Dear Constant Reader,
Please vote for the Boston Babydolls!
In response to my Friday tip, my esteemed colleague, Mr. Scratch, asked why performers shouldn’t pick up their own costumes. Well, in my opinion…
You want to leave your audience with a strong positive impression. Scrambling around, partialy clad, trying to quickly pick up your discarded costume before the next act comes on is probably not how you want the audience to remember you. Exit in character.
Also, bending over or crouching down to pick things up puts you in a subservient posture. Burlesque legend Toni Elling said to never look like you are ashamed of what you do. She wouldn’t even lower her head to acknowledge the audience’s applause. Also, you’ll look better standing up straight.
My mother (who reads this blog) asked how to wish a burlesque performer luck rather than saying “break a leg”. I’ve heard “break a nail” and “break a heel”, but most commonly “pop a pastie”.
Scratch tends to say “Good show”, which works for any kind of performance.
When we were in a commedia dell’arte troupe, we stopped saying “break a leg” because someone did. Then we used “In bocca al lupo” (“into the wolf’s mouth”), which is the Italian equivalent, without the fear of fractured bones. The proper response is “Crepi il lupo” (“may the wolf die”).
What good luck phrase do you use? Does any one use “merde”?
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 