Launceston gets Sketchy

I was disappointed to hear that Dr Sketchy's New York closed in 2013- although if you check the website it's promising to see that it's listed as on hiaitus until 2014- I posed for the NYC chapter in 2011 as a mechanical doll. The session was a little crazy, in the best way... So much fun, two emcees playing off each other, a dedicated group of artists, stupidly painful poses plus great tips!

Photo by Kate Black
Backstage at the Bowery Poetry Club Dr Sketchy's NYC 2011

Photo by Kate Black
Artwork at the Bowery Poetry Club, Dr Sketchy's NYC 2011

Dr Sketchy's Launceston's principal, Ruby de Winter asked me to be her first model... which was nice!
I had a quick meeting with Ruby and her partner Dan before the actual night to discuss music, costume and to nut out the posing schedule.

Photo by Bruce Moyle

Ruby emceed the evening, an intimate gathering of artists who used all sorts of mediums, chalk, charcoal, paint, pencil and one gent putting pen to paper and writing stream of conciousness poetry.

Bianca- photo by Bruce Moyle

stream of conciousness - Photo by Bruce Moyle

As I had to head straight from my other job to the Lazy Butterfly, Dr Sketchy's Launceston home, I dried and set my hair in curls early in the morning and wrapped a large cotton scarf around my head- the mid century hair covering looking a bit out of place with my normal work attire.

Photo by Bruce Moyle

I arrived with 45 minutes to get ready, part of which I spent just chatting to Ruby and Gen instead of putting on my face.
Gen House was working the door and Ruby was setting up the stage with help from Dan.
Chairs were spread in a semi circle and drawing boards were available for those who needed one.
The poses were typical for a life drawing class, five poses held for one minute, five for two minutes, two for ten minutes, a short break, finishing with two long poses, twenty minute each and finally a big stretch for me!

Photo by Bruce Moyle

Posing is utterly exhausting! I tend to keep a very straight face and although I try to relax into a pose, there are times where about halfway through I'm having major regrets... happily most of the time those are the short poses- Holding the splits with a knee on each chair was easier than bending backwards. Go figure.

Photo by Bruce Moyle

I did a reverse strip in my Corsets by Nasty Ginny sunrise ombre costume, starting in pasties and g-string and finishing in a corset and panel skirt.

Photo by Bruce Moyle

The best part was getting to see what people had produced, some was abstract, some more cartoon and others were line drawings in pencil.

Line drawing with pencil and ink by Bianca

The next class is January 16 and will feature Launceston belly dancer Gen House, I'll be putting in some time on door duties so if you're in the area, why not come say hi, scribble a bit or spend some time gazing up at the model.

Flinging through Flinders

Arriving at Flinders!
L-R Stage manager Shelley, Lucy, Coco, Raine, Oopsy Daisy and Scarlett Jezebel

Flinders Island is a small chunk of land off the North East coast of Tasmania. The Island is part of the Furneaux group- over 50 tiny islands make up the grouping although most of the islands are uninhabited.
It was to Flinders Island and its 900 residents that we brought their first ever burlesque show!

Scarlett Jezebel organised the run list, three sets featuring three burlesque performances from Oopsy Daisy, Scarlett and me with the big haired, loud mouthed, Raine Ingmen emceeing and performing a couple of numbers and Shelley as our stage manager keeping things running behind the scenes.

We spent Friday night at my small house in Launceston, 2 to a bed and one to the couch.... Needless to say, none of us got to bed before midnight and most of us were awake at 4am so by 8am when Nat picked us up we were in desperate need of caffeine.

Our question when we met the event manager and our host, Nat at the airport was "is it ok to swear on stage." The answer was a definitive yes, which brought on a prattle of language from Raine that delighted the locals waiting in the small but comfortable airport

Nat took us for coffee at the local bakery in Whitemark- there are two, they sit opposite each other on the main road and apparently work in shifts, one open in the morning, the other in the afternoon!

