic chair dance.

Devastasia: She performed her Mothman number. It was originally created for Secrets of the Illumi-naughty and has become a Halloween staple.

Lila Noire: As Lizzie Borden, with a rhinestone-encrusted axe, she also did a chair dance.

Mina Murray: I performed a fan dance to “Moon Over Bourdon Street”. As is always the way, the two things I was worried about — untying the robe and unhooking the bra — went fine. It was removing my robe that hit a snag — literally! The lace fabric caught on my spider web necklace. On both sides. Of course, that had never happened before. Hopefully I dealt with it smoothly enough.

Intermission

Betty Blaize: Betty chose her dance with the devil, no surprise. And she absolutely killed it! I’ve been watching this act grow and evolve since our very first Halloween show and this night was one of the best.

Lacey Susan: The most horror movie act of the night, there a rhinestone knife, some impressive dance moves, and ultimately blood running down her dead white face.

Lanie Luxxe: A bride of Frankenstein who did not particularly need a groom.

Raven DeHart: Her dancing was impressive, but I was even more impressed that her long demon horns stayed in place the whole time.

Kim Burly: OMG, those boots! And those drops while wearing those boots! It was a magnificent finale to the show.

Closer: The same trio now as classic sheet-covered ghosts

Here’s our curtain call!

It was so much fun and everyone was so nice! I would absolutely join the Tittie Tour again.

If you want to see the acts Betty, Devastasia, and I did, plus Ava, plus even more, come to Clay N. Ferno’s Halloween Revue on the 29th!

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. I appreciate you all so much!

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on 15 October 2026 at 8:16 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: halloween, show

Nocturna 9/18/26

Dear Constant Reader,

I was surpised and delighted to get a call from Ember Sky looking for a couple of performers to round out a show in Fitchburg (notable as the home of both a college and the kitten who would become Bartholomew A. Cat). She and her producing partner, Mistress Neon, were debuting a burlesque show at a bar-arcade. Betty, Scratch, and I headed west.

The venue is pretty fun. There was a small stage in the middle of the space, surrounded by video game machines. Our dressing room was the commandeered ladies’ room. I have changed in many a bathroom in my time and I have to say that this one was clean and spacious — a welcome change. And had ’80s movie posters on the walls, as you can see from my quick selfie.

I thought I didn’t know the fourth burlesquer on the bill, Jaynie Jezebel, but it turned out we had met before, at the Booklover’s Burlesque Festival, where we both performed in the brunch show at the Victorian Belle Mansion. I blame being very nervous and focused on my act at the time for not remembering her Winnie-the-Pooh act. Besides the four of us, there was a poet and a singer (neither of whom entered the dressing room) and Scratch was going to do magic. Except he put his equipment carefully out of the cats’ reach at home and left it there…

This turned out to be a good thing because he stage managed instead. And the show really needed his gentle hand. First time anything can be total chaos and this was the first time the two producers had done a show together, the first time this venue had burlesque, the first time Mistress Neon had hosted, and the first time the stage kitten had done that job. Fortunately, all four of us burlesquers were experienced professionals, so he could just concentrate on keeping everything else running smoothly.

The only real problem we had was with the DJ. I think he was the reason the show started late — it certainly wasn’t any of the performers. He seemed to have issues with his equipment in general and Jaynie’s music in particular. She was supposed to sing for her second number, but he couldn’t get her backing track to work. Fortunately, because I believe in being in place the act before mine, I was right backstage and could step in to do my act early without much delay in the show. I’m pleased to say that her music worked fine after that and she was able to go on right after me.

One of the things I enjoyed about the show was the different styles of acts. Betty showed off her impressive dance chops, Ember rocked out, Jaynie had very detailed cosplay acts, and I had my usual classic stuff. I do wish I had been able to see the other acts better. If I stood just so, by the side of the stage, I could peer between two arcade machines and get a glimpse of the show.

Betty was a backstage hero! Ember’s panel skirt for her closing act wasn’t finished and Betty spent most of the intermission and second act hemming the panels. I was once dubbed “The Fastest Needle in the East”, but she was lightning-quick with her stitching.

All in all, a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to coming back!

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. I appreciate you all so much!

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on 5 October 2026 at 11:12 am Leave a Comment
Tags: show

Boston Fringe Festival

Dear Constant Reader,

This past weekend I was unexpectedly able to attend two shows at the second annual Boston Fringe Festival, held, of course, in Somerville.

