Cyndi Freeman, AKA Cherry Pitz - Co-Producer/Host/Performer
Miss Freeman is an actress, playwright, story teller and burlesque performer. She is the creator of HOTSY TOTSY BURLESQUE and has a 10 year history off producing shows in New York, LA, Boston, Edinburgh and London. These Include: "I Kissed Dash Riprock!" Winner of a "Best in Festival Award for Excellence" at the 2002 New York International Fringe Festival. "Greetings From Hollywood", which received a "Best in Fringe Festival" award at the NY International Fringe Festival, and was voted "Best New Play of New England -1998” by the Independent Reviewers of New England. Ms. Freeman is a recipient of a grand prize play writing fellowship award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (with collaborator Ellen Groves). Other credits include HBO, Comedy Central and Showtime. She resides in NYC. www.cyndifreeman.net
Joseph Naftali, AKA Joe the Shark - Co-Producer/Talent Coordinator
Has been called the busiest doorman in burlesque. In addition to co-writing and co-producing HOTSY TOTSY BURLESQUE, Mr. Naftali also works with Kitty Nights, Sugar Shack, Original Cyn, Rosie Red Burly-q burlesque and Princess Sunshine’s Hard Candy Burlesque & What Bam Slam Variety Hour. Mr. Naftali founded Continüm Comics in 1987 and was the writer of "The Dark" comic book series. Other comic book credits include working with Gene Simmons on the "KISS 4K" comic book line for Platinum Studios. Mr. Naftali is also the author of numerous published short stories. www.myspace.com/karkarodon
Adam "The First Real Man" - Host
Growing up in the legendary Coney Island section of Brooklyn was where Adam developed a love for the sideshow. From the banners to the bally and the performers to the pitches, Adam himself, has become a master of many of the classic sideshow acts. Blending Borscht Belt humor with Martini Lounge suave and a knack for doing the bizarre, the First Real Man is bringing old time sideshow and vaudeville to the next level. www.myspace.com/adamrealman
Brad Lawrence - Host
Brad Lawrence is a writer and performer. He has worked extensively in theater, film, and performance art and is the author of several short stories, a novella, and his first feature length screenplay, The Boarding House, is currently in production with Iconoclast Films. His one man show, Monsters In The Wood, is making it’s debut at the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival. www.monstersinthewood.com
Nelson Lugo - Host
Actor, writer, magician, sideshow artist and now burgeoning vaudeville impresario – Nelson started walking the boards at the tender age of 18 when he lost a bet with his sister. Nelson has been featured in several works, most notably, he was cast as Rizwan in 'Raisins Not Virgins' – as himself in 'Magic and Mayhem' where he performed his own one-man-show called 'Deconstructing the Magician' – and as Jerry Goldstein in 'Only Kidding!' Currently you can see him in his own monthly late-night variety show called Vaudeville Nouveau, which is produced at the WorkShop Theater Company. www.nelsonlugo.com/
Schaffer the Darklord - Host
"Schaffer the Darklord (or STD) is a New York City-based rapper and comedian with subversive material best-suited for brainy and/or decadent audiences. With manic energy, verbose vocabulary and cartoonishly commanding stage presence, STD skewers such topics as religious zombies, sci-fi sex fantasies, grammar snobbery and obsessive cat-enthusiasts. Imagine a Frankenstein-esque monster assembled from equal parts Bill Hicks, Eminem, Prince, Ozzy Osbourne and Darth Vader, stitched together inside the shell of a maniacal heavy metal ex-patriot." http://schafferthedarklord.com
Amber Alert - Performer
Amber Alert was born in captivity and fed nothing but pop culture and dirty jokes. She emerged triumphant, a sexy twisted genius. Her showbiz career has taken her everywhere from the East Village to Alphabet City, where she serves up a unique brand of burlesque that is both conceptual and spectacular. She is the recipient of the highly coveted 2008 Crystal Stiletto Award.
