New Year's 2015

Today was the birth of a new year.  Like many births there was a wonderful party with good friends and good times leading up to it and then, as it was ushered in there was screaming, crying, and pain.  Then there was peace and calm and steak.  The steak is very important, I am fairly certain the steak is what broke my fever and stopped me from feeling like death.  Ringing in the New Year sickly sucks, but I'm going to remain hopeful that it can get better from here.

What I want my 2015 to be:

1) I want to be better about communicating and asking for help.  This is something I am not great at and sometimes I let things get bottled up or think I can handle them on my own and not ask for help which is bad for both me and my relationships with people.

2) I want to go and see art, shows, concerts, etc... that I haven't worked on.  Even if I managed to go see one a month that would be pretty amazing.

3) I need to say no more.  I need to quit agreeing to do more things than I can handle and take better care of me.

4) I need to get rid of about half of everything that I own and organize what is left.  I need to get the apartment cleaned, it's too depressing for both B and myself.  We need a better home.  We can't grow in a place thats so crowded and full of crap.

5) Balance.  I am going to work on better balancing my personal and work life.  I have to work, I do not have to sacrifice everything else in my life to work.  I haven't been a great friend or girlfriend because I let myself get so involved in work I disappeared from everything else and that needs to end now.  Actually I've been working on this for a few months now and gotten to spend a lot more time with B and some of my awesome friends which has been really great and I've been able to reconnect a lot which has been wonderful.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve, used to be when my grandparents allowed me to open one present before Santa came while I slept.  Those days are long gone but I am sitting in the house where it used to happen. Since B and I started dating almost 10 years ago Christmas Eve has become the day we travel to Knoxville when I usually wrap the last minute gifts he bought for his family. We actually bought gifts yesterday instead of today so that's practically like we planned ahead.  It's a weird seemingly slacker tradition, but it's ours and works for us. With his family being in Knoxville and until 3 years ago I would come visit my grandfather as well, we've just stuck to the schedule. Come see his family, get cookies, go see my dad on the way back to Atlanta to do the holiday and give him the cookies B's mom made for him as well.  Tomorrow is my favorite though. B and I will come back to my grandparents house with a ton of cookies and we'll curl up on the couch with them and watch horror movies. That's our private holiday!

Tonight I ran out of wrapping paper. Hopefully tomorrow there will be a convince store open so I can pick up some gift bags for B's mom and sister-in-law's present.  Luckily I was able to get his dad, brother and two nephew's presents wrapped so it's at least mostly done.  I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve and a Merry Christmas tomorrow!

Happy Festivus

Festivus for the rest of us. What has pissed you off for the past year?  Today is the day to air grievances from the past year to get a clean slate.  A made up holiday that generally makes more sense and has a better chance of actually helping people than most of the other holidays combined.  (The feats of strength are a little weird, but whatever)  It seems so silly, but airing your grievances is much healthier than letting them be bottled up inside of you.

With that in mind, even if you don't tell anyone else, maybe it's a good excuse to make a list of what's been bothering you.  If you can't bring yourself to tell whomever it is, maybe burn the list and try to get it out of your system, keeping it all inside will just make you sick.  With that in mind, I'm going to bitch a little bit.

1) I hate people making me feel guilty for not being able to go out and do things that cost money.  I do not have a regular full time job and most of this past year was me getting my footing as I just finished school in December of 2013.  Things are getting better financially, but I still also have to pay for a house in Oak Ridge that I don't live in.  So please don't act like I'm blowing you off because I am just now getting a little more financially stable.

2) On that note, yes, I have been super busy in the past with school and then work for a while now.  That doesn't mean that I don't miss hanging out with people, I just haven't really been able to.  It hurts my feelings when people's reasoning for not inviting me to things is because they assumed I was busy.  I get that you are probably sick of me not being able to show up for things, but getting invited still really means a lot and sometimes I'm even actually able to show up.  I do miss you guys and I do want to see you and catch up, but that will never happen if you just always assume I'm too busy.

