Thread: Starting Out

Hi I am a performance poet and I am incorporating burlesque into my act which is music based anyway, I'm new to the burlesque scene and just looking for any ideas about costume make-up moves etc.

I'm also looking for a good burlesque tailor if anyone has any hints as I need to velcro some trousers!

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hiya
welcome to the forums...
where are you based?

poetry burlesque heh sounds interesting....
costumes and moves probably depend a lot on your subject matter
why don't you give us an example of one.

x x

Hi

I'm based in London, I've loved the idea of burlesque for a long time and love all things 40's/50's inspired and so I decided to incorporate burlesque into my poetry act.

The piece I am doing is called 'Tale of the City' where i play a man 'Bobbie Wordonthestreet' he is a sex obsessed private detective who gets set up by all the females he has wronged- I start in a hat/suit/tie and strip down...It is all done to music. I've just received my Burlesque handbook in the post today and have almost finished it already.

But yeah any handy hints on anything as I am a burlesque virgin - good venues in london - showcases, open spots or costume places etc - I'm having to make some breakaway suit trousers so any goos tailors too.

The burlesque starts proper at the end of the scene where he meets all the women he ever slept with and explains them alphabetically, here all the items of clothing come off, shirt trousers bra etc!

Thanks for the reply and hope to hear from you soon xxx

P.S. Oh howin the hell do I upload a photo for my profile pic I can't seem to find a way to do it?

xx

hey there ..

sounds good !!

well as it happens i'm the Drag King specialist on this here forum !!
i run a private workshop if your interested in moves, posture, character and make up etc..
my website has details.

keep checking the castings forum for job opportunities and the fashion forum is full of clever costumiers

i am london based and happy to help out.

best wishes

There was a recent post on making quick-remove trousers, which you may be able to dig up. Magnets was the general consensus ( more expensive but more efficacious than velcro - and a damn'd sight quieter, too!)

Vx

Also, check out corporate clothing specialists such as Alexanders, if you need 'fake' ties - as marketed to bouncers et al. Easy-off, and incidentally prevent strangulation.
Vx

Yes! RedSarah's drag acts are awesome (I think the ladies of Swansea will never be the same again after her show on Saturday!). She is definitely your girl for doing workshops to get the correct mannerisms, etc...

Re costume - remember costume is mostly your choreography and it is more inmteresting for the viewer if it breaks away in an interesting or unexpected way. I never like to use velcro on anything, not only because it is noisy, and you have to yank it hard to get it apart, but also the hooks can stick to any other item you may be wearing and it is quite stiff... Have you thought about using extra long open-ended zips? You can get some a metre long and sew them down the outer seam of the leg. I have an act and use these on my trousers, opening from the bottom up and they are quite effective. Chunkier zips are better than the more dainty ones as they lessen the chances of it getting caught, plus putting something on the zip pull (like a tassel) will help you find the pull at the exact time needed.

Also check out Stella Plumes if you can find her on Youtube - I'm not sure if she's still performing but she used to have a cake act that combined poetry...

Good luck! xx

A Drag King how cool! yes I'd love any kinda help I can get, I'm an actor and I'm pretty good at the blokey stuff but any help would be gratefully received thank you! x

Again thanks for the ideas great stuff keep it coming! xx

Ooh magnets that sounds interesting! I'll check out the post thank you! x