"A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to." - Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring
The theme of this post is timing. I'm not talking about musicality although
that is definitely important, but like my decision to make this post, the
timing of events sometimes just happens to be just what my audience and I needed
all along.
I like to
use the word "serendipity" to describe the moment when inspiration
strikes.
The word has a positive
connotation that does not always fit the events surrounding my performances.
However, art has a way of coming out of the
greatest catastrophes and injustices.
Sometimes inspiration comes from the worst news, as evident with
Tony Fo-Hawk's protest act.
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"Know Your Enemy"
Mustache Envy: Politics
Photo by Brandy Lynne Photography |
Once
again, the act provided cathartic release when I was cast in the
Mustache Envy:
Politics show.
Even though it had been
nearly a year since the election of 45, we (the queerlesque community) had many
reasons to give him the middle finger.
The show was around a particularly busy time, as I was helping train new
people in lab and there was an anime convention I was going to participate
in.
Sometimes my rehearsal was simply
listening to "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day on repeat.
That was when certain lyrics started to pop
out: "silence is the enemy", "overthrow the effigy",
"we fight against the honor to obey".
You see, this was when the debate to remove Confederate monuments had
peaked.
The tragedy in Charlottesville
happened, and I was angry at 45's response.
After talking to the producer, I changed up my act to directly respond
to what had happened.
It felt so good to
make my statement, and I'm sure my castmates would agree.
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"Naked Snake"
TXQF 2017
Photo by The Naked Lens |
Another
instance where the news impacted my performance was during the
Texas Queerlesque Festival.
My Naked Snake act
had been accepted, and in the week leading up to the festival, 45 announced
that he was going to ban transgender individuals from serving in the
military.
Immediately I thought of
Mad Max Morrison, whom I met at TXQF 2016
He
actually spoke out against this proposed ban, and I was inspired to use my
routine, which had me genderbending a fictional soldier, to show my
support.
I told Milo Cox that I wanted
to add a dedication to my intro for the trans people in service.
All of this gave me extra fire so even when
my performance didn't go as planned (due to costume malfunctions and a finger
injury that right before the festival), I'm happy I got to do it.
In those
two cases, I had existing acts that fit the occasion or mission.
There have been other times where inspiration
and opportunity meet at the right moment.
That's what happened with my new Mantis act.
I plan on making a separate post about the
inspiration behind it, but let's just say I started thinking about doing a
nerdlesque number to address my disappointment in her portrayal in
Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Just as the idea was going to rest in a place
in the back of my mind, Glitterbomb announced a Guardians-inspired show and
that was my chance.
Timing is as much as
seizing the moment as it is about serendipity.
Speaking of which, one of my friends and fellow performer, Elle Ay'Elle, did that with a compatriot when an important queer space, Mable Peabody's, closed. They're opening up a
queer cafe/bar/performance space and are putting on a benefit show to help raise money for start-up costs. Tony Fo-Hawk will be performing. It's tomorrow night at the Sue Ellen's Vixen Lounge:
