Naked Girls Reading: A Christmas Carol

Dear Constant Reader,

Please join the literary ladies of Naked Girls Reading Boston for a little holiday cheer!

On December 17th NGR Boston takes over the intimate confines of Outpost 186 for an evening of holiday cheer with a reading of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol.

Doors open at 8:00 p.m. for a pre-reading reception, and the reading begins at 8:30 p.m. The reading is about two hours long and there will be two breaks.

There are only 35 tickets, so we recommend you get them in advance (and you’ll save some cash too!).

Published in: on 22 November 2011 at 4:29 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip!

Dear Constant Reader,

Today’s tip comes from legendary coach, Vince Lombardi.

Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.

Now, Coach Lombardi was talking about football, but it certainly applies to burlesque (and lots of other stuff too). As you practice your routines, you’re building muscle memory. If you’re distracted or sloppy you’re going to be building bad habits too. Don’t just go through the motions when you’re rehearsing; really focus. Check your form, consider your facial expressions, wear the right shoes, &c.

Conversely, if you’re having a really bad day and nothing is working, recognize that and give it a rest for a little bit. You’re better off just dancing for fun for a while than beating your head against a proverbial wall. When you feel relaxed and focused, come on back and have a perfect practice.

Published in: on 18 November 2011 at 11:26 am  Leave a Comment  
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Review: Candy Barr

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s Wednesday and that means a book review!

Candy Barr: The Small-Town Texas Runaway Who Became a Darling of the Mob and the Queen of Las Vegas Burlesque by Ted Schwarz (2008).

Candy Barr’s story is not a pretty one. Born Juanita Slusher in rural Texas, she suffered abuse from a young age. As a teenager, she ran away to Dallas, hoping only for a job and the chance to dance. Instead she found herself forced into prostitution and porn. Bright, beautiful, and a talented dancer, she managed not to be crushed by her horrible situation and escaped to become a headlining burlesque dancer. There were a few shining years as a star in Las Vegas and Los Angeles before forces beyond her control again tried to bring her low. She seemed destined never to have a quiet life.

Because Candy/Juanita was alive while the book was being written (she died in 2005), it is full of quotes and memories direct from the source. The author does tend to play the martyr card a little too much. He often portrays the dancer as a naive innocent, caught up in a vast conspiracy to destroy her. The chronology is occasionally hard to follow as the author sometimes jumps ahead or back to provide a better flow to the story.

Her story is one of survival against terrible odds rather than one of glamour and glitter. The descriptions of her dancing will make you wish you were one of the lucky ones in the audience.

Published in: on 16 November 2011 at 11:54 am  Leave a Comment  
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The Other Boston Marathon

Dear Constant Reader,

Last year there was this movie called “Burlesque”. We all knew it was going to have nothing to do with the kind of burlesque that we did and Scratch decided a little public education was necessary.

The weekend before the movie was released, he organized a burlesque marathon. 8 hours of burlesque, all night long. Performers from all over New England. Home-made bagels for the survivors. Crazy, no?

And it actually happened, despite chaos and disasters major and minor. There was a wonderful camaraderie backstage as we helped one another change costume, lug props, solve last minute problems. And the guys in the tech booth were big heroes. Come dawn that theatre was simply covered in glitter… and coffee cups. You can read all about it here.

And for some reason people wanted to do it again. And somehow Scratch agreed to do it again.

Please join us for the Second (Annual?) Burlesque Marathon starting this Saturday at 11:59 and running until 8am on Sunday!

Published in: on 15 November 2011 at 10:20 am  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip!

Dear Constant Reader,

Today’s tip comes from Betty Blaize.

You can’t overestimate the impact of an eyelash curler for making your eyes look bigger. When the lash is framing your eye, not covering your eye, the impact is enormous.

Published in: on 11 November 2011 at 4:02 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Thank you!

Dear Constant Reader,

The Boston Babydolls won the 2011 Dig This Award for “Best Lowbrow/Burlesque”! It wouldn’t have been possible without your support. Thank you all for voting!

We’re never complaisant about these things — who knows which way voting will go? We’re grateful for our loyal (and vocal!) fans. For you, we constantly strive to improve our shows and always bring you the best burlesque.

