Dear Constant Reader,
I find myself sewing a lot of snaps on costumes right now. Lining up the halves perfectly can be fussy. Here’s a little tip that will help:
For perfectly aligned snaps, sew one half of the snap in place, rub it with chalk, then close the garment as if it was being worn. There will be a chalk mark right where the other half of the snap should be sewn.
Dear Constant Reader,
The Teaseday Club met again on Tuesday, September 10th with hostess Sarah Blodgett. 6 months of teasing!
Scratch was at The Boston Theatre Expo, but we were in good hands with Maddy the Stage Manager, Hunter, Kendra, and Jon in the booth, Stella as Stage Kitten (and what an outfit!), and yours truly in the box office. That means I didn’t get to watch much of the show in the theatre. Fortunately, there is a monitor in the lobby, so I did see some of it. But my usual descriptions of the acts are going to be extremely sketchy.
Frankie Merlot of the Wortown Bombshells was taking photos and I’ll share them with you when/if I can.
Set 1
Vikki Likkerish opened with her signature Painted Lady act to “Black Velvet”.
Samara, a bellydancer, performed to “Sail”.
Beau Blush performed a balloon pop act to “Jump in the Line”.
Rory Raven is a mentalist. He had two people pick a book from a stack of several and pick a random word from each. And then he proceeded to read their minds and discover the words.
Set 2
Emily Hecht sang something fabulous. (I don’t know which song; I was in the box office)
Beau Blush did a fan dance to “Fever”.
Sarah Blodgett, Comedy’s Funny Honey, gave us a little taste of her stand-up act.
Brigitte Bisoux did a sultry striptease to “Caramel”.
Samara danced to a remix of “Feeling Good”.
Set 3
Rory Raven did a little reverse mind reading. During intermission he had picked a card and flipped it so it would stand out in the pack. Then he had an audience member come up and read his mind to determine what the card was. She eventually nervously selected one. He riffled through the deck to find the one card with its back showing and it was the very card she had chosen!
Vikki Likkerish performed her etherial striptease to a dreamy version of “Addicted to Love”.
Emily Hecht returned to sing “Mercy On Me”. She has got a great set of pipes!
Brigitte Bisoux finished things off with an energetic striptease while tap dancing to “In the Mood”. She can twirl tassels while she taps…
And who won The Great Teaseday Cookie? No shock, it was Brigitte!
I hope you’ll join us again on October 8th!
Dear Constant Reader,
A couple of notes before we get to your tip.
First, between the Boston Babydolls’ show and the B.A.B.E. workshop we raised $550 for Dixie Evans Week. Thank you to everyone who participated!
Next, Tuesday is Teaseday! Get your tickets in advance and save! Support your favorite performer and she might get The Great Teaseday Cookie! Last I heard Vikki Likkerish was in the lead.
Now for that tip!
Make your act the same length as your music.
I’ve seen too many performers walk off stage while their music is still playing or have the music end before the act is over. The key is to know your music, know your choreography, and know where the 2 intersect.
You should have milestones in the music and in your choreography, so even if you get a little off-track, you can find your place again. You might have to briefly vamp or speed up, but it shouldn’t be too noticeable, if you are confident in what you do.
If you’re still always coming up short, edit the music or adjust your choreography.
Dear Constant Reader,
B.A.B.E. and The Boston Babydolls were proud to be a part of Dixie Evans Week. We held 2 events, both to to raise money for Dixie’s memorial fund.
B.A.B.E was part of the 100 Classes for Dixie with “Blonde Bombshell”, a 3-hour workshop in which we taught an entire, brand-new routine to “Diamonds Are a Girl’s best Friend”, in honor of The Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque.
It was an experiment of sorts. Now, any new choreography is a bit of an experiment — you never know if it’s going to survive contact with dancers — but we’d never created or taught a class in this way before. Brigitte, Stella, and I each choreographed 1/3 of the song, checking, of course, to make sure everything was compatible. And then we team taught it, which was an awful lot of fun.
The students were great! Everyone was really enthusiastic, including the bride-to-be who was using this as a kick-off for her bachelorette celebration. We started off the class by talking about Dixie and then showing “The Casting Couch”. Everybody was inspired by it, even the teachers.
It turned out that the only issue with the joint choreography was that both Brigitte and Stella used a step-touch, but Brigitte started with the touch and Stella with the step. The students were getting confused as when to use which, so Brigitte declared that she would change to start with the step instead. And everyone was happy.
