I was a stripper from 1980-1995, with a few two-week forays in between jobs since then, and I do revivalist burlesque
shows occasionally. Once a year I do a classic burlesque fan dance for a group of very powerful and wealthy men who
dress in drag and tuxedos and sing show tunes to me. It won't surprise me if you find that hard to believe, because I do,
and I'm the one who experiences it--and I'm an old broad who's seen a few things.
Due to the kindness of both strangers and friends, I've enjoyed the privelege of performing at Tease-O-Rama in San Francisco,
The Chamber in Atlanta, and The New York Burlesque Festival (in New York, of course). I've performed at Galapagos Art Space, the
Gramercy Park Center for the Performing Arts, the Slipper Room, Burlesque at the Beach (Coney Island Sideshows by the Seashore),
The Blue Angel, Le Scandal, Dollhaus, Chashama, The Bowery Poetry Club, and other esteemed venues on and off the burlesque circuit.
I've also lectured about burlesque and stripping at NYU, The New School, The Socialist Scholar's Conference, the American
Philosophical Association Pacific Division Conference, and other academic venues, and have published dozens of articles, essays,
and poems on the subjects of performative gender and sexual identity. However, I cut that out because watching certain people scrap
over funding at the UN was too, too depressing. I also do independent productions, such as: Hubba Hubba Hey!--A Burlesque Salute
to the Ramones; Paperback Burlesque--Dirty Book Art Brought to Life; and The Follies Fromage (as Madame Fanny Fromage). And there's
oh so much more, if I could only remember it all. I've been fortunate to live out almost all my burlesque fantasies!
I've been interviewed for articles in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Black Table, The Village Voice, The Washington
Times , The Phoenix New Times, Time Magazine, and Entertainment Weekly. |
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