Less French cooking, more French knickers.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I suddenly felt like I needed to write an entry after seeing Julie & Julia. Briefly, a cute movie if a bit too long. If it had just been Julia it would have been great, Julie was just a whiny, self-important foodie.

But if that whiny, self-important foodie can shout into the void and get a movie made about herself, surely I can be entertaining for somebody.

So I thought I'd share a little burlesque lesson: Don't wait until you have an act to build to pick something up (especially if it's on sale).

It's not an easy rule to encapsulate in some neat little phrase. I couldn't stitch it on and make it fit (although I should try...) The gist of it is this: If you're in a store or shop and you see something that makes you say "gee, that'd be great to use in a routine," get it then. Don't count on it to be there four months later when suddenly you need it. If you're not totally sure if you can use it ... you can use it. You will use it. You will use it either as is or with minor modification. And if you absolutely can't use it, someone in your troupe probably can.

Here's a recent example: This bra set was on the sale rack at Target. In two different places. All for under $30. A similar Victoria's Secret set would set me back $98—just shy of free shipping! That's a push-up bra, garter belt and bikini panties (there was a thong, but not in a size I could justify purchasing). Do I have a routine for this? No. Will I end up using this? Almost definitely. It might not be white when I use it, it might lose the bows. It might gain fringe, trim, sequins, feathers, man I don't even know what'll become of this.

I've had similar luck at craft and fabric stores when scouring the sale bins and clearance racks. Odd scraps of fabric, out-of-season trims and flowers, unusual socks, these little strange things will almost always come in handy for someone at some point.

One other lesson I can share with you that does fit on a pillow is this: Target has cute stuff.

-DD

Upcoming gig -- not for the faint of heart.

I have a gig coming up on September 18 with the Absinthe Drinkers and Rigor Mortis Revue at John and Peter's in New Hope.* COME SEE IT.

*ahem* I jumped at the chance to do the show (entirely without knowing what I was getting myself into) in my excitement to do a show out here in the burbs. Or, as my city friends are eager to point out, the boonies. I don't split hairs with them since I'm pretty sure they all think I live on a farm.

This gig, certainly very different from anything I've worked on, has already presented some challenges.

• The act I originally intended to do was a two-person strip that relied heavily on unarmed and possibly armed stage combat. My partner in this act is most likely going to be unavailable for the performance date, which is very, very sad.
• The theme of the show is basically madness incarnate. Rigor Mortis ... well let's just say their shows usually have more corpses and stage blood and disembodied parts than something I'd usually be signed up for. It's not that I don't love them, don't misunderstand me. I'm just way more of a sequin and feather girl.
• This show's theme? The Mutter Museum. Fitting my usual brand of silly/sexy in with all the blood and guts is going to be a fun—if messy—challenge. They wanted me to go to the museum to get inspiration. I declined on account of the nightmares. (Oh look, a whole room of diseased fetuses in jars of formaldehyde! Let's go look at the tumor exhibit!)
  
• I have no money.

My goal, if it's at all possible, is to double-up some of the parts of this costume for the first Revival show of the season in October. Since the September strip is going to be about me being slowly overtaken by the plants in the Medicinal Garden, I'm aiming to reuse some or all of the costume in what I'm hoping will be October's fairy costume.

October is another matter entirely, requiring many, many entries to demonstrate just how excited I am about it. But September is first.

And for my being-overcome-by-botany routine (think steampunk Poison Ivy), I think I'm going to go with "Flowers" by Emilie Simon. It's a short song 2:30, so the act itself has to be tight. Fingers crossed, kids.



-DD

*Sorry to abuse link tags like that. If you go to all three and come to the show, I'll buy you a beer.

Hello World!

Some of you I know, some of you I'm meeting for the first time. I'm DD Ramona, troupe member of Revival Burlesque. I perform with Revival and other acts on occasion in and around the great city of Philadelphia.

For a while now, I've been looking for a way to create an online presence for myself. Most of the other girls in Revival Burlesque have a myspace page or somesuch, and I did try that for a time. The two big problems presented by this were 1) I never even think about myspace, let alone use it, and 2) the photo upload system regularly glitches, meaning I haven't been able to upload a picture in ages.

Even despite those things, I feel like I'm more interested in talking about what it's like to be a burlesque performer than to just share photos or videos. Don't worry, I'll throw in some photos and videos. But I also want to talk about what we're working on as a troupe, what I'm working on individually and what other people are working on that I desperately wish I could pull off.

So here I am now. Hi. I hope you'll check back often. The new Revival Burlesque season will start in October, with a Revue of last season at the end of September, so things are going to really be getting underway soon. I'm a little nervous and very excited. Join me, won't you?

-DD