3) And going into the next grievance.... quit standing me up.  I have very limited free time (see above) so when I make plans with you and you no call no show on me it upsets me.  I understand that things happen and stuff comes up, I'm not mad about when people have to cancel because life happens.  It's the not canceling, it's the not hearing anything that really upsets me.  So please, if you know you're not going to be able to make it please just let me know as soon as you can so I don't sit around waiting on you to show up.

I think three is a good number and it get most of the general stuff out in the air.  Anything else would be for specific instances, specific people, etc... and that doesn't need to be publicly aired.  So, what do you want to bitch about on the Festivus?

Happy Solstice

Yesterday was the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year.  By a weird fluke of science and nature, it was also the longest night ever in the history of the Earth.  And for those of you that pay attention to such things, it was also the New Moon.  It was quite literally the longest, darkest night ever.

The Solstice is the turning point, a celebration of the days getting longer which ironically officially marks the first day of winter.  It's a rebirth, a new start, the return of the light.  The New Moon, when the moon is closest to the Earth and yet hidden from the sky by the Earth's own shadow like a creepy stalker trying to get closer to you by lurking in the shadows.  The New Moon is also a rebirth celebration in many beliefs, so yesterday seemed to be a good time to get a new start on the world...my problem is that I don't want a new start.

I guess that's not entirely true, I want a start over.  I want to fix things.  I want to make things better.  I want my life to be something meaningful and creative and not boring, yet I also really want things to be stable and comfortable and safe.  There's a balance in there somewhere, I want to find it.  I don't need to start new things, I just need to be able to do more than one thing at a time sanely.  This means saying no more instead of taking everything on, this means having down time so I can rest and relax, this means also simplifying my life in general.  Less things, less stress, less work.

Maybe this is fitting for the Solstice and New Moon.  Maybe it's right that my life would be turning upside down right now.  Or maybe I'm just looking for a greater meaning for my upheaval than just sometimes things go wrong, go weird, go away and there's no reason for it.  Not even the universe can make sense of it sometimes.  Either way, this next year is going to be something new that I don't know if I'm ready for, but we'll see.

October Performer Spotlight: Mickie Sinn

Photo by James Cano

We're all very excited to have a brand new amazing addition to the Atlanta Burlesque Community.  Mickie Sinn has recently relocated from Austin, Tx, so please give her a warm welcome!  I'm very excited to get to work with her in the future!

1. How did you come up with your stage name and tag line? Does it have a special meaning to you?

I had a heck of a time coming up with my name. I thought it about for years before I ever worked up the nerve to perform. I knew I wanted something playful and just sort of cutesy. I love the early 20th century and I love when girls have names that are versions of traditionally male names so maybe a week before my first performance I settled on Mickie Sinn. I was honestly just tired of thinking about it but it's stuck. It's a play on Mickey Finn, both the person and the slang term for a knockout drug. Everyone assumes it's Mickey Mouse but it really wasn't even though I do wear a lot of Mickey stuff now. My tagline is still a work in progress. I usually go with "She'll slip you a little temptation." The MC for the Jigglewatts, Jade Esteban Estrada aka Pretty Boy Rock, thinks I sound like a liquor brand and then my name turns into a cheesy booze commercial. "Had a bad day? Why not pour yourself a little Mickie Sinn"

2. How did you get started in burlesque?

Photo by Hill Country Pinup

I attended my first show in 2006 at SXSW in Austin purely by accident and I loved it. It happened to be Cardinal Cyn performing between sets for an Austin rockabilly group. But it was several years before I really started going to more shows, probably around the time I met my husband actually. I really wanted to do it from that first moment but I had no idea how, thought I was too broke, too clumsy and was definitely too shy. I didn't realize until later we're pretty much all broke showgirls. While I was planning my wedding in 2012 I attended a class Coco Lectric was teaching but timing was bad and I didn't start classes again until 2013. It's been a whirlwind ever since. I have been training with Coco and Ruby Joule under the Austin Academy of Burlesque umbrella most of that time as well as other Austin and guest performers teaching 6 week and drop in workshops. Now that I am in Atlanta I can't wait to gain more knowledge from a new group of performers.

3. What has been your best moment as a performer so far?

Photo by Viva

Oh my! That is hard to pinpont. This past year I have done so, so much despite being a new performer. It'd be a tie between doing the Viva Dallas Valentine's show where I had an audience member follow me back up on stage when I went down to the VIP as part of my number. But I went with it and made him part of the act and we had everyone laughing. And then probably getting to compete in Edmonton, Canada and winning most comedic in the Bunny Competition. But honestly the best part of that was having Waxie Moon and Canadian Wolfman tell me I did a great job and that they enjoyed it. Having someone you look up to you say that and even go up to your husband to say that is just amazing and still gives me the warm fuzzies.

4. What is your favorite act to perform?

Right now my Daddy number. It's a 20s piece to a White Ghost Shivers (a local Austin band that actually played at my wedding) cover of "Daddy, Won't You Please Come Home?" I love doing it on a small stage where I can go out and play with the audience.

5. What is your burlesque dream show?

Photo by Lone Star Pin-up Helen Kane

A show where the whole audience is paying attention? haha Hmmm...I have been giving this some thought the last few days. It's silly but a show on a gorgeous, historic stage where I can perform with my friends and idols, have an amazing audience, amazing lighting for a change and just have a ball!

6. Where do you see your self in the next five years?

I have had to think a lot about that lately with my husband and I relocating for his work to Atlanta very unexpectedly and quickly. I have a strong and close knit Austin burlesque family and it's been scary as hell to realize you are about to pick up and have to start all over without that support system nearby. Thank goodness for internet & text messaging! And that Atlanta folks have been very welcoming. I really hope that over the next five years I am able to continue to combine my love of travel with my burlesque career and be able to say I performed in fun new cities and countries. I hope to be a role model for even just one new performer by then because I have been so, so lucky to have been able to learn from the most amazing performers both on and off stage and I want to be able to share that knowledge and joy with others. And having produced my own show by then even if just one. I have helped put together a fundraiser show this summer so I know I am not nearly ready to produce a full show. Chasing performers gives me a headache. Wait! I mean I love you all. :P

7. Tell us something outside of burlesque that you are involved or interested in.

Photo by Ed Ballot

I loveee food and wine. It came down to burlesque workshops or starting training to become a sommelier. I may still do that someday as I would love to own a wine, chocolate and cigars shop or an olive oil shop. Don't get me started on the amazingness of fresh olive oils. I love to try new restaurants and go to local vineyards. My husband and I make an annual pilgrimage to New Orleans just to stuff ourselves silly.

8. What do you think is your greatest skill, not including burlesque? 

Driving my husband crazy and making messes. Haha And being able to decorate my house on a beer budget despite my champagne taste. My muggle degree is Interior Design so that probably explains my champagne taste.

9. What are you most looking forward to this year as a burlesque performer? As a civilian? 

Hopefully getting to travel a bit more both as a performer and with my husband. We were hoping to make it to Cuba this year but not sure it is going to happen with the cross country move. His mother was born there. I am also looking forward to getting settled into Atlanta, meeting new people and becoming an active member of the Atlanta glitter community.

Photo by Lone Star Pin-up

10. Who is your favorite performer to watch? 

Soooo, soooo many people I admire and love to see on stage, Waxie Moon, Imogen Kelly, Paco Fish, Pearle Noire, Ruby Joule, the list goes on. And I mean who doesn't love all of the Stage Door Johnnies. Swoonnnnn. It's a toss up right now between two members of my own burlesque family though. Does that fall under nepotism? haha I have seen Coco Lectric performer for hundreds of people, taking home Queen of New Orleans Burlesque and I have seen her perform on the awkward Gibson stage in Austin to 20 people and no matter how many times I have seen a number I know it'll be different and she is going to be amazing. Doesn't matter what is going on off stage that woman puts on that 1000 watt smile and kills it. My other favorite is my burlesque sister, Lola LeStrange. She is a little bit of Coco, a little bit of Pearle Noire and a whole lot nerdy Comicon goodness wrapped up into this busty, fiery package with the biggest grin in the world. We pretty much started at the same time and I remember thinking in class that this girl is a nut so this should be interesting but from the minute she took the stage for her debut last fall she has been on fire. I am like a proud big sister every time she performs and I can't wait to see her take the rest of the burlesque world by storm.