With a BFA from NYU, Amber’s extra-curriculars include multi-media installation, video, and performance art. She is featured in the upcoming group show Maximum Perception at English Kills Gallery in Brooklyn. Whenever possible, Amber Alert saves missing children.
www.myspace.com/amberalertnyc
Bird of Paradise - Performer
A mild mannered corporate whore ruffles her feathers and transforms into the wicked burlesque artist Bird of Paradise! Bird's feathery display shows off Japanese influences peeking out from under her kimono. Barely a chickadee in the disco era, she gained her groovy wings and soared into the decade of decadence influenced by Jennifer Beals' sexy confidence in Flashdance, Barry Manilow's saucy lounge style and Michael Jackson's genderbending moves. After ten years of playing with salsa, swing, hustle, tango, hula, bellydance and traditional Japanese dance, she weaves them into a festive nest of burlesque expression! Bird plays hide-n-seek with devotees of burlesque, patiently waiting for the perfect moment to fly from her perch and strut on stage.....
www.myspace.com/birdoparadise
Bonnie Voy'age - Performer
Bonnie Voy’age was born in the farmlands of Wisconsin, forged by beer, elk hunting, and cheese. Eventually she received her B.F.A. in Illustration from the University of Arizona and moved to NYC where she took up Burlesque and is now known for her hilarious routines. www.myspace.com/bonnievoyage
Caitie Cakes - Go-go
Caitie Cakes was raised in a small village in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Introduced to dance by her mother at the young age of 7, she began to pursue the performing arts with a passion from that time on. Under the tutelage of Sue Brumet, she studied ballet, jazz and tap, her personal favorite. She attended the California State Summer School for the Arts in Valencia, Ca for two months during her high school career, and became awed by the prospect of becoming a modern dancer. To that end, she attended Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Va and graduated with a BA in Dance and Sociology/Anthopology. There, she was blessed to study the techniques of Graham, Humphrey, Limon, Ailey and Taylor, and was even chosen to perform a solo choreographed by Pilobolus.
Creamy Stevens - Performer
Hailing from some decayed hamlet in Washington State, Creamy Stevens is the child of slaughterhouse workers. She learned she loved to entertain through making children cry at the juvenile detention center where she spent most of her teens.
These days Creamy Stevens continues to hone her criminally insane mind at Starshine Burlesque, which she co-produces with the fabulous Little Brooklyn. She is a regular performer at the Slipper Room, Le Scandal, Red Hots Burlesque and Coney Island Burlesque on the Beach.
Creamy loves rhinestones and a good steak. http://creamystevens.com/
Dirty Martini - Performer
An international burlesque sensation who is one of the most recognized names in new burlesque. In 1997, she traveled to Sarajevo to performer her show-stopping fan dance to a shell shocked public shortly after the peace accord was signed and the Serbian siege had ended. Since that time, she has declared herself the first fan dancer to perform in post-war Bosnia. In her native Manhattan, Miss Martini has delighted audiences at all the best burlesque venues from the Slipper Room to Coney Island, and even Carnegie Hall. She has performed repeatedly at Wigstock, Tease-o-rama, and in 2004 was crowed Miss Exotic World. www.missdirtymartini.com
DJ Hazard - Performer
Ten years of Commercial Art, Theater and Rock Bands brought DJ Hazard to the comedy stage. A founding member of the infamous Ding Ho Club (whose members include Steven Wright, Bobcat Goldthwait, Paula Poundstone, Jimmy Tingle, Denis Leary, Lenny Clarke, Brian Kiley and Barry Crimmins) Hazard went on to tour nearly all of North America, achieving near cult status along the way.
He can be seen in the films Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story, Street Players and Bourbon and, starting June 2007, he is the newest cast member on American Misfits on Fuel TV!
His long-awaited second CD, El Hazardo Rides Again, is now available after most live shows and also (per song) at www.reverbnation.com/djhazard.
In the mean time, feel free to visit the new DJ Hazard online shop at www.cafepress.com/buyhazardstuff. www.djhazard.com
Fem Appeal - Performer
Fem Appeal is the creator and producer of Kitty Nights Burlesque, a weekly show that showcases new talent. Fem has a background in comedy and theatre and brings her love of sci-fi, horror and pop culture to her burlesque performances. She also has a thing for mustaches and has been known to don one even when she's not on stage.
http://www.myspace.com/taryntula
Harvest Moon - Performer
Harvest Moon, also known as "The Sultry Siren of Burlesque", began her career by founding the legendary dance troupe The Cantankerous Lollies in 1995. Miss Moon's troupe quickly became San Francisco's premiere showgirl act, known for their Montmartre-style cabarets, including rousing Can-Cans which would've made Toulouse Lautrec proud.
