DCVariety

EVENT: Live Humans in DC
DATE & TIME: Tuesday Oct. 14
LOCATION: Palace of Wonders
COST: FREE!
DETAILS:
Live Humans is Washington DC’s only open mic variety show. and as can be expected, it can be found at the Palace of Wonders.

This week they are featuring the magic and juggling of Chris McCauley and Laura Ernst.

It’s free folks, so come on out and feel free to join in the fun! and if you are interested in trying out a new act, bring it out!

link for more info – Palace of Wonders’ website

or you can visit their myspace page.

EVENT:The Cheeky Monkey Sideshow Bizarro Show!
DATE & TIME: Friday, October 10th 10pm
LOCATION:Palace of Wonders

COST:$10 in costume

DETAILS:

palaceofwonders.com

cheekymonkeysideshow.com

EVENT: Vixen Variety
DATE & TIME: Thursday October 9, 2008
LOCATION: The Palace of Wonders
1210 H ST. NE Washington DC 20002
COST: $10
DETAILS:
Vixen Variety is an exciting new all female variety show!
More then just a feast for the eyes this show will knock your socks off!
These clever, sly and scandalous women will woo you with their willfulness and wiles!
You don’t want to miss the fun as these foxy females flaunt their finesse and show off their skills in a hodgepodge of heroines!
A new medley of talent each month!
So come one, come all to the foxy & fabulous Vixen Variety Show!

THIS MONTH! Mab (me) will be bringing out her new comedy fire eating routine! All Funny! All the Time! Even while on FIRE!

EVENT:
The Return of
The Son of
The Night of
The Living
Cheeky Monkey Sideshow!

DATE & TIME: This Friday! August 22nd, 9pm
LOCATION: The Palace of Wonders
1210 H st, washington DC
COST: $10 shows us how much you love us!
*** $2 off if you are wearing your Cheeky Monkey Sideshow Button! ***
DETAILS:

Cheeky Monkey Sideshow is back at the Palace and ready to knock your socks off!

Featuring:

~Gypsy/Punk/Sideshow Girl, MabJustMab
~Fire Goddess, Sensoriel
~Swami Yomahmi, the Original Sideshow Geek
~The Most Dangerous Man in the World, Damien Blade
~Mr Eon, the Magician
~Human Wonder, Sally the Cinch

And New York City’s own Burlesque Confection
Miss Cherry Delight
She may make you chubby, but she won’t make you fat!

Come be part of the sideshow spectacular the Washington City Paper called, “Beautiful and Bizarre.”

EVENT: Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School Show
DATE & TIME: Sunday, Aug. 17th
LOCATION: Palace of Wonders
COST: $5
DETAILS: Revival of the Dr. Sketchy’s series

Last night Sugar Ann Spice and I performed in the revival of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School Show … and it was a revival in more than one sense. The new MC of the latest iteration of the DC franchise is the “Reverend Loveseat” – aka Jared Davis/Art by Jared/former Lobsterboy Revue scene & set master and artist of the Al portrait over the Palace stage. The Reverend is everything you’d imagine he’d be … slimy, donning a bad suit, gray pompadour, too much flashy bling for a man of the cloth and loves to read horribly bad “groaner” jokes from back issues of Playboy to his congregation.

For those who have never attended or who are not familiar with this series of shows, it’s a combination of a mini-burlesque show followed by timed poses by performers in costume for live model sketching to be done by artists in attendance as audience members. This series was started in NY (of course) by Molly Crabapple and has since had franchises pop up in major cities across the country always using performers as models. Here in DC we have had both burlesque and sideshow performers (namely, our own Mab) participate.

As a performer – and particularly burlesque, it was imperative for me to remind myself this was not a “typical” burlesque show nor audience in most cases, however genuinely appreciative. The performances were well-received and posing commenced quickly after their conclusions. I also found myself challenged for coming up with interesting poses for the artists – holding yourself in a contoured (i.e. sometimes contorted) pose for up to 12 minutes at a time. This experience made me think about body form, angles and stage position dramatically more than I ever have before. I believe this will come into play during my future acts.

