One of those Glamourous Days

Dear Constant Reader,

This very weekend I was living the Glamourous Life. The Boston Babydolls are taking their show on the road again. We are putting on our Halloween revue, Out for Blood in Turner’s Falls, MA this weekend and Brattleboro, VT the following.

Everyone’s least favorite part of any show is promoting it, but it’s vital to get those proverbial butts in proverbial seats. And unfortunately, sometimes you’ve just got to pound the pavement. And always, the buck stops with the producer.

Scratch & I made plans to take the lovely show posters and scatter them liberally around the towns of Shelburne Falls, Turner’s Falls, and Brattleboro. And on a warm, but overcast autumnal Saturday, we headed west.

It started raining. And the further we went, the harder it rained. But promo waits for no weather. We slogged through the downpour, posters carefully wrapped in oh-so-attractive plastic grocery bags, asking at every open business if we could put a poster in the window. I have to say that the folks of Shelburne Falls are universally friendly and almost everyone agreed to let us put up a poster. And it was so hard not to browse the shops, partially because they were all nifty, but mostly because they were dry, but we were working.

It wasn’t all soggy drudgery. While there was no leaf peeping or sightseeing, there was a lovely respite at Lindsay’s Emerald Store and Confections for mini cream puffs and hot cocoa. As it’s the most wonderful time of the year, mine was a Frankenstein (mint cream & chocolate sauce) and Scratch had a Vampire’s Kiss (vanilla cream & strawberry jam). Also, they have *chocolate* whipped cream for the cocoa and a variety of flavored marshmallows from Sweet Lydia’s in Lowell. And if the weather is less icky, they’re a short walk from the glacial potholes (which I’ll have to see another day).

After Shelburne Falls, we went to Turner’s Falls to see the theatre. I’m pretty jealous. Not that I’m sorry I’m going to BurlyCon, but it’s a pretty awesome theatre and the ladies that are performing are going really enjoy that stage. And then on to Brattleboro, where besides putting up more posters, we crashed a lingerie shop’s anniversary party and snuck out when the fire department arrived.

And it’s nice to know the work pays off! While we were visiting the Shea Theatre, there was a call from someone who had just seen one of the posters and wanted to buy tickets.

I think I’ve finally dried out and managed to salvage my boots. It’s a glamourous life I lead!

M2

Published in: on 6 October 2014 at 12:28 pm  Leave a Comment  
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The Bod of Avon Opens

Dear Constant Reader,

Here’s your daily reminder to nominate The Boston Babydolls for Best Burlesque. You can vote once per day per email/IP address. Thank you.

Yesterday I told you how we set up the venue for a show. The audience is sitting on chairs or benches, or standing along the bar. There’s a narrow aisle between the seating area and the standing room so the performers can get from the dressing room at the back of the room to the stage and back again. Also, when the stage lights are off, it’s very dark.

Opening night, we’ve just concluded the opening number of Act II (a humorous foursome inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and I am gaily skipping back to the dressing room when — WHAM! something strikes me in the shins and I fall forward. Ginny, directly behind, nearly goes down on top of me.

Someone, desiring a better view, had moved their bench so the end of it was sticking way out into the aisle.

I have a charming bruise right below my right knee and another one slightly further down my shin. I collided so hard with the bench, it took several days for them to come to the surface. Since I am not that sort of girl, I will not regale you with pictures of my injuries. Instead, I will share some photos that were taken at our second preview at Oberon. Have fun figuring out which plays inspired the acts!

All photos by Hans Wendland.

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King Evie in action!

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Mina, Queen of the Fae

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Stella sings of how she hates men

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Betty and her pyramids

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Devora causing toil & trouble for Mina and Ginny

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Brigitte & Butch

M2

Published in: on 5 February 2013 at 9:55 am  Leave a Comment  
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Hair Today

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s true confession time. If reading about the ugly side of beauty is going to ruin things for you, I pray you set this missive aside and wait for the next one.

If I can’t be honest here, where can I be? It’s not like hundreds of people read this — it’s just you and me, O Constant Reader.

Many burlesque performers, myself included, like to present a porcelain-smooth appearance of all bare skin. The glamourous truth is that this can involve all sorts of hair removal: waxing, bleaching, shaving, threading, tweezing, sugaring, chemical depilatories, and possibly some secret methods to which I’m not privy. I’m fortunate that most of my hair is fine and fair and my grooming regimen requires only a little effort.

Here’s the true confessions part: like many women, I have some stray hairs on my areolae. You don’t notice, because they’re covered by my pasties. And for Naked Girls Reading, some quick snipping with my embroidery scissors takes care of the issue. But it bothers me.

When I saw a daily deal offer for laser hair removal, I started contemplating. I know a number of people who have raved about it. It’s easy, effective, and doesn’t even hurt that much, they said. Sounded great! Then I learned that my fair hair, usually a blessing, made me ineligible for the procedure. Instead, I took a deep breath and bought a coupon for electrology.

Sounds scary. And it was, a little. They stick a needle into the hair follicle and kill the root with a little electricity. The needle is actually painless. It’s the zap of electricity that feels like you’ve been jabbed with a straight pin. Over and over again. In a delicate area. I had a half-hour session booked, but I was grateful when the technician told me we were done after 15 minutes.

I was buzzing when I left the office. I have to assume the post-tattooing endorphin rush is similar. Honestly, I’d rather get that feeling from being up on a trapeze than getting many tiny electric shocks.

I have a follow up in a month and then we’ll see how much more zapping I need. What lengths I’ll go to for glamour!

Tenderly yours,
M2

Published in: on 11 December 2012 at 1:05 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Owie

Dear Constant Reader,

One of the glamourous things about being a burlesque dancer is getting to wear pasties — those tiny ornaments of rhinestones and tassels, magically clinging to our breasts like dazzling limpets.

When asked how we keep out pasties on, Scratch usually answers “Staple gun.” The reality is double-sided tape. Every Babydoll has her own favorite brand, but we all use tape. It’s the fastest method for changing, since you can have your pasties all prepared in advance and you just peel & stick and don’t have to wait for an adhesive, like spirit gum, to dry.

We all change our pasties at least once in The Wrathskellar. Stella & I wear 4 different pairs each over the course of the show. The tape can be a little irritating, especially as the weather gets drier. And it’s worse for those who have sensitive skin in the first place. I moisturize like crazy during the run of a show. And move the position of the tape around, so it’s not alway sticking in exactly the same place. But peeling off the tape can take a little skin with it.

So, after several days of show, I can end up with abrasions on my breasts.

I call them “boob-boos”.

Published in: on 15 October 2012 at 10:30 am  Leave a Comment  
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