Throughout the late 90s, The Cantankerous Lollies performed in a diverse number of West Coast venues, including many of San Francisco's top nightclubs (such as Bimbo's, The Fillmore, The Great American Music Hall, as well as The San Francisco Museum of Natural History). In 1997 The Cantankerous Lollies were the first troupe ever to perform at the Miss Exotic World Pageant. Under Harvest's direction, the Lollies won "Best Dance Troupe" two years in a row. They later earned a star in the Exotic World Museum's Hall Of Fame.
The Bay Guardian awarded the troupe "Best Can-Can And Burlesque Review" in the 2001 edition of the annual Best Of The Bay, the first year the Bay Guardian had such a category. The Cantankerous Lollies gained front page exposure in the New Orlean's Times-Picayune arts section during that year's annual Tease-a-rama Burlesque convention, the first of it's kind in the world. Both Harvest Moon herself and The Cantakerous Lollies have been spotlighted in the fully illustrated book BURLESQUE AND THE NEW BUMP AND GRIND--a comprehensive history of Burlesque from the origin right up through today. A life-sized print of "Harvest Moon Y El Famoso Bailar De Abanicos" (the same one shown here on this site) has been featured in the Diesel Denim gallery in NYC's SoHo, and has been published around the world in various art/design books. Her image has appeared in GQ , Glamour Magazine, New York Magazine, Animal Magazine , Psychology Today, and Pulphope.
Harvest has also performed with members of Cirque Du Soliel in the 2005 production of "The Love Show". Harvest Moon performs regularly in New York City and, increasingly, internationally . Miss Moon's emerging solo work has been noted for its elegance and classic form. She blends vintage Burlesque style with a unique and suprising element borrowed from the circus' big-top. Her acts are noted for their stunning and original combinations of contortion, classic Burlesque stylings, and humor. Harvest has opened for James Brown in NYC and performed with the artist Matthew Barney.
Harvest currently performs as part of a trapeze duo called Aerobella. They have toured nationally with Circus Nexus in 2006/07 and performed at the 2007 New York Burlesque Festival. You can find their website at www.aerobellatrapeze.com
In the summer of 2008, Harvest toured the Netherlands and Italy in a special showcase of American Burlesque "Cabaret New Burlesque". From her homebase in New York City she continues to push the frontiers of modern Burlesque with each new act.
http://missharvestmoon.com
Jo Boobs - Performer
NY School of Burlesque founder and teacher Jo “Boobs” Weldon was voted "Best Bump ‘n Grinder" at the 2005 New York Burlesque Festival, and "Best Burlesque Teacher and Mentor" at the 2006 New York Burlesque Festival. Her burlesque workshop was profiled in the New York Daily News and in Pop Trash. She has lectured at New York University about the relationship between historical burlesque and modern strip joints. Her photographs of live burlesque performances were featured in exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. An internationally recognized striptease expert with decades of performing experience, Jo is truly at the top of the burlesque scene. www.myspace.com/joweldon
Joel Jeske - Host/Performer
Joel Jeske is a professional clown, actor, physical comedian, director, teacher, writer and creator of his own theater shows. He has appeared in major feature films including Two for the Money with Al Pacino and Two Weeks Notice with Sandra Bullock. On television, Joel was featured in Sex in the City, The Late Show with David Letterman, and Live with Regis and Kelly. Joel is a creator and performer for the physical theater company Parallel Exit: www.parallelexit.net . He created and starred in Parallel Exit’s Off-Broadway hits THIS WAY THAT WAY and CUT TO THE CHASE. Joel was nominated along with Parallel Exit for a Drama Desk award in 2008 for creating the show CUT TO THE CHASE. As a clown, Joel toured and created clown acts for Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus and hosted The Big Apple Circus 2006-07 production of STEP RIGHT UP! Joel teaches circus and clown with The Big Apple Circus and Cirque Du Jour both internationally at home in New York. Joel and his wife Juliet can be seen all around the New York area with their business Red Noses New York, www.rednosesnyc.com. Joel was honored last year as Clown of the Year 2007 at the Golden Nose awards. http://www.linkedin.com/in/joeljeske
