Lydia Thompson and the British Blondes toured the US in 1860 revolutionized how we saw Burlesque.

We chose our favorite summary of Burlesque written by Burlesque performer Burgundy Brixx. You can learn more about Burgundy and other Burlesque performers on www.burlesquestars.net

 A brief History of Burlesque:

Burlesque itself was first recognized as a theatrical art form in the mid 1800’s, although its roots clearly lie in our human nature and early Greek comedy. Our foremother of burlesque is recognized as Lydia Thompson. Performer, producer, troupe-leader, and writer, she is accredited with popularizing burlesque shows in Europe, and bringing burlesque to America. The burlesque that began thriving in the 1840’s was inherently feminist in nature. Women were breaking new ground by creating, producing and acting – including the male roles while wearing such shape-revealing men’s costumes as Greek togas – in witty, earthy productions that commented on society and in doing so, challenged women’s roles in that society. As earthy humor and skimpy attire were always at burlesque’s core, it makes sense that as society became more liberal, so did the art form.

Minsky’s was one of the most famous Burlesque houses in New York from 1912-1937

Soon the theatrical form evolved into burlesque’s “Golden Age” of the 1930’s in shows that included saucy showgirls in revealing costumes singing songs full of double entendres, operatic singers crooning popular ballads, top comics performing blue comedy and of course, striptease. This was the era of the big burlesque strip-tease stars headlining the shows. As time wore on, the theatres closed and burlesque moved to the nightclubs. The down-size eliminated a lot of the large-scale theatrics and began focusing on the strip-teasers in the 1940’s. Most full burlesque theatres were gone by the 1950’s.

Why is it so popular today?

We live in an era of immediacy and burlesque is short-attention-span-theatre. It has the ability to give an audience absolute gratification in a short period of time. We’re also in a period of economic unrest, and historically Burlesque always thrived during similar times, with the Great Depression of the 1930’s being the golden heyday of the art. It was always touted as “working class entertainment”.  The jokes poked fun at the rich, and the strip-teasers peeled out of gowns more decadent and elegant as ones worn by the wealthiest of matrons, showing that we all have the same flesh and humanity underneath. And that, dear friends, is the naked truth!

And there you have it. The MOXIEs are thrilled to party down with you Burlesque style on May 25th 8pm at An Evening of Burlesque with MOXIE. We invite you to put together a costume, maybe even create your own Burlesque name and join us for a little libation and liberation. Tickets on sale now www.moxietheatre.com/burlesque or call 858-598-7620

Anna Rebek as Cat – Photo by Daren Scott

We saved this naughty kitty for last. The MOXIE blog gets cozy with Anna Rebek, who plays Cat in this final part of our series of interviews with the cast of “References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot” which closes this Sunday at 2pm.

Casting Cat was a blast.  Over a series of days we saw many different “cats” pass through the doors at MOXIE. We saw actresses play prissy cats, lazy cats, high strung cats and hungry cats but nobody quite embodied the soul of Cat like Anna Rebek. When you see her strut the stage saying “Nobody loves like a house cat” you’ll know just what we mean!

How did you start your career in acting Anna?

I went to an all girls school, so when I got leads in plays there were so many types of roles I played, peter pan, Indian princes, fat old womanizing dudes in tuxedos. It was awesome to be experiencing something so different from my awkward pubescent self! I was hooked.

What have you been working on recently besides playing sexy Cat?

I recently produced and directed the Good Friday service for my church, MCC, or the Met, titled Rend Your Heart, Not Your Garments. It was so beautiful to have people trust themselves to be open and vulnerable, sharing their less than perfect stories with us. They trusted me to lead them through it, and it was a true gift.

 How have you enjoyed the process of working on “Dali”?

This play is hot. The testosterone on and off stage would crack open a coconut. And it’s so beautiful to have the language of Rivera to seduce and be seduced by. The poetry, the creative team and the cast have been magical.