And here are our glamourous students!
But we weren’t done yet! Right after class, we all headed over to Davis Square for
Big thanks to everyone who came out, despite it being Labor Day weekend. (For those of you who are not Bostonians, that’s the weekend when thousands and thousands of students descend upon the Boston area to move into their dorms or out of their summer sublets. The sidewalks of Allston are filled with discarded belongings and moving vans get stuck under bridges on Storrow Drive.)
Bigger thanks to those of you who chose to pay more than the lowest ticket price or made an additional donation.
And biggest thanks to the Davis Square Theatre for giving us a very reduced rate and to the performers and crew for donating their time.
The show went a little something like this:
Scratch opened with a speech about Dixie Evans, who she was and why she’s important.
Stella started with her “Date Night” number to “Moonglow”. We thought this was a good first act since it’s got some similar elements to “Casting Couch” — Stella is seduced by a man who isn’t really there, just his jacket.
For a little variety we turned to Betty in her fast-paced bellydance-inspired number to “Airmail Special”.
Next up was Brigitte with a dirty striptease to “Tombstone Blues”.
Devora presented a dance en pointe with just a hint of striptease (she took off gloves and a scarf, but left her filmy tunic in place). This is usually done with a balloon, a la Sally Rand’s bubble dance, but the ceilings at the theatre were too low.
And then I did my fan dance to “Harlem Nocturne”.
Stella sang “Always be True to You”. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the microphone, so she could barely be heard over the backing track.
Betty closed out the first half with an act we like to call Geek Love. Betty, dressed in jeans, sneakers, a flannel, and a t-shirt, gets really hot & bothered by her laptop. The costume may not be sexy, but Betty is as she bumps & grinds to “Night Train”.
And then we took a little intermission.
To make up for the previous audio problem, Stella came back and sang “I Hate Men”. She hadn’t planned on singing twice, but she’s just that good.
Next up, I preformed “Champagne on Ice”, a moody striptease with some ice. Again, we picked it because there’s an invisible partner. When I finished, there was dead silence. It stretched long enough that I was wondering how to get off the stage with any dignity when a woman’s voice drifted down from the back of the house: “Wow…” Thunderous applause. Thank goodness.
Brigitte brightened things up with a tap dance to “In the Mood”.
Devora had a little surprise for the audience during her can-can striptease to “Love Me Or Leave Me” — assels!
We had given the Blonde Bombshell students the option to perform the routine they had just learned in the show and one of them was brave enough to do it! Trixie Santiago made her burlesque debut right on our stage with a choreography she hadn’t known mere hours before. Brigitte performed it alongside her, but Trixie did great!
Then, with the help of a volunteer from the audience, Scratch performed a card trick which didn’t quite go as planned…
Betty, Devora, Stella, and I closed out the show with “Leap Frog”, the number we presented at the Ohio Burlesque Festival.
And Scratch ended by once again talking about Dixie and how the funds raised were going to be used.
It was a fun show, but bitter-sweet. I hope we did Dixie proud.
Dear Constant Reader,
I know some showgirls have been spending this week out in the desert*. This tip is for them (and anyone else who finds themselves with a similar hair emergency):
For hair that is dry, dusty, and in need of a refresher: wrap a natural bristle brush with cheesecloth (so the bristles poke through) and spritz with rose water. Brush your hair. Change the cheesecloth as it gets dirty.
Of course, you can use any flower water with a scent you like, or even plain water in a pinch (preferably bottled or filtered).
*Burning Man is so not my thing, but if it’s yours, I hope you’ve been having fun!
Dear Constant Reader,
It’s Dixie Evans Week! You can read all about it and Dixie Evans herself here on the official page.
What are we doing to celebrate this amazing woman in Boston? I’m so glad you asked!
On Saturday The Boston Academy of Burlesque Education is offing “Blonde Bombshell” a 3-hour workshop in which we will teach an entire (and brand-new) burlesque routine to “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”, in honor of The Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque. No experience necessary! And the money goes to Dixie’s memorial fund. Brigitte, Stella, and I are going to be tag-team teaching this, so it’s going to be a *lot* of fun. Come join us!
And that evening, The Boston Babydolls present “Boston Loves Dixie” with all the burlesque you love. Tickets are Pay-What-You-Can with a suggested donation of $25. Students from the afternoon workshop get to show off what they learned at the show!
I hope you’ll join us for one or both events and celebrate The Godmother of Modern Burlesque.
