New Year’s Eve is looming and although part of me is looking forward to the future,  a large part is looking back on 2011 and the accomplishments therein.

I have completely overhauled my life in many ways – changed jobs (in part for the sake of my long term sanity), and made more time for running my own events, event and marketing services with my new business Burn Brightly Events, published a novel, and grew as a performer (including becoming the resident performer at Weston’s Festivale De Burlesque).  All in 365 days!

I feel like so much has happened, most wonderfully good, and I am so thankful for the amazing and supportive family and friends I have in my life.  I really can’t thank them enough.

There are quite a few things I am proud of this year, most especially the success of Who Wants To Live Forever: A Charity Night of Queen-themed Burlesque.  The show was a sellout success and raised £1524 for The Mercury Phoenix Trust (where the event is currently featured on their front page!).  So proud of everyone involved in the show both onstage and   backstage and in the audience!  I shall be following this up next year with another big fundraising event and hopefully some smaller showcase shows – which you can read more about in the BBE Newsletter.

There are more changes ahead for me in 2012 on a personal level as life continues to throw interesting, new and often exciting challenges our way.

As far as burlesque goes, I’ve been taking stock.  I’ve been performing since March 2010 and when I look back I can see I am now in such a different place than where I began.  First of all my confidence and skill as a performer has increased as I have addressed feedback from my peers and performers I admire, as well as my own concerns.  I still think I have some way to go before I meet my own expectations of myself, but I’m getting there.

My tastes have also changed, both through influences and inspirations, but also through developing my own skills and understanding my strengths and weaknesses.  As of 2012 I will be dropping a couple of routines, that although I have loved and enjoyed, I just don’t feel fit with me anymore.  I have already spent sometime this year reworking some old routines I didn’t want to lose.  And 2012 will see me launch two more routines, both of which highlight the two paths I want to take my routines.

Go Ape is a fun and slightly silly (if hopefully poiniont) routine that will match Too Hot To Hula and No Angel.

Hera’s Obsession will be a graceful, heartfelt, fandance about obsessive love and it’s resulting destruction.

This is technically going to be the second of what I feel are my more “grown up” routines.  The first being a bespoke Christmas act I put together for Festivale De Burlesque – A Very Blue Christmas, which brought together new stylings and inspiration with the fun and energy of some of my sillier routines – a lovely combination that was well received.

There have been many influences in this change of direction, including two other performers, both of whom I have been tremendously lucky to share the bill with since I began performing – Missy Malone and Beatrix Von Bourbon.  I love the routines of these ladies, I love their passion and skill.  And something that has really inspired me is how both are very versatile in being able to perform more story-based and/or “silly” routines as I tend to label them (such as Missy’s “Hey Sailor” or “Chick Habit” and Beatrix’s “Hey Bellboy” and “Voodoo Restaurant”) as well as more traditionally classical (if modernised) styles of routines (such as Missy’s “Jack Frost” and “Gold Rush” or Beatrix’s “Winter”), with no jarring effects, in the same show.

When I performed at Swansea’s Blue Stocking Lounge in 2010, headlined by Beatrix Von Bourbon, I was really awed by her absolute flawless ability to switch characters from her Bellhop act to a bespoke, graceful and heartfelt fan dance.  As time has progressed I have realised that that is the main goal for me.  When I first started burlesque I trained in neo-classical styles and took an amazing fandance workshop with Missy Malone, and as instructive as these were, my own tastes lay with “sillier” ideas, and No Angel and Too Hot To Hula were born.  This style is natural to me and was further inspired by one of my favourite burlesque performers, the wonderful Diva Hollywood.

But part of me still felt drawn to the more classical styles – in the end I included them in routines such as Destroy the Head. Remove The Brain where I tried to mix the silliness and grace together and created a zombie fandance.  But as I have evolved, and looking to such performers as these for inspiration, 2012 is the year I am going to develop my classical side.  Starting with Hera’s Obsession, I hope I can bring a classically inspired act along with such acts as No Angel and be able to do both justice on the same show.

We shall see.  So, 2012 will be the year I push myself even further, where I use the wonderful chance I have been given as FDB’s resident performer, to experiment and develop.  Where I ask questions about what works and what doesn’t, where am I taking things, where do I want to be by 2013, why am I still awake and watching V (the original of course) at this time of the morning!!

Best of all, I get to continue living my life to the full and making the most of the support and inspiration I have around me!  I wish the same for you all!!

I have actually reached a point – whilst writing a to-do list that took up several pages – of realising that I need to maybe cut back on some of the things I am doing.  Perhaps this will explain why…

 What is happening in Tiger’s life?

 I wrote a novel.

Yes, I finally finished and published my novel, About the Nature of the Creature.  It is currently available for sale in theUS(delivering worldwide) on the printers website – Createspace. 

