Photo from John.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Amy's First Facial
An image from last week, in which some special effects are given a test run . . .
Photo from John.
Photo from John.
In the Phoenix
The best thing to happen to the holidays in Boston since Boston Ballet got kicked out of the Wang? That'd be THE SLUTCRACKER.- Carly Carioli, The Boston Phoenix
Slutcracker Profile: Lacy Gazelle
Describe your artistic life before/outside of The Slutcracker, this year's or last.
During college I was a fabulous slut with a radio show and an ironic cheerleading team and lots of jpegs, but after graduating, I thought I had to wise/grow up, for some reason. I stopped dying and spiking my hair. I threw out my black eyeliner. I was quick to label a lot of things as "trashy" and was really concerned with avoiding said trashy things. I tried to learn how to cook (healthily), I framed everything I put on a wall, I tried to go to bed early, I wanted to smell nice all of the time, I wanted whiter teeth, I wanted glossier hair, I went tanning (which for someone like me translates into "I went burning"). I wore a lot of J. Crew pastel skirts with matching cardigans. And for those three years, whenever I looked into a mirror I'd wonder "wait, so what am I missing?" I didn't look like myself. I didn't look like the striven-for perpetual magazine ad. I just looked . . . tired. And I felt caught up in a panic over all this work toward a life I was slowly realizing I didn't even want.
I credit stumbling into last year’s The Slutcracker with a lot. I feel like I was reluctantly inching down a certain path, with its certain self-righteous opinions about what it meant to be an adult, and educated, and female, and feminist, and professional, and what all of that looked like. And then this group was all “hey, want to join our club? We’re replacing all our zippers with velcro” and I was all “oh thank God yesyesyesyesyes!”
What is your favorite accessory/clothing item/sparkly thing to don?
I've gotten super into thigh-high socks, preferably striped. But for immediate transformation, a great wig can't be beat.
What do you do as a contributing member of society?
I'm a web manager. Charge me with your internets.
Best song to dance to, of all time:
Right now for me it's "5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO", by The Coup. But I also have a pretty good history with Le Tigre's "Deceptacon."
Stance on healthcare reform:
Maaan. I used to think all my problems would be solved once I got insurance.
During college I was a fabulous slut with a radio show and an ironic cheerleading team and lots of jpegs, but after graduating, I thought I had to wise/grow up, for some reason. I stopped dying and spiking my hair. I threw out my black eyeliner. I was quick to label a lot of things as "trashy" and was really concerned with avoiding said trashy things. I tried to learn how to cook (healthily), I framed everything I put on a wall, I tried to go to bed early, I wanted to smell nice all of the time, I wanted whiter teeth, I wanted glossier hair, I went tanning (which for someone like me translates into "I went burning"). I wore a lot of J. Crew pastel skirts with matching cardigans. And for those three years, whenever I looked into a mirror I'd wonder "wait, so what am I missing?" I didn't look like myself. I didn't look like the striven-for perpetual magazine ad. I just looked . . . tired. And I felt caught up in a panic over all this work toward a life I was slowly realizing I didn't even want.
I credit stumbling into last year’s The Slutcracker with a lot. I feel like I was reluctantly inching down a certain path, with its certain self-righteous opinions about what it meant to be an adult, and educated, and female, and feminist, and professional, and what all of that looked like. And then this group was all “hey, want to join our club? We’re replacing all our zippers with velcro” and I was all “oh thank God yesyesyesyesyes!”
What is your favorite accessory/clothing item/sparkly thing to don?
I've gotten super into thigh-high socks, preferably striped. But for immediate transformation, a great wig can't be beat.
What do you do as a contributing member of society?
I'm a web manager. Charge me with your internets.
Best song to dance to, of all time:
Right now for me it's "5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO", by The Coup. But I also have a pretty good history with Le Tigre's "Deceptacon."
Stance on healthcare reform:
Maaan. I used to think all my problems would be solved once I got insurance.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Reviewed in The Herald
“The Slutcracker” is rough around the edges, but that’s part of its charm. It’s worth sitting through the awkward transitions and minor set gaffes for the performances that follow.- Jenna Scherer, The Boston Herald
And even though this isn’t a show for kids, it’s for pretty much everyone else. There are as many body types on display in “The Slutcracker” as there are snowflakes - and that makes Sugar Dish’s Christmas dish not only hilarious and dirty, but empowering and liberating. Dance on, you filthy sugar plums.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Slutcracker Profile: Jane Doe
What is your favorite accessory/clothing item/sparkly thing to don?