Our story is set at a Bible study group in Minnesota with five teens overseen by an overwhelmed youth pastor. He’s trying to get through the lesson of Sampson and Delilah. He’s also coping with the fact that his wife just left him for another woman. Beginning with the hymn “Our God is a Pretty Good God”, the humor was foremost. There is teenaged angst, exacerbated with Christian guilt. There are a number of hymn-inspired original songs, accompanied by an acoustic guitar of course, through which the characters let out some of their innermost anxieties.

The play is clearly written by one who knows this world of youth church and Minnesota nice intimately and sees the foibles without making a mockery of them. I also want to give Lani kudos for taking a supporting role and letting the focal characters shine.

I was afraid the venue was going to negatively affect the performance. It was a barbershop (one of the other “alt” venues was a gaming space attached to a pizza parlor), so there was no stage and all of the audience was on the same level as the actors. When the 6 performers came out and sat in folding chairs, I could see them from about the chin up. But fortunately, it didn’t matter since everything was perfectly audible. Obviously, I would have preferred to be able to see all the actors, but the dialog was the important part. Vince Lauffer, who played Pastor Svenson, had a talent for making it clear when he was speaking directly to the audience/internal monologue and when he was interacting with the other characters (with an accurate touch of Minnesotan in his voice).

I was delighted to learn that Our Lord and Savior won “Best Alt Venue Drama/Musical”. I expect you’ll see much more from Alana Corrigan on local stages in the very near future!

The next afternoon we attended Carnival of Sorts, a one-man show by Erik Bartlett at the main stage at The Rockwell. We used to perform a lot there, back when it was the Davis Square Theatre. In fact, we were the second theatre group to perform there (after Actors’ Shakespeare Project), so it was a bit nostalgic to be back.

Erik literally ran away to join the circus. In his performance he talks about his experiences while demonstrating some of his showmanship. There are balloon animals, juggling, and escape artistry, amongst other arts, all woven into the storytelling.

Confession: I cannot stand watching blockheads. Those are the people who stick nails up their nose. Once I was actually yelled at by a performer at a Ren Faire because I turned away when he brought out hammer and nail. Anyway, Erik does do a blockhead bit, but there’s a story around it, which he punctuates with a musical tapping of hammer on nail. I still closed my eyes when he actually did the deed, but it was a much more pleasant lead-up.

Like Our Lord and Savior, this was a short, 30-minute show. I hope for a longer version someday, because I’d love to hear more of Erik’s time with the circus. He ended with a heartfelt speech about supporting live performances and I could not agree more.

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.

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on 22 May 2026 at 11:30 am Leave a Comment
Tags: event report

Shhh… It’s Burlesque

Dear Constant Reader,

Last Saturday I was honored to be invited to a new burlesque show, Shhh… It’s Burlesque, presented by Miss Candy Crush. It was held at CM Creative Studio, a new dance studio in South Boston, which is a lovely intimate space.

I’ve been sick for the past week, and this was my first time getting dolled up and going out for a while, so I’m glad Betty Blaize went with me for moral and maybe even physical support.

All the performers, while experienced in other forms of performing arts, were relatively new to burlesque. I know at least one was doing her first striptease that night. It was really lovely to see the enthusiasm and joy of new performers. After doing this for as long as I have, it’s easy to forget what that was like.

Miss Candy Crush opened the show by explaining the rules, one of which was silence. When you go to a burlesque show, you usually expect yelling, cheering, applause. Not so here — we were to keep quiet and snap for appreciation. Also, to tip the performers, we should ball up our bills and toss them at the stage. Reminded me of New Orleans. Also, a good plan as the audience was packed pretty close together (see, intimate space above).

The show went like this:

Part 1
Thalia: a lovely cabaret bellydancer, used a cane for part of her act. When she balanced it on her head, both Betty and I simultaneously crumpled up dollars and flung them at the stage. We know how hard it is to successfully do cane balances.

Jenne alla Vodka: I was really looking forward to this. Jenne is a very talented pole dancer who came to me for private fan lessons. She highlighted her Italian roots with a striptease to “Mambo Italiano”, which included a dazzling split. Like I said, pole dancer — with the strength and grace that art needs.

Capri: in leather jacket and break-away pants, did a swaggering striptease which involved some lipsynching and bringing an audience member on stage to get up-close and very personal.

