When I started this project, I only
knew one mini-essay I was going to write as well as the day I'd write
it. Since February 11 is my birthday, and since burlesque has been a
gift, I have to thank the person whose drive and passion and curiosity
about burlesque led me to discover it myself.
I'm a fan of burlesque because Bunny Wigglebottom invited me to a show. Thank her, or blame her, I guess, whichever one you prefer.
The first one was a Velvet Hammer show in Los Angeles. It may have even been after that group was defunct, some sort of reunion show, but it was certainly in the latter days of their run. I had fun, for sure, but didn't necessarily expect to go back. But I did. A lot. All because she wanted to learn and see as much as she could, and I got to tag along most of the time. I got to browse the books and articles she was reading and watch the documentaries she dug up and when she started wanting to attend festivals to see even MORE, there, too, went I.
Bunny eventually became a performer. She had studied so much and learned from so many legends and future legends that I don't believe she ever worried or doubted that the burlesque stage was not a place for her. She produced several kinds of acts, from classical to neo, but when she steered directly into comedy without flinching is when I think things opened up for her. Her "Motivational Stripper" act has brought crowds to their feet at most every festival she's attended. Her "Applause" number has already won a costuming award. And she won the freakin' Burlesque Buresque Burlesque pageant in Asheville! She's royalty! I know the next two new acts hitting the stage, and they take the absurdity she's been playing with to new heights. And she probably has solid ideas for about a dozen more.
Bunny's day job commitments sadly don't allow her to perform as regularly as she would like, which only makes it all the more special when she does. I'm obviously biased, but she's become one of the most interesting and creative performers in the Southeast. I'm hoping the "alternate" acceptance she received from the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend in 2019 becomes a full-blown acceptance soon. I know of no one who would relish it more than her.
I'm a fan of burlesque because Bunny Wigglebottom invited me to a show. Thank her, or blame her, I guess, whichever one you prefer.
The first one was a Velvet Hammer show in Los Angeles. It may have even been after that group was defunct, some sort of reunion show, but it was certainly in the latter days of their run. I had fun, for sure, but didn't necessarily expect to go back. But I did. A lot. All because she wanted to learn and see as much as she could, and I got to tag along most of the time. I got to browse the books and articles she was reading and watch the documentaries she dug up and when she started wanting to attend festivals to see even MORE, there, too, went I.
Bunny eventually became a performer. She had studied so much and learned from so many legends and future legends that I don't believe she ever worried or doubted that the burlesque stage was not a place for her. She produced several kinds of acts, from classical to neo, but when she steered directly into comedy without flinching is when I think things opened up for her. Her "Motivational Stripper" act has brought crowds to their feet at most every festival she's attended. Her "Applause" number has already won a costuming award. And she won the freakin' Burlesque Buresque Burlesque pageant in Asheville! She's royalty! I know the next two new acts hitting the stage, and they take the absurdity she's been playing with to new heights. And she probably has solid ideas for about a dozen more.
Bunny's day job commitments sadly don't allow her to perform as regularly as she would like, which only makes it all the more special when she does. I'm obviously biased, but she's become one of the most interesting and creative performers in the Southeast. I'm hoping the "alternate" acceptance she received from the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend in 2019 becomes a full-blown acceptance soon. I know of no one who would relish it more than her.
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