Good Grief - Exploring Loss & Love

My father died last year, and I have been going through the grieving process. At times, it has been intensely sad, infuriating, crazy-making and acutely painful. Sometimes, all at once. I was helped greatly by attending Swedish Hospital's "Journey through Grief to Hope" program.

Since the intensity of each person's grief process is so different, even for different losses, it is important to have understanding and acceptance that people need  varying levels of support and for various lengths of time. My hope is that this evening of artistic expression will illuminate the process and encourage people to ask for the support they need.

You can find more information about Good Grief on Facebook.

A Halloween Party to Support SEAF 2012

I am very excited about Seduction, the Seattle Erotic Art Festival's First Halloween party!

Not only have I had a blast picking out the art for the showcase, but Jim Duvall and I were asked to do a variation on our Bondage Aerial performance with an extra treat. Our performance slot is 8:30pm to 9:15pm.

Seduction, Seattle’s Sexiest Halloween Party, is this Saturday!

See and be seen at this alluring night of amazing music and dancing, hand-picked erotic art, hot performances, full bar and absinthe bar, and of course lots of delicious eye-candy. Plus a costume contest with over $1,000 in sexy prizes.

With three gorgeous rooms of music and dancing and over a dozen of Seattle’s top DJs -- including Michael Manahan (Decibel, Starborne), Riz Rollins (KEXP), and Hendrik (Church of Bass, Chillography) -- Seduction is the place to celebrate your Halloween.

THIS SATURDAY, October 29, 8pm to 2am
At the lush Fremont Studios
21+ only

Tickets are on sale now and selling fast.
Purchase your tickets today.

Advance ticket sales end Friday at 11pm. Tickets will be available at the door starting at 8pm, while supplies last.

Lots more details about Seduction are available at SeattleErotic.org.

A Must-Go show from the Jet City Improv peeps.

I am hoping to go Wing-I Productions' annual holiday show, Uncle Mike Ruin's Christmas after missing it last year.  I missed out on this run of improv hilarity and nastiness and was subjected to the "pooping out baby jesus" jokes that lasted weeks. And knowing this group, I am sure they would have been funny to me if I had seen the performance.

My dear friend Chris, an improv muscian, sent me this as a way of inticing me to attend:

This past Saturday was so over the top that the entire cast mimed masturbation as their final goodnight. I'm so proud. 

I don't know whether to be impressed with his perverse sense of pride or annoyed that he knows I am a sucker for anything having to do with masturbation. That said, I adore it when Jet City does an unscripted play. I thoroughly enjoyed "Lease" in 2008. The actor games that make up the run of the mill improv shows do nothing for me. Being witty is nice and all, but my attention span is a bit longer than a gnat's. But making the actors string it out into a fully fleshed-out and fucked up one hour length play? Now we're talking talent.

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!  Remember to thank your loved ones for being in your life. They don't have to love you and the fact that they do is worthy of your gratitude.

I'd like to invite you to a fundraiser for the Center and Foundation for Sex Positive Culture, Thursday, November 18th at 7:00pm, at the Little Red Studio in Seattle. There will be enticing auction items, give-a-ways, and other fun and frivolity. Tickets are available at TicketLeap. You can also see the growing list of auction items on the Center's website.

About last night...

Performing our aerial bondage act is always a joy. When we have our classically trained bass player of choice playing her acoustic stand up bass it's an even more soulful performance. Her music feeds, accents and supports our movements. I am pleased to say that she enjoys playing with us as much as we enjoy her.

A new addition for this show was David Jones and his poetry. Jim Duvall and I decided we wanted to have this performance be darker than usual and also to go back to the original incarnation with poetry and the bass. Well, for dark poetry, David Jones is the man to go to. After sifting through a few volumes, Jim asked him for something about using someone up and throwing them away. "Oh! That's easy!" says he, delivering a scathing, sad and angry lamentation of a dead relationship.

The act begins with an empty stage but for the suspension ring and a shove. The two of us square off, angry and rough movements punctuated by lines poetry. The bass starts in with low, menacing notes and we slowly transition from anger to joy, ending in a collapse.

We definitely need to record one of these performances. Anyone want to be in a studio audience for us?

Creatures!

About 3 years ago, a friend started doing what she called "the Creatures" as a performance piece at the Little Red Studio.  I was entranced and fascinated with the back story and way that Cody embodied this whole world in these short movement/dance based performances.  I wanted to be a Creature too, but was too- I don't know, scared to intrude, I suppose, by asking if I could collaborate with her.  Instead I took on other roles that fit within the world she had conjured.  That was exciting, but it left me wanting more.