Before the intermission, Miss Candy Crush embarrassed me by giving me a shout out. Then we had a little break for some refreshments.

Part 2
Espada & Aria Fae: There was a bit of everything in this act — fans, partner dance, hooping, acrochair — highlighting Aria’s circus skills.

Miss Candy Crush: Candy toyed with the audience for a while, bringing people up on stage, talking to them, teasing. At last she had two men remove her boots (seen on the cover of the program) and set aside her bullwhip, thus unencumbered, she began her powerful, passionate dance.

I’ve worked with Candy many times now and only gotten to peek at her acts from backstage. It was a delight to be in the audience and see her full performance. And also to see her dance in such a deeply personal way. This was not one of the acts she brings to the shows we usually do. It’s not for those audiences at all, so it was all the more specially to be allowed to see this part of her.

When the cast came out for the curtain call, we were finally allowed to applaud, and applaud we did!

I don’t have any performance photos, as photography was rightly banned during the show. But here is Jenne and me after the show. I’ve never been the tall one before!

These 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.

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on 24 February 2026 at 9:44 pm Leave a Comment

10th Anniversary Show 12/6/25

Dear Constant Reader,

Usually, we do two shows at Deacon Giles, an early and a late, and they’re the same show. This time, we did Brrrlesque for the early show, but for the late show, we presented…

10 years of fine spirits and craft cocktails! And we’ve been there for most of it. One night, about 9 years ago, Brigitte, very drunk, called Scratch, told him that we had to perform at this great bar she was at, and the rest is history!

To celebrate, we decided to do a show filled with some of our favorite acts that we’ve performed there. With one exception, this was entirely different acts from the show we had performed earlier in the evening.

Ava Fox, Betty Blaize, Devastasia: Going Bananas (“Going Bananas” by Madonna/”Day-O” by Harry Belafonte”)
This was probably the first act we knew had to be in the show. Originally created for A (Re)Movable Feast, it was one of the main acts in The Boston BeauTease Go Bananaz!, a show Brigitte had been suggesting not very subtilely for years. There’s a story about that show and the Salem city government, but I shall share it another time, perhaps. Let us just leave it at that Ian, one of Deacon Giles’ owners, is very detail-oriented and ultimately saved the day.

Mina Murray: Moon Over Bourbon Street (Sting)
This was another act that everyone said had to be in the show. It’s one of my Halloween go-tos. However, I realized that it shares some costume elements with a different act and I was going to be doing both in this show. So, I made a brand-new hip belt, which goes with the theme of the act. I only had time to do the bare minimum of rhinestoning, but I’m still pretty pleased with it.

Scratch: Martini Time (magic)
This time the correct song was on the playlist and everything went off flawlessly.

Ava Fox: In the Mood
We had to have Ava tap dance and this is a cheerful, celebratory number.

Betty Blaize: Sweet Child o’ Mine (Post-Modern Jukebox)
Betty gets to show off her dance chops as well as her costuming with this striptease.

Devastasia: No Diggity (singing: Post-Modern Jukebox arrangement)
Another chance to hear Devastasia’s lovely voice.

Mina Murray: Whole Lotta Mina (“Whole Lotta Love” by Hollywood Vampires)
I love this number. The music absolutely does not go with the troupe aesthetic, but I don’t care (and neither does Devastasia, who always encourages me to do it.)

Betty Blaize: Malambo No. 5 (Yma Sumak)
This is an over-the-top song and a matching costume. Betty has had a feathered headdress and backpiece for a while and, rather than create, say an elegant showgirl act, she became a tropical bird. It’s a gorgeous costume and the act is a touch ridiculous, just like Betty.

Devastasia: Steamroller Blues
I’m not the only fan dancer in the troupe, but our styles are pretty different. Also of note is the Devastasia’s costume is a color would wouldn’t expect from her — bright pink!

Ava Fox: Upside Down (Paloma Faith)
Ava has been working with chairs for a while and I think this is her finest number — and I’m not alone. She performed it at festivals in Scotland and Australia.

Scratch: The Vanishing Bandana (magic)
This is one off the troupe’s favorite magic tricks and we insisted Scratch perform it.

