Upcoming shows: Wilde May Productions and Nerd Girl Burlesque

Wilde May Productions is back with another K-Pop That Pastie, but this time, we're putting a nerdlesque spin.  The show is April 24 at 8 PM Eastern Daylight Time.  A Zoom link will be given with the purchase of a ticket.  You can also purchase a record if there's a schedule conflict.  Click on this link to get your ticket now!

Then in May, I will be doing my first international show with Nerd Girl Burlesque!  It's a virtual show, but I'm excited to join Canada's premiere nerdlesque production in Level Up! An Online Video Game Cabaret on May 8, 7 PM EDT.  If you're hyped about the new Mortal Kombat movie, you don't wanna miss my number.  Click here for tickets.

 Check out this super cute ad that Helen of Tronna made for the show.  She designed sprites for the entire cast:

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A post shared by Nerd Girl Burlesque (@nerdgirlburlesque)

Upcoming show: Theoretical Rejects

 Technically this is a show that's already been playing, and just in the chaos of the past month, I neglected to make a post.  You've got a couple more days to get the link to view Theoretical Rejects' Escape from Arkham show.  We pay tribute to some of your favorite Batman villains.  Send at least $5 to theoreticalrejects@gmail.com on Paypal, and they'll send you the link.  

 In response to the deadly attack in Atlana on predeominantly Asian women, I will be donating my portion of the earnings, including tips, to Red Canary Song, an organization supporting migrant and Asian sex workers in New York City (and families impacted by this act of terrorism).

A Rare Orchid Blooms on Earth No More

Three months has passed since I got the horrible news, and I'm still trying to process it.  The morning after I had reached out to Black Orchid to get some advice and maybe a coaching session for my first pole competition, I learned that she died in an accident while walking to her pole studio.  The timing, plus the fact that I had a close call walking home from work the same day, rattled me.  I'm not completely sure I've shaken it off.

Black Orchid and I first crossed paths when I did the San Antonio Burlesque Festival in 2014.  Being a newbie, I was overwhelmed, but I think Orchid and I felt a mutual kinship as two Asians performers in Texas.  Later I'd learn that she was also queer, nerdy, an activist, a writer, and a fellow bus rider (very uncommon in Texas).  We had our differences too, and as a Singaporean of Indian descent, Orchid helped broadened my views on the Asian experience beyond my narrow East Asian perspective.

Post-show selfie of two winter queens
(she portrayed Skaid while I was Elsa)

After crossing paths through the years at SABF and the Texas Queerlesque Festival, we shared the stage at the end of 2019 in Viva Dallas Burlesque's Festivus Follies.  We were in different dressing rooms, but we made sure to take a selfie, something that I had been trying to do more often.  I didn't get a good pic on my phone, but she did on hers and I'm grateful that we had the moment together and that I did traverse to the other side of the stage to talk to her.  I'm also grateful that social media kept us in touch.

Orchid wasn't afraid to speak up about political and social issues, but she also knew how to pick her battles.  One of the things I miss the most is her posts about current issues and the frequent "angry possum scream" that appeared in the caption.  I often wonder about the things she'd say with what has happened in 2021.  There would definitely be a lot of screaming, but I know she'd be rejoicing over an Indian woman as our VP.

I also contemplate what she might say to me as I continue to pursue pole dancing.  When I contemplated the idea of entering a Pole Sport Organization competition with doubts about my readiness, she was one of the pole dancers who encouraged me to give it a shot.  I regret not reaching out to her sooner—it's one of many regrets— but I know her spirit will be rooting me on, as she has always done in life.  One day I'd like to create a tribute act on the pole, but in the meantime, I'll keep learning and practicing.

Black Orchid won Most Original
at the 2015 San Antonio Burlesque Festival.
Photo by JPL PRO

 

One of the last performances of Black Orchid's I saw was a virtual nerdlesque show that paid homage to Supernatural.  She portrayed Billie, a grim reaper, and now that number lingers in my mind.  Death is forever around us, and who knows when our time will come so we have to do as much as we can.  That's what Orchid did, and she inspired so many of us.  Now it's up to us to make sure the seeds of art and activism she sowed will grow and flourish.

 

Upcoming show: Wilde May Productions

 If you've been following the news, things are bad in Texas.  I haven't had to deal with the power outages, and the water shut-off in my apartment was brief.  I always have lab to escape to.  That being said, I've delayed writing a difficult post, but I will promote an upcoming virtual show.  Thankfully my video was shot before the weather got really bad, and I hope that people who aren't dealing with bad weather can enjoy it.  I am debuting a new act that I've worked hard to bring to life, and the theme is one that I really love.

K-Pop That Pastie premieres on February 20 at 8 PM Eastern Standard Time.  It's $10 for the live show and $5 for the recording that will be available at a later date.  Click here for tickets. I'll be donating my profits to Feed the People Dallas.

Update: If you mised the original ticket sales, the recording will available for purchase for the next weeks.  Click here to buy the rewatch.

Upcoming shows: Magical Girl Burlesque and Zircus Erotique

I've got two shows coming up, and thanks to the flexibility of the virtual format, they are both premiering on Saturday, January 23.

The first is a celebration of Magical Girl Burlesque's Raina Sinclair.  Her birthday show is a throwback to Tumblr, and I'll be doing something a little different.  It's a bit reminiscent of my panels at conventions except I'm focusing specifically on Thor and Loki.  Click here to purchase to a ticket for live Zoom premiere of The Tumblr Tassels.