Lady Lucerne - Go-go
Lady Lucerne performs regularly at The Slipper Room but can also be seen riding tricycles and showing off her bad habits at Rififi, Galapagos, Kitty Nights, Sweet & Nasty, and Spice. She spends her free time boxing and and drinking wine (though not at the same time). www.myspace.com/ladylucerne
Legs Malone - Performer
Legs Malone, The Girl with the Thirty-Four and a Half-Inch Inseam, was born on the mean streets of New York City's Upper East Side. Spitting the silver spoon out of her mouth at an early age, Legs spent her youth with her nose buried in books and has several fancy degrees to prove it. She stumbled into burlesque while living in London and hasn't looked back since. Legs is the proud co-producer of Sugar Shack Burlesque as well as a frequent performer on the best burlesque stages in New York and Brooklyn. http://www.myspace.com/legs_malone
Lil Miss Lixx - Performer/Go-go
Lil Miss Lixx innocently wandered off a playground in Baltimore Maryland into the whirlwind of New York City. Immediately, she became enthralled in the wonderful world of burlesque. A classically trained ballerina, Lixx traded in her pointe shoes for pasties! She hypnotizes audiences with her cute sass, flirty smile and naughty Lolita-like look. Lixx has had the honor of gracing such stages as The Slipper Room, Webster Hall, Mo Pitkins, The Bowery Poetry Club, Galapagos Art Space, Corio, and Coney Island's Sideshows by the Seashore. She also headlined the World Famous *BOB*'s monthly show in June 2007, was crowned Starshine's 2008 Summer Starlet and is a regular performer Ixion Burlesque and Kitty Nights. When she isn't acting "time-out" worthy on stage, she can be found eating ice cream cones and lollipops...and don't worry about those bruises on her knees! She got them when she tripped in a game of hopscotch!!! http://www.myspace.com/paigey5
Little Brooklyn - Performer
Sweet as an egg cream, thrilling as the Cyclone, and built like the Brooklyn Bridge, Little Brooklyn is a mover and shaker in New York's burlesque scene. Not only can she be seen weekly at Starshine Burlesque which she co-produces with the fabulous Creamy Stevens, she also performs regularly at New York venues such as the Slipper Room, the Cutting Room, Galapagos and exotic shows including Sideshows by the Sea Shore at Coney Island, the New York Burlesque Festival, Tease-O-Rama, and Miss Exotic World - where she took home the title of first runner up. Recent travels include flying to Stockholm to join The Hootchy Kootchy Club at Sodra Teatern, teaming up with the cast at the pink door and the Heavens both in Seattle, touring Vancouver with Chaz Royal, and popping over to Connecticut to perform in New Haven's first burlesque show. Proud recipient of not one... but a trio of highly coveted golden pasties from the New York Burlesque Festival. Her acts mix classic tease with a slapstick sense of humor that really puts the "Gee-whiz!" back in G-string! Little Brooklyn: a Coney Island RedHot! http://www.littlebrooklyn.com/
Miss Kissy Wishes - Performer
Kissy has had the opportunity to flaunt her gifts with Key West Burlesque all over sunny Key West , Fl, as well as M.E.W. in Las Vegas, Little Minsky’s in San Francisco, and Monday Night Tease in L.A. Primarily, Kissy has worked with Key West Burlesque as performer, choreographer, teacher and costumer. She is a 2008 recipient of the Ann McKee Artist’s Fund Grant for a burlesque costume project and a recipient of corporate sponsorship from Fairvilla Megastore. This summer she is branching out on her own in New York and with fellow KWBLQ-er Vava Verloren. As Christine Marguerite, dancer/choreographer, BFA, NYU, she has choreographed and performed in many musicals, modern dance companies, and a few operas. She has lived in an Ashram, earned a Master’s in Philosophy, curated art installation events in NYC, and traveled almost everywhere but Paris. Currently, she is performing in NYC, creating a lingerie line, and building large scale props on which to display her fabulousness. I could absolutely not do what I do without Mom, Marie, Kristen and Vava (my fellow enfant terrible), and now Joe the Shark. http://www.myspace.com/misskissywishes
Miss Mary Cyn - Performer
