showtime: art history part deux, elbo room, july 9, 2013

Keeping the burlesque thing going this week, I guess! This time last month I was lucky to be able to perform three acts in Bombshell Betty's art history themed show. This is the show that I initially developed my Frida Kahlo act for back in October of 2011 (see here) and I am always happy to perform it again. That said, I am seriously thinking of retiring the act as I know there are other people who perform in the same circles that I do who are really wanting to explore performing burlesque as Frida. It just seems fair, so maybe I'll take it for one last spin somewhere and then let it go.

Pre-show shot with Penny Chianti, Spun Honey, Sonora Sway and Boysenberry Cupcake (seated). We should
do this more often, everything is in such a disarray AFTER we perform! Photo by Jeff Lapierre. 

Bombshell Betty, Red Delicious and I in our Andy Warhol's pop art Marilyn act. Photo by Thad Gann.

This show was extra special to me for two reasons. First, I have been dying to perform Betty's chair dance choreography to Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" and I finally got the chance. I LOVE that dance. I love performing it! And second, I had loads of friends in the audience, mostly new friends I met through the blog or tangentially through last year's Girl Crush, save for two! There were ten people in my cheering section which was awesome. Six of them drove all the way into San Francisco from West Marin for the show. So nice! Most of the people in my life have seen me perform several times, so it was really great that I was able to rally a bunch of new blood for the show. Loved it. Thank you Nicky and company, Rhea and Sandra, Tony and Jan and Bridget and Bill. Most of them have their own wonderful blogs and I'd link 'em up if this wasn't a post about burlesque. You never know, you know?

I could really tell that night that I've gotten bigger this year, mostly over the summer which was not my plan. The Marilyn costume didn't fit like before and I could barely get my Mexican blanket shorts zipped. I felt so great on stage but was again mortified by most of the photos I saw. Same old same old with me.

But Oliver started preschool yesterday and Stella will be back at school next week (boo!), so I will have zero excuses not to exercise for the first time in eight years. Obviously I will let you know how that goes. ;)

Terrible iPhone selfies, but I nailed my eye makeup that night. So shiny!

this is halloween

Halloween 2012

(above photos by my friend Randy W.)

Halloween was great this year. We have really gotten our money's worth out of all of our costumes (see past years here, my favorite is Oliver as The Strongest Baby in the World). Stella wore her Dorothy of Oz costume for the third time. Our sweet friend Jeanette made the costume for Stella when she was three, and she has only skipped one year out of four (to be Supergirl). Oliver's Elmo (or as he insisted all night long, Dragon Elmo) costume finally paid for itself, making it's fourth appearance between the two kids. I donned Fridawear for one more night. I am hanging up that costume, that act and everything to do with it for a few years. I'm tired of the pins in my head and the unibrow. We trick-or-treated with Stella's school, and then in the evening with David, who once again looked better than all three of us combined. We called him Diego Rivera and it worked.

Stella and I had some fun with her hair. The kids are basically acersecomics, Oliver having never had a hair cut in his three years, and Stella only once, a quick trim, if you don't count the lock that was maddeningly cut by her friend years ago in a moment of inattention. We straightened her curly nest of hair and then set it in rollers to get great Dorothy ringlets while they watched The Great Pumpkin.

I may have begun to master some daytime photography, but the nighttime is a whole 'nother ballgame. Regardless, these two are so precious. Stella looked perfect, and people were lifting Dragon Elmo off the ground to hug him like a puppet, he was so adorable. I don't know if I can bring myself to part with these costumes now. I am sure are kids who would really love them, so I probably will next year. 

I hope your Halloween was lots of fun. Today was a conscious day of mainlining candy for me. I did it up, Tiffanie-style. I have had so much really helpful feedback on this post, so many things that make so much sense and have affected me a lot. Not enough to stop this one last Halloween candy feeding frenzy (I'm only human), but things I must implement right away. Onward and upward!

Have a great weekend, and thank you for reading!

showtime: frida kahlo is a manic superstar, elbo room, october 9, 2012

I performed my Frida Kahlo burlesque act this past Tuesday at the Elbo Room in Bombshell Betty's Spook-tacular show. It was a tremendous night. Some advanced burlesque student graduates blew me away, and shows this time of year are always a blast! I was scheduled to be the opening act, which really thrilled me, regardless of why I was going first. Unfortunately my friend Trixie Fou Laurant was having trouble keeping her latex zombie skin from falling off. After a fairly unsuccessful attempt at glueing her back together with my bottle of Skin-Tac, she needed to go on first before she fell apart! 

So, I went on second, and I felt I gave a really good show. I switched my routine up a bit so it would have more meaning, which left me exposed much longer than I usually am (see the body cast/corset I made here). I know from some of the photos I've seen of the act (none decent enough to show here except the one below) that I didn't have control of my facial expressions as well as I'd like. Too much "ooooh" face. There are a lot of moments in the act where Frida is surprised, so I suppose it came from that, but I'm going to work on giving way better face when I perform this in a couple of weeks with Red Hots Burlesque. I love watching people perform when they are smiling. It's hard to reconcile that with many of the paintings and photos I've seen of Frida Kahlo, but this is burlesque and I'll take that artistic license next time.

Thank you to CoCo Jewelle for the performance shots!

