mary-masked
The Terry Gilliam of Burlesque
Published: May 14th 2019, 2:52:22 am
I already posted this on my FB but, in case you didn't see it, and you wanted to know what happened to The New Flesh.
It started with me getting locked in the greenroom. I showed up early to have dinner before the show and put my bags in the hallway we'd be using as a greenroom. It didn't have the mirrors we'd been promised but that wasn't a big deal. Then I turned around and the door was locked. So were the other doors. Nothing happened when I knocked so I texted my friend to let me out. He couldn't find the door so he asked a bartender where the greenroom for the show was. The bartender said "...what show?"
I want to say I'm not going to put blame on anyone because I don't know the full story. What I do know is there was a change in staff, some miscommunication, and when I got to the bar last night no one working there had any idea that a show was supposed to be happening that night.
Everyone working at House of Wax was very nice, and very helpful, and the management spent about an hour trying to straighten things out and make it possible for us to do the show anyway. But the bar is attached to the Alamo, which is a large organization, one that I assume has a pretty long chain of command. So, for whatever reason, they couldn't let us do the show that night.
I've performed in a blackout. I've performed at a wake. I've performed without my intended costumes, without my intended music, without anything resembling a stage. I've changed costumes in alleys, done burlesque in broad daylight. But this was the time to throw in the towel.
I'm not mad because this genuinely seemed like a case of everyone doing their best and it not working out. They said they'd be in touch about possibly doing shows in the future, and I hope that happens because I think this was going to be a REALLY GOOD show. Clara Coquette and I both put a lot of work into planning these shows and had some killer line ups planned. But, as Picard said "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life."
Since some people have been concerned: I'm not devastated or even depressed, really. I'm sad that the show that I was so excited about probably won't happen, but I can't call it a failure. I did the absolute best I could do.
Since the show was canceled a half hour before call time, most of the cast just came to the bar and had some drinks together. And audience members who didn't find out about the cancellation in time joined us. It wasn't long before we were calling it "The best show that never happened," and joking about me being the Terry Gilliam of Burlesque.
So, while it wasn't a show, it became a pretty great little party. I feel incredibly lucky to have such great people in my life and happy to see that other people were looking forward to this show as much as I was.