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Tuesday Tease: Hooray for Hollywood!

1461051_10152129697148993_692879185_nHey teasers! Hope everyone’s New Year’s was safe and celebratory.

Now that the holidays have passed and we’re settling into our normal lives again, I want to, finally, post my review of the Hollywood Burlesque Festival, which took place from December 6 to December 9. Me and fellow BPT-er Michelle went down to LA for four days of hanging with the City of Angels’ best burlesque talent. It was all brought to us courtesy of the incredible Lili Von Schtupp, the woman the LA Times dubbed “The foul-mouthed, buxom Godmother of LA burlesque!”

Lili has been ticketing her Monday Night Tease shows with us for the better part of the last decade and she’s the shining example of what’s possible with a little hard work and a deep love for your chosen art form. Lili hosts Monday Night Tease every week and somehow manages to pack ’em into The 3 Clubs show room week after week, which is no small feat for a show that’s been running for almost a decade. She also runs Lili’s School for Wayward Girls and gives new talent a safe and supportive environment within which to hone their skills. The love the community feels for Lili was more than apparent during the first ever Hollywood Burlesque Festival and I have to say, it’s well deserved.
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Tuesday Tease: Hollywood Burlesque Festival

Hollywood_Burlesque_Fest_banner2_9701This Friday, the inaugural Hollywood Burlesque Festival kicks off in Los Angeles and we are especially excited for this one as it’s produced by longtime Brown Paper Tickets supporter and producer/hostess of Monday Night Tease, LA’s longest running weekly burlesque show, Lili VonSchtupp. Lili is the perfect example of what is possible if you are passionate and devoted to your art form. To host a weekly show that packs ’em in week in and week out is no small feat and burlesque producers could learn a lot from Lili. She’s definitely got the skills to pay the bills!

Lili’s taking her incredible production skills to the next level this weekend as she hosts the first ever burlesque festival in Los Angeles. She’s got four days of shows, classes, tours, movies and parties planned and I’m especially excited because I get to go down there and be a part of all the fun. If you’ve ever wanted to meet me or know more about Brown Paper Tickets, you can look for us in vending where we’ll have a table set up all weekend or come to the Three Clubs on Sunday, December 8 from 6:30pm to 8pm, where we’ll be hosting a meet and greet with anyone that’s curious about us, what we do and how we can help you out with your burlesque show, festival or classes. If you’re going to be in LA this weekend, please find me and say hi.

I got a chance to catch up with Lili and pick her brain about the LA burlesque scene, her personal burlesque history and the festival. She even offers some valuable advice to producers out there that are thinking of starting up their own festival.

So, without further ado, I give you, the one and only Lili VonSchtupp!
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Tuesday Tease: The Michigan & New Orleans Burlesque Festivals!

fancy-pants-mi-burl-fest-13-flier‘Tis the season for burlesque festivals and we got two great ones coming up this weekend!

The lovely state of Michigan will get its first burlesque festival this Saturday in Detroit and we got to chat with the organizers Valencia Starling and Mabel Syrup.

Also, the legendary New Orleans Burlesque Festival kicks off its fifth year on Thursday and we are proud to announce that Brown Paper Tickets is ticketing their workshops! We are so excited to be a part of this legendary festival and we’ll highlight some of our picks for workshops, for those of you heading down to the Big Easy this weekend.

But, first things first: Michigan’s getting its own burlesque festival! This Saturday, September 21, the First Annual Michigan Burlesque Festival will take place at the Hasting Street Ballroom and Tangent Gallery in Detroit. A wide variety of burlesque entertainment will grace the stage on Saturday including: acrobatics, trapeze, silks, chains, hula hooping, traditional striptease, vocal numbers, veil fan dancing, bawdy comedy and more.

The main event will take place in the Ballroom and headliners for the evening include The Weird Sisters Circus aerial troupe, Cleveland’s burlesque queen Bella Sin, and Detroit’s very own Lushes LaMoan. The host for the evening will be the delectable and vibrant Foxy Tann and DJ Shane Bang will be providing audible pleasures. In addition to the star-studded line-up, the Tangent Gallery will be booming throughout the night, lined with artists and merchants displaying and selling their crafts, apparel, sweet treats and more! You can pick up tickets right over here. We recommend getting them now as they’re going fast!

Valencia and Mabel from Fancy Pants Arts and Entertainment were kind enough to take time off from the pre-festival craziness to talk a little about the festival and the burlesque scene in Michigan. Here’s what they had to say:
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Tuesday Tease: The San Antonio Burlesque Festival

san-antonio-burlesque-festival-logoThis Friday and Saturday, the second annual San Antonio Burlesque Festival hits the stage of the Woodlawn Theater in, you guessed it, San Antonio, Texas. While most folks are probably more familiar with the burly scenes in Austin or Dallas, San Antonio is proving to be another hotbed of burlesque talent in the Lone Star State. You can pick up tickets to the Friday Night Teaser here and to the Saturday Night Spectacular here.