Betty Blaize, Mina Murray: Wim-a-weh (“The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens)
This is without a doubt the goofiest number we have. It’s also one of the oldest. Betty and I came up with it over the course of a week (when I think I had the flu) in like 2007. It contains some authentic ’60s go-go moves and 16th-century Indian dance hand gestures. It’s very silly and somehow, it remains a crowd pleaser.

And that was our last show of 2025!

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.

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on 31 December 2025 at 4:20 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: show

Brrrlesque 12/6/25

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s that time of year again, when we have our annual winter-themed show. We had a couple of traditional seasonal treats and a few new ones. As always, we had Marek on lights and sound and a rare appearance from Matilde as stagehand. The show went something like this:

Ava Fox, Betty Blaize, Mina Murray: “Kindergarten” (Unkle Ho)
This is one of our standard trios, which we’ve been doing for years. Since it’s the holiday season, we had tall peppermint sticks and wore red velvet skirts, newly trimmed with white faux fur by Betty, to replace some really sad marabou. We used to do this to a song called “Booty Swing”, which has a great rhythm and terrible lyrics, so we retired it. After a lot of work, Scratch and Betty found this song, to which Betty adapted the choreography. Although we rehearsed it a bunch, once on stage I reverted back to the old choreography near the end. Ooops.

Devastasia: Snow-woman (“Frosty the Snowman”/”She Made My Blood Run Cold” by Ike Turner)
It’s a shame this act appears only at this time of year, because the costume is amazing. You’ll look at snowmen in an entirely different way.

Scratch: Magic
With the help of the audience, Scratch performed a minor miracle… and was able to finish getting dressed.

Ava Fox: Stocking Peel (“Black & Tan Fantasy” by Dave Rose and His Orchestra)
This act was a one-off joke for our holiday special back in 2020, but Ava decided to make it into a real act. After all, she already had the giant stocking…

Betty Blaize: Betty, it’s Cold Outside (“Baby, it’s Cold Outside” by Ray Charles and Betty Carter)
We could not have a winter show without bringing back Betty’s classic duet with Dino Martini.

Mina Murray: Sugar Rum Cherry (Duke Ellington)
This is still one of my favorite fan dances. I love it even more now that that fans I had made for it have been refurbished by Donna Touch.

Devastasia: “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” (singing)
We’re always happy to have a chance to hear Devastasia sing.

Ava Fox: Gift-Wrapped Boy (The Big Happy)
Ava is the best present! She taps her little heart out wearing a costume that looks like wrapping paper. And then she unwraps herself, down to jingle bell pasties!

Scratch: Martini Time (magic)
This was a touch awkward as Scratch’s music wasn’t on the playlist — magic of live theatre, folks! However, he’s such a good showman that he was able to use a song from the pre-show playlist and you never would have known, if there hadn’t been the back and forth with him and Marek.

Mina Murray: What Are You Doing New Years Eve? (Post-Modern Jukebox)
Maybe it was a little early in the month to be thinking of New Year’s Eve, but I only ever get to do this act in December. I always say I should come up with a new number for this costume, because it’s glorious.

Ava Fox, Betty Blaize, Devastasia: Reindeer Games (“Stompin’ at the Savoy” by Benny Goodman)
This is another one of our standard trios, created by Brigitte Bisoux, but we wanted to make it more holiday-ish. Picking red, green, and silver costume elements was the first idea. I don’t remember what came next, the antlers or the harnesses with bells, but before we knew it, they were reindeer. So, it only seemed fitting them to have glowing red pasties, which Devastasia skillfully made for them.

And then we did a second show afterwards with an entirely different set of acts. Stay tuned!

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.

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on 30 December 2025 at 5:51 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: brrrlesque, show

Student Showcases, 4/26 & 5/4

Dear Constant Reader,

The culmination of our Burlesque Your Way class is a Student Showcase, to give the graduates the opportunity to show off their hard work in front of their adoring friends and family.

This year, we had two! One at our favorite haunt, Deacon Giles in Salem, and the other, a little closer to home, at Rooted Cafe at Arts at the Armory in Somerville.

Both went so well, despite a few hiccups. We had arranged for an excellent stage kitten to give the performers a good experience, but she came down with the flu. So, I volunteered to kitten the show. Actually, several of the students did as well, but I told them all that their job was just to be performers. I’ll be honest — it was a bit of a relief not to host. Scratch is much better than I am at it. And we had Marek on sound and lights which meant we could relax completely about that.

