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All responses Most smiled responses
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Sadly, these things are rarely clear cut. There's no way to answer this question without offending someone. If people respond with comments, they will probably be of more use to you than my answer. Also, I don't have any idea what you mean by a niche market theme. It depends on how unique your show is. I can honestly say that if I know someone did a show based on The Canterbury Tales, I then would not do a show based on The Canterbury Tales, so that should say how i feel about it whens someone does something because they saw you do it, and I've been on both ends of that. But if they did one based on rockabilly or horror movies or fetish, I probably wouldn't think of that as being unique, all else being the same. I was just talking to someone the other day about people who think that because they thought of using a particular piece of music, they think no one else should, even though the creativity originates with the composer of the music, not the person who dances to it. That said, people do become identified with particular songs; I'm happy that so far I haven't seen anyone besides me do a number to International Lover (which doesn't mean no one has or will, just that I don't know). If someone saw me use it and then used it, I wouldn't like them so very much, though whether or not they were unethical is up for debate. But when people come from fields where there is repertory, like ballet or theater, where people do use the same music and same themes, they might not see a problem. So there is no black and white answer. Niche market things can be tough because if a show is based on, say, a particular fairy tale, the origin of the creativity there is from the author of the fairy tale, not the producer. Perhaps if it's something like Alice in Wonderland or the Wizard of Oz, that's less unique than if it's Little Lord Fauntleroy or White Fang. But I wouldn't want to be known for putting a similar show to something already existing; I like to try to make odd things interesting bases for shows, like cheese. I've been doing the Follies Fromage at Coney Island since 2005, and so far I don't think anyone else has been very interested in doing another cheese-based burlesque show. It's too cheesy.
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asked by TheLolitaHaze
Your question is cut off after "smalltown shows are som..."
The annoying answer to this is, it depends.
The majority of smaller shows that take place in bars aren't going be remotely interested in contracts.
If you don't want to be filmed or have your picture taken, or have specific requests about such, you should by no means be expected to violate your limits.
It can be a challenge to work with a show that has been operating as it is for several years and bring a contract that asks them to change their standards for one performer--although there is certainly nothing wrong with making suggestions or voicing opinions, or with sticking by what you need to have or do in order to feel that you are being treated correctly (which often means not taking the gig).
I believe it's important for performers to tell shows when they feel their policies are unfair or exploitative. However, it gets tough when other performers in the show are satisfied and don't feel exploited and you are the only one with an objection.
What is unfair in every way is to talk smack about a show without telling the producers how you feel, and to get paranoid about imaginary gatekeepers who produce the shows. They are usually just overworked and not thinking when they're being rude or unfair. Most show producers want to hear from you, even if they may not enjoy it and may seem resistant at the time. If they don't want to hear from you, you don't want work with them anyway!
Follow the link below for some interesting points about negotiation:
http://www.womensmedia.com/lead/188-listening-to-women-new-perspectives-on-negotiation.html -
This is a tough one. Issues with stage names have been coming up almost weekly lately. I tell my students that commonality--a name that is the same as or too similar to existing names--is a real detriment to their career potential. I think it's fair to let them know!
Here's a document I'm working on to help students avoid difficulties with their names. It's open to comments and suggestions! I welcome critique of this, descriptions of names you like, and madeup examples of names you don't like, as long as you say why ("It's self-explanatory" really isn't.)
THE NAME GAME
It can be very confusing to come up with a stage name. New performers want their names to sound burlesquey, but they risk coming up with a name that will make them blend in with the crowd. If they try to hard to avoid blending in with the crowd, they run the risk of having too difficult of a name. However, chances are good that if they come up with a name that feels more personal, they'll avoid most of the pitfalls.
The following is not a critique of existing names! If your name breaks the rules below, we don't care. This is a guide for folks who are coming up with new stage names to avoid potential issues among those who already have stage names.
Our goal is not to make you conform but to help you avoid conforming, and not to make you less offensive but to help you get as many gigs as possible.
None of this applies to names you had before you got to burlesque. If you were born Kitten Lola Martini Von L'Amour, so be it.
Problem: Commonality.
Definition: Having a name that is too common or is likely to get you confused with someone else.
