Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! I’m in a philosophical mood and so is your tip…

A rising tide lifts all boats.

Helping your fellow performers to succeed helps all of us. Build each other up instead of knocking down. We can all win together. Burlesque is a niche art and we need to work together to keep it growing and thriving.

Here’s one way to do that…

Lili VonSchtupp, aka Boobdini the Vagician, has created The Burlesque Deck, a deck of pin-up playing cards with 54 gorgeous photos of burlesque performers. It can also be used for magic! The deck is currently only available via Kickstarter and only until January 27th. The project needs to raise $24,000 to go forward and Kickstarter is an all or nothing deal. If The Burlesque Deck is funded, people outside the burlesque enclave will see these fabulous photos and our reach gets a little wider.

Now here’s where the helping each other out part comes in. The Great Burlesque Expo is waiving the application fee for anyone who backs The Burlesque Deck and sends them proof.

You apply to The Expo for free, The Burlesque Deck becomes a reality (and introduce more people to burlesque), and you get the warm, fuzzy feeling of having helped elevate burlesque. Everybody wins.

What else can we do to lift up the world of burlesque?

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 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 January 2020 at 3:41 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Creative License

Dear Constant Reader,

I hadn’t been feeling too inspired on the burlesque front recently, so I’ve been exercising my creativity in other ways. Next week I’m going to start sharing some of the results.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 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 16 January 2020 at 12:20 pm  Leave a Comment  

Goals

Dear Constant Reader,

Last week the troupe and apprentices set our personal burlesque goals for the year (or for the term of their apprenticeship). This year we did things a little differently.

In the past people have written goals using vague language, like “more” or “better”, which makes it hard to tell when you’ve fulfilled your goal. This year goals had to follow the SMART guidelines (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based). We also had to choose some goals with an April deadline as well as some that had longer deadlines.

Then came the fun and challenging part. Each of us had to suggest a goal for each of the other members of the troupe. It was interesting to see what each person thought the others should work on. More than once people independently came up with the same or similar goal for someone.

One of my personal goals to complete before April is to make a video tutorial. You can help me choose a topic!

One of the goals I was given (by more than one person) is to create a funny number. Contrary to popular belief, I have done comedy in the past, just not in a long time. Here’s proof!

As we achieve our goals, I’ll show you some of the results! Did you set any goals this year?

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 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 14 January 2020 at 3:11 pm  Leave a Comment  
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2019 in Review

Dear Constant Reader,

2019 was a year full of challenges. A hard, frustrating, often depressing year. A look back at my journal shows a lot of despair and desire to give up. I feel like we performed less frequently (not true — I performed as many times as in 2018 — but this year we had a number of shows that got canceled). I was not accepted into any festivals this year. On the other hand, I traveled a bit and performed in two new states.

January
I go to Los Angeles to perform at Burlesque Bingo: House of Knyle Edition and graduate from Egypt’s mentorship program. I regretfully turn down her offer to join her house. I get to spend time with Kitten Natividad and see friends. The only downside of the trip was that a class with Michelle L’amour was canceled. Everything else was wonderful.

February
We have a Valentine’s Day show at a new venue, Thunder Road in Somerville, where our newest apprentices help out. I get sick again, just in time to spend my birthday in bed with a bad cough. I also teach a workshop at a college for “Love Your Body Week”. It’s well received and a lot of fun.

March
We perform at the Mardi Gras Ball. I go to Costume-Con, which is local. Maybe someday I’ll even show you the costume and talk about its creation. I travel to Atlanta to perform in Coco Rosé’s anniversary show.

April
April marks 2 years that I’ve been on Patreon. Not much has changed there from when I started in terms of numbers of Patrons. I really need to figure out how to change that. We perform at a private club above a strip club with an interesting dressing room situation. Satan’s Angel dies. I still don’t have the words.

May
I teach a burlesque fitness class for a swanky hotel in Boston. We have a beach party show at Thunder Road and the apprentices, Electrix, Holly Go Harder, Kyra Lida, and Madeleine Minx, perform the solos they created with us. The venue likes the show so much they offer us a monthly slot. I also debut a new fan dance, which I love a lot. Despite performing it at 3 shows, there’s no video. It seems to always be the way…

June
I go to Topeka, Kansas to perform in a fundraiser for a historic theatre. This was probably my best traveling showgirl experience this year! The audience was great, the other performers were lovely, the producer was wonderful. And there was KC barbecue.

July
We have to leave The Thalia. Certain renovations have to be done and the city of Cambridge’s bureaucracy is making it nigh unto impossible to get the appropriate permits and licenses. We can’t use the space again until the work is done. We spend the next two months scrounging for rehearsal space. It’s very stressful.

August
Rust Belt Burlesque, a collection of photos from Cleveland burlesque shows is published and The Faerie Queene makes an appearance.

We’re still rehearsing in found space, but everyone is trying to make the best of it.
 

September
We have a new home! Welcome to The Arts Nexus, a space with multiple(!) studios. It needs a lot of work, but after a summer of traveling around, it’s wonderful. Also, we start our monthly show at Thunder Road on the second Saturday. We invite Electrix to join the troupe and she says yes!

September is also pretty terrible for me emotionally. I didn’t write about it at the time, because I was so badly wounded. Three former students (one of whom even taught for me) demand to have their presence removed from my school’s website. And a ex-troupe member tells me to kiss off when I reach out. Thanks, ladies, for reminding me just how inclusive and open-minded the Boston burlesque “community” is.

October
We do 3 shows in October, in Cambridge, Somerville, and Salem, with almost no overlap in numbers. It’s exhausting, but the shows are very good.