I'm definitely partial to off-the-shoulder tops, big earrings, and arm warmers.
What do you do as a contributing member of society, and how do you feel about said contribution?
I'm in marketing and PR - now if I could find a way to combine that will performing and get my bills paid, I would be a happy girl indeed.
If I wanted to get you drunk enough for . . . I don't know, the best thing you can think of, what would I order?
Tequila, for sure. The last time I seriously drank tequila was...let's just say that I ended up drinking from a sippy cup so I wouldn't spill any more of it. The last time I semi-seriously drank tequila, I wore my shirt as a hat.
Best song to dance to, of all time:
She Wants to Move by N.E.R.D. If it comes on anywhere, ever, I will
start dancing, and not stop until it's over.
Stance on healthcare reform:
Now, please!
I'm definitely partial to off-the-shoulder tops, big earrings, and arm warmers.
What do you do as a contributing member of society, and how do you feel about said contribution?
I'm in marketing and PR - now if I could find a way to combine that will performing and get my bills paid, I would be a happy girl indeed.
If I wanted to get you drunk enough for . . . I don't know, the best thing you can think of, what would I order?
Tequila, for sure. The last time I seriously drank tequila was...let's just say that I ended up drinking from a sippy cup so I wouldn't spill any more of it. The last time I semi-seriously drank tequila, I wore my shirt as a hat.
Best song to dance to, of all time:
She Wants to Move by N.E.R.D. If it comes on anywhere, ever, I will
start dancing, and not stop until it's over.
Stance on healthcare reform:
Now, please!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Slutcracker's Clara Interviewed in "The Metro"
What is the No. 1 thing on your Christmas list?
Come to think of it … my vibrator’s broken. Can you even print that?
Slutcracker Profile: Honey Suckle Duvet
Describe your artistic life before/outside of The Slutcracker, this year's or last. Were you already in the burlesque scene?
I sauntered onto the scene in 2005 as an exotic dance student. Three weeks later I was teaching and for two years thereafter I taught classes in striptease and exotic dancing. Burlesque came one year into my teaching gig and I was so grateful I found it. I got to mix striptease and acting, I was in heaven.
Before I tripped the light fantastic as Honey Suckle Duvet I studied acting. I performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, produced dance and theatre productions, and have written and performed four one-woman shows. In my last show “Genesis of Honey: Survivor to Siren” I talk about my journey in Burlesque. I am bringing it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland in 2010.
Always up for a challenge, in the summer of '09 I started doing standup comedy on the Naked Comedy Showcase. (I have a show 10:30 Dec 11th right after the 2nd Slutcracker show.)
What do you do as a contributing member of society, and how do you feel about said contribution?
My heart lies in using Burlesque to teach and inspire other women to shed negative body image. It is a way of pay my own healing forward and share the general awesomeness I get from doing Burlesque. I have found that a lot of women fall in love with the look and feel of Burlesques and want to feel more sexy and confident. Even if they never bring it to the stage it is pretty awesome when someone starts off thinking they could never strip or strut and next thing you know they have a new swish in their hips. It pretty much rocks.
If I wanted to get you drunk enough for . . . I don't know, the best thing you can think of, what would I order?
I don't drink so you will have to rely on charm and wit or start talking about sci-fi, mainly Doctor Who.
I sauntered onto the scene in 2005 as an exotic dance student. Three weeks later I was teaching and for two years thereafter I taught classes in striptease and exotic dancing. Burlesque came one year into my teaching gig and I was so grateful I found it. I got to mix striptease and acting, I was in heaven.
Before I tripped the light fantastic as Honey Suckle Duvet I studied acting. I performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, produced dance and theatre productions, and have written and performed four one-woman shows. In my last show “Genesis of Honey: Survivor to Siren” I talk about my journey in Burlesque. I am bringing it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland in 2010.
Always up for a challenge, in the summer of '09 I started doing standup comedy on the Naked Comedy Showcase. (I have a show 10:30 Dec 11th right after the 2nd Slutcracker show.)
What do you do as a contributing member of society, and how do you feel about said contribution?
