siren song burlesque: london britches falling down

I had met Kat Mandu at the book release party that I performed at and she was such a sweet lady.  I had originally seen her perform at that now infamous Jim Thorpe Burlesque festival that set me on my path to where I am now in the burlesque world.  I didn’t get to talk to her in Jim Thorpe, so the book release was my time to bond and get advice.  That was why I was so sad to find out that Kat is soon leaving to go to grad school in London for a year.

In order to send her off in style, Siren Song Burlesque, a show she co-produces with Boo Bess the Baroness, had an England themed show a little while ago, London Britches falling Down held at the Delancey. I asked if I could get in on the action and was invited to come kitten.

I quickly worked to create my very own Union Jack bustier which you can see in the picture.  I wasn’t the only one sporting one though, Sticky Ricky, who did his burlesque debut that night had a very charming union jack speedo like bottom he stripped down to and Boo Bess had an ever so glittery bra and panties set which she got down to and wore for the rest of the night to host in.

Other performers included B.B. Heart was blew me away with an act where she sang and went from sweet blonde to chaotically and dramatically ripping off clothes in between verses.  Misty Lux (the only official Brit in the house) did her glass walking act which always impresses me.  Sizzle Dizzle did her NY act, as Kat had requested, which I also saw at the Jim Thorpe burlesque festival.  And the lady who inspired the nights show did a wonderfully hilarious tribute to brit comedy by envoking Mrs. Slocombe  from Are You Being Served?

It was a smashing good time, and what even made it better was that including myself, there were 3 vegans in the show! I spoke with Misty Lux and B.B. after the show and they were totally excited about the idea of a vegan burlesque brunch with all the NY veg burly-q people!

high before homeroom & burlesque in a thrift store

My previous post featured a poster for a book release party I was performing at, which occurred this past Friday.  Now anybody out there who has ever done any kind of performance has probably heard their teacher(s) warn you about ‘that show where something is going to go wrong’ and that you should always learn to be prepared for it.  Well, this book signing performance  was my first show where I really had things go wrong on a massive scale.  And by massive, here is the list of things that went wrong:

Smiling through the tough times with Kat Mandu

• forgot my wallet
• forgot eye lash glue
• bottle of ‘dayquil’ spilled all over my suitcase and performance costumes
• forgot fabric tape to adhere pasties
• forgot pasties for my second act (remedied with electrical tape X’s)
• forgot my wolf snout – a crucial part of my first costume
• Name was mispronounced  during my introduction
• music was mixed up and had to be switched
• stage was too short to center a chair on the stage so I had to do my 1st act sort of sideways
• couldn’t get my second glove on in time
• ears fell off at the end of my 1st act
• foot slipped out of my heel during the second act and I had to wobble through to the end
• couldn’t get my sequin skirt untied (had to slide it off)

Luckily I had the ever so wonderful Kat Mandu as the other performer who helped cheer me on and let me borrow her eyelash glue to adhere both my lashes and pasties for my first act.  I was also lucky to have my partner who ran out and bought me some tape so I wouldn’t have to improvise a reveal in my second act.

The whole show experience was strange purely for the fact that it wasn’t a typical burlesque crowd.  They didn’t know when to hoot n’ holler, which was actually an interesting experience because it made me realize spots in my act that need improvement.  The place also had a place for Kat and I to change, which was a dressing room for the vintage store.  This meant it was really small. Small for the average person – not two performers and their suitcases! We made it work though, and I had a great time despite all the mishaps.