Miss Mary Cyn was born to a theater family and has been acting since she was three, and later graduated from NYU with a BFA in drama. She began performing burlesque in the fall of 2005 and founded Original Cyn Burlesque in the spring of 2005 and it's been going strong ever since, with wonderful reviews in The Village Voice and Gothic Beauty Magazine. http://www.myspace.com/miss_mary_cyn
Nasty Canasta - Performer
Nasty Canasta, the girl with the 44DD brain! Proving that smart is funny and funny is sexy and the world looks better naked ... Nasty is the co-producer of Pinchbottom - named "Best Burlesque in NYC" by NY Magazine and "Most Innovative" at the Miss Exotic World Pageant - and the impresario behind Sweet and Nasty Burlesque, which slouches around the East Village every Sunday night. She is a pastiche artist, combining classical burlesque and pop culture to create a dazzling mummery of perplexing proportions; the reigning Cheese Queen of Coney Island; and, quite possibly, too smart for her own good. Known associates include Wasabassco Burlesque, Starshine Burlesque, Revealed Burlesque, erstwhile mayoral companion Jonny Porkpie, and potentially evil twin Kobayashi Maru. http://www.nastycanasta.com/
Pinkie Special - Performer
Back in 2000, Pinkie began performing by playing the wash tub bass with a hill billy band in Seattle. A few years later destiny brought Pinkie to NYC where her performing career truly took off. Since then Pinkie has become a burlesque superstar who has dazzled audiences in venues across the United States and Canada such as The Slipper Room, Le Scandal, Coney Island, Hotsy Totsy, Meow Mix, Galapagos, Starshine Burlesque, Sweet N Nasty, Hulapalooza, Sugarshack Burlesque. Pinkie has also performed go-go and burlesque with great bands such as I Love You Airlines, Fisherman's Vibraphonic Orchestra, The Choke, and Matt Muscleman and The Syncopators. Around 2003, Pinkie became obsessed with the Hula Hoop and began hooping for audiences as a street performer as well as on the burlesque stage. Now, Pinkie makes custom hoops and teaches a weekly hoop/exorcise class. She also twirls baton, plays guitar, sings, and is full of jokes. She has been coined "The Monty Python of Burlesque" by Julie Atlas Muz and "Genius Retard" by Tigger. There are two fabulous movies made by Lux Killmore with Pinkie Special as the star. Recently Pinkie started a special dance troupe, The Animal Crackers Eccentric Dancers, featuring Miss Saturn, Aimee Animal, Darlinda Just Darlinda and herself. Eccentric dance evokes old school vaudeville with the clowny, burlap style of movement. All this and Pinkie still works full time as a lab manager in a yeast genetics lab and is the only Beckman elutriator consultant in the United States (it's a scientific instrument she's an expert on). www.pinkiespecial.com
Plum Manchego - Performer
With a knowing glance, soft whirl of feathers, and a flash of rhinestone and shimmying fringe, burlesque performer Plum Manchego aims to seduce and entertain. Conservatory trained in both ballet and modern - she holds a BFA in dance from N.Y.U. / Tisch - Plum has been applying her terpsichorean talents to burlesque since 2006. Often called a classy gal, she’s been known to make audiences blush with a well-timed wink and bump of her hip. A regular at Kitty Night’s, she’s had the pleasure of shimmying at diverse venues including the Slipper Room, Coney Island’s Burlesque at the Beach, the Bowery Poetry Club, Mo Pitkin’s and the Museum of Sex and in shows such as Starshine and Ixion. She’s even been spotted in Vermont and Stamford, CT! Plum is excited to be working with Hotsy Totsy again. www.myspace.com/plummanchego
Reckless Abandon - Performer
The secret love-child of Jessica Rabbit and Herman Melville, Reckless Abandon performs twice a month at the debaucherous wonderland that is Original Cyn Burlesque. When not removing her clothing for titillation and social justice, she works as a novelist, essayist, and renegade academic. Her writing can be found on the internet at www.the1585.com, an internet haven for oversexed geniuses. In her spare time, she enjoys giving lectures on early American literature while pole-dancing, staying in cheap hotel rooms and, of course, breaking hearts. http://www.myspace.com/literaryslut
Rita Men Weep - Performer