My heart lies in using Burlesque to teach and inspire other women to shed negative body image. It is a way of pay my own healing forward and share the general awesomeness I get from doing Burlesque. I have found that a lot of women fall in love with the look and feel of Burlesques and want to feel more sexy and confident. Even if they never bring it to the stage it is pretty awesome when someone starts off thinking they could never strip or strut and next thing you know they have a new swish in their hips. It pretty much rocks.
If I wanted to get you drunk enough for . . . I don't know, the best thing you can think of, what would I order?
I don't drink so you will have to rely on charm and wit or start talking about sci-fi, mainly Doctor Who.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Slutcracker Profile: JPunx
Describe your artistic life before/outside of The Slutcracker, this year's or last.
I've been a club kid since high school. The thing is that while almost all of my friends got "too old" to keep it up, I never stopped, so I've been dancing for over 30 years, but I've only been performing for the last 6 years or so. Performing began when I started hooping with some members of Groove Hoops from New York at the Berkfest Music Festival in Western Massachusetts in 2002, and they invited me to hoop with them around the festival the following year. That led, in a non-direct route to some DJ'ing opportunities and other involvement in music events and hooping around mid-coast and Portland, Maine. I was coming to Boston for work and met up with some of the other members of what was to become the Boston Hoop Troop and suddenly I was performing at parades, night clubs, warehouse parties and Burning Man events. Most recently I've been doing more fire hooping.
What The Slutcracker has done for me is really open up burlesque as something I, as a man, can do as performance. It's not about watching someone else, specifically women, do it. I can be a burlesque performer too. So I have Sugar Dish to thank for that; she put the opportunity in front of me, and now I'm doing burlesque too. I'm not just hooping as part of the side show with a juggler and the comedians anymore; I'm gonna take my clothes off too and have fun doing it.
What is your favorite accessory/clothing item/sparkly thing to don?
Glitter. You can't have too much sparkle.
What do you do as a contributing member of society, and how do you feel about said contribution?
I'm nice to people. I smile and hold doors for them, I say "please" and "thank you", and help strangers out when they need it. I try to spread a good vibe. If everyone did this society would be nicer; our moms and dads told us to do this but a lot of us forget; heck, a lot of our moms and dads forgot too. Being nice to people is an AWESOME contribution to make to society; I feel great about being able to make someone's day a bit brighter. Did I say glitter?
Are you shooting for the stars? Are you landing on the moon?
I'm always shooting for something; it keeps me out of trouble.
Are you sick of career metaphors and doing shrooms behind the tent at your college reunions?
Sick of career metaphors, yes. I could never tire of shrooms, especially at my college reunions.
If I wanted to get you drunk enough for . . . I don't know, the best thing you can think of, what would I order?
If we're staying legal, I'd have to say a very dirty, sluty martini, or 3.
Best song to dance to, of all time:
Cheryl Lynn's "Got to be Real".
Stance on healthcare reform:
Less war stuff, more nice stuff; yes, health care reform would be nice.
I've been a club kid since high school. The thing is that while almost all of my friends got "too old" to keep it up, I never stopped, so I've been dancing for over 30 years, but I've only been performing for the last 6 years or so. Performing began when I started hooping with some members of Groove Hoops from New York at the Berkfest Music Festival in Western Massachusetts in 2002, and they invited me to hoop with them around the festival the following year. That led, in a non-direct route to some DJ'ing opportunities and other involvement in music events and hooping around mid-coast and Portland, Maine. I was coming to Boston for work and met up with some of the other members of what was to become the Boston Hoop Troop and suddenly I was performing at parades, night clubs, warehouse parties and Burning Man events. Most recently I've been doing more fire hooping.
What The Slutcracker has done for me is really open up burlesque as something I, as a man, can do as performance. It's not about watching someone else, specifically women, do it. I can be a burlesque performer too. So I have Sugar Dish to thank for that; she put the opportunity in front of me, and now I'm doing burlesque too. I'm not just hooping as part of the side show with a juggler and the comedians anymore; I'm gonna take my clothes off too and have fun doing it.
What is your favorite accessory/clothing item/sparkly thing to don?
Glitter. You can't have too much sparkle.
What do you do as a contributing member of society, and how do you feel about said contribution?