Photo by Lone Star Pin-up

Keeping your cool on fire

On Wednesday, October 8th at 7 Stages I was lucky enough to be a part of an amazing show put on by The Georgia Glitter Collective, which is a collaboration of many of the performers in Atlanta.  This particular show had a star studded cast both on stage and off as well as amazing special guests Armitage Shanks, Russell Bruner and Mistress Kali.  Ursula Undress and Sadie Hawkins did the bulk of the heavy lifting leading up to the show, Roula Roulette was Stage Manager and I (Katherine Lashe) was Technical Director.

As far as the show itself, it was an amazing experience and there were so many wonderful acts.  I was lucky enough to get to perform with Jed Drummond, who is a local Atlanta musician.  We have done this act once before and it went really well so we figured it was as good a time as any to do it again.  Jed played his guitar and sang his version of Paper Roses while I did my routine.  The routine isn't overly complicated, but the catch is that I have flash paper roses that I light up and end with lighting two attached to my pasties.  Again, I have done this before, I have been playing with fire in one capacity or another for around 15 years, not nearly as scary as it sounds.  However...

For the past month I have been extremely busy with The Doctor, The Devil & My Dad at 7 Stages (we actually did the burlesque show on DDDs set) and had not had time to go and collect the items I needed, including the flash paper.  I went to Atlanta Costume/Norcostco and they had some, but flash paper doesn't have an expiration date on it...and it should.  It turns out it was old, instead of a short burst of fire it was slow burning.  I started getting nervous when I put the flower from my hair to the candle and saw how long it took, more so when the one from my garter also took a while.  As a result, the culmination of the act ended with slow burning flash paper attached to my pasties.  it was the big flash that you always get, but it was almost 5 seconds.  This doesn't sound like a long amount of time, but believe me it was enough.  Below is the video of my performance recorded on my phone, it's not great, but it's what happened.  Me getting more and more nervous with each passing light of the flowers.


As you can see, I did not freak out on stage, no one knew that it didn't go exactly as planned, not even Jed who escorted me off stage.  I didn't want to freak out the audience or the other performers as there was still the entire second half of the show to go through.  As soon as we hit the dressing room however I took off my pasties my slightly melted wig, brushed out the part of my hair that was burned and then began digging through the First Aid Kit trying to find aloe or burn cream or something.  I ended up rubbing Neosporin all over myself, B picked up aloe with lidocaine on the way home so I could use it.  It wasn't until the next day that I realized what I thought were minor burns were actually second degree.

The funny part of all of this is that the only bandages that I can put on my breasts are panty liners with wings.  They are the only things big enough with the right shape to go over my DD cup injuries.  Plus the sticky on the back keeps them in place in my top so I can keep them protected.  I am on day seven now, the blisters that cover most of my chest are sloughing off and painfully revealing the new skin.  I am on my second day off since the accident as the day after and three following days I had to run DDD.  So I'm currently trying to take it easy, rubbing aloe and Zim's Wound Care on my burns and taking Vitamin E and Fish Oil to help try to jump start my healing.  That, along with sleeping most of the past two days, I seem to be on the mend.  Now I know how Uncle Frank felt in Hellraiser.

Moral of the story: always be careful, always be prepared for something to go wrong, and keep your cool!...and never use old flash paper!

September Performer Spotlight: The Chameleon Queen

Photo By Marc Turnley

I apologize for the delay, September was kind of crazy but better late than never!  I've know The Chameleon Queen since before either of us were in burlesque so it's interesting that we both wandered up this path.  She's an amazing performer to watch and and amazing person in all of her charitable causes as well.  Please enjoy and we'll see if we can get two interviews in this month!

