performance
I was active in the New York and Chicago burlesque and drag scenes from 2013-2020. While the art of burlesque often has sexualized connotations, and while I am an advocate for bodily and sexual autonomy for all, my burlesque creations usually examined nudity as vulnerability, and then posited vulnerability as power.
I also used these mediums as a means for questioning and communicating my personal experiences of gender, in all its colorful dimensions of pain, hilarity, and wonder.
Burlexes: an Ode to the Post-Relationship
I was the producer of Burlexes, an annual evening of burlesque, drag and variety performances that ran from 2015-2019 in proud DIY venues including a student-run space, a living room, and a cooperatively owned black box theater.
The show was an equally reverent and irreverent celebration of the ubiquitous experience of heartbreak, and how each breakup is as varied as we are. Features of the show included a full lineup of burlesque and drag performers, live music, a Sell/Swap table (to swap things your ex gave you for memorabilia from others’ past relationships), and a collective zine crafted by the performers.
My own performances for these shows tended toward experimental and visceral bodily expression and change; in these acts I played with light as a tool for revelation, I cut my own hair, burned effigies, and ate cake. Some of these moments are displayed below. There is full nudity at the bottom of the page.