One thing I’ve noticed over the past year is more and more burlesque festivals happening in towns that previously were not considered major hubs of burlesque, further proof that the current revival of the art form is spreading rapidly to every corner of the country. This is exciting for those pursuing a career in burlesque as it shows that a potentially lucrative career could be established by just touring the, rapidly expanding, festival circuit.

The co-producer of the San Antonio Burlesque Festival, Jasper St. James, was kind enough to take time out of his crazy, pre-festival schedule to chat a little about the festival, the Texas burlesque scene and to offer a little advice for those of you out there considering starting a burlesque festival in your own neck of the woods.

Jasper is a boylesque performer from The Pastie Pops Burlesque Troupe in San Antonio and has become one of Texas’ leading male burlesque performers. He made his festival debut at the 2012 Dallas Burlesque Festival and went on to become the “Audience Choice” winner at the 2012 Texas Burlesque Festival. He was also recently crowned the 2013 Southern Fried King of Burlesque at the Southern Fried Burlesque Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.

We are honored that he took the time to answer our questions. So, enough from me. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr. Jasper St. James:
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Tuesday Tease: Russell Bruner, The King of Burlesque

5388867_origWith so many people walking around with handlebar moustaches and tweed vests, one can easily get annoyed with the current wave of retro-enthusiasm. Bars calling themselves “speakeasies” are popping up everywhere and every 20-something seems to be learning to play the banjo, riding a penny-farthing or waxing poetic about rye whiskey. Surely, this trend will pass and the hipsters will find another by-gone era to emulate, but for hardcore retro-enthusiasts like Russell Bruner, this is more than a trend, it’s a lifestyle!

I first met Russell on a trip to Portland back in October, where I checked out one of his swing dance nights at Kelly’s Olympian. I’d been meeting with burlesque performers that whole weekend and all of them had nothing but great things to say about Russell. When I saw him in action that night at Kelly’s, I could see why. I was blown away by his pleasant demeanour, his style and, most of all, his dance moves.

Russell is the founder of the Portland, Oregon-based production company Swing Time PDX. He started Swing Time “as a project to provide and create more opportunities for swing bands and swing musicians to encourage and help them to provide dance events to the public.” Over the better part of the last decade, he has incorporated more than just swing bands and dancers into the mix. He now hosts circus events, vaudeville shows and, of course, burlesque. All with his decided old-time flair.


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Tuesday Tease: Here Comes Festival Season!

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Winter is coming to an end and spring is springing up all over the place! The snow is beginning to melt away and be replaced by flowers, which can only mean one thing: festival season is here!

Burlesque conventions are a great way to not only network with fellow performers but also to see some great up-and-coming talent, perhaps see a living legend of burlesque and to witness the top burlesque performers that are touring the convention circuit. You can get a few tips, perhaps pick up some stage gear, and hob-nob with your burlesque idols.

This year, Brown Paper Tickets is ticketing more burlesque conventions and festivals than ever before and the first batch are going on sale already with the PA Burlesque Festival coming up this weekend, quickly followed by BPT newcomers, the Southern Fried Burlesque Fest and The Great Burlesque Exposition in Boston, where Brown Paper Tickets will have a table set up and where we’ll be teaching a class on the Sunday of the conference. If you’re planning on attending the Expo, be sure and come up and say hi!

As we get closer to summer, we’ll feature more festivals but be sure and get your travel plans in order for these incredible festivals and conventions. Just judging by this list, it’s going to be HOT this Spring!
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Tuesday Tease: When the boys come out to play…

In its tireless march toward world domination burlesque has evolved far beyond it’s original incarnations. It’s Lamarckian transformations have allowed it to branch out into many and varying forms, creating a lush and vibrant (and sparkly) family tree.

The branch of the burlesque family tree we are focusing on today is boylesque! No longer is the world of glitter and feathers the strict domain of women. More and more men are stepping out on stage to show audiences what they’ve got. The art has even gotten a recent write up in the New York Times!

Often the boys are preforming along side of the girls so it can be a challenge to find a show where you can just watch the boys dance. But, luckily for you, I have gone and done that heavy lifting and here are the fruits of those labours. The best boylesque shows (and burlesque shows featuring male performers) from every corner of the county!

Los Angeles, California

Monday, November 26 | Monday Night Tease! presents MEATFEST 3 Come join Monday Night tease in celebrating the men of burlesque with their third annual production of Meatfest! This all male show will feature performances by Bobbie Burlesque Harry Merkin, Mr Snapper, Tito Bonito, Lee T Killer, Doctor Lust and “the reason it’s always wet in Portland” 2012 Reigning King of Burlesque, Russell Bruner!

Seattle, Washington

Friday, December 14 through Monday, December 24 | Homo For The Holidays! This December Homo for the Holidays will be bringing you two shows a night on the 14th, 15th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd at 7:00pm and 10:00pm. Along with a Christmas Eve show on the 24th at 10:00pm! “Homo For The Holidays! is a seasonal spectacle guaranteed to make even the most stubborn Yuletide gay! An unforgettable all-star cast of burlesque, cabaret, dance, drag, and musical local luminaries come together in a display of glittering grandeur.”
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