Over to the west of me, I'm making a guest appearance in a group act in Zircus Erotique's Virtual Variety show.  I've been taking classes with Mena Domina, and the routine we learned together will be featured in the show thanks to some computer magic.  Click here to rent or buy the show, which will only be available for 2 weeks.

Upcoming shows (including a festival!)

I know I resolved to not do multiple shows a week, but the virtual format has given me flexibility to where I can even be in two places at once!  The best part is that you don't have to necessarily choose, as some shows offer an on-demand option.  Anyway, here's where you can get me doing my thing.

Tomorrow night on CUNextTV, I return to the Encore drag show.  This time I'm debuting a new (censored) burlesque number in celebration of certain tropes and the movie Burlesque (which isn't really burlesque but that's another story).  Encore! presents Burlesque starts 9:30 PM CST and the cover is $10.

Now if you prefer geek to glam, catch Ruby's Burlesque Cartoons Show on November 21 at 8 PM CST.  Purchase a $10 ticket at www.rubytix.com and get a link to the Google Meet.   Use my special code "ROSE" to get 10% off!

The show will also be available on demand for the following week, which is good to know because the Identities and Expressions virtual trans and non-binary festival is also November 20 and 21!  The shows start 9 PM CST, and I will be performing the second night.  However, your ticket, which is a donation between $5 and $30 to the crowdcast link, will get you in for both nights.

When to End an Act: a Contemplation on Problematic Faves

This post isn't about the final note or move of an burlesque routine (although my teacher Ginger Valentine had some things to say about fade outs in music).  Rather I want to talk about an act's longevity and when it's time for them to stay in the closet permanently.  Burlesque acts don't live for eternity— at least in the form they started with.  They evolve, or they retire.  Some acts do become a signature and live in people's minds, but there comes a point where a performer decides to move on.

Sorry James Dean, I still don't
know what to do with you.
Photo by Mr. Photopix

 

Sometimes we don't have a choice.  A costume no longer fits, or a prop breaks.  You can always alter and repair, just as you can modify the narrative or perspective of a routine that isn't working the way you had envisioned.  I have a couple of numbers that are on the backburner because they were created before I started doing drag, and I'm wondering if Tony Fo-Hawk could do more with them.  I haven't exactly found the answers or the motivation to figure out how to improve them so they'll sit in the closet. 

Other times we are forced to make a decision about the act.  Burlesque is supposed to be provocative, but sometimes we get blinded by privilege.  Although I haven't experienced being called out for a burlesque act, I do know what's it's like to be guilty of cultural appropriation and not realize it until later.  I made the decision to stop coming up with my own steampunk versions of yukatas because I'm not Japanese.  People may think that I'm being too harsh on myself, but it's a decision I made based on feedback from Japanese people and research.  We're told that we have to take criticisms about our performance so what's to keep us from considering criticism about contributing to oppression.

Nowadays, we have to look even closer at whether we are indirectly complicit in oppression through promoting a problematic individual.  One example—the one who inspired this post—is J.K. Rowling and the world of Harry Potter.  It's easy to say that fandom has outgrown the creator, but until Harry Potter becomes public domain a la Cthulhu (although let's not forget how horrible Lovecraft was), we have to remember that Rowling remains associated with and profiting off the character and his world.  Even if she doesn't see a dime from nerdlesque shows or we actually have a trans Harry, we are still getting people excited about her creation.  Some of them will go to the latest Fantastic Beasts movie or buy a set of Harry Potter books to give to a family member who's just started to read.  This is why I'm retiring Cho Chang for now even if she was created out of criticism for Rowling's racially insensitive portrayal.  Let's find another fantasy series (preferably by a trans writer) to get excited about.

Holiday at Hogwarts is a nice way to end Cho Chang's run
(for now).  Maybe she'll come back some day...
Photo by Saraphimart.

You might be asking if I'm going to do the same for Kaylee Frye or Mantis since Joss Whedon and James Gunn are problematic people who are still making lots of money (and I know Gunn apologized for his offensive posts, but I have issues with his treatment of Nicole Perlman).  Neither of them have a similar place in our cultural zeitgeist.  Firefly is long finished even though there are comics, and I don't hear people rave about it as much as I did in college.  Guardians of the Galaxy has a life beyond the movies, as I reveal with my transformation into Mantis' earlier incarnation.  I also feel like those acts are more explicit in their critiques, which happened to be the artistic choice I made.

Ultimately each of us has our own line to draw over where we can split artist with creation.  And it can move.  As a producer, I have to not only look at my acts but others as well.  I have to think about the message the show broadcasts, and yes, I do think about whether you have music from a problematic artist or are extolling a character of questionable morals.  Sometimes it's harmless fun, but just as the rule (guideline? ideal?) of comedy is to "punch up", I'd rather we all promote and pay homage to the marginalized voices who deserve just as much, or even more, recognition as our "problematic faves".

On the subject of my Original Kaylee number, the quarantine version of it is available in the on-demand recording of Magical Girl Burlesque presents: Comic Con-solation Prize.  Sent producer Betty Brash $10 in one of the ways below with "MGB Con" in the subject to receive the video link:
Cash app - $BettyBrash
PayPal - bettybrashburlesque@gmail.com
Venmo - @BettyBrash