Touring the Island with AJ and Oopsy

Oopsy Daisy with Coco at Trouser's Point on Saturday

We stopped at the Furneaux Tavern to drop off our bags and snag rooms which were in very comfortable cabins. Scarlett and I shared a two bedroom cabin whilst Raine, Shelley and Oopsy took a large room that could sleep six!
We spent a lot of our time going from the Tavern to another part of the Island and back again and rarely saw another car on the road but the Island itself is beautiful with mountain ranges, coast lines and rugged meadows.
 Nat continued our tour of Flinders by taking us on a  small fishing boat which took us past Cape Barron Island to an Island that is known to the locals as Russian Island. We walked up to a small house that is looked after by a caretaker- there were sheep on the Island and a small cemetery along with the remains of a post office. I jumped on the back of a 4x4 driven by Nat and Scarlett jumped behind Rockjaw and we were taken to the summit on Russian from which we could see all four sides of the horizon. The view was magnificent, azure blue water, white sand, red rock and on one side there was an old shipwreck, the Barque Farsund which was wrecked on a shoal in 1912, inaccessible by land but an amazing feature to spot from the summit.

 We got back, piled in the van and headed to Whitemark Hall for a lighting tech. AK who was our tech was very thorough and when he realised Oopsy was singing Machine Gun Fellatio's "Let me be your dirty fucking whore" he got pretty excited as he used to tour with the band! We headed back to the Tavern again do our hair and make up as although the hall had a great stage and light set up it lacked a dressing room.

Backstage with Oopsy Daisy (my costume: Corsets by Nasty Ginny)

Shelley and Scarlett getting cheeky with Raine

Scarlett as Mary Poppins

Showing off the sunburn we collected during the day! (Costume by Sonia Heap)

 The next day by unspoken mutual agreement we all slept in, but the sounds of birds scuffling on the roof and the beating rays of the sun got me up by 9am, so I grabbed a book and went to the Tavern's verandah- which overlooks the water-  to soak up the sun. Oopsy, Shelley and Raine joined me for breakfast and we heaped a plate with toast, butter, jam and a tea bag and burst upon Scarlett with Coco- singing- us, not Coco-  Scarlett emerged from under the covers to give us the evil eye- until we promised her coffee!

Oopsy and I covering up with  hats from the local shop

Braving the cold cold water at Trousers Point... It looks better than it feels!

Trouser's Point

We headed out to Trousers Point in the Furneaux Tavern's van. Nat had explained the Flinders wave to us, a two finger flick of acknowledgement that I did at every opportunity while behind the wheel. After an all too brief stop at Trousers Point we realised that time was running short and headed back to the Tavern.
Panicking slightly as time was running short we picked up a local at the Tavern, Browny who heaved in with two travellers- one in a pint glass- Nat wasn't too keen to have that much open grog in the car so he obliged by sculling one of the drinks and handing the glass back to an obliging local.
We drove out to Nat's to have a quick look at a baby wombat she was looking after- Tank's mum had been hit by a car, luckily they'd stopped and found Tank just behind her, safe.
Then we dropped Browny off after he spotted someone driving his ute! Apparently the locals like to 'borrow'each other's cars...

Tank the baby wombat

Tank!

We were way past the check in time by the time we got to the airport and were all thinking that we'd be spending another night on the Island. Happily they're an easy going bunch and we were reassured that we could fly.

Our tiny plane... Sharp airlines!

Finally, a huge thank you to my fellow cast members, to the Flinders community who made us so welcome, to the Furneaux tavern, particularly Nat Weaver and to Sharp Airlines for flying us over to a slice of Tasmanian paradise that we can promise had never seen a show quite like the one we gave them!

Ain't Miss Showgirl Couture for nothing!

At Miss Burlesque Australia with my MBA Tasmania sash and Miss Showgirl Couture sash

I have a love - some would call it an obsession- for vintage burlesque and showgirl costumes. I like to reuse and give new life to retired stage and circus costumes in shoots and for a limited time, onstage. But, when I can't revive or create by myself, I collaborate or purchase from other costumiers and designers.
Melbourne designer, Zoe Felice created my white dress that I used for the New York Burlesque Festival and Tasmanian designers Sonia Heap and Kristi of Corsets by Nasty Ginny have both collaborated with me to create signature outfits for use on stage.

