Cult Fiction, Erratica and a Wild Party
Once upon last Friday,
I worked.
Then I got naked for one Ms. C.S.E. Cooney. More specifically I practiced my first ever burlesque act. She gave good feedback. Here is what I have discovered about burlesque, goddamn it's hard to do good. Yes, I knew this already, but for the man on the tree it is a whole new LANGUAGE to learn. Theater face. Body movement. Comedy. Yowza. Anyways, Ms. Cooney gave wonderful feedback and put the battle axes back in my hands and glide back in my stride.
Then we went to Cult Fiction, an ongoing reading series at Lucky Number Grill in Chicago.
Five dollar horror fiction on a Friday night. You are as likely to hear about mad magicians as dust bowl butchers that feed entire towns on their own entrails. Which means you should go.
Saturday:
WAS MY FIRST EVER BURLESQUE ACT!!! Otherwise known as Sonnets and Striptease at The Spot.
Here's how this happened. Reina Hardy is a fabulous Chicago playwright. Her play, Erratica, was recently published.
So she had a book release party which doubled as a birthday party which tripled as a variety show. Yeah, did I mention Reina was pretty damn fabulous? Add an absolutely before that. Four burlesque performers rocked the stage to book-themed burlesque. There was a game of "Strip Sonnet," a bad poetry contest and a partial reading of Erratica. I had an act to Man Man's "Mister Jung Stuffed."
Here I am with Reina:
why yes, my top lip has disappeared completely. Perhaps I left it in my button box. (Off topic side tip: don't ever ask to see C.S.E. Cooney's button box. It's a gory affair. You should make her read the poem in which she mentions it.)
Back to the burlesque-is-hard-to-do-right thing...it is. It takes time. Ef, man. I'm not saying I did it perfect, but I was pretty pleased with my basket o books and black sequin pasties. But hell, I don't have time for another job which is what performance art can turn into. I work at two libraries and I write. I am excited about the world of burlesque and love to support it, but I don't think I could ever be an active performer. It's just too much time. Every time I practiced my act I was kinda mad at myself for not spending the time writing. Or resentful that I was working on how to bend and shimmy when I wanted to be polishing that bee charmer story that I've been working on forever and five days. So to the women out there who shimmy shimmy shake and bump and grind, I salute you. I don't think enough people realize how much effort can go into taking off your clothes.
Sometimes I love how absurd my friends are. Like when they invite me to do burlesque acts at their birthday book release parties.
Why yes, I entered the bad poetry contest. Here is my poem in honor of Reina's birthday :
_ _ _ _ _
"Reina"
In her mouth is the sunlight.
I want to eat the gold.
Weep.
_ _ _ _ _
Unfortunately, it wasn't bad enough to win a prize. I believe that went to the ode for the Walgreen's checkout girl - if not it should have, that poem was awesomely awful.
After Sonnets and Striptease, Mr. John O'Neill and I went to C.S.E. Cooney's where she MADE US FOOD! Ok, so I brought chips and guacamole, but she made REAL HOMEMADE FOOD! The kitchen witch Claire threw a carrot in a fry pan and all of a sudden it was a dang feast. Yes please, give me this skill. And we had tea. Except O'Neill who sucked the juice of pomegranates. We conversed. Cooney read us a short work.
There's not all that much better than tea around a table with friends.
EXCEPT A WILD PARTY. Ok, apples and oranges, really, but next up Claire and I went to The Wild Party Variety Hour over at the Prop Theatre. We saw many fantastical wonders, including:
-Glow in the dark, raver-esque juggling by Dharmesh Bhagat
-the grotesque, wonderfully disturbing comedy of Dean Evans
-bellydancing by Jolie Roberson
-burlesque by Lady Jack
AND AND AND
-the hilarity of Mel - Party of One, clown extraordinaire. This woman is seriously the coolest fucking clown I have ever seen. (Ok, so I haven't seen that many clowns, but Mel is a violin playing wonder) She'll rip your heart out and then shove it back in place and calm the ache with laughter.
So Saturday was a two-step into Awesometown.
Sunday:
I MADE CUPCAKES! Yes more gd cupcakes. And I STILL didn't use all the extra icing. K. I'm done. Done. No more cupcakes. Next time I'm cutting that icing recipe down to a third.
And I worked.
And I met my best friend for buffalo tofu at Pick Me Up Cafe.
And went briefly to Neo.
What a beautiful weekend it was, albeit it tiring.
OH YEAH, I started watching the British version of The Office. Freakin brilliant. Thanks, Claire.