Rita MenWeep" is a founding member of NYC's juiciest burlesque troupe "The Peach Tartes." She came to burlesque via many years performing in both New York and LA. You may have caught her if you didn't blink in the movie "Music and Lyrics," "The Young and the Restless (CBS)," "The Scene of the Crime (TLC)," or most recently as a showgirl at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Vegas. Trained in tap, jazz, ballet, and man-wooing, Rita knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em, and hopes she'll catch you at a future "Peach Tarte" extravaganza. (For details check the calendar at www.myspace.com/ritamenweep)
Rosie 151 - Performer
Sarah Rose Grillo is a California native, and has been acting and dancing since the age of 7. She attended Southern Oregon University in Ashland Oregon, where she received her BFA. She then briefly worked in Chicago theater before studying with the National Theater Conservatory in Denver. Since arriving in New York City six years ago, she has worked with such companies as Rat Theatre Company, and Love Creek Theatre Company where her work included Sequestered by Le Wilhelm, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, and As You Like it. Known as Rosie 151, Sarah Rose is also heavily involved in the NYC burlesque scene. Since her first performance in August 2006 at the Slipper Room, she has shimmied her way into such venues as Kitty Nights, Starshine Burlesque, Hotsy Totsy Burlesque, Burlesque At The Beach at Coney Island, and Ixion Burlesque. Sarah Rose also co-produced the monthly show, Rosie Red Burly-Q, as an associate production with Groove MaMa Ink Theater Company. http://www.myspace.com/rosie151burlesque
Rubie Fizz - Performer
Rubie Fizz... is a bubbly burlesquer with an effervescent charm that can make you tingle all over. This lively, leggy lady has been popping up on stages all across North America but calls New York her home.
This stand-up dame was conceived in a speakeasy, the lusty result of a late night tryst between a bootlegger and a showgirl. Raised "in the trunk" with eyelash glue in one hand and an ostrich boa in the other, she walked the boards from Coney Island to Key West. After running the Chicago vaudeville circuit, Rubie wound up in Las Vegas where she developed a taste for sloe gin and the good life. It's here where the age old story takes off...
Independently and as a founding member of the ecdysiast troop known as "tempted! Burlesque", she can be seen at some of New York's finer venues – Riffi, Galapagos Art Space, Robin des Bois, Lotus, Cercle Rouge, Nightingale Lounge and of course Coney Island to name a few.
A modern jazz baby for the new millennium, Rubie Fizz will shimmy and shake her way in to your heart. And remember folks - If it ain't Fizzy... It just ain't Burlesque! http://www.rubiefizz.com
Runaround Sue - Performer/go-go
RunAround Sue is the co-founder and co-producer of Sugar Shack Burlesque. Currently her company produces shows in Montauk, the Berkshires and NYC's only burlesque dance party, Shaken and Stirred. Miss Sue has a background in performance and first appeared on the stage in a mother's day play presented by her kindergarten class. She played the little girl. She also spent many years developing the runaround part of herself through long and varied road trips during which she would say things like, "Can we stop by Memphis today?" and "How about we head North?" She wishes the best of luck to everyone pursuing their dreams. http://www.myspace.com/runaroundsuenyc
Sapphire Jones - Go-go
Sapphire Jones has only recently opened the velvet curtain on to the world of burlesque. A recent graduate of Jo Boobs School of Burlesque, she has enjoyed her introduction to the sequins and glitter of the Burly-Q. She combines sass, sex appeal, comedy, and a variety of food products into her acts, which she has exposed at Kitty Nights, Hotsy Totsy, The New Monday Night Burlesque, and World Famous *BOB* presents, to name a few. With a background in theater and comedy and armed with a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, she is ready to twirl her pasties all over the city that never sleeps and beyond. www.myspace.com/worldfamoussapphirejones
Scarlet O'Gasm - Performer
Scarlet O'Gasm is a Bushwick-based mover and shaker. Conjured in a Big Easy cauldron full of sass, a no good Carpetbagger wooed her on up to The Big Apple with promises of fame and fortune. With nothing but lint in her pockets and stars in her eyes she sought refuge on the Burlesque stages of Brooklyn where she quickly turned her unique gifts for voodoo, ninjutsu, trapeze, bumping, grinding, and hospitality into Yankee greenbacks. She has been spotted across the Northeast, South, Southwest, and Europe making bootleg burly-Q with her first class shimmy shaker. www.myspace.com/scarlet_ogasm
