Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

It has been A Week. Nothing I want to talk about here; suffice it to say everyone is fine.

Here’s your tip!

If you use food in your act, clean up promptly and thoroughly.

Whether it’s a cake smash, a champagne pour, or eating a banana, besides cleaning the stage, you need to clean yourself, your dressing area, and your costume. Not only can food be really messy, it can stink and can draw pests if you don’t deal with it promptly

You already know to protect the stage if you’re doing something messy, but you need to check after the show to make sure no stray bits flew anywhere.

Patrol the dressing room as well. You don’t want to leave stray morsels for the mice or to get on your colleagues’ costumes.

If there’s food on your body and no shower at the venue (we should be so lucky to have a dressing area with a shower!), bring a towel, baby wipes, and anything else you need to get at least the worst of it off before putting on your civilian clothes.

If there’s food on your costume, bring a plastic bag to transport it in and then wash it as soon as you get home. I don’t care how tired you are. I know it’s long-established tradition to put off unpacking your gig bag until you have to pack for the next show, but not in this case.

With just a little care, you’ll be welcomed back to turn yourself into an ice cream sundae again.

M2These 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: on 27 June 2025 at 4:16 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Review: Tempest Storm

Dear Constant Reader,

I first saw this documentary in 2018 at a local theatre, but it took me this long to write up my thoughts. I know Tempest never would have seen this little blog, but I didn’t feel comfortable writing this while she was alive. The audience at the screening was sparse and I though that was sad. Harvey Robbins, Tempest’s manger, who I can’t stand (let’s just leave it at that) introduced the film and did a Q &A at the end, all of which I remember thinking we could have done without.

Tempest Storm movie poster

Tempest Storm directed by Nimisha Mukerji, 2016.

I won’t rehash Tempest’s amazing career here. Read The Lady is a Vamp if you want to know more. The film covers some of her glory days and some of her personal life, with interviews with Tempest, her family members, manager, and people in the neo-burlesque scene. There’s archival images and footage of Tempest, but also some artsy, mood-setting scenes, like actresses playing younger Tempest and little girl Tempest that I didn’t think was so necessary. 

Throughout Tempest is glamorous. They focus on a number of her triumphs: headlining at a burlesque festival, a photoshoot, signing her clothing line deal with Tatyana, greeting her adoring fans at conventions, performing at BHoF. 

The documentary follows Tempest as she attempts to reconnect with her family. She calls her daughter and leaves messages several times without response. Her father abandoned Tempest when she was a baby and she never knew him or why he left. After a genealogist traces him, Tempest goes back to Georgia to visit his grave. It feels a bit like a farewell tour as she sees her siblings and their families. She continues by going to Los Angeles to see her ex-husband Herb Jeffries (who died not long after their reunion). Marrying Herb, a Black singing cowboy, caused damage to her career and to her relationship with her family. Ultimately she chose her career over the marriage and their daughter. 

Then she flew to met with her estranged daughter. Who refused to see her. The film maker clearly had this plan for a redemption arc, with a mother-daughter reunion, which was foiled by people not acting like characters in a script.

She never seems to realize that she repeated history by leaving her daughter and husband, like her father abandoned her. When her daughter challenges Tempest over the phone for not being there for her and her granddaughter, Tempest tries to explain how busy she’s been with festivals and appearances, but never apologizes for her absence in their lives. It’s sad and I feel like her sorrow is exploited.

The film ends (not a spoiler) with footage of Tempest in a diaphanous white gown at dusk, dancing in a field of Georgia cotton, the kind she had to pick as a little girl. She worked so hard to get away and yet much of this film is about her return.

The documentary is a chance to hear her story from her and that is absolutely worth it. You can watch the entire film on YouTube.

M2These 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: on 26 June 2025 at 8:21 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Saturday! Yes, I forgot to write a tip yesterday. I took this week off from my day job and I forgot what day it was. Which brings me to your tip.

When you’re traveling, on vacation, or otherwise outside your usual routine, set up reminders for tasks that you still need to do at a particular time.

It’s better if you can schedule things in advance (like I should have), but sometime you can’t and it’s easy to lose track or time or even what day it is. 

I hope you’re enjoying your summer so far!

M2These 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: on 21 June 2025 at 4:06 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Derby Day 2025

Dear Constant Reader,

Last year, at basically the last moment, B.A.B.E. sponsored a horse at the Paragon Carousel’s Derby Day fundraiser. This year we did it again.

Although I sent in our sponsorship early this year, they didn’t contact us until a couple of days before so we weren’t in the program again. Annoying. But I did have a lovely horse. I was told that her name is usually Belle and she’s the largest horse on the carousel.