Examples: Kitty, Cherry, Lulu, and similar. Lamour, Martini, Deville, and similar.
Reasons to avoid: If someone googles looking for you, someone who has had a similar name longer will come up first and will get your gigs. Also, you'll get lost in the crowd.
Problem: Punnage.
Definition: Having a name that is a pun.
Example: Miss Behave.
Reasons to avoid: It is probably already in use, and if it isn't, it's probably too obscure.
Problem: Difficulty.
Definition: Having a name that is hard to spell, pronounce, or hear correctly.
Examples: Kayrain Kadylllackk, Saoirse (unless you're actually Irish), etc.
Reasons to avoid: You will be repeatedly annoyed when your name is spelled wrong on promo, mispronounced by MCs, and misheard by audience members. Because you are constantly annoyed by the results of something that is your own doing, fewer people will like you.
http://www.schoolofburlesque.com/yourburlesquename.htm -
Take your time, and don't worry about working your way up to the very highest heel. Dita Von Teese has her Louboutins, strip joint strippers their lucite Pleasers, but for most of us in burlesque, anything over four inches is a bit much. True, I have my eight-inch lucite tip jar shoes, but I wear them only when I'm hosting, and not when I'm dancing.
You can start in character shoes. Take a look at some here:
http://www.dancewearsolutions.com/
Then try these sparklers once you get comfortable in character shoes, available from New York School of Burlesque friend PinupGirl Clothing:
http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/turquoise-pink-rhinestone-shoes.html
Many New York burlesquers are addicted to Pollys, available in various versions from Pinup Girl, Betsey Johnson, Patricia Field, Bordello Shoes, and on Ebay. I love them so much I wrote an article about them:
http://burlesquedaily.blogspot.com/search/label/pollys
Personally, I can be in a terrible mood, but the minute I step into a pair of heels I feel not only taller, but lighter. Dolly Parton says, "The higher the hair, the closer to God." And a pair of heels raises not only your mood and your behind, but your hair as well!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joweldon/3082110325/ -
There are lots of tips in my book for coming up with a stage name. One of them is that if you're planning to perform, you want to make sure that your name is not to similar to a name in use by an exisitng performer so that people don't get you confused. Doing research of this kind is very important.
In class, I usually tell people to start out by just playing with names and having fun with the process before they settle on anything. I always love to have my students pay a name game in which they use the name of a flower and the name of a cheese. It loosens them up and gets them thinking about the rhythm of an appealing name. I even posted a burlesque name generator several years ago to get them going.
http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/10818/
But you can choose any kind of name that feels right to you.
<iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpwwwscho06-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=034542266X&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr"; style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe> -
I highly suggest you check out these DVDs: A Wink and a Smile, The Velvet Hammer Burlesque, Dirty Martini and the New Burlesque, Burlesque Undressed, Pretty Things, and Behind the BurlyQ. Do a web search to find them, since they're not all available in the same formats. There are lots more, so if anyone wants to recommend one, feel free!
There are lots more recommended in my book, as well, so be sure to check the resources for that.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/31o0RHQ7cvs"; frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31o0RHQ7cvs -
I just say yes to camel toe, but if you're not willing to let it all hang out, there is a product specifically for you.
http://www.cuchini.com/ -
I thought this article was intensely stupid and underinformed
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1340939/Burlesque-Penny-Wark-visits-artistic-clubs-sleaze-tease.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
And that final sentence is contrived and melodramatic. I've never seen any such moment backstage at a burlesque show, it's moronic.
It is empowering to be able to create performances for which you, the performer, create the character, design the costumes, choose the music, and invent the choreography. You don't have to be predigested and approved by a magazine editor or television agency to be allowed to do this. The low threshold of entry may mean that some bad art gets through, but that's the case with most art anyway.