Dear Constant Reader,
I spent part of yesterday turning this:
into another costume piece for The Wrathskellar.
The result was thus:
Ta da! My hooping outfit. It will look much better in action. My Little Friend is good for most fitting work, but she’s not great for display. For one thing, her boobs don’t push up like the bra wants them to. And, at the moment, everything is just pinned to her. I’ll actually need some snaps & hooks, since I’m not so keen on straight pins in my flesh.
I’m going to have to take a hiatus from the Fit & Flair project, which is a shame because it is so close to finished. At the left, you can see the neck facing sewn on, but not yet turned to the inside and tacked down. That’s since been done. And the sleeves are hemmed (by hand, of course). Technically all that’s left to do is hem the skirt. The dress wants to hang for a little before measuring the hem, but given my schedule, I think it’s going to hang for a good long while before I get to it.
But that wouldn’t make a very finished outfit. I want to make a wide belt. I have the fabric, but I haven’t found a buckle I like yet. Also, I think it really wants a crinoline.
Here’s the dress in its almost finished state.
I think it will be staying this way until at least October…
Dear Constant Reader,
Work on The Wrathskellar is in full swing. Yes, we’re actually calling it The W. R. Athskellar Cavalcade of Curiosities this year, but The Wrathskellar is so much faster to write.
The main thing we Babydolls are concentrating on right now are our choreographies and that means we need to know what our costumes are. Part of rehearsal last night was spent rummaging through our costume collection to choose pieces and figure out what needs to be created. One of the challenges for this show is that it’s entirely in greyscale. All costumes have to be black, white, shades of grey, or silver.
We’ve got a few pictures up in this Facebook album: W. R. Ehearsal, Aug 25. We’re planning to be better about documenting some of our rehearsal/backstage process.
I’m making both of my costumes. This weekend was spent buying most of the fabric and starting construction. This is going to be the top for my hooping act.
The main fabric is black with silver embroidery, cutwork, and rhinestones. Note the cool selvedge treatment. The white satin is for the lining and will show through the cut-outs. I discovered *after* I sewed the whole thing that only one of the selvedges had rhinestones on it. Oh no, I have to add more rhinestones!
Today I make the skirt and maybe tomorrow you’ll even get a peek at the whole thing together.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! How about a tip?
Get permission before leaving stuff all over the stage, like glitter, water, confetti, torn-up paper, broken glass, &c.
It’s just polite to your fellow performers and producers. You certainly don’t want to be the reason burlesque is banned from a venue. Or piss someone off because your residue got all over their costume or made the stage slippery.
A good way to get permission to make your mess is to prove you’ll disrupt the show as little as possible while still returning the venue to its original state. Have a plan in advance for your clean-up. That may mean bringing a vacuum cleaner or performing on a tarp. Request to perform right before intermission, if possible, so your clean-up doesn’t slow down the show.
I practice what I preach. Or at least I try. “Lizzie Borden” uses water, so I perform it on a faux Oriental rug. Once I forgot the carpet, realized it on the way to the venue, and bought a plastic drop cloth. It should have been fine, if not as aesthetically pleasing. There was this stagehand, who I think really didn’t want to be working this show. I asked him to lay out the plastic near my water bucket and he just sort of tossed the folded-up packet randomly on stage… after my music had started. I tried to go light on the water and still do a good act, but I was cringing every time a splash hit the stage. I felt terrible, especially when the hosts ran out with paper towels afterwards.
Dear Constant Reader,
It may still be summer out there, but in Babydoll-land it’s already autumn. We’ve begun working on The Wrathskellar for this year. For those of you expecting of dark cabaret with its tale of ambition, betrayal, and murder, you’ll be surprised.
This year we are unveiling W. R. Athskellar’s Cavalcade of Curiosities, but you can still call it The Wrathskellar. It’s our most ambitious version yet, combining all of the best elements of past shows: live music, a purpose-built theatre space, a plot, an immersive and interactive experience for the audience, and, of course, burlesque.
We have a lot to do in a very short time. All the acts are brand new and need new choreographies, costumes, props, and set pieces. All the songs are being arranged by our wonderful musical director. I’ll keep you posted as best I can, but it’s going to be a busy month.
For your viewing pleasure, I’ll share few photos from our Kick-off Party, courtesy of John Bilotti. Click right here. (Bonus: how many Babydolls can you spot wearing dresses from Trashy Diva?)
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 