As winners, we got to attend the Dig’s party last night, which was a heck of a lot of fun. We arrived in style in the Babydollmobile — Scratch’s 1956 Packard — and were greeted by our personal paparazza who took pictures throughout the night. Maybe I’ll even share some of them.

And now, onward and upward. We’re preparing to participate in The Burlesque Marathon next weekend and we’re already working on our Valentine’s Day show, Unlucky in Love, at the Davis Square Theatre.

Published in: on 10 November 2011 at 12:08 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Review: Pretty Things

Dear Constant Reader,

Today’s book has a lot of information on one of my favorite topics — costumes!

Pretty Things: The Last Generation of American Burlesque Queens by Liz Goldwyn (2006).

After making her documentary, also called Pretty Things, Ms. Goldwyn returned to her original focus, burlesque costumes, with this book. There’s lots of fabulous information about two prolific costumers with photos, sketches, pages from their account books, &c. Some of the sketches even still have fabric and trim samples attached. It’s marvelous inspiration.

The book also discusses burlesque in general and certain performers in specific, liberally illustrated with photographs and scrapbook pages. The biographies of Betty Rowland, Dian Rowland, June St. Claire, Lois de Fee, and Zorita are livened with first-hand stories from interviews conducted with some of the remaining “last generation”. I was a little surprised that despite numerous quotations from Sherry Britton, she didn’t rate a chapter of her own.

Ms. Goldwyn clearly loves her subject and her sources, but she’s not a dazzling writer. There are the occasional clunkers like the dancer who was “riding a horse wearing a white feather bikini”. Even if you skipped the text and just looked at the illustrations, this book would be worth it.

Published in: on 9 November 2011 at 12:20 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Costumes — evidence!

Dear Constant Reader,

A little while ago I talked about costumes for The Wrathskellar. Betty Blaize, as I pointed out, had made 2 new costumes for herself. And because I think you deserve a treat, here they are:

This costume was made for an act we called “The Tango of Death”. The bra and unseen hip belt are made from sari fabric, decorated with red crystals and red Egyptian glass fringe. The jacket and skirt are created from sequined fabric and trimmed with red feathers. Her matching headpiece was designed so that she could more easily balance a sword on her head.

If you saw The Wrathskellar, this was the costume for the number with all the hands (if you didn’t, boy, did you miss out…). Some of the design influences here were steampunk (the jacket) and Indian dance (the skirt). Betty had to be careful in designing this outfit since some elements were going to be removed by others and she was going to be dancing quite vigorously, albeit in a small space. Just imaging how all that fringe flew when Betty executed her trademark shimmies… And some of the large beads actually flew off!

Until next time, dear reader.

Published in: on 7 November 2011 at 2:48 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip!

Dear Constant Reader,

This week’s tip is inspired by a class on chair dance I’m teaching to the more advanced students at B.A.B.E.

When using a chair in your routine, bring your own chair to the venue. Do not expect the venue to have a chair you can use. You might need a straight-back chair and end up with a barstool, a swiveling office chair, or something broken.

And it’s always nice to perform with a chair that you’ve rehearsed with, so you know all its quirks.

P.S. Voting for the Weekly Dig’s “Dig This” awards ends tonight! You can vote as often as you like. Please vote for the Boston Babydolls for “Best Burlesque”!

Published in: on 4 November 2011 at 10:35 am  Leave a Comment  
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Review: Dita: Stripteese

Dear Constant Reader,

Today’s “book” is a little different.

Dita: Stripteese. by Dita von Teese and Sheryl Nields (2009).

At first glance this is a dainty pink book tied shut with a satin ribbon. In actuality it’s a box containing three tiny flip books. Each book can be riffled front to back and then back to front to display one of Dita’s signature acts in “motion”.

The collection contains her Bird of Paradise act, Martini Glass act, and a striptease in a vintage outfit. The flipping only gives a so-so presentation of each act, but unlike pausing a video, each still photo is crisp and clear, if small. One can feast one’s eyes on every detail… of her costumes.

It’s a cute idea and the presentation is charming. Recommended for Dita fans.

P.S. Just a reminder… We’ve been nominated for “Best Burlesque” by the Weekly Dig. Please vote for us!

Published in: on 2 November 2011 at 12:47 pm  Leave a Comment  
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