The Reverend led a successful “sermon” overall and put much effort into a balanced line-up, provided interesting props for posing and engaged the artistic audience as best he could while they concentrated on their work. The show finale was a game of Twister between Sugar Ann Spice and me – each Twister pose was held for a brief amount of time to allow for quick sketches by the audience … I lost, by the way – I sense a theme developing here, for those of you who have also seen our Lucha match. Tube socks and a plastic mat don’t mix together as well as I’d hoped.

Let’s hope the good Reverend decides to bring back his revival of this Sunday service to the Palace … even if once in a blue moon. I for one know I’ll be back next time, but as an artist … er … member of the congregation. Hallelujah Reverend and thanks for having us to your pulpit.

Amen!

EVENT: Live Humans
DATE & TIME: 2nd & 3rd Tuesdays of the month, 7:30 – midnight
LOCATION: Palace of Wonders
COST: FREE
DETAILS: Open Mic Variety Night

I have only been performing and producing burlesque for about a year-and-a-half although I think in my mind I have been a performer all my life. By no means do I profess to be an expert or professional performer like so many wonderful artists I know – I just really happen to enjoy performing, seeing others have opportunities to have fun, work their craft & express themselves and mostly – entertain people and help us all forget the mundane even if momentarily! I will be the first to admit that I need all the practice in the world to refine my moves, stage presence, act development, confidence … you name it. But one thing’s for sure, I truly believe that practice does make perfect (at least for me, and as close to perfect as possible).

I was recently contacted by Andy Rothwell of LIVE HUMANS to perform — as were many other area performers — and I was excited to take advantange of this opportunity to test out a new act on stage and see what other hidden talent we have in our midst. Plus, it’s free to everyone, no pressure and was really energizing to meet new people and discover a new night at the Palace.

This open-mic variety night is held the 2nd & 3rd Tuesdays of each month and no, you don’t get paid, but I used the show as a chance to try out new work and even speak a little on stage . It was so incredibly useful, it even surprised me! (And my new act worked, by the way) The crowd was receptive, a great showcase of all sorts of talent and really appreciated what others had to do and say. Again, couldn’t recommend it more if you’re looking to try something new – even a totally different skill all together … what’s even better is that you can get there anytime – no pressure of a call if you’re running late, etc. A very laid-back supportive atmosphere.

Thumbs up – thanks Andy!

EVENT: Bizarre Bazaar
DATE & TIME: Thursday, July 31, doors open at 7pm, show at 9:30
LOCATION: The Palace of Wonders
1210 H St. NE, Washington DC 20002
COST: $10
DETAILS:
Come out for the monthly Bizarre Bellydance event at the Palace of Wonders! This month, they will be bring out some truly unique acts!
dancing, fire, cabaret, tribal and much more!

This months Artists -
Eugenia
Jen
Kallisti Tribal
Mayyadah Sabri
Zobeide
& special guest, Mab, Just Mab!!!

EVENT: Paolo & Mab-o Together Again! For the First Time!
DATE & TIME: Friday, July 11, 2008 – 10 pm
LOCATION: The Palace of Wonders
COST: $10
DETAILS:

this is the big one folks! if you catch only one show this month, make it this one!

one of the advantages to being a variety performer is that I get to hear about other variety acts in the area before other folks do. but this isn’t about them. this is about me. and the next big show coming to town.

Paolo Garbanzo, an old friend and an amazing performer, will be in town THIS FRIDAY! at the Palace of Wonders. As a fair warning, the Palace is not that big, I believe capacity is about 100, and we plan on selling out the house! Get there early!

Why should you go to this show? Well, besides the fact that you should trust me, I can think of a few other good reasons.

Paolo Garbanzo is the only American to ever win the international jester competition. That makes him an official jester, in england. Now, he’s never performed for the Queen herself, but he has performed for dukes and lords, in castles and festivals all over Europe.

If you like juggling, you may know him as Misha Karamazov of the Flying Karamazov Brothers (arguably the most well known juggler group in the world)

Love him or hate him, I can’t argue with all that he has accomplished in the years that I have known him. getting his start as a geeky juggler boy tossing clubs in the park at college, to playing at Pier 39 in San Francisco, to touring with the Karamazov’s, than being crowned Official Jester, all leading him back here, to Washington DC. for one. night. only.

There is very little in the world that can trump that. so, I will be seeing you at the Palace!

