Thursday, July 29, 2010

The Toronto Burlesque Festival Recap! - Thursday!

My first official festival performance!

Gah.

Thank goodness I was in the beginning of the festivities! If I had been later on I think the offstage jitters would have needed a little more liquid courage to get up there.

I performed a new computer-y act to open the Rising Stars Showcase on the Thursday of the festival, preceding amazing performers of the night like Mahogany Storm of Boylesque TO, Trixie Jones, Strip Search 2010 winner and fellow Get Luckys troupe member, and Freya Luna (who I later ended up saving! Sauntered right up like knight in silver pasties, I did.) all the way from Tennessee!

Freya Luna

Keith Cole was an amazing host for the night, and I spent most of my time running between the Showcase and the main bar to catch all the performances (and give minor molestations to the Boylesque boys like some version of ab'd up boy Bingo).

You can find a video of my act here*:




The night ended with a surprise house guest in The form of Freya Luna, who let me tell you, is probably one of the best house guests EVER. I approve of importing such fine ass talent from other places, especially when we can bitch about discuss animatedly subjects such as freelance writing and the wonders of dealing with clients.

Before I go, a few pictures of my costume from the night!


Photo by Mopo


Photo by www.gbphotoblog.com


Photo by Ken Lam at Get Your Makeup Did


- Red Herring

* Yes those are Mac apple pasties. Think Steve Jobs would give me some sponsorship?

Monday, July 26, 2010

The Toronto Burlesque Festival Recap! - Wednesday!

7Wednesday was the kickoff of the festival, and it began with a trip to the Gladstone Hotel to see the North American premiere of the documentary Dirty Martini and the New Burlesque.

Same movie, different event!

To be honest, I wasn't originally going to attend. I, like many a burlesquer, am often ass broke. The advance tickets had a good deal however, so I dropped the cash a few days before and trotted down to register for the festival, pick up my goodie bag, and hang out with the delightful Stacey of theOriginalFace.ca and whoever else we happened to meet.

I love being secure in the knowledge that even if you're not going to the event with anyone, you're certain to meet someone you already know.

It's like Cheers, but if Kristie Alley took off her top. The Toronto burlesque scene: where everyone knows your stage name.

The movie gave me a real look into the 'scene' outside of Toronto. It was inspiring and educational, and not for one minute boring.
Julie Atlas Muz

The post-premier performances were my first taste of live international burlesque. It was delicious. Julie Atlas Muz and Peekaboo Pointe are my two new favourite performers. The 'lip synching' of Miss Julie will be remembered always.

Peekaboo Pointe

After the premier and performances I had the wonderful luck to accompany a bevy of amazing dancers out to a delicious round of poutines! The ever-wonderful Miss Exotic World 2010: Roxi Dlite and her charming spouse-creature Darcy sat at the table with Stacey of theOriginalFace.ca and the one and only Dirty Martini!


Behold chocolate-rum milkshake!

Thus ended an amazing opening to the festival!

Till next time~

~Red 

* Photo credit belong to their original takers

Friday, July 9, 2010

Behind the Scenes with Lady Luck Productions



This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to be a part of a giant filming event with Lady Luck Productions for their new swing-themed show.

The Get Luckies (St. Stella, Trixie Jones, and myself) got there around 10am to start filming. Costume changes, flowers, feathers, and a bit of tease for the camera later, and we had a wonderful day!



Pictured here are two of Lady Luck's dancers, Teresa (red dress) the amazing vocalist, and St Stella (right) the bendy blonde beauty. The Get Luckies managed to pull together four matching outfits for the event, and the black flapper dress you see on the bombshell on the right was one of the best sets we had...completely by accident!



There was a variety of amazing talent present all day long. Natalie Fullerton, of Les Coquettes, came by to show off her amazing skills on the silks. Aside from her awe-inspiring talent (afraid of heights, me? No, just the landing. Splat.) I loved the turquoise silks. I seem to have only seen red in the scene so far. I can't wait to see this part of the video.