I'm nice to people. I smile and hold doors for them, I say "please" and "thank you", and help strangers out when they need it. I try to spread a good vibe. If everyone did this society would be nicer; our moms and dads told us to do this but a lot of us forget; heck, a lot of our moms and dads forgot too. Being nice to people is an AWESOME contribution to make to society; I feel great about being able to make someone's day a bit brighter. Did I say glitter?
Are you shooting for the stars? Are you landing on the moon?
I'm always shooting for something; it keeps me out of trouble.
Are you sick of career metaphors and doing shrooms behind the tent at your college reunions?
Sick of career metaphors, yes. I could never tire of shrooms, especially at my college reunions.
If I wanted to get you drunk enough for . . . I don't know, the best thing you can think of, what would I order?
If we're staying legal, I'd have to say a very dirty, sluty martini, or 3.
Best song to dance to, of all time:
Cheryl Lynn's "Got to be Real".
Stance on healthcare reform:
Less war stuff, more nice stuff; yes, health care reform would be nice.
Friday, December 4, 2009
On The Neighborhood
Emily Corwin produces a segment featuring Sugar Dish, the Dildo Prince, Franz, Miss Ginger Rita, Cara Mel Sunday and others for an episode of the WMBR program The Neighborhood, titled "A Wicked Raunchy Holiday Ride":
(Press the black arrow to play audio.)
(Press the black arrow to play audio.)
If You're Going to San Francisco . . .
Make sure to wear flowers on your areolae.
Pasties for the Flower Dance, made by Sugar.
Pasties for the Flower Dance, made by Sugar.
Slutcracker Profile: Havana Tormenta
Real name / stage name:
Sarah Gillis/Havana Tormenta
Describe your artistic life before/outside of The Slutcracker, this year's or last.
I danced from preschool until about halfway through high school, when I quit ballet to play rugby. I have also been singing since I was little, and sang a capella in college, where I met my best friend, who persuaded me to try out for Big Moves last year. I did, and it didn't take them very long to convince me to give burlesque a try. And I love it.
What is your favorite accessory/clothing item/sparkly thing to don?
A long shimmery pink sequined top that's kind of see-through.
What do you do as a contributing member of society, and how do you feel about said contribution? Are you shooting for the stars? Are you landing on the moon? Are you sick of career metaphors and doing shrooms behind the tent at your college reunions?
Right now I work at Whole Foods, but I plan to go back to school this year to get my degree in English, and then go to grad school to become a librarian, and maybe someday get into literary translation too. As for the shrooms, I'll let you know after I graduate.
If I wanted to get you drunk enough for . . . I don't know, the best thing you can think of, what would I order?
Tequila. In any form.
Best song to dance to, of all time:
I'm going to have to agree with Femme Brulée on this one and say 'I Want You Back' by the Jackson 5 . . . it's one of my favorite songs ever.
Stance on healthcare reform:
Yes, please.
Sarah Gillis/Havana Tormenta
Describe your artistic life before/outside of The Slutcracker, this year's or last.
I danced from preschool until about halfway through high school, when I quit ballet to play rugby. I have also been singing since I was little, and sang a capella in college, where I met my best friend, who persuaded me to try out for Big Moves last year. I did, and it didn't take them very long to convince me to give burlesque a try. And I love it.
What is your favorite accessory/clothing item/sparkly thing to don?
A long shimmery pink sequined top that's kind of see-through.
What do you do as a contributing member of society, and how do you feel about said contribution? Are you shooting for the stars? Are you landing on the moon? Are you sick of career metaphors and doing shrooms behind the tent at your college reunions?
Right now I work at Whole Foods, but I plan to go back to school this year to get my degree in English, and then go to grad school to become a librarian, and maybe someday get into literary translation too. As for the shrooms, I'll let you know after I graduate.
If I wanted to get you drunk enough for . . . I don't know, the best thing you can think of, what would I order?
Tequila. In any form.
Best song to dance to, of all time:
I'm going to have to agree with Femme Brulée on this one and say 'I Want You Back' by the Jackson 5 . . . it's one of my favorite songs ever.