Photo by Jessica Kate Casey

 My latest costume is from Nasty Ginny Corsets, the label of Kristi Robertson, a designer I've known for decades as my best friend's former step mother and my former 'boss' when I spent a week interning in her successful bridal design business in central Hobart.

This pink dress worn by the character Ivy in the second season of Smash was just one of the images used for inspiration

Kristi's drawing of my dress

My week at Kristi's Bridal shop made me realise I needed to increase my limited sewing skills however although I was pretty useless in the workroom, I was able to help Kristi during a photoshoot and weekend Bridal expo.
This was a pretty amazing experience as I was in a stage where girls that graced the pages of Dolly and Girlfriend were more important to me then women like Kate Adie or Marie Colvin.
It was a relief to find that they were all down to earth, funny chicks who also discussed with immense gravity, the "newest" way to strut down the catwalk as demonstrated by a Tasmanian international model.

The bare bones of the dress...

Historically burlesque has had its share of cheap and cheerful, handmade and custom made costumes. Some performers made their own, others used top costumiers such as Gussie Gross and Rex Huntington who were, according to Liz Goldwyn, the most prolific burlesque costume designers in the 1940s, as well as Billie Lingston, Betty Meyers, Madame Etoile, Mother Haines and Brooks Brothers.
In contemporary burlesque, performer Catherine D'Lish supplies gowns, fans, and boas worldwide, then there are performers who create whole outfits for other performers. Louisiana based performer, Charlotte Treuse is one and according to Perle Noire, Charlotte is so exact with her rhinestoning, she actually measures and marks where each jewel will be attached.
Liz Goldwyn's documentary and book, Pretty Things  features some of the costumiers from the golden age of burlesque (1920- 1960) as does the documentary and book, Behind the Burly Q by Leslie Zemeckis.

Corset with lace overlay

Finished- It just needs added rhinestones...

When I visited Kristi at her workroom she had just returned from a trip to London during which she had received some hasty messages from me, bursting with ideas.
I drove out to her studio, located on her property in Leslievale- surrounded by chickens and ponies- and we discussed the new act I was creating. Kristi was keen to do both the overdress of black and white and the colourful costume beneath.
My great friend and supporter Carolina, convinced me that orange rather than red would be striking and I finally decided after gathering ideas on Pintrest, that I liked the idea of graduating the colours in an ombre effect.
Fittings were paramount in order to ensure the correct shape, fit, weight and the ease of removal. I also knew that I wanted the skirt to sit over the corset to create the illusion of a dress. I knew that I wanted a panel at the front and Kristi added the fishtail at the back..
Kristi took my ideas, added her own and created something incredible. She was so patient and no idea was too outrageous. She painstakingly hand beaded the corset, underwear set and the skirt and understood the importance of having a costume that was secure yet could come off with a quick flick.

Close up of the bra without crystals

Kristi made the pattern for the bra and g-string herself

For the full set which includes a fully lined overdress, corset, skirt, gloves, bra and knickers plus the design which included blocking, the costs were reasonable, however if you are getting a costume custom made be prepared to spend more then originally quoted and to make time for extra fittings. If you pick the right designer, the results are worth the wait!
I retained the right to rhinestone simply to keep costs down and as I actually rather enjoy keeping my hands busy when I'm watching TV or a movie.

The finished product in action!!

Photo by Jessica Kate Casey

Photo by Bret Salinger

Photo by Bret Salinger

The latest addition to my sunrise ombre costume is a panel skirt that Kristi finished just in time for me to take to Flinders Island. She hand dyed the chiffon skirt panels and beaded a large applique that's affixed to the front of the skirt. I purchased the trim from M& J Trims in NYC but you can also purchase online.

