Miss Mina Murray

Dear Constant Reader,

In 2007 one of our troupe members needed to take the summer off. Only a few of us knew what she was going to be doing and we had to keep quiet about it. In the fall we could finally reveal that she was a contestant on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 9. She has shared a little of the behind the scenes with us over the years, but now she’s letting everyone know what happened on ANTM in her new book

You Wanna Be on Top? A Memoir of Makeovers, Manipulation, and Not Becoming…

Dear Constant Reader,

When spring arrives, so does my desire to host a tea party. Alas, when the day arrived, it was chilly and rainy. Such is spring in New England. Nevertheless, the tea and companionship were warm.

As usually I had a dozen guests and made three kinds each of sandwiches, scones, and sweets, plus tea.

Tea
Since I have four tea pots, there were four teas. A black tea my sister brought back from Hong Kong, The Earl in Grey, blooming green, and an herbal spice blend from my…

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s Friday and I don’t know about where you are, but it is unpleasantly hot & humid here, which inspired today’s tip.

Air conditioning can be very dehydrating. Prepare for it.

It’s great that AC helps when it’s humid out, but it can have a negative effect on you. Perhaps you wake up with a headache or a sore throat. Your skin feels dry. It can happen especially badly in hotels where you have little control over the climate control.

As you might expect, drinking plenty of…

Dear Constant Reader,

Hey, it’s Friday!

For a fun surprise, wear gauntlets under your gloves.

The audience thinks they’re about to see your bare arm, but there’s another layer of decoration instead! And since gauntlets don’t cover your fingers or palms, you’ll have dexterity for your following removes. You can leave the gauntlets on for the entire act or take them off later.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go…

Dear Constant Reader,

Here ’tis Friday again. Here’s your tip!

When gluing rhinestones, put your fabric on a silicone mat or piece of parchment paper.

Gluing rhinestones is a bit like baking. You don’t them to stick. I mean, you do, but you only want them to stick to the surface you’re decorating. Not to your work surface. Not to the layer of fabric underneath. Putting either parchment paper or a silicone mat under the piece you are decorating will prevent glue soaking through and sticking to…

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s Friday again! Here’s your tip!

Naps are nice.

I don’t know about you, but at heart I am an old lady who would like nothing better than a good book, a cup of tea, some cats, and an early bedtime. However, I have chosen to be a showgirl and some of those shows start pretty dang late.

To stay perky and focused, the answer might not be more coffee, but, if you can swing it, a nap. The key is to get enough sleep that you are feeling refreshed, but not so much that you’re…

Dear Constant Reader,

This past weekend I was unexpectedly able to attend two shows at the second annual Boston Fringe Festival, held, of course, in Somerville.

The first was Our Lord and Savior, a play written, directed, and featuring the multitalented Alana Corrigan. I think it shows how much respect I have for Lani that I voluntarily, nay, eagerly, came to a production that started at 10pm.

Our story is set at a Bible study group in Minnesota with five teens overseen by an overwhelmed youth…

Dear Constant Reader,

There isn’t going to be a Friday Tip this week. Maybe next week. I’m not particularly in the mood to share my skills and wisdom with the world. This has nothing to do with you, Dear Readers. In fact, I appreciate all of you, very much. However, things are just a bit much for me right now.

There may be something like a tip about priorities and self-care in there, but I leave that as an exercise to the reader.

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday!

Remember last week when I talked about being an ambassador for burlesque? This is related.

Support your local community —  not just your burlesque community.

If there’s a cause that’s important to you, one way to support it is in your burlesque guise. Donate tickets or a gift certificate to a raffle. Share the proceeds of a show. Teach a free class. Volunteer in person, perhaps as a troupe. It shows the rest of the world we’re more than their preconceived notions and puts…

Dear Constant Reader,

After too long a pause, I have returned to the volume 2 of my costume book, tentatively titled “The Next Level”, in which I explore the  creation of shimmy belts and panels skirts and some related garments. I’ve handed out the panels skirt section to some folks for feedback, which I hope will give me some motivation to continue.

The other thing that’s motivating me is that I am basically out of copies of my previous two books and I want to roll the next printings into the Kickstarter…