The White Boom Boom - Performer
The White Boom Boom has a drama degree from NYU, and is a former full time ballroom dance instructor. He first visited New York City when he was 15, a trip that not only sowed the seeds of love for the Big Apple, but also led to him meeting Kenny Rodgers, who told him, "You're funny." Should you want to chat with him after the show, the following ways to shorten his name are accepted: Boom Boom, Mr. Boom, Mr. Boom Boom, Boom. Please do not call him White, as he is reminded of that after his morning shower every day. He's very excited to be performing with Hotsy Totsy and his awesome dance partner, and would like to say, "Hi Mom!", though his mother will not be at the show, and will likely never see this. www.myspace.com/thewhiteboomboom
TIGGER! - Performer
James Tigger! Ferguson: This actor/dancer/stripper/librarian has performed in New York and abroad for 20 years, dancing from Austria to Australia w/Penny Arcade and touring America's Bible Belt in a pink Sodomobile w/Michael Moore. Called "the King of Boylesque," Tigger! has been NYC's premier Boylesque Stripper for over a decade. In 2006 he was honored to win the 1st ever Mr. Exotic World title (Best Boylesque) at The Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, and has also received Golden Pastie Awards for "The Performer Most Likely to Get Shut Down by the Law," "Most Unpredictable Performer," and "Next Queen of England." Called "hysterical and acrobatic" byThe New York Times and "the taboo-defying dynamo" by Next Magazine. Acted in the plays of Shakespeare, Apollinaire, Wedekind, a Tennessee Williams world premiere with Julie Atlas Muz, and numerous original works. Stripped to packed houses all over the place: recently including France, Portugal, Stockholm, Budapest, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, DC, and Toronto. www.myspace.com/tiggernyc
Va Va Verloren - Performer
Va Va Verloren is part native New Yorker and part barefoot wanderer spending his winters in Key West, FL. He holds a BFA in Acting, and an associates in Choreography from a prestigious NY University. Va is a modern day peter pan renaissance man with experience in artistic education, mix media visual artistry, Costume design and construction, photography, animal enrichment, poetry, puppet construction and manipulation, and voice over artistry. He also keeps a clean home and mixes a mean martini when provoked. Most recently he choreographed a production of "West Side Story" for Jersey Productions. Va has been burlesquing for two years performing both as a solo artist and with his burlesque soul mate Miss Kissy Wishes. He is eager to become a valuable member of the burlesque community and dedicates this performance to his evil twin. http://www.myspace.com/vavaverloren
Veronica Varlow - Performer
An instructor at Jo Boobs New York School of Burlesque, Veronica Varlow has toured the world as a burlesque performer. She is also the founder of DangerDame.com, an online boutique featuring 1950’s style pin up photos galore, and the vampiest pin-up dresses you've ever wanted to rob a bank in. www.myspace.com/veronicavarlow
Weirdee Girl - Performer
Weirdee Girl combines retro Hollywood glamour with a side dish of geekery. Her foray into publicly shedding her clothing began a few years back at The School of Burlesque where she learned to shimmy, shake and peel it all off. Her style onstage is elegant, sexy and downright goofy. Watch Weirdee as she becomes a sparkling 40’s burlesque darling, dons a moustache to portray Ed Wood or slides out of a catsuit for the purrrrfect Catwoman.
World Famous *BOB* - Performer
"I'm just a girl from the farm that believes in making the most out of what you've got!" For The World Famous *BOB* that's a lot! At 5 11" and a staggering 42 1/2 F - 32 – 42 she's quickly become one of New York City's most well rounded performers. Known for her over the top blonde bombshell image, *BOB* has captivated audiences all over the world with her unique Burlesque style, humorous performance art, and MC skills. Famous for mixing martinis in her cleavage, *BOB* combines her unique sex appeal with a strong sense of humor to bring you the best in burlesque.