The students looked amazing, both shows, and the audience loved it. I’m so proud of everything they accomplished! Six weeks to create an act and everything associated with it is an amazing feat for a new performer (and even for some veteran performers).

I tried to get some photos but didn’t do so well. A few of these are screen captures from video, so kinda terrible quality, but I hope it gives you a faint idea of these acts.

Hecha La Sexy: Mira Que Eras Linda (Najwa)
For those that don’t speak Spanish, “hecha la sexy” is slang for “she’s all that” and she certainly was! The song was in Spanish and her moves were Latin dance inspired. I loved how she used her gloves to “talk” at the beginning of the song. The gossiping gloves were soon stripped away.

Farrah Sancerre: You Know That I’m No Good (Amy Winehouse)
Farrah cuts an impressive figure and even more so with fur stole, slinky black dress, and bad-ass attitude. Besides being quite tall, she has rather long hair that she took down in a dramatic reveal.

Kitty Diamond: Devil in Disguise (Elvis Presley)
This was Kitty’s second time going through Burlesque Your Way and she went in a different direction. She entered as a lovely angel with feather fan wings and gradually transformed into a devil.

Siski Slutski: Babooshka (Kate Bush)
Siski wasn’t able to be in the Salem show and I’m so glad they could be in the Somerville show. “Babushka” means “grandmother” in Russian and also refers to a scarf tied under the chin. The headscarf never came off, but everything else did, in a show of aggressive power.

Geminatrix: Femme Fatale (Twin Temple)
Clad in black leather, Geminatrix took control of the stage. The hot pink riding crop was a bold choice — it contrasted very well with the costume, keeping the prop visible (I’ve warned you about black costumes before) and sounded very dramatic whacking against a boot.

Lani Cakes: You Look Like Rain (Morphine)
Lani was one of the BeauTease apprentices last fall, so this was the second solo she has created with our guidance. Her smashing feather-bedecked gown was a lucky thrift store find. I am such a sucker for a good stocking peel and Lani did lovely ones, along with some floorwork.

Nefertitty: Dark Lady (Cher)
Nefertitty also took Burlesque Your Way last year. Like her first act, she worked with a large silk veil. This time she went for high drama as a mysterious fortune teller pulling cards out of nowhere.

Esmerelda: Feelin’ Good (Michael Bublé)
Esmerelda’s international travel kept her from either show, but this is where she would have been in the line-up. I did some one-on-one work with her shortly before so I got to see the act. It was a slow and slinky with a boa and a bra made out of ropes of pearl. I hope she has a chance to perform it as has a very impressive finale trick which I won’t spoil.

Henny Penny: Fever (Peggy Lee)
Henny had a great noir vibe and impeccable comic timing. She gets points for best homemade prop. I hope I’m not spoiling anything to say it’s a banana — an oversized rhinestoned banana with a zipper. How she uses it, I’ll leave as a mystery.

I closed things out with one of my standard acts — a dressing gown strip into a fan dance. I was so excited at the Somerville show because I had just gotten my fans back from Donna Touch.

As part of the curtain call we gave everyone certificates of completion and “rising star” pins. Here we all are!

I can’t say enough how proud I am of everyone and I look forward to seeing them on stage 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.

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on 17 June 2025 at 6:27 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: babe, show, student showcase

New(ish) Fans

Dear Constant Reader,

My very first set of large fans were made by The Scarlet Rose in 2008. I debuted them in the show Unlucky in Love in February 2009 for the act that would eventually become “An Invitation” and consider them my primary fans.

Photo by Aaron Macks, 2010

I asked for alternating black and white feathers because I figured that would go with just about everything. They were built on bamboo staves — as I’ve mentioned before, bamboo and acrylic were really the only options then — with two plumes and Swarovski crystals on each stave (designer’s choice). The only hitch was that they were both right-hand fans. Like I said, this was early days and we didn’t really know about handed fans. It does mean that at this point I’ve got a pretty strong left hand.

As well as they’ve served me for so many years, I was starting to worry about the staves. They were just feeling a little off. After our Halloween show, when I knew I wouldn’t need them again for a while, I contacted Donna Touch. When we discussed the upgrade, she showed me some lovely vintage-style staves that she had created for Dita’s Vegas show. There was no question that I wanted them.

Because the original fans had 16 staves each, Donna created the new staves from thinner aluminum to reduce the weight. It’s a different feel than my other set on her staves, but I adjusted pretty quickly.

