Dear Constant Reader,
It’s hard to believe that only two weeks ago we walked into a gutted storefront full of construction debris. Tonight we open the door on The Wrathskellar, our disreputable tavern…
A tip for Friday
Dear Constant Reader,
I am so sorry to disappoint you yet again in the book review department this week. The Wrathskellar has been keeping me so busy. I will try my absolute best to review a book for next week, but no promises. In the mean time, there are reviews I bet you haven’t read yet in our library.
Today’s tip comes from Betty Blaize, our lead choreographer.
When choreographing for a group, learn to love your differences. Rather than trying to hide them, play up the things that make each performer special. You’ll get a more interesting number, happier performers and a number than can only be done by your group.
So Glamourous
Dear Constant Reader,
As I may have mentioned, the life of a burlesque diva is not all champagne and rhinestones. Sometimes it’s downright dirty, and not in a fun way.
The Boston Babydolls are preparing for our annual halloween show The Wrathskellar (do you have your tickets yet?). This year, instead of asking you to believe that a nice theatre is a disreputable tavern, we’re building an entire custom performance space. How cool is that?
The space is a gutted storefront, basically a construction site. Lots of exposed studs and bricks, broken drywall, bare lightbulbs. It’s perfect for creating our dark, distressed cabaret. However, did I mention it’s a construction site with all the associate paraphernalia that entails?
And that’s why I spent my Saturday piling up a mountain of shredded fiberglas insulation for disposal. And then sweeping dirt, and sweeping sawdust, and sweeping bent nails. At least I have stylish purple work gloves.
2 Tips for a Friday
Dear Constant Reader,
Because I’m feeling generous, you get two related tips today!
Let your skin rest before performing, Garments with elastic, like socks, will leave impressions that you don’t want. Staying hydrated will help them go away faster.
and
Cheap fishnets will not leave impressions on your legs that last as long as those left by dance-quality fishnets.
Burlesque Books
Dear Constant Reader,
I’ve been trying to write you a book review every Wednesday, but I just don’t have time this week. Things are really heating up with The Wrathskellar. I probably shouldn’t even take this much time, but it’s for you, Constant Reader.
Once I write the reviews here, I put them up in the Boston Babydolls’ Library. Go take a look; I’ll wait. Are there any books you’re dying to have me review? If they’re in the lower section, we don’t have them yet, but maybe some angel will send me a present…
As long as I’m asking questions of you…
My friend, Marian, a culinary historian, said “all sources are cooking sources”. I believe that all sources are burlesque sources. You can find out some of the most interesting things that can be applied to burlesque from some unlikely places. Tell me a book from which you learned something about burlesque that wasn’t specifically a burlesque book.
Inquisitively yours,
A little tip for you
Dear Constant Reader,
Friday seems to be tip day!
When working with feathers, confetti, glitter, or anything small and floaty, avoid wearing lipgloss. It’s very sticky and all those light little bits will stick to it.
Review: Papa’s Burlesque House
Dear Constant Reader,
It’s Wednesday, so how about a book review?
Papa’s Burlesque House: Growing Up in a Burlesque Theater by Bernard Livingston (1971).
This novel, purporting to be an as-told-to story, is more of a thinly veiled autobiography. The point-of-view character grew up in a large Jewish family in Baltimore during the Depression. His weak-willed father, unable to support the family, is pushed into managing a burlesque theatre by a pawn-broker uncle who has acquired the unsavory building.
Family life focuses around the theatre, since the narrator’s father can rarely leave. Shabbos dinner is held with the entire family crammed in the ticket booth. While his parents refuse to enter the theatre, the narrator frequently sneaks backstage and dallies with strippers. He becomes increasingly resentful of his parents’ plans for his life (he’s to become a lawyer — his older brother is going to be a doctor), especially after he learns a few things about his father.
The theatre, called The Burlesk, but known as The Scratch House, is a filthy, seedy dump on the infamous Block. The comics are drunks and the girls are third rate. Some of the activity at the Burlesk is down right unsavory and it will come back to bite the family badly. Not a pretty picture of burlesque, but a realistic one.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page.
Opening the door
Dear Constant Reader,
As I may have mentioned, I run a modest burlesque academy. Until recently, quite modest. We’ve been occupying a small studio, but we love it because it’s all ours. The opportunity presented itself to move to a new space, just a few doors down, and we jumped on it. We decided to do all the nice things that we always wanted to with the old space, like improving the lighting and having a real wood dance floor.
The studio is so much larger that we have a reception area and a storeroom. When you first walk into the studio this is what you see:
That’s the door to the storeroom, where we keep our costumes and props. Nice, isn’t it? Scratch does very nice work. I bet you didn’t know that besides being our director and producer, Scratch was also a talented carpenter.
If you were to turn to your left, you’d see a lovely Queen Anne desk, eventually with a smiling hostess sitting behind it. For the moment, behind it is a bunch of frightening power tools.
As we progress, I’ll keep you updated. And if you’d like to see the studio in all its glory yourself, consider signing up for a class.
Yours,
Another little tip for you
Dear Constant Reader,
A hair flower is not only a glamourous accessory; it can be used to hide imperfections in your hairdo.
Review: A Pictorial History of Burlesque
Dear Constant Reader,
Here’s another book review, just for you.
A Pictorial History of Burlesque by Bernard Sobel (1956).
Mr. Sobel is a big burlesque fan. In this, his second book on burlesque (the first being Burleycue: An Underground History of Burlesque Days), he writes glowingly about the comedy, the variety, the clever parodies, even the “Amazon parade” (a chorus of pretty girls in scanty costumes). Then he bemoans the later addition of striptease, which ruined good old-fashioned burlesque. Despite that attitude, he does give peelers a fair shake, with an entire chapter (plus some) dedicated to some of the foremost practitioners of the art.
As promised in the title, the book is filled with photographs illustrating the history of burlesque from the days of The British Blondes and minstrel shows to “modern” (mid-1950’s) stripteasers and comics. There are individual chapters on comedy, music, management and other topics interspersed with a roughly chronological history of the artform.
Literarily yours,
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 