What has been your greatest challenge in working on the play?

Definitely the fact that for a long chunk of time in rehearsals, Alina (our costume goddess) and Dana (our dreamy director) wanted me in heels. I just couldn’t complete the ebb and flow of movement I wanted for Cat without using my feet. When eventually Dana said “let’s try bare feet…” I literally woo-hooed.

What do you think audiences will love the most about the play?

My friend Patrick Mayuyu summed it up in a facebook comment:

This show is a MUST SEE; absolutely wonderful!!! I encourage everyone to go see it, especially if you love poetry, emotions, sexiness and attractive people. GO!

If you want to catch Anna Rebek as Cat in “References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot” buy your tickets now at www.moxietheatre.com/dali or call 858-598-7620. “Dali” is playing through May 5, 2013 at MOXIE Theatre. Tickets $25-27. Groups of 10+ are $15 and groups of 15+ are $10

Friday April 19th Latinas on the American Stage – Special Guests:

MOXIE is proud to host this special event to explore how Latinas are portrayed in American theatre and how those roles affect the audiences who see them and the actresses who play them. We’ve got an exciting panel of special guests along with some of the actors and artists from the production who will be attending that evening to participate in the discussion and answer questions from the audience. Special guests include:

Maria Figueroa-Chacon – Co-Coordinator of Puente Project and Professor at Mira Costa College

Figueroa-Chacon is an English instructor at MiraCosta College who also serves as co-coordinator of the Puente Project, an effort aimed at Latinos that combines an emphasis in English composition, counseling and mentoring to boost the number of disadvantaged youth who enroll in and graduate from four-year colleges and universities. Affiliated with the University of California, Puente Projectstaffers train high school and community college instructors and counselors “to implement a program of rigorous instruction, focused academic counseling, and mentoring by members of the community,” according to its web site.

A first-generation college graduate from a working-class family with roots on both sides of the border, Figueroa-Chacon grew up in Santa Ana and earned her bachelor’s degree in theater (with minors in ethnic studies and Spanish literature) from the University of California, San Diego. After earning her master’s degree in comparative literature from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, Figueroa-Chacon returned to California and began teaching English composition part-time at San Diego City College, Mesa College, and San Diego State University, and theater at Cal State San Marcos before securing a full-time, tenured position at City College. Figueroa-Chacon is an English instructor at MiraCosta College who also serves as co-coordinator of the Puente Project, an effort aimed at Latinos that combines an emphasis in English composition, counseling and mentoring to boost the number of disadvantaged youth who enroll in and graduate from four-year colleges and universities.

Remy Mimms- President Elect of the San Diego Chapter of National Latina Business Women Association

Remy Mimms, Sales Partner Manager for ClearEdge Power. Her 20-year professional experience includes positions with Clear Channel Communications and Urban Marketing Corporation of America. While serving as the senior project manager for UMCA, she successfully developed and executed marketing and publicity campaigns for major corporate brands such as Nike and HBO. She has served as a member of the US Green Building Council, San Diego Regional Sustainability Partnership, CleanTECH San Diego.  She has held a coveted position as a Court Appointed Special Advocate through Voices for Children, serving as a voice for children in the foster care system who are unable to advocate for themselves and is the current President Elect for the San Diego chapter of the National Latina Business Women’s Association.

While growing up in San Diego, CA, Ms. Mimms encountered many personal struggles.  Being a young mother propelled her drive and ambition into overdrive to pave a different path for her daughter and along the way, developed a passion for marketing and business.  Ms. Mimms is in the process of writing an autobiographical book, using her own life experiences to guide women from adversity to success and empowerment.  Also in development, a podcast series aimed at highlighting women and their journeys to success.

Alix Mendoza – San Diego Actress and Director 

Alix a rising San Diego artist with a Theatre Associate Degree from Grossmont College. In her pursuit of honest images of women, races, and age, she has made roots in MOXIE Theatre and Amigos Del Rep (San Diego Repertory). She will further her studies and mission this fall at UC Santa Cruz

To purchase tickets for the show and panel discussion on Friday April 19 at 8pm visit www.moxietheatre.com/dali or call 858-598-7620.