The comments below the article that are so judgmental actually demonstrate the need for a place where performers who don't fit disgestible mainstream standards can go. The comments are so cruel and inane that it's clear the people in them are not speaking from a place of joy, as many performers and audience members who describe burlesque as empowering are. -
Formally trained dancers may have a tendency to think more about their choreography than their audience. In many rigidly choreographed dance routines, the dancer's focus is to the choreographer or to the other dancers; in burlesque, it is usually outward, to the audience. And often a trained dancer new to burlesque will merely dance, stop, and take off a piece of clothing instead of making the clothing removal playful, enticing, and innovative. It's not just what's revealed but the tease and play that leads up to the reveal that makes the costume removal worth watching.
A burlesque routine offers a unique opportunity to perform a striptease and/or combine glamour, mischief, and an arc. If the number doesn't take advantage of this, burlesque audiences might get restless and start texting during your number. -
This isn't a burlesque question. It's a general ethics question.
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The NY School of Burlesque has student showcases in which new students and alumni perform, and often show producers come to find new talent. There are also shows specifically interested in new performers that make announcements of opportunities on their social media, so having a burlesque FB page is a good way to network. However, it's also a good idea to go to shows, find ones that you like, support them, and offer to be a stage kitten, intern, or assistant, each with their own systems. You will not necessarily get to perform with that show, but you will learn a lot very quickly, and you will meet other performers and be able to associate with people who can suggest other opportunties. Plus, it's fun!
There is more information on some of the ettiquette of getting into shows in my book, The Burlesque Handbook, but it's important to understand that policies vary from show to show. -
I make mine! But I love stripper stores, online and elsewhere. You can buy ANY g-string and decorate with wih rhinestones or fringe, or even add hooks on the sides to make it breakaway. Just remember that if you add fringe and the fringe doesn't stretch, you need to make sure you can get the garment on and off over your hips before you do your final stitching!
Here's a great base for a decorated g-string:
http://www.mydivascloset.com/satlycybacgs.html -
There isn't any venue devoted to burlesque while the Slipper Room is on hiatus, so you have to look for shows. The best source is Ed Barnas' Calendar:
http://www.edbarnas.com/Burlesque/calendar/index.htm
Don't miss the Coney Island shows! Mine is tomorrow night:
http://www.coneyislandusa.com
And I'll be performing at the Oak Room this Sunday, at Galapagos on Monday, and at White Slab with the Slipper Room Crew on Wednesday. See the calendar for details.
I perform most frequently at Duane Park with Brian Newman:
http://www.duaneparknyc.com -
People have been using these fans more and more in burlesque and in other forms of dance. As I say in the video, think about fans as items you use to reveal, conceal, and frame yourself, as well as to create a glamourous and sensual spectacle onstage. Orchid Mei does a fantastic job with them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikUe_s5vm9U
It's possible to do a very poor job with these, as they are a little tricky. Rehearse, videotape yourself rehearsing, and if you have someone whose critique is valuable to you, employ them to watch and help you find exciting and elegant things to do with them besides just move them around. You can do some really clever reveals and gorgeous moves if you take the time to discover your own style with them! -
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Just focus on your own business. If she does anything actually shady or cutthroat, call her on it publicly; but otherwise, her jealousy and competitiveness is really her cross to bear. And if it's REALLY taking the fun out of burlesque for you, if burlesque is only fun for you if it's free of any problems of business and social interaction, you might reconsider what you expect from burlesque.
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It depends. Generally I could do without it, since I want to focus on the performer and not the MC; but some MCs make it brilliant and energizing and funny; and some audiences really respond to it. So in theory I don't like it, but in action I've seen it both succeed and fail.
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That hat, made of painted styrofoam, is available online at various places, and my roommate Julie Muz decorated it with feathers and glitter. It's on a headband. Here's a similar one on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Top-Hat-with-Veil/dp/B001CVDXPA/ref=pd_sbs_a_2
And for those who haven't seen the hat this formspringer is asking about, here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV3ZgnFFKjY -
Check out Brooklyn Ed's calendar http://www.edbarnas.com/Burlesque/calendar/index.htm
I can't recommend Bambi the Mermaid's Coney Island show highly enough!!
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Jo Weldon’s Bio
Jo Weldon is the Headmistress and Founder of the New York School of Burlesque and the CoExecutive Director of Education at the Burlesque Hall of Fame. She has written "The Burlesque Handbook," due to be released by HarperCollins/ItBooks in June 2010.