I win a contest for an incredible unique piece of art. The experience brightens my entire outlook after the soul-crushing events of September. I feel creative again. I host a spooky tea party. I record and edit a Halloween story (learning Audacity to do so). The day after Halloween I get to meet the artist herself in a graveyard in Salem.

November
I make my mostly annual pilgrimage to BurlyCon to teach and to learn. Scratch and I go to Miss Bonnie Dunn’s Le Scandal Cabaret for his birthday. I have a warm spot for this show as it’s where I made my NYC debut (although not in its current location).

December
A very disappointing month. We have no shows at all. Worse than not having any shows, we think we have three and for one reason after another, they don’t come to pass. Very frustrating. On the other hand, I don’t have to work New Year’s Eve.

A very mixed year. Mostly a low one, with a few bright spots. Here’s hoping 2020 is better!

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 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 January 2020 at 10:09 am  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! Don’t forget to vote in my poll! Here’s your tip:

Spread positivity.

Let’s face it, people love to complain and share bad news. With social media it’s even easier to spread the word. People praise less publicly and that should change.

For example, when someone goes to a burlesque show and has a good time, they *might* go up to their favorite performer after the show and tell them that they enjoyed the show. And that’s usually it. However, if they didn’t like the show, they’ll jump on their favorite platform and bitch about it*. And then other people will probably pile on and the trashing will continue. It’s so much more fun to knock down than build up! This can get rather toxic very quickly. Businesses and people have been ruined by this vicious behavior.

So, let’s reverse the trend. If you like something, say something. Write a review, leave a high rating, tell people. Don’t just keep it to yourself or tell that one friend. Be public about your pleasure. When someone else posts about something they liked, share it. The world is such a negative place, let’s not add more to it.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

* I’m not talking about well-thought out critique or a reasoned negative review — that’s a different topic. This is just about trash-talk.

Published in: on 10 January 2020 at 3:12 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Happy New Year!

Dear Constant Reader,

I hope 2020 is treating you well!

I’m often asked if there’s a place you can find all my Friday Tips and until now, the best way was to search on the tag “tips”, which wasn’t so helpful if you were looking for a specific tip. Now you can find all my Friday Tips right here in a helpful chronological list. Just click the tip and you’ll go to the original post.

I’d like to create some tutorials! Please pick your favorite on this little poll.


Next week I’ll announce the winner.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 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 January 2020 at 2:54 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! It’s the first tip of 2020!

If you want to keep it, back it up.

They say nothing ever goes away on the Internet, but that doesn’t mean you can always find what you want. Web sites vanish, periodicals cease publication, social media accounts are vulnerable to censorship. If you want to keep articles, photos, videos, &c., store it where you have some control over it.

Once your data is safely in your hands, get it backed up and regularly saved. Storage is really cheap these days! Whether you use a cloud-based service or a physical hard drive is up to you. I use both, depending on the situation, set up with automatic backups, so I don’t have to remember to take care of it. If something crashes, recovery will be so much easier!

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 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 3 January 2020 at 3:26 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve been having a lovely time, however you chose to celebrate this season. This is your last tip of 2019! Thank you so much for reading my humble missives this year.

Secure your bead fringe.

A lot of bead fringe is strung on a single long thread, so when you cut it to the right length, the beads fall off the end. And keep falling off…

I like to sacrifice one strand of fringe to get a piece of thread long enough to tie a knot. Tie a tight knot right up against the next bead and then dab some glue on the knot for extra security. Then I grab a needle and take a few stitches with the thread into the apron of the fringe and knot it again.

If you would like a tutorial on making your own beaded fringe (which is much more secure than commercial fringe), leave a comment here!

Your next tip will be next year! If I don’t write before then, have a wonderful New Year’s celebration!

M2Like this costuming tip? There are lots more in Miss Mina Murray’s Little Book of Burlesque Costuming.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 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 December 2019 at 3:09 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! Here’s your tip!

Put your hustle on hold for a day.

As performers and artists we are constantly hustling — to get gigs, clients, students, audience, &c. It seems like if we stop, we lose. Some times I feel like a shark: swim or die.

Take a day off every once in a while and just don’t think about work. One day won’t hurt your business and it will refresh you. And that’s what I’m doing today.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 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 20 December 2019 at 9:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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Getting the Word Out

Dear Constant Reader,

One of the less glamourous aspects of burlesque is promotion. I mean, it’s fun to come up with ads and promo images, but actually using them and reaching people is less than exciting.

Over the years tried all different ways of reaching people — putting up posters and handing out postcards, posting announcements on local calendars and groups, running ads in local newspapers and magazines, even radio spots, and of course, sending email to our mailing list.

These days social media rules over everything and yet makes it harder to reach anyone. Not only is there a murky algorithm controlling who gets to see what, but there are strange rules which change, it seems, from minute to minute, about what kind of picture you can use, how much text, which hashtags or else be shadow banned or outright banned. No one will see your post unless you boost it as an ad, but so often burlesque ads are just rejected out of hand. It’s exhausting and frustrating. Makes one wonder in a paranoid fashion if people don’t care about your event or if they just aren’t seeing your promo.

Everybody involved in the show has to pitch in a do some kind of promotion. It’s part of the show, just like rehearsing or costuming. Even I, the prima diva, have spent hours tramping around in the rain or the cold or the sun, asking stores and restaurants if they’ll hang up a poster.

Look at this cute ad Devastasia made for our upcoming show!

How do you, Constant Reader, promote your shows? What methods do you find most effective?

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 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 18 December 2019 at 11:20 am  Comments (1)  
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