Costume making and tassel twirling..

Ta-da! Ok, it might not look like much, yet, but this is literally hours of gluing and stitching! I think I've added about 100 pearls and a thousand sequins! Wait till I've added more sequins, more pearls and loads of rhinestones! It'll be beautiful, and imagine how it will sparkle on stage under the lights! Ooooh!

This is all for my new act, I'm going for all out show girl. I'll add more pictures as it develops, but I'm pretty excited about it!

Also, I bought a new AP corset... oops. But, I do need one, and it will fit beautifully with this act! Honestly! ...see? Mmmmmazing isn't it!?

The girl in the picture is not me, I must clarify, that's from the AP online catalogue ;)

Also, today I've been practising shimmying and tassel twirling... Yeah, I'm really not good at it! I can only do the graceless jumping up and down at the knee style of twirling, not the effortless-looking shimmy style. I think I'm gonna need some better pasties with heavier tassels to master that... Maybe I need to go do a class and learn from an expert!

A new act..

It's Thursday night and I'm in bed, kinda, it's 9.30!! And I'm doing research.

I'm working on a new act. This one is gonna be all out! I'm making the most amazing costume, well, hopefully! I am sewing pearls, sequins and gluing rhinestones on to some pretty white lacy underwear (no, it's not AP, unfortunately), and I made some new pasties. Ta-da! Cute huh?!

And this act is going to be funny, a little, and poetic, kinda. I shan't say exactly what the act is yet, but I will soon!

So, I'm researching how to be more graceful, because this act calls for it, in parts. Basically my 'dance' will be made up of a series of poses that make the female form appear its most beautiful, for the act is about beauty and femininity, be it in an abstract way. Ha! I'll keep y'all posted on how that goes! But in the mean time, enjoy looking at how its really done, by Michelle L'Amour..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTOlblz_xjE&feature=related

I had to cancel a show... and I have a fan!

I really hoped I'd never have to pull out of a show at the last minute, but this weekend, I had to do just that.

This weekend was due to be my busiest (and most exciting) ever! I had 3 shows booked, Lincoln Thursday, London Friday and Liverpool Sunday, all Halloween shows, my favourite time of year! But on Thursday I got ill.

I did the Lincoln show Thursday night, as I posted below, Friday I was sofa-ridden. I couldn't face the train journey to London, let alone actually performing. I felt dreadful, about having to cancel. The promoter understood, luckily I was a last minute addition anyway, so wasn't on any of the posters etc, which would have made me feel worse, but I still felt really lousy about it.

Sunday I was doing a show in Liverpool with Phoenix Snow and Frank Lebeau Diaablo. Later on, Phoenix would tell me that if I had pulled out she would have to have cancelled the whole show!

I tried to make sure I was better by Sunday.. and, well, I wasn't worse, but I still felt awful! But the show went ahead, and it was a great success. I did the Corpse Bride act, and it was 400x better than the debut at the Lincoln show on Thursday, the audience were seated, and giving their full attention, and this time I managed to get my dress back on before the track ran out haha!

I did Hard Hearted Hannah too, messed up the timings a little and did a sloppy stocking removal that I was annoyed about afterwards but on the whole it all went well.

And the best thing about the whole night? As I was running, robed, back to the dressing room after my vamp act, I was stopped by a nervous looking audience member, "Miss Lola?" she said, "You were amazing!" Ah! Miss Lola! How quaint! "Thank you!" I breathed. The dear, sweet, adorable girl went on, "I saw you at the Canary Cage.. I'm a big fan!" A fan?!?! A big fan!?! Wow! I was floored! I gushed a thank you, I think I blessed her! And disappeared up the stairs! I have a fan!!!!!

I forgot my teeth!!!!

The other day, when I was packing my things for Birmingham, I was worrying that I'd forgotten to pack something. I hadn't, but it's the same old niggle I have everytime I go somewhere. P said to me "What's the most important thing you need to have packed?" I said "My teeth".

Yesterday, after work we drove to Lincoln to do a Halloween themed show at a night called Break your Socks. I did two acts, my new Corpse Bride act, and the Hard Hearted Hannah act. My Corpse Bride act came first, it was the first time I've ever done it. I wasn't completely happy with it either. It went down ok, but it needs work. It didn't help that I was super nervous (and feeling ill!), I could actually feel my legs shaking!

Hard Hearted Hannah was much better, I wasn't nervous at all, it feels like coming home, I know it so well. I love to do that act. However.. about 10 seconds in, all going well... shit! I forgot to put my teeth in!! This was the thought process in my head (whilst on stage actually performing); Oh no! My teeth! I HAVEN'T PUT THEM IN! They're still in the box backstage... I wonder if I could go back and get them...? Have I got time..? No. Could I stop and start again..? No! Would the audience would notice if I just nipped back for them..? Um, yes! Ok.. I'll just carry on as if they are there and there's no problem. Ok.
It was all because I had a backstage panic about 30 seconds before I was due on, I couldn't find my fan! I found it, I was so relieved I forgot to put my teeth in! Haha! It didn't really matter. Once I'd drank the true blood the audience got what was going on, just the couple of teeth reveals before then didn't really work quite as well as usual!! :s
Thanks for having me Jamie!