Among the privileges of sponsorship is that you get to name the horse for the night and decorate it. I named her Miss Toni, after Toni Elling,  and bedecked her with a leopard fur stole with embroidered badges of the B.A.B.E. logo (made by Full Moon Creations) and coronet of roses.

Miss Toni

She won one of the races (sadly, that was the one race where someone else was riding her) and was draped with a wreath of winner’s roses. Folks remembered that my horse won last year too. I guess I can pick winners! 

Although I looked completely smashing, I don’t have any good photos of myself,  but here’s Miss Toni again with her roses.Derby Day 2025

EDIT: I completely forgot that Scratch had taken pictures, so you do get to see my lovely frock and hat after all.
Me and Miss Toni

M2These 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: on 19 June 2025 at 7:31 pm  Leave a Comment  
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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 SexyHecha 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 SancerreFarrah 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 DiamondKitty 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 SlutskiSiski 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 CakesLani 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.mIt was a slow and slinky with a boa and a bra made out of ropes of pearl. I hope she has a change to perform it as has a very impressive finale trick which I won’t spoil.

Henny PennyHenny 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!
Group picture
I can’t say enough how proud I am of everyone and I look forward to seeing them on stage again!

M2These 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: on 17 June 2025 at 6:27 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! And even more so, happy Friday the 13th! We’re celebrating with our Bad Luck Burlesque show at Deagon Giles Speakeasy Lounge in Salem. What could go wrong? 

Here’ s a thematic tip:

Black cats make great pets.

You know how fond I am of cats. And I’m very fond of black cats. My first cat, Selene, was all black and, of course, now we have Bartholomew. He’s so affectionate and clever and great at camouflage. There’s many a time I’ve gone to pet him in the dark only to encounter a pillow and then see a pool of shadow open its eyes and begin purring.

Bartholomew on the window perch

However, there is still some weird prejudice against black cats and they are adopted much less than cats of other colors. Personally, I don’t understand it, but it’s a real problem.

Devastasia recently adopted her own black cat from Black Cat Rescue! They’re a great organization here in Boston specializing in these hard-to-place cats. Consider adopting from them or supporting them with a donation.

M2These 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: on 13 June 2025 at 11:56 am  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday!

This week’s tip is about sparking creativity. Sometimes you’re just at a loss when trying come up with a new act or new costume. Try this:

Set some constraints.

It’s actually easier to be creative when you have guidelines. That’s often why themed shows speak to us. So, pick a theme or maybe chose a move you can’t use in your choreography. Decide that you’re going to make a costume only out of materials in your stash. And maybe, while you’re brainstorming within these limits, you’ll get a fantastic idea out of the blue that blows it all to hell. That’s  great too!

M2These 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: on 6 June 2025 at 2:56 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Cherry Tree Update

Dear Constant Reader,

You might recall my heartbreak last year when our cherry tree had to be taken down. However, we immediately replaced it with a new sour cherry tree.

Baby Tree, though small, is trying very hard. In the spring she was covered in blossoms
Cherry blossoms
which have turned into proto-cherries.
tiny cherries
I’m hoping for a handful of cherries, maybe enough for a dessert for two.

Some summer soon, fingers crossed, we will again have enough to share.

M2These 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: on 5 June 2025 at 9:22 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

You almost didn’t get a tip today. Early this morning, my neighbors found one of the feral cats we feed. We don’t know how he died; I just hope it was quick. I had only ever seen him on our backyard camera, eating at our shelter, and only late at night. He was black with scars and matted fur. We called him Scruffy. He had clearly had a hard life. Because he was only around erratically, it was hard to plan to trap him so he could either get TNRed or adopted. I wasn’t as attached to him as to Tux or Tom or Lord Julius*, since unlike them, he didn’t hang out in our yard and let us get to know him. But the loss still hurts. I wish we could have done more for him.

Your tip is:
Get to know your neighbors.

Community is important. It’s good to have someone nearby that you can turn to. Maybe you need someone to water your plants, and they need someone to hold onto a delivery until they get home. Maybe you all organize a block party. And maybe you care about stray cats and cry together. It’s better not to be alone.

M2

*Julius, now known as Tim, decided he wanted to be an indoor cat and lives in splendor with two other rescue cats in a highrise in downtown Boston with his very patient humans. He sends us occasional video updates.

Published in: on 30 May 2025 at 4:22 pm  Comments (1)  
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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.

_MG_2240Photo 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.

Fan inspectorWhen 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 stickerI'm a big fan

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

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

fan fronts

fan backs

fans overheadPhotos 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.

M2These 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: on 27 May 2025 at 1:03 pm  Leave a Comment  
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