Backstage at the Flinders Island hall

New York, Burlesque (and food) 2013

The City that Never Sleeps, Empire City, the Big Apple.
Whatever you call it, New York City is a mecca for burlesque performers and during four nights when the New York Burlesque Festival is on, the pilgrims gather from near and far.

The Golden Pasties- Group shot  Photo by Filip Wolak courtesy Time out Magazine

I have attended the NYBF as a member of the audience, a stage kitten and now, as a performer on Sunday night's Golden Pasties awards. More of an industry night, the Highline Ballroom's tables were full of performers, producers, New York's finest, burlesque legends and patrons willing to watch the swiftly delivered award presentations for the acts that followed.

Photo by Angela McConnell

But before the festival, there's the city itself, sprawling, loud, bold, New York City.
Chelsea Hostel for a few nights alone then a week in a sprawling Brooklyn loft with some Aussie friends- performers in their own right.
Two stops from Manhattan on the L train, if you're staying with 2-3 other people I would recommend messaging me for the contact (Airbnb). Cheap by New York standards, comfortable and friendly.

NYC was a new experience for Chiara and Becky which meant I could indulge the inner tourist by taking long walks through Central Park, diversions to find the carousel and Alice statue, Times Square for rush tickets to see Pippin on Broadway...

At the Alice in Wonderland statue with Becky and a random child already learning the art of photobombing

 We took the (free) ferry crossing to Staten Island and back taking in the view of the city skyline and the Statue of Liberty (keep in mind there's usually at least a 15 minute wait on Staten Isle before you can return). The sight of Liberty as you return from Staten Island always makes me think of the immigrants, arriving by sea, they would have seen the same welcoming representation of freedom as they arrived in the new land- I can't help but juxtapose that sight with the one that Asylum Seekers are confronted with en route to Australia.

Leaving Manhattan... from the Staten Isle Ferry

Scott, an Australian circus performer and trainer based in Montreal introduced us to the Williamsburg location of Beacon's Closet, a warehouse located on 11th st, next door to Vice headquarters, Kinfolk coffee and Brooklyn Bowl.
Packed with rails of new and vintage clothing, we spent happy hours searching through racks of Prada heels, silk frocks, fur stoles, cashmere sweaters and beaded cardigans.
Becky and I also visited the Manhattan Beacon's on 13th street located near Union Square, we lost a lot of time there but found some unique gems to take home.

Becky checking out the shoes at Beacon's Closet in Brooklyn

I love the Chelsea garage flea market on 25th street but was sad to learn that by the time I get back to Manhattan it will be gone. The parking garage the market uses has been sold and the tenants who set up shop there on the weekend, warned to find a new home.

One stall tucked in a corner has a glut of clothing from Victorian beaded dresses to these Atlantic City showgirl costumes.

The Food....

I'm a gluten free, vegetarian BUT I'm pretty happy to hang out with bread and meat eaters (I also don't eat potato- or fish.) So read on for my mostly unhealthy, coffee based recommendations!

Bowery street Antiquing...

I love the Wholefood Supermarket and Trader Joe's for groceries. They stock pre-made salads, fresh sushi and hot food such as soup and roast meat. If you're planning to stay in a flat or hostel with a kitchen check out their locations before you leave as you'll save money and your stomach will thank you for the fresh, organic produce you supply it- Union Square Farmer's Market is also a great one to check out for fresh produce, locally made products and baked goods.

Pumpkins at Union Square Farmer's Market

 Of course it wouldn't be a holiday if you didn't indulge a little... Let's start at the top of the pyramid-
 Schnippers and the Shake Shack are my faves for a great chocolate or coffee milkshake. Skip the lines at Shake Shack in Madison Square park and head round the corner to Schnippers on East 23rd for take out.

The view looking uptown from Madison Square Park

For cookies, Schmackary's is becoming a NYC institution. Between 8th and 9th Avenue, West 50th street for maple bacon, peanut butter chocolate, salted choc chip, S'mores and my favourites, gluten free sweet corn meal and cranberry cookies.