Time when on and Cody included other performers in the Creature' world, eventually moving on to other projects, including starting a business.  One of her last collaborators, Eva, continued on and did a 3 day long story-line and ambient performance at the 2009 Seattle Erotic Art Festival.  It was after SEAF last year that I approached Eva about collaborating with her.  I confessed the pull that the Creatures had on me and my affinity with the concept and performance.  We started rehearsing and injuries kept us from our proposed debute in the January LRS Dance Concert.  Sadly, due to our schedules filling up, we shelved the project.

My sweetie puts on a fetishwear dance and social party called Fete Nuit at the CSPC on the 3rd Friday of every month. Sometimes there is a theme and February's theme invited people to dress up as animals and animal associated humans. (One of the best costumes was the Animal Testing Lab Scientist.)  In a flash of inspiration, I called up Eva. Upon describing the party, I suggested we use it as a chance to rehearse in full make-up with a "Handler", neither of which I had done until Friday.  We made a bit of a date out of it, letting the first part of the evening be about immersing ourselves in the roles and playing with each other and our Handler, aka the Mean Man, as Creatures.  By far, the most fun we had was Eva & I fighting over food.  After a rest, we work-shopped our interactions and refined my movement style as a creature. Incredible fun!  Definitely as satisfying and fun as I had hoped.

An exciting feature of the Fete Nuit parties is the photographer on hand offering people a chance to get a keepsake photo of their costumes.  This month Distinct Glimpse was generously donating his time and skills with camera and lights.  Here is one of the photos of us in character and in costume.  Unfortunately, my Creature isn't a very good model.  I need a little more practice being her.

The only bad thing about being a Creature is being on one's knees for so long.  And most of the Center is carpeted which resulted in my poor knees being abraded by the end of the evening. I will be purchasing knee pads asap.  I want to find something geared toward dancers so that they are not too bulky.  And as far as costuming goes, I would love to find someone who can make me some wrist and hand guards out of leather.  I would love to have something that protected the heels of my hands that could possibly offer a bit of support to my wrists.

Not sure when we will be able to do that again, but we will definitely perform as Creatures again.

Come see me perform tomorrow on VD at Strict Machine.

The Mean Man and I will be doing an Aerial Bondage performance on February 14th at the Mercury. Not sure what time we will be going on, but probably around 10pm. It can't be much earlier than that since I am working the box office for the LRS Red Show until 8pm.

For more information go to the FetLife  event page.

date:	Sunday, February 14, 2010
time:	09:00 PM to 02:00 AM
where:	Mercury at Machinewerks
address:	1009 E. Union (lower)  map

cost:	$10 at the door
dress code:	High Fashion Fetishwear

Description

Please join us for the Strict Machine's Valentine's Day Party! This month we will be having a few special performances as well as vendors (more details forthcoming).
IT'S VALENTINE'S NIGHT so why not make it EXTRA special and DRESS TO IMPRESS! !!PRIZES WILL BE GIVEN AWAY FOR BEST OUTFIT!!

Some themes that could be fun to work with for this party include:
Sexy Pink, White or Red lingerie Cupids and Devils V-Day Inspired body paint (make-up, body, pasties) Red, White or Pink Latex and PVC **Luscious Velvet clothing and accoutrements

NOTE: Please remember the same dress code rules apply to the above suggestions... You do not have to dress in theme to enter but do need to follow the nights dress code guidelines.

DJ's Catherinna (Sin City, Vancouver, B.C.) and Marius (Fete Nuit, Seattle) will be spinning music for your aural pleasures!!
**This is a non-smoking night

Go see my friend's show this Saturday!

Saturday, Feb 6, 7pm!
 
Who: Friends of Vita Arts, 21+
What: Fundraiser for vita-arts
When: Saturday, Feb 6 at 7pm!
Where: Youngstown Cultural Arts Center,
4408 Delridge Way SW
How Much: $30

Juggling, singing, aerials, clowning and other performances, all infused with the cheesiest of sentiments. Will it be silly? You bet your fluffy cotton socks it will be!

Join us at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center on February 6th at 7 p.m. for a night of fun and frivolity, with all the proceeds going to Vita Arts.

Snacky-food will be provided, and a cash bar with beer and wine will be available.

Seating is limited! Tickets are $30, available RIGHT NOW through Brown Paper Tickets! Don’t miss out!

Yay for Aerial class!

Finally got back the The Cathedral for aerial lessons with Beverly. The Thursday Drop-In class is perfect for me. I get a little bit of focused attention and the rest of the time I am on my own. This is great for conditioning and practicing. There is so much that I do in my aerial bondage acts that cannot be translated to any of the other apparatus; I have found that the tissu, sling, and even a bit of trapeze work, builds strength that translates quite nicely to when I am in the ropes.

Over the last few months, I had been attending only sporadically. All the holidays, traveling and performances have been convenient excuses. There are still a bunch of the same people, which is always nice to have familiar faces to welcome you back.

If you are interested in aerial instruction, give Beverly a call or email. She got me started and it's been a blast ever since!