Your story is fascinating. Will you tell us how you decided to become an actor?

Jorge: I woke up one morning and decided to give it a shot. I found on Craigslist an open call posting for all the Thesis films from SDSU’s Film Department. I showed up without a headshot and obviously no resume. I was asked if I had a monologue and my response was “What’s a monologue?”.  I was actually cast in 4 different films from that audition.

What were you last in? 

I had the opportunity to work on the World Premiere of Julia at Ion Theatre. The most memorable part in that process was that the last 20 minutes of the play where changed completely 5 days before opening night even after previews had started and we still managed to have a successful opening.

The play I did before Julia was actually my first play ever and it was also a very unique process for me because I played Don John in Much Ado About Nothing at NVA and they took the time to give me a crash course on Shakespeare.

How are you enjoying working with Rivera’s play?

I am loving working on ”Dali”. I’ve never worked on something so dense and so open for many interpretations. Every time I approach the script, weather its reading it on my own or in rehearsal, I find a new layer that wasn’t there before.

What has been the greatest challenge?

It has been finding the rhythms and musicality of Jose Rivera’s writing.

What do you think the audience will most enjoy?

If you want to catch Jorge as Benito in “References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot” buy your tickets now at www.moxietheatre.com/dali or call 858-598-7620. “Dali” is playing April 6 – May 5, 2013 at MOXIE Theatre. Tickets $25-$40. Groups of 10+ are $15 and groups of 15+ are $10.
 
Even though it is Magical Realism, the human element of the play. The realness of the relationships in it.

Before we talk about Gabriela and the play, will you tell us how you became an actress?

I started in community musical theater when I was in grade school. I think my first production was “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” I wanted to be Joseph. Clearly I had lofty ambitions.

You work in so many different fields, what have you been doing recently?

Last year I completed two films “The Three Canvases” and “Gregslist” and most recently have become a guest blogger for comic book creator Stan Lee’s new website TheRealStanLee.com.

How are you enjoying the process of working on “Dali”?

This has been by far one of the most arduous rehearsal processes of my career, which means that it will be one of the most rewarding. To be perfectly honest, the pace was a little daunting but I know the experiences I have every day of rehearsal are helping me grow as an actor and as a person.

What is your greatest challenge in working on the play been so far?

MEMORIZING LINES. I have never been more jealous of other members of the cast. Since day one I’ve seen this play as an ensemble piece so I got upset I was given a bigger slice of the “lines” pie. Joking aside, only recently have I started to really come into the emotional state of the character. There has been a level of trepidation to get into the emotional reality of Gabby because her mind wanders and sits in places where the average person would not feel comfortable. I chose this profession to be emotionally available and expressive and I’m learning sometimes we have to go to the dark places and sit in them to grow as  human beings.

What do you think audiences will love the most about the play?

The leather pants that Steve wears.

The dream reality of this show allows for a lot that is said and unsaid between people to be brought to the light. I think there will be dialogue after the show about dreaming and waking up and which world is the better to live in.

If you want to catch Jacqueline as Gabriela in “References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot” buy your tickets now at www.moxietheatre.com/dali or call 858-598-7620. “Dali” is playing April 6 – May 5, 2013 at MOXIE Theatre. Tickets $20-$40. Groups of 10+ are $15 and groups of 15+ are $10.

Can you see why we did it? When you’re looking for an actor to play an animal character you can’t look for someone who resembles a coyote. And if you did find an actor covered in fur who walks on all fours, it’s unlikely they would be able to handle the incredible language in Jose Rivera’s “References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot”. So you have to look for someone who embodies the spirit of coyote and from the first few moments of his audition it was clear Steven Lone knows Coyote. We had a chance to chat with Steven about the show and the role he plays in it in our ongoing series of interviews with cast of “Dali”
Before we talk about Coyote, tell us how you started your career in acting?

