Dear Constant Reader,
Scratch and I were out in Seattle at BurlyCon for the past several days. And they were crazy-fun jam-packed days! I’ll do my best to recount them all, without being too tedious.
Not-yet-bright and way too early we were off to the airport. I’m an early riser, but we had to get up *way* too early… and that flight was no fun at all. It was very nice of the airline to upgrade us to exit row seats for free, but I’d rather have a seat that reclines so I could sleep instead of the extra leg room. But that’s not what you wanted to hear about.
The hotel shuttle was packed with other burlesquers and the air was filled with excitement and the potential for glitter. Once arrived, we checked in, unpacked, picked up our badges, and I relaxed until my first class (which was really the second class session. I skipped one. Forgive me.).
Panel Skirt Construction (Penny Starr Jr.): I was really looking forward to this one and I was not disappointed. I love panel skirts and I’m always happy to pick up costuming tips. She displayed and discussed quick & dirty versions, more luxurious skirts, bustles, drapes, &c. I always find Penny a knowledgeable and accessible teacher and she answered my biggest patterning question, so I’m totally inspired to make some new panel skirts.
Fast & Furious Silk Fans (Agent Asian): I use a single cloth fan in my Titania act and was hoping to pick up some pointers. I was a little dismayed to see a room full of students with silk veil-fans. We were told the instructor was stuck in traffic and after we moved to a bigger classroom, one of the students jumped into to start teaching about veil-fans. I was contemplating leaving, since I had the wrong equipment, when the instructor raced in. Fortunately, the class was geared more toward my style of fan, so I’m glad I waited around. After learning a few moves and combinations, we drilled a choreography (to “But I am a Good Girl”, which amused me with the fusion of styles). I think there are a few moves I can incorporate, but most valuable was just the drilling of opening and closing the fans smoothly.
After that I went to catch the last bit of Scratch’s Commedia dell’arte class. He was drilling everyone on a section of our “Temptation” choreography, using different body parts to lead. When I arrived, they were all dancing like Pantalone. Scratch told me he was awfully nervous to have Waxy Moon, Paco Fish, and Ray Gunn in his class. The students were numerous and extremely enthusiastic for a 90-minute class on a 500-year-old theatre form.
The we dressed up for the Vintage Meet and Greet (sponsored by Atomic Cosmetics). Scratch donned a tiki shirt and I stepped out in a slinky black dress with rhinestone accents. My fabulous black heels turned out to be a poor choice for the hotel’s thin carpets-over-concrete floors, but they looked great for the short time I wore them. There was bacon jam and champagne punch and many drag queens. There had also been awakening at 4:30am East Coast Time, so I turned in relatively early.
Before I called it a night, I attended the Literati caucus, just to see what the heck that meant. It was organized by Sailor St. Claire who had sacrificed some pages from books for the cause. We would each draw a section of a page from an envelope and try to figure out which book it came from and who else had part of it. Thus organized into little groups, we chatted about books. Then we did it again.
This was the first page piece I drew:
Appropriate, no?
There will be much more to come. I have 3 more days of BurlyCon to report on, plus shopping!
