Upcoming Shows: Mustache Envy and Masala Nights

Oh man, I did not mean to stop updating here completely, but after my last post, it's been one huge stressful event after another. There were good things in between, like those shows, so I'll maybe do a life catch up. However, I wanted to announce my weekend of events.

Tonight, I'm guesting in Mustache Envy's anime-themed show at Sue Ellen's. It starts at 9 PM CDT, and I believe there's a $5 cover.

 Saturday evening, I'll be streaming on https://www.twitch.tv/HanaLiOnTwitch . Keep an eye out for going live announcements on my socials.

Finally on Sunday, it's Tony Fo-Hawk's turn to hit the Sue Ellen's. He's a part of Masala Nights' Les-Be-Asians events. It starts at 6 PM with food and DJ, and the performances kick off at 8 PM. There's no cover.

 

The Timing of Things

"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.

"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.

"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:

Our Pineapple Princess Gone Too Soon

As you might have noticed, I got into a funk with my writing.  A couple weeks ago, I was ready to return with a post, ironically, about timing, and then I got the news.  2017 was already filled with tragedy for both me personally and the queerlesque community, and it had to deliver one last blow on the final day.  The beautiful, sparkling Pineapple of Burlesque, Jette Blaque, had died that morning.

Jette was a frequent performer on the Dallas and Denton queerlesque stages.  Her mentor was my teacher for when I got started at the Academy of Queerlesque, and we first crossed paths at during my second solo performance.  We'd see more of each other as the Sue Ellen's stage became a home for us, and I became familiar her shining presence.  She was full of laughter and joy backstage, and on-stage she could deliver so much attitude.

Panty Raid: Bare Necessities - our 2nd show together
Photo by Kevin Huckabee

We also had the pleasure of working for each other.  I loved having Jette for Tuesday Tease—she was a consummate professional yet a total goofball.  During one of the POC Teases, she became instant friends with the queens I had booked, as they went ga-ga over handsome men and quoted Empire.  It was a riot!  She had also booked me for her POC show at Glitterbomb, and I was so honored to be a part of that experience. 

The last time I saw her was when we were performing for our friend Mina Panamour's surprise birthday party.  Jette was not only going to do a cake sit, but she also planned to stick googly eyes on her butt and twerk during intermission.  Since I was going from Hana to Tony, I had to miss that, but the cake sit was epic!

Dirty 30: Mina's birthday show
Contagious Fantasies Photography

In addition to being a lot of fun, Jette was so kind and generous.  She had organized a surprise Christmas gift basket for the Glitterbomb producers and our dear friends, Lillith Grey and Milo Cox.  It was a great idea, and all of us queerlesquers worked hard to find the perfect items to contribute.  Since I had a Shutterfly account, I made a calendar, and Jette's excitement upon receiving it seemed as though she were the intended recipient.  She and I had also made plans for her to come to my place to give me and The Companion haircuts for a great price.  Previously she had talked about trying to provide cuts for queer clientele who may have faced discrimination or not gotten the cut they had wanted.  Having dealt with microaggressions relating to my hair, I thought the idea was wonderful.

Pineapples were her favorite thing.
Artwork by Jo Moulton

Jette didn't let her health slow her down, and even though she had her struggles, she always had a smile when I saw her.  I didn't know her as well as some other performers, but she still invited me to her and Nate Jones' wedding, which was so sweet and beautiful, and I was planning to get to know her better when she made her house call.  She has taught me to not let misfortunes bring me down, to take more selfies, and to be more like the regal pineapple she was.  Jette Blaque, we miss you so much, but your sparkle will remain with us forever.

(The title of this post was partly inspired by a poem by her maternal grandmother Daisy Kincheloe, "Gone Too Soon".)

Fo-Hawk Rising: From Beach Bum to Headliner

"I've always had a mental wish list of tricks, such as the 900, varial 720, kickflip 540, ollie 540, and slowly over the years I checked them off one by one until the 9 was the only one left.  Everything else now is purely for fun." - Tony Hawk, Hawk: Occupation: Skateboarder

I'm finally getting back to my recap of various shows and experiences.  Tony Fo-Hawk is on break to enjoy some snowboarding so this is a good time to discuss the hell of a summer he had (fall was good as well, but I'll cover that later).  I had already talked about the creation of his Airship Pirate number.  Before that, he was working on another new act for the Wet 'n' Wild Tuesday Tease.

Photo by KWN Design

The arrival of summer meant surfing for Tony.  I had planned a surfer act of my own, but this seemed more like his thing (although I reserve the right to return to the idea).  The Companion's favorite song is "Surf Wax America" by Weezer so I really wanted to use it.  However, the song is actually sarcastic, which made me take pause.  Could Tony lip synch these words when they're supposed to mock? The tune was catchy though; I couldn't get it out of my head.  Thankfully there was a solution: Jack Johnson.

Before he became known as a musician, Jack Johnson was a pro surfer—the youngest to make finals at Pipeline Masters.  His songs are a bit too mellow to do an act to on their own, but I found a song he wrote about the waves and mashed it up with "Surf Wax America".

My breasts are too sensitive and large for me to be comfortable with duct tape binding.  Therefore, I knew the illusion was going to be compromised because who surfs with their shirt on?  I thought about buying a wetsuit, but they weren't in my budget and my binder would still show through.  I decided that the audience could suspend their disbelief, especially if I went even sillier with the "nudity" down below.

See what I mean?
Photo by KWN Design

"Going Surfing" provided a much needed lightness since I had been working on two ambitious numbers for the SteamTease.  In August, Tony and I teamed up to do our "Jesus of Suburbia" act for a Broadway-themed Tuesday Tease.  I'll never get tired performing because it's so cathartic.  That same week, Tony continued with the musical-inspired acts and did Hamilton for Mustache Envy.

Not throwing away his shot
Photo by Cher Musico

Since seeing them at my bust-out, I've admired Mustache Envy.  I've performed in their Panty Raid shows a couple of times, but I didn't think Tony would be in a Mustache show.  Nevertheless, I submitted his two most ambitious—and uncharacteristic—acts: the Airship Pirate and Hamilton.  I was so honored to find that not only was Tony hired on to do Hamilton, but was named a headliner alongside the amazing Patrick Mikyles!

Because it was my most PG of acts, I took the opportunity to invite my co-workers along to experience a drag show.  Some of them may have been in for a culture shock, but I think—I hope—they had a good time.  I sure did.  It's always great to see fans of the musical rap along.  There were these two girls who knew every lyric, and they approached me with excitement afterwards, telling me that they were blasting the soundtrack earlier in the day. 

One of the reasons I love doing nerdlesque so much is because I can reach those people who may have obscure interests.  Tony isn't really a nerd (unless you count his action sports obsession), but I'm glad he can reach out to people too.  I’ll cover some of his more recent shows, but I’m really proud of how far he has come in less than a year.

As I said, he's currently on a break, but you can catch me in a brand-new nerdy act tomorrow at Tuesday Tease!

Upcoming shows: Tuesday Tease and Mustache Envy

Tony Fo-Hawk has a busy week ahead.  You have two chances to see him at Sue Ellen's: first at a musical-theme Tuesday Tease and then at Mustache Envy's drag show on Friday.  Although he'll never admit to being overwhelmed, I might just have to give the guy a hand on Tuesday.