Kudos, praise and admiration to all of the performers from that show, and especially to Bombshell Betty. She has done so much for so many people in bringing us all out of our shells and making us more comfortable in our skin. She fosters all of this crazy creativity from costumes to choreography and everything in between. I may STILL hate to go to the beach, but I can perform in my skivvies for hundreds of people without batting a (false) eyelash, and for that I am forever grateful! I love you, Betty!

showtime: frida kahlo and marilyn monroe, elbo room, october 14, 2011

This past Friday night Bombshell Betty put on one of the most creative shows I've ever seen. The Art History show was out of this world. It was a hot, sweaty mess, the likes of which I've never felt in San Francisco before. It was fantastic! Artists and art represented included Picasso, Van Gogh, Botticelli's "Birth of Venus", Bob Ross of "The Joy of Painting", "The Portrait of Madame X", a fantastic Surrealist number, a blue Keith Haring dancing man (hilarious!), Betty's incredible Chihuly tribute, and of course our wonderful Andy Warhol's pop art Marilyn Monroe group number. And last but not least, my tribute to Frida Kahlo. After all that work, I am just thrilled with how it turned out! I am especially thrilled that there were no wardrobe or prop malfunctions. The heat was so bad my giant sequined unibrow kept falling off backstage. Thank goodness Betty had a secret silver bullet for keeping it on my sweaty forehead until I was ready to peel it off during my act.

Photo stills from videos are all I have at the moment. I'm keeping my fingers crossed some better images show up somewhere.

Eyebrow removal. Mine and hers.

Here's where I put on this incredible Frida Dias De Los Muertos mask I bought from an artist on eBay. It's amazing.

Lucky me! All this overexposed, overlit footage means I can show you the end of the act and still be presentable!

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Here are some stills from the Marilyn act. The choreography is based on six poses and is SO fun to dance!

I can feel my improvement with these acts. I'm starting to acknowledge the audience a lot more, which is so important. I can't wait to revisit older acts with these evolving skills. I also can't wait to do the Frida act again tonight at the show in Oakland at The Uptown. 

I really have to thank David for subsidizing and sponsoring this outlet for me. How lucky am I to be doing something like this? I have been getting a lot of "props" lately, and I feel a little guilty, because if David wasn't taking care of us the way he is right now, I'd never get around to doing any of this. So thank you, Mr. Vazquez/Mr. Yve Jobs!

frida kahlo costume preview

Note: You can see this costume in action here.

On the eve of our upcoming show, here are some of the costuming pieces I've made for my Frida Kahlo act. I have quite a crowd of lovely ladies coming to cheer me on tomorrow night, but for those of you who can't be there, here's what I've been up to!

One of Frida's original body cast corsets. I've integrated the animals from one of her self portraits into the corset. That monkey is trying to tell me something.

The eyebrow (now in sequins!) and a leg brace for my right leg. 

The hair.

The poster is part of the act, as a reference point. The one I'm bringing is a lot sparklier, and includes removable parts.

For more mature audiences, my latest bejeweled creation. This is the most beautiful tulle bra I've made yet. I've had quite a few fellow dancers as well as random audience members ask me how to make one. I have almost got it down to where I can provide a coherent tutorial. Stay tuned! There's my crazy yellow Marilyn Monroe/Andy Warhol pop art act wig, on the left.

There are also shawls and skirts, and an amazingly artful surprise piece at the end of the act that I just can't share yet. I could not be more excited about tomorrow night. I wish you could be there!

work in progress: frida!

Last week when Anna (our wonderful, most regular nanny) was here, I got out to nearby Cafe Divis for some seriously needed me time.

Three hours at the bar in the cafe, eating a yam sandwich and doing crossword puzzles, then putting in my earbuds and starting work on my new choreography for the October art history themed shows. I love me time. I love that moment when just the little bit of caffeine I allow myself kicks in and ideas flow. I filled six sketchbook pages with notes on choreography and costume ideas.

I am working on two acts for this show and they are keeping me plenty busy. The first is a fantastic number created by Bombshell Betty, with five other girls, all of us dressed as different brightly colored Marilyn Monroes from Andy Warhol's pop art pieces. It's tightly choreographed and super fun.

For my solo act as Frida Kahlo, I'm using a song I used to listen to fifteen years ago but hadn't thought of until just the other day. I'll keep it a secret for now. It's perfect for what I'm doing in this act. I told myself I was going to try to stop hiding behind excessive props and costuming, but if you could've seen our living room over the past three days you'd see I didn't try very hard. I've thrifted and thrifted and thrifted some more for all the pieces and parts. I've got stuffed animals, flowers, fringe, a poster with moving parts, a body cast (guess what poor Anna helped me with this week while Oliver was napping), Ace bandages, fake hair, you name it, all covered with glitter or something otherwise shiny strewn all about. It's a freaking madhouse over here before each show, something I need to learn to get under control a bit more.

Looking forward to workshopping this next week with Betty. Can't wait, really.

¡frida fiesta!

A mellow Sunday morning before Stella and I dressed as Frida Kahlo for a Frida Kahlo/Fiesta themed birthday party for her friend and schoolmate Anna Banana. Oliver went as Diego Rivera. I couldn't bring myself to post any photos of myself as Frida, which is unfortunate, as I am performing as her in a show in October.

The party was really lovely. Working on this entry, David and I couldn't stop laughing at how Oliver was "photo bombing" the birthday cake photos. There are a few at the bottom here. We filmed all of the photos one after another, like a creepy slideshow, which hopefully we'll put together with some music. I love it when David and I work on little projects together, especially when it involves our two big projects. 

08.07.11