Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday all! If you happen to be in the Fitchburg area tonight, you can see me at Nocturna!
Here’s your tip!
Avoid looking directly at the stage lights.
They can be very bright and can make you temporarily disoriented, which is not a great place to be on stage.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. I appreciate you all so much!
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! You almost didn’t get a tip this week because WordPress was being weird and wouldn’t let me log into my account. But, crisis averted.
Before we get to your tip, I want to remind you that Introduction to Burlesque and Burlesque Your Way: Halloween Edition start this Sunday!
And now, your tip!
Black fabric comes in different shades.
Sounds kind of crazy, right? But black dyes have different undertones, which may not be readily apparent under standard lighting. Under stage lights the differences can become obvious and make your carefully coordinated costume components look a little off. Check under good lighting that all the black pieces look cohesive.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. I appreciate you all so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page.
Dear Constant Reader,
It’s been a hell of a week. My intention today was to have a tip inspired by Dixie Evans, The Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque, because today would have been her 100th birthday. However, Dixie is going to have to share the limelight with two icons we lost: Dolly Parton and Tim Curry.
Commit to your character.
All three of them created or played big characters and embodied them fully. You can do it too! Throw yourself whole-heartedly into whatever you are performing.
An extra tip in honor of Dolly Parton: Be kind. Also, read a book.
An extra tip in honor of Tim Curry: Don’t tell a joke, be the joke. (for example, see Muppet Treasure Island)
Dear Constant Reader,
I wasn’t paying attention, but last week was my 750th tip! It probably should have been something more momentous than a tip about laundry, but c’est la vie. Here’s one of those tips I was sure I’d given you before, but apparently not.
If you’re going to do a stocking peel, you’re going to need to do a shoe remove first.
Unless you’re just going to roll your stockings down to your ankles and leave them there, the shoes have to come off.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. I appreciate you all so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! Before I get to your tip, I’m thrilled to announce that the autumn classes at BABE are open for registration!
As usual, we have Introduction to Burlesque every month. In September and October our advanced class will be Burlesque Your Way: Halloween Edition. I am super-excited for this version of our act creation course because I’m teaching it with Devastasia and to say we love Halloween is an understatement. I can’t wait to see what the students come up with! In November Devastasia is going to teach chair dance for the first time since we moved to this studio.
And for those of you who aren’t local (who just don’t like to go out), I’m teaching monthly on-line workshops. This coming Tuesday is on fan dance, next month is all about stockings, October will be seasonally appropriate with hot to make your own witch hat, and I’m still deciding on November’s topic. Suggestions?
And now, here’s your tip:
When in doubt, hand wash in cold water and air dry flat.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. I appreciate you all so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page.
Dear Constant Reader,
Here it is, Friday again. And we’ve got a heat advisory again. I hope you all are staying cool. Which leads me to your tip.
Bring a fan to shows.
Not that kind of fan that cheers for you. And not the big feather kind either. A folding fan.
It helps keep you cool backstage. It’s also useful for drying your liquid liner or eyelash glue. Helps with hot flashes as well! In the summer I always have a folding fan in my purse, which I will employ whenever I think it’s too hot. (Downtown Crossing station, I’m looking at you!)
You can also get small electric fans that fold up pretty small and charge with a USB. Those are nice for sharing the breeze with everyone else in the dressing room
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. I appreciate you all so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! On this last day of July, what are you looking forward to in August? Here’s you tip!
When practicing traveling turns, follow a line on the floor.
To move in a nice straight line across stage, give yourself a guide when practicing. If your floor doesn’t have convenient lines, lay out a piece of tape. If you start standing on the line and end on it, you’ve done it! If not, where you end up will let you know how you need to correct your course.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. I appreciate you all so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! Here’s your tip!
When sewing by machine, before you raise the foot and cut the thread, make sure your needle is in the highest position.
If the needle is in a lower position, the thread will probably be short and pop out of the needle when you raise it to start sewing again. It’s not a crisis, but it is annoying. Get into the habit of moving the needle all the way up before you cut the thread and you’ll be able to sew more efficiently, since you won’t be taking time to cuss and rethread the needle.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. I appreciate you all so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday!
Before we get to your tip, I want to remind you about my on-line classes. The third Tuesday of every month at 7pm Eastern I’m offering a talk on history or costuming or whatever strikes my fancy. I’m having a great time nerding out, researching, and creating theses classes and presentations for you. If you can’t make the class, you’ll still get the recording and resources.
Upcoming workshops are:
And now, here’s your tip!
If you’re bringing in any kind of tech for your act, test it at home and then test it again at the venue.
You want to make sure whatever you’re using (a black light, a fan, a projector, &c.) works before you use it in your performance. You should be confident that it works before you leave for the show, so that if it doesn’t when you try it out at the venue, you know the problem is not with the equipment and it’s a little easier to troubleshoot.
Hint: sometimes the issue is a dead outlet. This is where last week’s tip about the extension cord comes in handy.
If, for whatever reason, it really won’t work, you’ll know before you hit the stage and can make any changes to your act that are needed. It may be frustrating, but at least the audience won’t know that something went wrong.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 17 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page.
Dear Constant Reader,
I hope those of you who had a holiday weekend last week enjoyed it!
If you are using any kind of electronics, bring all the cords.
Whether it’s a projector for your class, a black light for your act, a video camera to record the show, or anything else that needs power, make sure you have the power cable or charging cord, any connecting cables (like HDMI), and an extension cord. Even if you have prearranged (of course you prearranged this) with the venue and they’ve sworn they have everything you need, you never know. Similarly, if you’re sure the battery will last the whole time you’re using the device, better to be safe and have a way to charge it.
Personally, I’ve found the extension cord to be incredibly useful. Sometimes outlets are just not in a useful location and a little extra reach makes all the difference.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page.
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 