Steven: I got into acting in high school. It was my Junior year and I was taking an acting class for fun and hopefully an easy “A”, when the teacher asked if I would be interested in auditioning for the school play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. I ended up getting the part and discovering my new crush. Theatre.

Our audiences may recognize you from your recent performance in Zoot Suit at the San Diego Rep. Can you tell us about that?

It was one of the biggest productions I have ever worked on, both from a technical and cast size standpoint. With all its challenges, the show went on without a hitch, and I got the pleasure and honor to work alongside the playwrights son and meet the playwright himself (Luis Valdez) for a very enlightening conversation.
(Steven is pictured here in Zoot Suit at the San Diego Rep in 2012. Photo by Daren Scott)
How are you enjoying the process of working on “Dali”?

Dali has been a lot of fun to work on. As a cast I feel like we’ve all clicked rather quickly, and everyone is pretty supportive of the each other, which is important for a show like this which requires its actors to go to some very vulnerable places with each other. I have to say that this is one of the very few casts I’ve been a part of where every single person involved has an incredible work ethic and also knows how to have fun throughout the process.

So tell me about Coyote. What’s it like playing him?

My scenes are raw, sensual, erotic and funny (at least that’s what I’m aiming for). I think the challenge for me is to play the different layers in the scenes. The easy route would be to play the “sex” in the scene, meaning, hitting all the innuendos and playing it literal. Ultimately, I think you lose and bore the audience that way. My work has been on adding dimension not only to the scenes, but to the character itself, humanizing him in a way and hopefully adding depth to this animal on stage. Because that, in my opinion, is sexy.

What do you think audiences will love the most about the play?
The first time I read it I was in love with the language. The way these characters speak is both raw and real, soft and poetic. It’s really beautiful to hear.

If you want to catch Steven Lone as Coyote in “References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot” buy your tickets now at www.moxietheatre.com/dali or call 858-598-7620. “Dali” is playing April 6 – May 5, 2013 at MOXIE Theatre. Tickets $20-$40. Groups of 10+ are $15 and groups of 15+ are $10.

Toni Morrison began writing the book when she was teaching at Howard University and raising two sons as a single mother. She wrote “The Bluest Eye” because she wanted to make sure that in the wake of all the racially uplifting work being written by her colleagues, that nobody ever forgot what if felt like to believe you were ugly because of the color of your skin. She was afraid that history would white wash how painful it was for the children who grew up without anyone telling them they were as beautiful as they were.
The title of the book comes from its central character Pecola’s desperate wish that she had blue eyes. Pecola is a young black girl growing up in the Great Depression in Ohio. She has suffered through abuse and poverty and is now living with a foster family. Claudia Macteer, one of the daughters of the foster family Pecola stays with, is the narrator of the story. Unlike Pecola, Claudia rejects the white racial standard in her community, perhaps because she grows up in a more stable home. Toni Morrison wanted the story to include the perspective of girls who were more like she was as a child, girls who possessed a greater sense of self worth, which is why Claudia and her sister play such pivotal roles in the storytelling.
In 2005 Steppenwolf Theatre commissioned Lydia Diamond to adapt the novel into a full length play for the stage. In 2006 it premiered off-Broadway in New York and the adaptation is now being translated into French. MOXIE Theatre and Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company’s co-production begins Feb 2, 2013 at MOXIE Theatre and plays through Mar 3, 2013. For more information and tickets visit www.moolelo.net or www.moxietheatre.com or call 619-342-7395.