The selection at Schmackery's is constantly refreshed... $2.75 each or two for $5... But they're so sweet you won't need anything else for hours!

Sweet potato fries beat potato fries hands down. Scott recommended honey but I prefer ketchup.
For snacking I either grabbed hommus and pita chips or else got sucked into the constantly refreshed bag of Kettle or caramel popcorn left open on the kitchen counter in the loft- pick up at a local deli, supermarket, pharmacy (yes, really) or Garrett Popcorn on 34th street.

For coffee we visited Verb on Bedford Avenue. Consistently good and when the barista thought it wasn't good enough, he made me a new one of his own volition!
In Chelsea I like to go to Think Coffee between 13th and 14th street on 8th Avenue or head 10 blocks uptown for a fresh bagel and iced coffee from Murray's bagels 

Admiring the iced cakes at Magnolia Bakeries on Avenue of the America's  near Rockefeller Centre

If you're heading to Central Park, I would encourage you to either hit up a deli before- they often have fresh salad bars- or to visit the Wholefood market at Columbus Circle (inside the Time Warner building and down the escalators)- always busy, but well stocked-  and then head over to the park to set up your own picnic on one of the enormous rocks or can walk further in to the Park and settle in Sheeps Meadow

Back to burlesque...

Thursday night's Premiere Party was preceded by a gathering of visiting international performers at Minnie Tonka's apartment in Brooklyn. Style, audience and producing was discussed over cider, beer, popcorn and a potent liquor from Sweden.

At Minnie Tonka's before the NYBF Premiere Party

 Friday night's show was in our neighbourhood, we walked to the Brooklyn Bowl- sadly not the best venue for burlesque as you could barely see the performer's on stage and had to watch the large screens mounted on the walls. Medianoche, fresh from her New Orleans crowning performed early in the night before joining the audience to watch.
We arrived a little late, the stand out performances on Friday for me were definitely the Aussies, Peaches and Gin doing their Harry Potter act and Lillian Starr's Feed the Horse, comedy and festish... Oi, oi, oi

Saturday we ventured to BB Kings on 42nd street- via Grand Central- my bad navigation- Murray Hill comedian, drag king, Sunday night bingo caller at the Bowery Peotry club kept the night moving. Trixie Little stole the show. Her banana act brings together all my favourite elements of burlesque. The peel, her energy and confidence, a terrific prop, costume and a big bang at the end... I could watch it again... and again... and again.(and it just ain't the same on Youtube!)

Photo by Angela McConnell,
L-R Minnie Tonka, Tiffany Carter, Darlinda, Just Darlinda, Lucy, ..., Lil Miss Lixx

Industry nights are always going to have a whiff of inside jokes and closed double entendres but these were kept to a minimum or packed into a one liner, swiftly delivered by the towering, long eared emcee Scotty the Blue Bunny.

Photo by Angela Mcconnel

Dave Bishop kept the show running smoothly on stage and at a cracking pace backstage. all was when the performer on before you was performing. Then it was a quick descent to the wings and a tottering climb up some steps to the rubber floored stage.

Photo by Angela McConnell

On early in the night, I could settle in to a booth near the back with Becky, Chiara, Luna Eclipse and Scott to watch the rest of the show. Gotta say Becky Lou's goldfish act gets me every time and Trixie Little and Mr Gorgeous produced a fairy tale of epic, feet brushing lights, proportions.

We finished up with a haphazard curtain call, an upskirt look at my stockings and an un needed binge of fried food and chocolate milkshakes at Kellogs Diner in Brooklyn.
We went our separate ways the following morning, Chiara and Becky in a cab, Scott on a bus back to Canada and I hopped on the L train with my suitcase- substantially heavier-  for two more nights in Chelsea, walks on the Highline and sunny Fall days in Central Park.

My last morning in Central Park

28 hours of Transit later and via Brisbane, I was in Wellington for the New Zealand Burlesque Festival...

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/clubs/new-york-burlesque-festivals-golden-pastie-awards-slide-show