Today we’d like to introduce you to Miss Lady Legs.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Miss Lady. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When quarantine first started, I saw a ton of performers losing their entire source of income, or important, supplemental income. I also saw that people were wanting a way to connect and performers needed a way to express themselves beyond Instagram Live.
With a combination of my short-film producing, digital marketing, and performing experience, I thought I was well-equipped to try my hand at putting together a virtual show. There were a few other shows happening on Twitch, YouTube, and some on Zoom. I wanted to invite nine local LA dancers to perform in a way that veers away from the typical stage performance.
The performers and I worked together to conceive of rooms in our homes/apartments as movie sets rather than stages. With furniture, set dressings, and props that are both visually appealing and practical as in the performer uses their “set” for its intended purpose. Then, we decided to take a humorous spin on a dire situation by taking mundane quarantine activities like baking, working out, cleaning, and gardening and turning them into fun, sexy burlesque performances.
We named it Burlesque & Chill. Our first show, on April 11th, 2020, was a success with an audience of 75 attendees and enough ticket sales and tips to pay the performers decent rates. So… we decided to do another.
Now, we’re onto our 5th season of Burlesque & Chill. The current Burlesque & Chill goes like this:
1. 7:30 PM PST Pre-Show. Here, we have musicians perform live on Zoom (in good quality). Some of our performers chat with pre-show ticket holders between musical sets.
2. 8:00 PM PST Premiere. This is the premiere of the new season where I host, interact with people in the comments, shout-out our tippers, and our nine performers debut their original, at-home acts.
3. 9:30 PM PST VIP Lounge. Limited tickets are available to those who want to spend some time sharing a drink and socializing with us after the show. Questions can be asked, banter happens, and we take virtual pictures together to commemorate our time.
A few seasons ago, we donated $500 to the Black Sex Worker Relief Fund in NY, and are now donating to SWOP LA every show (in the spirit of giving back locally). Last show we donated $500 to SWOP LA and we hope to continue to donate at least that amount every month going forward. We acknowledge that cam girls and other sex workers have long been laying the groundwork for what we’re doing, and we want to do what we can to thank them for their work. Especially as we’ve been fighting new, online-based anti-sex worker policies over the past few years that affect how all of us are allowed to express ourselves and our sexuality online. Sex workers have often been the ones to put themselves on the line to fight these attempts of control and censorship.
There’s a little bit of something for everyone at Burlesque & Chill. But, for the performers and audience alike, it’s a way for us all to connect and add a little excitement back into our lives in a comfortable, welcoming, and sensual setting.
Has it been a smooth road?
You know, it feels like a completely new space where anything sort of goes right now, and having Burlesque & Chill has largely served us all as something exciting to look forward to.
The ongoing struggle is that there is no perfect model to follow. We’ve been lucky that our business model has always produced a payout that matches, and in some cases, exceeds in-person performance rates.
Another struggle has been what to do with all that post-show glow energy! Season 1, many performers, including myself, had so much adrenaline we could not sleep after the show. To combat this, we’ve begun doing a virtual cast party after the show where we can chat about our experiences in the show and blow off some steam. That’s been really nice, not only as a remedy for post-show energy, but also to connect us as a group. Burlesque & Chill has provided me personally with so much needed community under quarantine.
One of the biggest struggles along the way has been inaccessibility. In my outreach, I’ve learned how virtual performance isn’t accessible to all performers. Whether it’s unstable wi-fi connection, insecure housing circumstances, or a housing situation that doesn’t comfortably permit burlesque performance (i.e., living with family, etc.), some performers’ home-space just doesn’t support the space they need to perform virtually. This is an issue I’d love to create a network around. A network where performers who have a safe environment can host other dancers who don’t have a housing situation that allows for this type of performance. I’d love for this network to include the loaning of tech such as lighting, webcams, etc. that can help performers bring their best to the screen without having to buy a ton of new equipment. Burlesque & Chill is naturally starting to take on some of these efforts, but if quarantine persists, I may start a network of this kind in a more concrete, organized way.
Please tell us about Burlesque & Chill.
At Burlesque & Chill, I’m the host and sole producer.
As a host, I’ve been told that I have a warm, welcoming, easy-going style that helps give the show an easy-feeling flow. Though, of course, watching myself feels differently…
As a producer, my most proud moments (and the moments I feel most grateful for Burlesque & Chill) are when performers reach out to me just to express that they feel fully supported with free range of artistic expression. Being an artist myself, this really melts my heart. In a more practical sense, I’m good at organizing and communicating especially via writing. I have a lot of experience project managing remotely, which comes into play when producing a virtual show. I also understand marketing enough to be consistently growing our Burlesque & Chill community with reaching new audiences, onboarding new performers, and having authentic exchanges and even new friendships with some of our frequent attendees.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Oof, this is a BIG question right now. It’s going to change a lot.
From a pure, in-person performance perspective, we’re already seeing masks being used as part of the tease. I also doubt people will be comfortable being spontaneously touched during a performance. You definitely can’t sip a patron’s drink anymore.
On a broader level, I honestly think things will stay online for a while, and even when we return to in-person an online component will often be present. Virtual shows are giving performers greater artistic control with little to no overhead. I don’t think performers will put up with as much exploitation such as low rates or a cut of payouts going toward promotional efforts. Performers are promoting themselves, creating their own sets, designing their own lighting, and controlling the audience’s perspective in online shows. Some may be eager to get back to in-person performance, but I think many of us who have embraced virtual performance will be reluctant to go back and have stronger boundaries around time, pay, comfortability, etc.
The other thing we’re already seeing and will likely see more of is cross-channel selling and diverse distribution of merchandise, content, and time. Many performers are turning to Patreon, Only Fans, and similar sites where they can monetize a number of their talents form performing, to costuming, to teaching. Today’s artists are going to be multi-talented and knowledgeable on an array of crafts in both artmaking and business.
Pricing:
- $5 – Front Row Ticket: A ticket to the show with 9 performers and myself as your host
- $20 – Pre-Show Ticket: Live music and a chat with performers before the show. This also gets you into the show premiere.
- $30 – VIP Ticket: Access to pre-show, premiere, and exclusive access to the VIP after party to chat and take pictures in a more intimate setting.
Contact Info:
- Website: Season 6 event link: https://www.eventbrite.
com/e/burlesque-chill-season- 6-tickets-118789094379 - Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: facebook.com/missladylegz
- Other: Recap from my favorite season: https://vimeo.com/437323878
Image Credit:
The professional one with the chandelier is by Eric Hale
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