Some of the amazingly talented backup dancers in one of the many adorable costumes. These girls do not know the meaning of tired. They kept up with the twirling and lifts and run-throughs all day, no matter the heat.


Here you can see us in our seriously adorable sailor costumes. This was our second-last costume switch, and poor Trixi had to run off to work before we finished off the day and headed into the rewarding 'after party' quest. Bonus: Drinks!



A nice group shot of the majority of the girls from the day. Our male brethren had disappeared somewhere behind the camera. The two ladies in the middle (Teresa and Patrizia) are the wonderful minds, legs, and voices behind Lady Luck, with a bevvy of us dancers and burlesques framing the shot.

I definitely can't wait to see the video! I'll make sure to post it here (and everywhere else) as soon as it goes up!

~Red Herring

Thursday, July 1, 2010

The Kitten Edition

Like many a burlesque dancer out there, I have fur-babies. Kittens. Kittletts. Often called Boogers. They eat my boas and push sequins off the table, but they are little drag queens in fur coats, and my cuddly buggers, and this post is going to show you them.


Photo by Ken Lam from our Get Your Makeup Did event

Blaise, on the left, is a bit of an evil bastard. He was adopted in August 2005, and he's almost six. I can't say enough good things about the Brampton Animal Shelter where I got him. Pym is the terrified little tabby 'n white on the right. He's generally shy as hell until night time rolls around...when he becomes a squeaking monster demanding pets.

Blaise came fully kitted out with a free vet check, pet insurance, shots and his bits snipped. Interesting extras included a full set (20) of pointy knives on each toe, and obscenely large teeth.


Witness the toothy fiend! Yes, that's my toe on the right. He chompers actually stick out under his cheeks, like a modern sabretooth. He has a great many habits, for example: in the fall/winter one of the most likely places to find him is behind my laptop, kicking the back and clawing at my fingers as I type. The motor's warm, I suppose. I've gotten used to the possibly-unsettling reality of this face:



Mostly, our relationship is like:



Blaise and i tend to get along on a 'fuck that noise' level. We both have the same tolerance levels, but since he's a cat he tends to forgo diplomacy and is able to be a ratbastard whenever he likes. I love him for it. He has his cuddly moments, as I do, and he's pretty insistent about being given attention Right Now, whenever that 'now' may be. Must be nice to be a cat.

Pym, on the other hand, is a sweetheart and hella skittish. He was adopted 'by accident' from a pet store that was not supposed to sell kittens. Unbeknownst to me, they had foster kittens in the store one cold November, 2005. I walked in to get Blaise some treats and this little 5 month furball meow'd at me...but no sound came out. The sales lady told me he'd been found nearly frozen, half dead under a wheelbarrow.*

I took him home.



He still has a broken meow. It comes out as a squeak, or a trill, or a really weird sound. I've hypothesized his possible alien origins. He's a little over five years now, and he's calmed down quite a bit from his initial shyness. Night time is always the time he creeps out and pretends he wants you to pet him. By the time you get into bed he will force you to pet him.




And after force-pets, he will burrow if given the slightest chance.


Action shot!

He's had a few (costly) issues with his bladder/kindeys lately, and the trips to the vet haven't made him too pleased with me. I had to rush him there for an overnight stay on the eve of Toronto's Strip Search 2010. A hefty bill later, and he's fine. I watch him like a hawk now, and he's fine if caught early.

Besides, look at this face. Could you resist?

This is often why I'm
late for work


Many pets are little performers in their own rights. I'm pulling together a post for the future, detailing the lives of performers and their pets. If you'd like to be included, please email me a picture of you and your pet at sspernicious (at) gmail .com with your stage name and your pets' name. Any critter will do!

Go hug your fluffers!

~Red


*I'm positive they use this backstory for all their foster kittens. It works.
Related Posts with Thumbnails