This has been a huge labour of love, as I have been writing this story since 2002 and started on the sequel last year.  You can find out more information about the book and also an interview with me about it etc, on the book website – www.aboutthenatureofthecreature.com

It has also, as you can imagine, taken up a massive amount of my time, both with the writing, and now with the seemingly never ending stream of marketing.  It’s going to be hard work but I have set myself goals and hope by the end of the year to have it stocked in some great shops and bookstores.  Fingers crossed!

I set up my own events business.

Although still working full-time in events and publicity, I am also now a freelance event and wedding consultant for my own business Burn Brightly Events. 

Offering a range of event services (from planning through to publicity) and some bespoke wedding services (filling the niche below a wedding planner for those who can’t afford such a thing).  So far it’s going well.  I’ve done a few bits of event work for cost so that I can build up a good rep and network, etc. and seem also to have fallen into planning various themed weddings, which is pretty much my speciality  

I’m really enjoying it, and although I’m not making much money now – preferring to build up the contacts, etc – I am hoping that its something I can go into as a full-time business maybe 5 years from now. 

You can find out more about my business at www.burnbrightlyevents.co.uk

 I am organising a huge charity show!

 This relates to the above.  Quite by accident of me being a performer, my events organisation has also fallen slightly into working on shows.  The main one being one I am producing myself. 

Again a labour of love, its something I’ve been thinking about for about 18 months and then finally decided it was time to just do it or the chance would slip by.  As some of you may know, I am a huge Queen fan and also it is the 20th anniversary of the death of Freddie Mercury in November 2011.  So I am putting on a theatrical-style burlesque show to mark the occasion – Who Wants To Live Forever: A Charity Night of Queen-themed Burlesque will star both local and national performers.  It will take place in Bristol on Saturday 26th November 2011 and all profits will go to the Mercury Phoenix Trust. 

I am so excited about this show, but still have so much to do!  You can find out more information about the show on the Burn Brightly website and also on facebook. 

Tickets will be going on sale shortly!

Last but not least – burlesque!

I had thought coming back from the break I took earlier this year it might be hard to get back into gigging.  But it’s been ok, especially as I decided not to do more than two shows a month as I am so busy.  Have some fun bookings coming up, and putting together a new routine – Too Hot To Hoedown (a counter part to Too Hot To Hula with a cowboy/hillbilly slant).  In fact, unless I get any bookings for it sooner I shall be debuting it as one of the support acts for a Wurzel’s concert in December.  Oh yeah!!

That pretty much brings everything up to date…  Until next time KBO!

So I will simply say this.  Life is good – I have finished my novel, just doing the editing now.  My best friend and amazing illustrator Jon Doe (who drew my Tiger banner image) is designing the cover, and its all taking shape.  Getting a few performances lined up here and there, in the process of sorting out act footage and hopefully eventually a showreel.  Life moves on a pace.  Busy busy busy… fingers will be melting soon!

Well, work on my novel has been coming along a pace – I am currently finishing up chapter 5 of what will probably turn out to be ten or eleven chapters (depending on how much I stick to my writing plan).  So that’s going reasonably well, but we shall see how I feel about it come the deadline!!

However, I have not been completely off the face of burlesque all this time – I have been to some great shows as an audience member (and been recognised by others in the crowd on occassion, which is always lovely!), and I have been working on my own routines.

As well as tarting up some of my current routines with new and improved costuming and gimmicks, I have been embracing the darkness I unleashed with my zombie routine.  When I come back I will also have a rather dark and sultry Macbeth themed routine in my repertoire!

As such, I am getting pretty darn excited about rejoining the land of the burly-living!  Hope to see you all at a show sometime in the summer!!

x

Yes, I am taking a break from burlesque until at least early July 2011.

The main reason being that I have the chance to self-publish in June and so I will be spending all the time I can spare between now and then writing and editing.

But I think it has come at a good time.  On the work side of my real life, things are busy and crazy for reasons I won’t go into.  I am feeling run-down and need to recoup myself.  Burlesque, with its rehearsals, costuming and of course, shows, can be exhausting and as I have a fatigue condition, it can really wear me down.

This does mean that I have sadly had to turn down some great bookings for February and March, but I already have bookings for August and ideas on reworking some of my acts.

So, watch this space for more information and… ermm…. buy my book when it comes out!!!  :D

It got me thinking, what routines can I actually use this time of year?  I don’t have anything generic that would fit any circumstance.  Funnily enough a fellow performer told me a while ago that everyone should have at least one good fan dance in their repertoire.  And, it’s true, many do.  And although they might be adapted for different occasions, that often tends to be done through subtle costuming.  My problem is my imagination, as I seemed unable to put together a straight forward fan dance and have ended up with my zombie routine where I kill a chicken, then do a fan dance, then get shot in the head.  Even my generic nautical routine turned into me dressing as a jellyfish… I seem a little unable to do things simply.

It is only now that this seems to be an issue.  Even shows that don’t tend to run a themed night are getting caught up in the Christmas spirit and are booking up seasonal routines.  So, although I have no interest in creating a Christmas routine, I wonder if at the least I should create one more generic so that it can suit non-themed shows all year round and possibly be adapted for different occasions.