1. How did you come up with your stage name and tag line? Does it have a special meaning to you?

The Chameleon Queen comes from having my friends not recognize me while performing under different characters from show to show, or even in the same one! I didn't want to limit myself as a performer. Having the Chameleon Queen as an umbrella name for a small cast of characters gives me the opportunity to explore different personas and genders. As for the tag line: "I can do anything!" It stems Jim Morrison's calling himself the Lizard King.

2. How did you get started in burlesque?

We got lost going to the first audition, so I rang up the group to let them know. They were kind enough to schedule one just for me. I rang three times to verify...nary a return. An ex-boyfriend told me about another one. So, I went with his girlfriend-at-the-time to Big City Burlesque's auditions. She got in, which was great! I was happy for

Photo by Marc Turnley

her.

The director asked me to give the fan dance a go. He handed me the fans and said that he'd play the music till I was ready. Now, having tried to get to the first audition without success my thought was: what have I got to loose?! I turned to him and said: Turn on the music, give me the fans, let's go.

Years late while telling this story, he was there. I thought I had gotten the part about half way through the song. He stepped in and said that no, it was mine when I said let's go.

3. What has been your best moment as a performer so far?

There are actually two, but they are similar. The first was a gig in Asheville, NC for a charitable event. I had performed the first blue fan dance to "Lament." And after an fellow came rushing back to speak with me. He said that he got what I was doing. It left me a bit bewildered, until he gave an explanation. He saw that my performance wasn't just a fan dance, but a shamanistic expression. That was at a time when I spoke very little of my point of view on sacred performance. So, my jaw pretty much hit the floor. A total stranger understood. Somehow my beliefs in art showed through.

The second time, was my first fan dance with the white Sally Rands, a beautiful string arrangement of "Someone to Watch Over Me." It was for my Grandma Brake who had breast cancer, and the show was a breast cancer benefit. My friend Oscar came running back stage out of breath and said, "I get it! I get it!! She's watching over you! You are watching over us!" Needless to say, but the tears that I was already fighting to hold back broke through.

Photo by Moonbird Design

4. What is your favorite act to perform?

Mainly, I adore fan dances. But, "The Monster" piece that combined burlesque and stunt work is up in the tops.

5. What is your burlesque dream show?

A large scale old fashioned Christmas variety show, like "White Christmas." Giving the joy that we had as children to others when the season is so fraught with stress and worry. Something that when it's thought about, a tune whistled from it ...that afterglow of happiness lingers.

6. Where do you see your self in the next five years?

Still performing, teaching, reaching out into other artistic media, and learning.

7. Tell us something outside of burlesque that you are involved or interested in.

Pit Bull rescue and advocacy. I've my own Pit mixes, The Greer Boys, Sophocles and Herman Munster. They've been my inspiration to do what I can: perform, donate, rescue, write letters...whatever I can do to help Pit Bulls just be recognized for the beautiful, loyal, and fine dogs they are.

8. What do you think is your greatest skill, not including burlesque?

Photo by Kevin O'Connell

This is a tough one...perhaps connecting good people for everything from performances to philanthropic endeavors.

9. What are you most looking forward to this year as a burlesque performer? As a civilian?

New and exciting collaborations! Mystery and history are on the horizon!

As just me, more opportunities to dance and do stunt work; marching in the PRIDE parade with Angel Action Atlanta, the Pit Bull Candlelight Vigil, just being able to do good things.

10. Who is your favorite performer to watch?

This is not a one person answer at all! My favorite legend is Kalantan. Her movements are beautifully hypnotizing, very serpentine. She's not well documented sadly, but I've been able to find her on Something Weird videos, Pinky Shear found her under Adele the Petite Parisian, and she danced in one of the Sinbad films.
Sally Rand for fans, she is my idol and muse after all! Toni Elling brought me to tears at BHOF in '07 with her graceful walk and mink peel.

And honestly, I tear up watching my students...my burlesque daughters. It is pure joy to watch each one of them take wing.