When the fans arrived, after I had removed them from their very secure packaging, Bartholomew had to inspect the box and found it of acceptable quality.

Donna donates a portion of her sales to a variety of charities, so I got to pick which one I wanted to support and received this sticker

for choosing The Audubon Society. It seemed only right to give back to birds.

You’ve waited long enough. Here are the fans!

Photos by Donna Touch

I used them for the first time at our student showcase two days after they arrived. Here’s a very brief look. I don’t usually do pastie shots, but most of the performance is partially blocked by the audience (because I set up the camera poorly) and you can’t really see the fans well except at the end.

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.

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on 27 May 2025 at 1:03 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: fans

New Costume

Dear Constant Reader,

When we were planning our summertime show, Queens of the Jiggle, I knew I wanted to perform “Too Darn Hot” with my new fans (seen here with my chief fan inspector). And new fans deserve a new costume.

After some discussion and brainstorming, we decided on a body harness with removable fringe. This then morphed into a frame bra and fringe belt set instead. I wanted to use as much of our existing supplies as possible, so for the base, I used some silver over black elastic in the troupe stash. Not particularly flame or heat colored, but that’s fine.

I stood very still while Scratch draped and pinned the elastic into the bra structure, then I carefully wiggled out and did all the sewing. I was able to scavenge the bra hooks, rings, and sliders from an old bra. Huzzah!

The bottom band kept shifting, but I knew how to fix it — a little trick I learned from Christina Manuge — with plastic boning. But I didn’t have any. With time getting tight, Scratch cut some strips of clear rigid plastic and drilled teensy holes into them. I filed down the corners with an emery board and sewed them into place. Perfect!

I didn’t love the look of the elastic belt after the fringe was removed and Scratch didn’t like the action of removing the belt, so I decided to incorporate the fringe into my g-string. My first thought was to make a new strappy g-string, but I went for easy. I took an existing g-string, already rhinestoned, removed its elastic (which is very easy with the style of g-string I make — see my costume book!) and added the black and silver elastic.

The pasties I had already, having made them for “Satanic Panic”, last summer.

That however, was the end of using what we had. I needed fringe and Scratch found the perfect stuff — yellow shading to red, just like my fans.

Once the fringe arrived I added snaps (those did come from my stash) and the costume was done! I proudly tried it out at rehearsal and discovered that the elastic was too stretchy. With the fans in my hands, I couldn’t get enough force to unsnap the fringe. Time was running out. What could I do?

Devastasia suggested small magnets. She used them very successfully on her epic snowlady costume this past winter. (seen in rehearsal at right). Scratch ordered a whole bunch in various sizes and I got to work exchanging snaps for magnets. After a test run where I thought I had a clever idea, but physics beat me, I reconfigured the magnets. The fringe removal finally worked perfectly! Or so I thought.

The last item I had to buy was red and yellow rhinestones. Alas, the post office told me my package from Looking Glass Gems wasn’t going to arrive until after the show. So disappointing! But wait — they fortuitously came a day early and I spent part of Friday gluing stones onto the fringe and fans. Not as many as I would have liked, but at least I had some sparkle.

Once we arrived at Deacon Giles, I put the costume on and rehearsed the number. Only to discover that went I went up the front stairs to the stage, the movement dislodged the fringe from the magnets on the back of my g-string. Good to know, nothing I can do to fix it now; I’ll enter from the wings instead.

However, there are still a couple of steps up from the side of the stage, and despite climbing carefully, I still lost one of the hip swags as I was entering. Annoying. I think I’ve fixed the issue.

I’m pretty happy with how it turned out and I hope to have an opportunity to use this costume again soon!

And now that you’ve read all that, here’s your reward. Photos taken backstage by Devastasia

I don’t love the front drape of the fringe on the g-string and I’ve since changed it.

Here’s an action shot from audience member (and fan dancer) Jenne alla Vodka:

These 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 13 August 2024 at 9:53 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: costume, fans

On Target Burlesque 3/23/24

Dear Constant Reader,

This past Saturday was our debut performance at House of Hatchets, an axe-throwing emporium on Cape Cod. Ticket sales were a bit slow, so I was very nervous. I mentioned to a friend that I hoped the show would go well and she asked if I thought I’d have fun. I realized I *always* have fun with Betty and Ava and Devastasia and Scratch. Even if the show sucked (spoiler: it was awesome), we’d have a great time together.