New Year's Eve Performance

THe Mean Man and I will be doing an aerial bondage performance at the Center For Sex Positive Culture's New Year's Eve party. We have been planning and plotting a new act for this event.

Since we will be at the Center, in a very kink friendly atmosphere, we see this as a prime chance to inject a strong d/s element into a new act. There has been much discussion of what this will look like and how we can fuel the act with fear and lust. We haven't gone in this direction before. Each act heretofore has played with freedom, connection, and joy. I am curious to see how our plans will convey this new direction.

With more time, we are thinking more story is in order, as well as more spectacle. The biggest pieces to put into place are costuming and music. Music is tricky as the mood changes as we progress through the performance. It is always a little unnerving to work with more than one piece of music. Cues are so easily missed or delayed, espeically when performing for the first time in a venue. What would be optimal is to string the music together into one track so we just need to push play at the start and push stop at the end of the act. Simlicity. But to have that simplicity we need software and know-how. (This is when I yearn for technology from the movie the Matrix; just download the skills into my head!)

I am looking forward to getting into the space to practice. Workshopping and experimenting will be a good way to make the final decisions regarding this act. I love the creative process. That feeling of pulling numerous ideas and pieces together into a whole, something beautiful and interesting, is so satifying.

The conversations we have had while we brainstom are fun, too. Seeing the Mean Man's eyes light up at an idea I have expressed and hearing the new thoughts it inspires in him is exciting, and builds energy. Conceding that some of the things I come up with are a terrible idea is made tolerable by how entertaining his "no fucking way!" safety rants are. It's important for me to keep the ideas flowing, since the really good ideas often roll in after a few bombs.

Goin' back to Cali...

After a wonderful performance, I am about to finish packing for a holiday trip to visit family.

Thank you to everyone who came out to see me and the Mean Man perform. My pianist and the wonderful singing marionette were incredible people to work and play with. Thank you for making great art with me!

Doing the happy dance!

Last night I had another rehearsal for the aerial bondage performance piece that will be in this Friday's Little Red Studio. The choreography we had set down last week came together quite nicely. Between the three of us, we were able to create a way to tell the story with only actions, as the song is mostly there to convey mood.

One of the things we have to keep in mind is how to conserve my energy. I can perform this type of aerial work for 3-4 minutes. What makes it difficult for me to go longer is holding my core contracted for that whole time. The more dynamic tricks I do, the more chance I have to use different muscles and let my core rest. In this act, I am still much of the time, just holding a pose while I fly around. Very strenuous. Since the song we are using is over 6 minutes, we have to be smart about choreography I want to be able to make it though the whole act without collapsing until I am supposed to at the end.

I am glad the Mean Man is available to perform with me again. His last job precluded the possibility since he worked on show nights. Keeping up with my training has been difficult with no goal to work towards. Now that we will be performing regularly again, that will get me back on track.

If you can't see us this Friday at LRS, you have another chance this month. We are performing a different act on New Year's Eve and the Center for Sex Positive Culture. They have us scheduled to perform early in the evening, probably around 9:15pm. This particular act is a little more gritty and more raw and high energy.

Gold show on Friday the 18th

This month's Little Red Studio show is going to be jam packed with an incredible amount of performance. Normally we try to keep a nice even keel of art and socializing/participation. This time, so many people have come forth with so many great acts that we just may have to extend the evening a bit.

Personally, I am so excited, I am having a hard time focusing on all the directing of everyone else I am supposed to be doing. I will be performing with the Mean Man for the first time in quite a while. We have spent the last month reworking the aerial bondage piece we did in the Obsidian Show last winter.

Ok, how do I tell you about this without giving too much away if you didn't see the piece last year? It is the same idea of the marionette, but minus two and a change of two characters. My dear friend, Christina, an operatically trained singer, will also be a marionette as she sings "Something I Can Never Have" by Nine Inch Nails, while accompanied by Chris on the piano, who just happens to be the former lead music dude for Jet City Improv. I am indeed blessed to have such talented friends.

If you have the evening free, please come check it out. There are going to be skits, a beautiful blonde singing "Santa Baby", 2 different aerial acts, and so much more for you to gaze upon, as well as have a chance to join in the fun.

Little Red Studio - Gold Show
Friday, December 18th @ 9PM
Doors open at 8:30pm, the Bistro is open for dinner before hand.)

Come enjoy our last Gold Show of 2009! This classic show at The Little Red Studio is an intimate, interactive theatrical event with an erotic theme held at our sumptuous venue here in Seattle.

The performances you will see at the Gold Show are created and performed by members of our Troupe and brought together in one rehearsal the evening before the show. Always creative, often amazing - you'll love the surprises that await!

Where: 400 Dexter Ave N.
How Much: $25 in advance or $30 on the night of the show

Advance tickets can be purchased online at Brown Paper Tickets or in person at our new box office in the Little Red Bistro during business hours.