EVENT: Palace of Wonders Anniversary Pre-Show Party
DATE & TIME: June 26th – all night
LOCATION: The Palace of Wonders
COST: FREE!!!
DETAILS:
I cannot think of a better way to spend a Thursday evening. No cover, beer tasting, drink specials…Special Palace Surprise Guest???? come on! I want to go so badly. But since I will be on the road to Asheville, you will have to go in my stead and tell me how it was.

Deal?

From their website:

Come celebrate a pre-show party with us at the palace! Watch videos of the past two years, enjoy our many drink specials and sample the new Coney Island Lagers! He-brew is happy to present a free beer tasting from their new “Coney Island Lager” line of beers!

All HST bar employees get a crucial discount with proof of employment! Come party!!!
All Palace performers get 10% off their tabs, all hst bar employees get 25% off!!

$3.00 High Lifes and $3.00 Baby Powers all night long!

But wait there’s more!! A *very special guest appearance*, you don’t want to miss this – so amazing, so sexy, its our special gift to you all! Happy 2 year anniversary!!!

Review of Evil Come Evil Go-Go
Staring L’il Dutch, Prissy Pistol and Little Darling
hosted by Mr. Deadguy
Clean-up/corpse removal by Gary Gutter

What a great show! I’m really glad I made time for this little gem.

To start off, as I approached the Palace, I saw skeleton cutouts dressed like Vegas showgirls at the door into the Palace. They were a great touch. The folks who decide such things offered discounted admission for anyone in costume – I saw some great outfits in the audience that night. That’s a great idea to get the crowd involved and really helped create the right atmosphere for a successful evening.

The show started off with a group number. Anytime there is more than one performer in a piece, it stands out in my mind. The coordination involved in getting artists to work together garners much respect from me. This piece was no exception. I loved the choreographic tribute to thriller (a staple in any un-dead dance routine).

The show on the whole was well put together, each artist getting their moment to shine. there were some pieces that stood out for me:

L’il Dutch just commands the stage. every one of her pieces look like they are right out of time, From vintage 1950′s to swinging retro 1960′s, which speaks of her attention to detail. I think my favorite piece had to be the mourning widow, complete with the necro ending. I love L’il Dutch’s box. And the goodies she pulls out of it.

Little Darling made my jaw drop. several times. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I was standing right up front, but every time she bent over…my eyes popped like a 3 week old cadaver’s. merow. Great job working the crowd too!

Prissy Pistol‘s “Brain Picnic” really grabbed me. I felt that she had an amazing connection to the song. It was a familiar tune that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, which added to the allure of the piece. I really enjoyed the combination of sensuality, savoring everything, juxtaposed with the horrifying brain goo. (mmmm, goo). this piece is a keeper!

Miss Joule joined the Evil girls, bringing a little fire to the show. I’m not sure if I have seen that particular fire finger piece before, but I really enjoyed. Only, and this comes as a bit of surprise to me, I can’t specifically tell you why. You will just have to catch her next show and see for yourself why this girl is amazing.

Mr. Deadguy was wonderful. This was the first opportunity I had to see him perform, and I had heard great things about him. His costume was impeccable, right down to the spats! Anyone who wears spats is aces in my book.

He managed the MC position pretty well. MC is a challenging role. You have to keep the show rolling, but you can’t just pop out and say “next up, la de da”. You have keep the energy up with tiny mini bits. My favorite mini bit was his pulling a worm out of his skull. It was almost like a tease with how slowly he extracted it. Totally wonderful!

A little while later his buddy, Baby Cheezwits, joined him…wearing a cleaver in his head. Babies with cleavers in their head are funny in and of themselves. Still, what followed was some excellent comedic interaction. The timing was (to quote an audience member) “tight”. I have found a new found love for ventriloquists. I want to see more bits from them!

As a performer myself, I love to eavesdrop on the audience to hear their completely candid opinions of a show. I am happy to share that every thing I heard was pegged in the positive.

Great job folks!
An excellent treat with delightful tricks!

Link-O-Rama
http://www.myspace.com/evilcomeevilgogoshow
http://www.myspace.com/lildutchburlesque
http://www.myspace.com/heartsandstarlets
http://www.myspace.com/lil_package_of_sexy
http://missjoule.com

Photos by Derik Moore (brutally lifted from their myspace pages)