Phew!

I've just spent about an hour in the bathroom scrubbing, conditioning, waxing and generally cleansing after a really hectic weekend of shows!
I had so much fake blood stainage on me in needed a good scrub! And next weekend is gonna be even more manic!
On Friday night I had a show in Birmingham, Saturnalia at The Jester, a great venue and an absolutely amazing show. The cast were all wonderful, Felicia Noir was there (yay!), Lexi Sexx, Delilah Lilac (the best catwoman I've ever seen!), Mr Kiss (SO cute!), Candy Carnival and all skillfully compered by the truly amazing Fred Bear - I actually love him!
The night was great, but my act went off with a slight hitch... I did 'Hard Hearted Hannah', my True Blood parody act... All was going well until the music started to skip! I took it in my stride, as much as I could, even when it began to loop over and over! But when it completely stopped mid way through I was left standing in silence on stage...! Eeeek! THAT was not fun! Luckily the DJ had the Jace Everett 'Bad Things' track on cd so a quick switcharoo and I was able to carry on with my act!! I hope that NEVER happens again!!!
So... that was supposed to be my only show this weekend, however, an urgent plea on MoB for emergency acts to step in to do an Oxjam charity show in Leicester (3 acts had dropped out last minute!) sent me off course on my way home to help out. I had all my Vamp kit in my case so I went straight there. Here's a pic of me mid act! See why I'm pleased to finally have some edible blood..? That stuff tastes yukky! The show was great, and I met some super lovely gals so I'm glad I went. And I managed to stock up on some more fake blood (edible yay!) from the amazing fancy dress shop in Leicester on the way home.
Next weekend... it's a mini Halloween Tour!
Thursday: Lincoln ,Kind Bar
Friday: London, Dirty Dicks
Saturday: Nottingham, Bopp @ Spankys (for fun!)
Sunday: Liverpool, Philharmonic
I'm tired already!! :s

This is the one I've been worrying about....

I have another show tomorrow, in Birmingham, it's Felicia (who helped me book my very first show!) Noir's Cosplay Burlesque show in West Brom, and it's a big deal.

You may wonder why this one is any more a big deal than any other.. Well, I'll tell you...

As I mentioned, it was Felicia who I approached, back in April, via the Ministry of Burlesque, about my very first show. And the show I asked her about was this one! Yep, that is a long time to be planning a show!! There's reason to be fearful #1.

#2 Felicia didn't book me for this show (Robin of Black Country Burlesque did later on), but she did point me to BCB's newbie shows, which became my actual first show back in June. Which kinda makes her my Burlesque Fairy Godmother, she gave me a big leg up, whether she knows it or not.

#3 Referring back to point 1, Felicia has put some seriously hard work into this show, and has been uber excited about it for months. Originally I was intending to do a Tank Girl act, but I just couldn't work in out the way I wanted so I ditched it and decided to do the Tru-Blood act. Now, after the success and positive feedback from Hard Hearted Hannah's first outing at the Canary Cage I have some confidence in the act, however, as it's a Cosplay show (with most acts being comic book based), I am worried it's gonna stick out a little. Yes.. I'm scared my act will be the crap one. Which leads me to reason #4, it's at The Public in West Brom... it's a fucking great massive theatre!!! Eeeeeeeeek!

Anyway.. I'll update after the show.. Gulp. In the meantime, here's a preliminary pic from the Zak Tyler Liverpool shoot... Cool huh?! :)

First ever real life photo shoot! with a real life photographer!!!

So yesterday I did many many fun things, taking what feels like a huge step forward towards being a real burlesque performer, one of which was a photo shoot, in an actually studio, with an actual photographer!! In Liverpool!

Zak (Tyler, the photographer) was so lovely, I was completely at ease, not even slightly nervous, not at all tense like I was with my boyfriend the time I made him try to shoot some promo pictures. We spent a good couple of hours in Zak's Liverpool studio doing lots of different photos, but all pin up style. I got to wear some of my favourite AP underwear (whoop!), and did my hair in an (almost) perfect rockabilly fringe roll. Now just fingers crossed at least some of the pics turn out to be not too grotesque ha! Not that I doubt Zak's ability behind the camera, far from it, its the other side of the lens things may fall down! The results should be back in a couple of weeks, So we'll just have to wait and see....

I took my boyfriend along for moral support, he took some back stage shots, so here's a sneak peek...