Our dressing room was one of the axe-throwing lanes with a curtain over the front. We could hear people throwing axes in the other lanes. Pretty cool! We were supposed to be on the archery range, but we didn’t actually need that much room.

Since this was our first show, we just went with a classic theme, plus a couple of pointed acts (see what I did there…). It was clearly the right mix, because the audience was so enthusiastic, especially one particular table (more on that later). Oh, and tickets sales ended up being just fine, despite my early worries.

We could not have done the show nearly as smoothly without the help of long-time stagehand Marek (who drove down from the snowy north) and first-time (but you’d never know it) stagehand Aurora.

Aurora took some video of us warming up, which you can see here.

And the show went something like this:

Devastasia: Real Gone (Sam Taylor)
This is classic bump & grind. A great way to start the show!

Scratch & Aurora: Magic
This is a fun trick with a lot of audience participation as Scratch tried to choose a tie to complete his outfit.

Ava Fox: He’s a Tramp (Peggy Lee)
A languid striptease with gorgeous dressing gown highlighting Ava’s costuming skills and love of pink.

Betty Blaize: You’re the Boss (Brian Setzer)
Betty’s classic dance with the Devil. Mr. Devilhead has gotten an upgrade with both his head and his robe and Betty has incorporated a few magic tricks to make it really special.

INTERMISSION

Mina Murray: My Room (Earl Okin)
This was my first major fan dance and still one of my favorites. I used to perform it with a maid to unzip my gown, but during the pandemic I added a quick release, so I could do it myself.

Devastasia: Why Don’t You Do Right? (singing)
This song gives Devastasia a chance to seduce with her voice as well as showing off her impressive vocal range.

Scratch: Urban Legend (magic)
This is a “don’t try this at home” tricks that involves double-edged razor blades.

Ava Fox & Betty Blaize: Purple Wail (Red Prysock)
This is a brand new duet. We had a bunch of trios and some four person numbers, but few duets. The stage was pretty small, so if we wanted to perform a group number, we needed a new one. Devastasia had a duet she had used for teaching and the four of us took that simple routine and ran with it. We had a lot of fun in the creation process!

INTERMISSION

Ava Fox: Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Johnny Lang)
Cute and oh-so-dirty, Ava thinks back to her schoolgirl days. If you look really carefully, she has an Umbrella Academy crest on her blazer.

Devastasia: Egyptian Fantasy
One of Devastasia’s newest numbers, with a lovely costume (that she made) in a gorgeous shade of aqua. And if you’re a fan of Devastasia’s you know how rare it is that she wears a color like this.

Betty Blaize: Nightmare/Misirlou Twist (Artie Shaw/Dick Dale)
Betty starts with a black (faux) fur-trimmed robe (her creation, of course) and dramatic movements. Then she switches to a blurringly fast feast of shimmies.

Mina Murray: Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing (Chris Issak)
When we were booked for a show in an axe-throwing emporium, we knew Lizzie Borden had to appear! It’s a messy act, but one I love a lot and the audience seemed to as well!

After the show, we were on the stage taking pictures, and a bunch of the most enthusiastic audience members joined us. One asked me if we used to be The Boston Babydolls. She had seen us at the first Burlesque Marathon — 14 years ago! She remembered that it had been Scratch’s birthday and everyone had cake. She also had a personal epiphany during the show, but that’s not my story to tell.

Even though I didn’t take any pictures (although my Patrons got a little BTS video). Ava took this one before I rehearsed Lizzie Borden.

The fuzzy slippers were a gift from Devastasia. We love keeping our feet warm (and clean) backstage!

Big thanks to Cliff and all the staff at House of Hatchets for having us and being so good to us! We’ll be back on June first with Isle of Tease!

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.

Published in:

Theatre

on 9 April 2024 at 11:53 am Leave a Comment
Tags: show

Oh, The Glamourous Life!

An Epistolary Blog

KimBurly’s Tittie Tour: Boo-Bie Tour 10/10/26

Nocturna 9/18/26

Boston Fringe Festival

Shhh… It’s Burlesque

10th Anniversary Show 12/6/25

Brrrlesque 12/6/25

Student Showcases, 4/26 & 5/4

New(ish) Fans

New Costume

On Target Burlesque 3/23/24

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