Stance on healthcare reform:
Yes, please.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Slutcrackin' Fun for the Whole Family (The 18+ Ones, Anyway)
By Catya von Sparkles
Are you concerned that you, as a friend or relative of a Slut, should perhaps be worried about the scandal factor of going to see the amazing holiday extravaganza that is The Slutcracker? Let me share a holiday tale to let you know that everyone, everywhere, with an appreciation for sexy, sexy irreverence should be in the audience at Somerville Theatre when Sluts take the stage this month.
Last year, I informed my family that I’d dusted off my jazz shoes in order to hit the stage after a 10-year absence. After a few months of rehearsals, while readying for the launch of the show, my mother casually mentioned that she and my dad planned to attend my “recital” to see what I’d been doing all this time.
The show in question, however, involved less of me doing shuffle-ball-changes to “The Candyman” and more of me tearing off my shirt and pantomiming Special Occasion Cowgirl with a fellow dancer. It gave me pause, therefore, to think of my parents in the audience.
“Um, well, Mom, you might want to come to another show. This one’s a little … risqué,” I explained.
My mother sighed the kind of sigh that parents usually let out when again reassuring wee children that Santa does exist and will be bringing presents. She leveled a no-more-coddling-you’re-32 look at me and said, “Catya, we’re familiar with porn films.”
There is no describing the sound one’s brain makes when all synapses momentarily stop firing, so unseemly is the information that has just flooded through them. I plunged in a) abject terror that I would now have to discuss porn with my mother and b) angst that she’d apparently classified my performance, sight unseen, as “Catya Does the Cambridge YMCA” and was fine with that. FAIL.
As I was unable to convince them otherwise, my parents came to the show, pronounced it “different” and congratulated me on a job salaciously done. During one of our final dance numbers, my mom gave me a smile and a wave, most likely to let me know I wasn’t disowned or maybe to signal that she wanted to borrow the corset I wore in the first act.
Long story short. My parents are attending this year’s Slutcracker. In a year’s time, they – and everyone around me – has become aware that performing is exactly what makes Catya so darn von Sparkly. For we Sluts, dancing, acting, vamping on stage, it’s what lights us up. It gives us the energy and wit to traipse through all our everyday mundane activities, for those of us that do not bathe in the limelight every minute of the week. And how could we not share that? YOU LUCKY PEOPLE, YOU.
Are you concerned that you, as a friend or relative of a Slut, should perhaps be worried about the scandal factor of going to see the amazing holiday extravaganza that is The Slutcracker? Let me share a holiday tale to let you know that everyone, everywhere, with an appreciation for sexy, sexy irreverence should be in the audience at Somerville Theatre when Sluts take the stage this month.
Last year, I informed my family that I’d dusted off my jazz shoes in order to hit the stage after a 10-year absence. After a few months of rehearsals, while readying for the launch of the show, my mother casually mentioned that she and my dad planned to attend my “recital” to see what I’d been doing all this time.
The show in question, however, involved less of me doing shuffle-ball-changes to “The Candyman” and more of me tearing off my shirt and pantomiming Special Occasion Cowgirl with a fellow dancer. It gave me pause, therefore, to think of my parents in the audience.
“Um, well, Mom, you might want to come to another show. This one’s a little … risqué,” I explained.
My mother sighed the kind of sigh that parents usually let out when again reassuring wee children that Santa does exist and will be bringing presents. She leveled a no-more-coddling-you’re-32 look at me and said, “Catya, we’re familiar with porn films.”
There is no describing the sound one’s brain makes when all synapses momentarily stop firing, so unseemly is the information that has just flooded through them. I plunged in a) abject terror that I would now have to discuss porn with my mother and b) angst that she’d apparently classified my performance, sight unseen, as “Catya Does the Cambridge YMCA” and was fine with that. FAIL.
As I was unable to convince them otherwise, my parents came to the show, pronounced it “different” and congratulated me on a job salaciously done. During one of our final dance numbers, my mom gave me a smile and a wave, most likely to let me know I wasn’t disowned or maybe to signal that she wanted to borrow the corset I wore in the first act.
Long story short. My parents are attending this year’s Slutcracker. In a year’s time, they – and everyone around me – has become aware that performing is exactly what makes Catya so darn von Sparkly. For we Sluts, dancing, acting, vamping on stage, it’s what lights us up. It gives us the energy and wit to traipse through all our everyday mundane activities, for those of us that do not bathe in the limelight every minute of the week. And how could we not share that? YOU LUCKY PEOPLE, YOU.
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