“A must-see production … an altogether superb (and harrowing) world premiere stage adaptation.” —Hedy Weiss,Chicago Sun-Times

“Diamond’s sharp, wrenching, deeply humane adaptation … helps us discover how an innocent like Pecola can be undone so thoroughly by a racist world that, if it sees her at all, does so only long enough to kick the pins out from under her.” —Chicago Reader

“A spare and haunting play … The playwright displays a delicate touch that seems right for the theme spiraling through the piece: that of the invidious influence of a white-majority nation not yet mature enough to validate beauty in all its forms.” —Washington Post

Have you heard that MOXIE and Mo’olelo are teaming up
for an exciting co-production of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, adapted by Lydia Diamond? The play, about the legacy of racism on a young Black girl, begins previews on February 2 and runs to March 3, 2013, at MOXIE Theatre, located at 6663 El Cajon Blvd. Suite N, San Diego, CA, 92115, with a Press Opening on Friday, February 8 at 8:00 

Now we’re giving up the goods on who will be working on this exciting project. The Bluest Eye will be directed by MOXIE’s own fearless leader Delicia Turner Sonnenberg.  Leading the storytelling of The Bluest Eye will be UCSD MFA alumnae Lorene Chesley as Claudia, last seen in Mo`olelo’s Stick Fly by Lydia Diamond, and Marshel Adams as Frieda. Local actor Cashae Monya plays the delicate Pecola; and returning to San Diego for the first time since appearing as Ater in The Old Globe’s Since Africa is Warner Miller. He portrays the complex character of Pecola’s abused and abusive father, Cholly. Abner Genece,Chair of San Diego’s Actors’ Equity Association’s liaison committee, will portray the poignant Soaphead Church and Daddy. Rounding out the cast are Melissa Coleman-Reed, a member of one of San Diego’s newest companies Circle Circle dot dot, as Mrs. Breedlove, Kimberly King as Mama, and Chelsea Diggs-Smith as Maureen Peal.

The creative team includes Brian Redfern (Scenic Design), Luke Olson (Lighting Design), George Yé(Sound Design), Emily N. Smith (Costume Design), Angelica Ynfante (Properties Design/Technical Director), Missy Bradstreet (Wigs and Make-up), and Elizabeth Stephens (Stage Manager).

“It is an honor to work with this talented ensemble and dynamic production team on Toni Morrison’s classic story adapted by one of America’s hottest contemporary playwrights, Lydia Diamond.” says MOXIE Artistic Director, Delicia Turner Sonnenberg.

The Bluest Eye and its concurrent arts education program, Three Part Arts, are made possible with support from The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, The James Irvine Foundation, QUALCOMM Foundation, Nordson Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, and Dea and Osborn Hurston.

Tickets & Information: www.moxietheatre.com  or www.moolelo.net or call 619-342-7395.

Is it better to know, or not to know?

Working on Hickorydickory is bringing to my attention the awareness of how I am appropriating my time. I feel this play telling me to listen better. Listen to what people are saying and how they are saying it. In what context we are having the conversation, what our “room” is and what the speaker is trying to give me. I’m finding that I’m interested in how much knowledge I can get from being observantly engaged in conversations. Fully and truly listening and taking in information. Sharing with someone what feels like  ”proper time.” This enhanced process of listening makes for quicker and deeper connections with the cast onstage, as well as tapping into the wealth of ideas and depth of emotion that Jen is bringing to the direction of the story.

In every line, from the first to the very last, I am aware of the careful effort that Marisa put into writing this play. Hickorydickory is saying you have some time but you have to be cool with not knowing how much time you or others have left. The knowledge that your time may be up at any moment can be scary, but don’t blame the knowledge, blame the behavior of people in the presence of the knowledge. Knowledge gives you the opportunity to act.

I think to answer my own question, yes, it IS better to know. It’s better to know that you don’t know and to act accordingly.  And it is better that you come see this show! Tickets available at http://www.moxietheatre.com/hickorydickory or at the box office 858-598-7620 HICKORYDICKORY plays through Dec 16, 2012 at MOXIE Theatre.

Photo Credit: Justin Lang in HICKORYDICKORY. Photo by Daren Scott