She has been photographed by hundreds of photographers including Patrick McMullan, Mario Testino & David LaChapelle. * BOB* has appeared in several books such as Hotel LaChapelle, New Burlesque, Striptease; From Gaslight to Spotlight, Burlesque; The New Bump-N-Grind, The Brooklynites, and released in January 2008 – The Velvet Hammer Burlesque. Believing that television is “theatre for the poor “ *BOB* is always happy to make an appearance on the boob tube & is featured in A&E ‘s History of Cleavage, German television, and made a winning appearance on FUSE TV’s “Pants Off Dance Off!”. An experienced breakdancer, *BOB* has appeared in the remake music video of “HEY we want some P*ssy!” by Jason Nevins & The Crew as well as MTV commercials for the Music Video Awards. High fashion & World Famous *BOB* are no strangers- she has graced the pages of BUST magazine multiple times, worked the runway for Lane Bryant, had a six page layout in Mode magazine, & has worked with high fashion god Thierry Mugler. She has also appeared on the pages of The New York Times, New York Post, New York Magazine, The New York times Magazine, HUSTLER, Esquire, Style Monte Carlo, The Village Voice, Interview Magazine, PAPER, Italian Marie Claire, Bizzare and she is Miss July in The 2008 Mistresses of George W. Bush bid Farewell Calendar available at www.thingstolookat.com . The big screen suits *BOB * as well, her latest cameo being in John Cameron Mitchell’s film; SHORT BUS.
Recipiant of 4 New York Burlesque Festival Golden Pastie Awards (peer nominated) including; Most Influential/Inspiring Performer, Performer With The Best Boobs, Performing Most Likely to Still Be Doing Burlesque At Age 60, and Most Class Act Both On & Off Stage. *BOB* also was awarded Miss 2nd Runner Up 2004 at the Miss Exotic World Pageant where she now interviews Burlesque Hall of Fame legends live on stage!
Believing in the future of burlesque World Famous *BOB* has produced a monthly show for new performers entitled “The World Famous *BOB* Presents! “ for the past four years in NYC actually putting over 80 performers on stage for their first time ever! Each month showcases a new talent and a group of first timers! She also teaches at The School of Burlesque in NYC. Her classes are Self Confidence- The Ultimate Accessory! As well as “F to F – The Art of Wigs and Lashes”. www.schoolofburlesque.com
She lives in Brooklyn in a candy hued apartment known as The Pink Cupcake with her sister Kit Cat & her beautiful pink toy poodle Movie Star!
From Brooklyn to Paris The World Famous *BOB* is “The Dream Come True Girl!” http://www.myspace.com/dreamcometruegirl
Burke Heffner - Director
Burke Heffner is a freelance Filmmaker and Photographer based out of New York City--a setting which contrasts sharply with his childhood. Heffner spent most of his formative years in the rural west, at times in cabins with no running water, and only a wood stove for heat.
Both his film and photography reflect Burke's unique origins. A life of starting fires, springtime flooding, and roadside breakdowns at 43 degrees below zero, have given Burke a deep set understanding of the natural world, both physically and emotionally. His stories share that understanding, not as subject matter, but in all the underlying craft. Even in his fantastic work there is something very real, earthy and accurate.
Burke's photography also showcases his command of the physical world. In stills, his physical mastery shines in his careful lighting and body placement, and his earth born craft gives life to Pin-ups almost dream-like and illusory.
After graduating from high school in Montana, and a short career as a wildland firefighter in Alaska, Burke attended NYU's Tisch School of Arts, and began working in the city's independent film industry immediately thereafter. His work has been featured at The Sundance Film Festival, The Berlin Film Festival, C-SPAN, UPN-13, The Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice, The Golden Trailer Awards, Plenty Magazine, Time Out New York, The Austin Chronicle, BoingBoing and more.
Jaw dropping Pin Up Photography by Burke Heffner.
Cheryl King - Creative consultant & acting coach
Cheryl King hosts and performs in Forbidden Kiss. She began her show business career as a burlesque dancer, and teaches a Sensuality Workshop called Body Language and Burlesque. She has been a writer of erotica for many years. www.cherylkingproductions.com
Matt Bresler - Stage manager / Lighting designer
Matt Bresler is a public school theater teacher, production stage manager, and lighting designer. This is the first of what he hopes will be many experiences with FringeNYC and Hotsy Totsy Productions. He has recently become involved with theatrical photography and is looking to gain experience documenting the many smaller productions that happen on a daily basis in New York. He is a product of Emory University's Theater Studies department (BA) and New York University's Educational Theatre department (MA). www.mattbreslerphoto.com