Hence, I have decided to come up with a “Tiger Generic” act.  I have no idea yet on music, mood, or costume – other than having tiger print in it.

So watch this space…

Based on an image from my photoshoot with Penny Bizarre, here is Sorrel Spark’s imagining of me as a zombie and Penny as my hapless victim! 

BRAAAAAINS!!!

But after last night’s show, I have decided to blog.  I thought I knew what I was going to write about how last night went (which I will get to_ but it’s also made me realise how lucky I have been so far on this journey.

So far since I started performing, I have had the great fortune of being part of some truly wonderful shows, with a variety of themes and audiences.  I have been lucky enough to perform on the same bill as some top UK performers I greatly admire and respect, including MoB’s Kittie Klaw, Beatrix Von Bourbon and especially Missy Malone. 

I have made new friends, and enjoyed some very fun night’s out.

Last night was a bump in an otherwise smooth road.  I performed at a charity fundraiser, and I have to say the event was incredibly well organised and they all did an amazing job.  However, for me, it was very different to previous shows. 

Despite being able to usually do this particular routine (Too Hot To Hula) in a small space, it was hard to get to grips with the tiny stage.  That in itself would have been fine, but I found it incredibly hard to focus on what I was doing because of the audience.  It was in a nightclub, so the audience were standing less than 2 metres from the stage.  As I am not a very tall person, this put me at eye height with many of them, and quite frankly I found it off putting.

My previous performance background is in local and student theatre, where the audience are safely seated looking up at the stage.  So I found it a little weird performing like that.  I have only once before had to peform in a similar situation, but the majority of people sat on the few sofas that were around.  As I said, the event itself was wonderful, but for me it was not only an uncomfortable performance, but what I feel was my first bad performance.

I have had previous performances where there have been slight hiccups – problems divesting an item of clothing, or not being able to hear the music and missing a cue, but those were easily recoverable and have never affected the performance as a whole.

Last night I found myself unable to fully connect with the performance, and it rocked me a little.

I have another show tomorrow night, also in a nightclub, so presumably a similar set-up.  I am doing the same routine, which on the one hand is good because I have a better idea of how it may go down, but on the other hand, I would have preferred to have done a routine that has a different sort of connection to the audience.

Ah well, one slightly under par performance since March is not so bad.  Besides, I have talked to people since the show last night and had nothing but compliments, so maybe it was mostly in my head. 

Also, on a nice note, I had a girl come up to me last night before the show to say she would be announcing me and that she saw me perform in Bath earlier this year and thought I was great   That’s the first time I’ve had someone unknown to me tell me they’d seen one of my acts before.  I’m FAMOUS!! … maybe not

Things have been super busy in my day job, what with a new exhibition opening, a huge event, and normal daily grind.  Plus personal stuff, plus being ill on and off for the last two weeks with various coughs and sneezes and now I’ve put my back out. 

So this has been adding to my stress as I am supposed to be polishing up my new routine for a show next week and it just isn’t there.  In fact I’ve only just had the chance to finish the costume, and so haven’t actually done a full rehearsal with props and costumes yet.  STRESS STRESS STRESS. 

Then I realised, this is all because I am desperate to follow through on confirming that routine.  So, after a long thinking session on my way home from work today, I decided I need to just get over it.  I need to let go of what I wanted to do and focus on what would be healthier for me.  Quite frankly with my back being bad, I’m not even sure I could do my new routine without making it worse.  I’ve let it go, and instead I am going to perform my hula routine. 

This is fine.  In fact it’s a weight off.  I love the hula routine, and right from the get go I amended it so I could do it with a bad back – a good thing given that the buldge in my disc will never magically disappear.  I am much happier for deciding to go with the less lethal routine that I am totally comfortable with.

And hopefully I will still have my new routine ready for Halloween as originally planned.

So many things happening in every aspect of my life right now that I’m not even sure where I find the time to perform, much less put together routines and make the costumes!  In fact, I’m sad to say, that the circus themed routine I have been planning for sometime has now been put on the back burner.  I am definitely hoping to put it together late this year or early next year for a 2011 debut, but at the moment I will just have to make do with my current routines and my hallowe’en/gore routine that’s coming on a pace.  In fact I am hoping to debut it in September, and it will likely be the act that I trot out all over October!

But other than putting that together, which has been time consuming enough, I have decided I really have to cut back on burlesque here and there.  So far I have at least one if not two shows booked (or in the process of booking), every month until the end of the year.  This may not seem like a lot, but when you factor in just the rehearsal time and travel time and such… basically it takes up a lot of time.  And as fun as that time is, I’ve realised other things I had planned on doing this year are starting to slide.

So, my plan now is to not develop any more new routines until later this year or early next year, once my hallowe’en one is up and running, and instead focus some of my energy back into writing.

I have been working for several months now on a book about the darker side of life in Prehistoric and Classical Greece, and I’m getting frustrated about not spending as much time on it as I would like.  So new goal – have a final draft of at least half the chapters by the end of 2010…. 

…. We shall see how that goes!