canadian theatre review review canadian theatre 158 Burlesque edited by Shelley Scott and Reid Gilbert Between the Sheets by Jordi Mand. “A stunning new play from a gifted young playwright.” —Lynn Slotkin, The Slotkin Letter ¶ That Elusive Spark by Janet Munsil. “A wild theatrical romp.” —Louis B. Hobson, JAM! ¶ Flesh and Other Fragments of Love by Evelyne de la Chenelière, translated by Linda Gaboriau. “A beautiful, poetic piece. The writing is in equal parts sophisticated, sensible, and ironic.” —Marie Labrecque, Le Devoir ¶ An Almost Perfect Thing by Nicole Moeller. “A dark and haunting new work.” —Paul Blinov, Vue Weekly READ. PLAY. PERFORM. Available now in paperback and ebook $15.00 spring 2014 Burlesque PLAYWRIGHTSCANADA.COM GREAT THEATRE IN THE HEART OF NIAGARA WINE COUNTRY theatre Cabaret On the eve of WWII, the party at Berlin’s hot Kit Kat Klub is about to come to an end. A PERFORMANCE not-to-be-missed Tony Award-winning musical. CULTURAL POLITICS FESTIVAL THEATRE Cabaret Book by Joe Masteroff graduate program in Music by John Kander Scene from The Lyrics by Fred Ebb Mission Business The Philadelphia Story production of theatre performance studies ZED.TO. Photo by by Philip Barry Trevor Haldenby. Find us at theatre-studies.gradstudies.yorku.ca The Philanderer by Bernard Shaw COURT HOUSE THEATRE The Charity that Began at Home by St John Hankin www.drama.ualberta.ca The Sea by Edward Bond A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur by Tennessee Williams we practice what we teach ROYAL GEORGE THEATRE Theory-based creative research: Arms and The Man by Bernard Shaw mA drama (thesis or course based) When We Are Married new PhD in performance studies by J.B. Priestley Apply by January 6 Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey Practice-based creative activities: STUDIO THEATRE mFA directing The Mountaintop mFA theatre practice by Katori Hall Under 30? Tickets from only $30. mFA theatre design BUY NOW TO RECEIVE FREE WINE TASTING VOUCHERS AT PELLER ESTATES AND TRIUS WINERY AT HILLEBRAND WORTH $28/COUPLE mFA theatre voice pedagogy Apply by February 1 JACKIE MAXWELL ARTISTIC DIRECTOR NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ONTARIO 2014 SEASON APRIL 4 - OCTOBER 26 SHAWFEST.COM | 1.800.511.SHAW Photo illustration for Cabaret: Emily Cooper | Design: keygordon.com Client: SHAW FESTIVAL Publication: Canadian Theatre Review Insertion Date: Spring Issue Size: 7.25 x 9.75 Contact: [email protected] | Key Gordon Communications Burlesque edited by Shelley Scott and Reid Gilbert FEATURES SCRIPT Editorial: Teasing, Transgressing, Defining— Neon Nightz | 54 Broadening the Spectrum of Sexy | 5 Neon Nightz examines paradoxical notions of worship and by Shelley Scott and Reid Gilbert intimacy in the sacred yet profane places in which we explore the ideologically linked emotions of desire and shame. It brings together female archetypes that are simultaneously revered and reviled and exposes the myths used to typecast women and the modern applications of religious allegory. 13 Cover photo: Raven Virginia dances with a Gorn in her Star Trek parody. The Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. Photo by Monty Leman, lemanphoto.com 54 In Search of a Different History: The Remains of Neo-Burlesque and the Resurgence of Roller Derby: Burlesque in Montreal | 7 Empowerment, Play, and Community | 33 From its notoriety in the 1920s to the excitement of the current Through interviews with participants in both neo-burlesque and scene, Montreal has been a hotbed of burlesque activity. Joanna roller derby, David Owen investigates the relationship between Mansbridge introduces us to some of the stars. audience and performer and finds striking similarity in the empowerment of subcultural identification and community. “Well, Melody, what is your skirt gonna turn into now?”: An Interview with Melody Mangler | 13 Extinguishing the “Temptation of Monetary Ines Ortner talks with Vancouver’s Melody Mangler about their Inducements”: The State Regulation and Stigmati- shared love of creating costumes, the Becoming Burlesque train- zation of Adult Entertainment Recruiters on Post- ing program, and finding your inner superhero. secondary Campuses in British Columbia | 39 Becki Ross and Oralia Gómez-Ramírez tap into the hysteria Backwoods Burlesque: Off-the-Grid Tsk and fear that swell up where the bodies of certain performing women are concerned. Tsk | 18 Bronwyn Preece celebrates the Tsk Tsk Revue, an annual com- munity event held on the tiny island of Lasqueti off the coast of Re-Vamping History: Neo-Burlesque and British Columbia, and reports on what happens when a fiercely Historical Tradition | 44 local, avowedly amateur phenomenon decides to go on tour to Alexis Butler argues that burlesque was a “verb” for its earli- the “other side.” est performers, while the performance form most familiar from burlesque’s Golden Age became a conventional “noun.” Butler Stuck to the Pole: Raven Virginia and the Redefini- uses the subversive neo-burlesque parodies of The Scandelles to illustrate the “verb,” in contrast with the retro-burlesque “noun” tion of Burlesque in Calgary | 22 of superstar Dita Von Teese. Calgary’s Garter Girls illustrate the difference between neo- burlesque and exotic dance, when that difference is enforced by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission. Jamie Dunsdon An Interview with Alex Tigchelaar, Formerly talks to Miss Raven Virginia about the fine distinctions of revival Sasha Van Bon Bon of The Scandelles | 48 burlesque. Alexandra Tigchelaar corresponds with Alexis Butler about the tran- sition of her company from The Scandelles to Operation Snatch. Are You Staring at the Size of My Gimmick? Apply- ing Burlesque Conventions to a Different “You’re Just a Stripper that Came Out of a Time Anatomy | 27 Machine”: Operation Snatch’s Queer World-Making Jay Whitehead found that his early explorations in the world of and Sex-Working Class Politics | 50 Boylesque TO culminated at the Toronto International Bur- Formerly known as the neo-burlesque Scandelles, Operation lesque Festival, where he was invited to perform his Mormon Snatch stages political cabaret performances that, as Sarah Mann missionary routine. In detailing his own experiences, Whitehead discovers, critique sex workers’ marginalization in both popular asks provocative questions about the meaning of male nudity. and burlesque culture. 27 VIEWS AND REVIEWS ONLINE FEATURE Editorial | 66 The Politics of Burlesque: A Dialogue Among by Jenn Stephenson Dancers by Adriana Disman Miss Toronto Acts Back: Observing and Think- Everyone has something to say about the politics of bur- ing in Montage | 67 lesque. For this slideshow, Editorial Assistant Adriana by Heather Fitzsimmons Frey Disman wanted to hear from the performers themselves, and she invited dancers from across Canada to write a little about what “the politics of burlesque” mean for them. Some Chika Modum. identity: borrowed, enlarged, describe socially engaged acts, some talk about their reasons projected, traced and modified | 72 for doing burlesque, and still others determine to carve by RICHard SMOLinski out specifically politicized space for themselves within the burlesque scene. The slideshow is available to CTR Online subscribers at http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/ctr.158.001b. (Dis)Embodied Authority in White Rabbit, Red Rabbit | 76 by Kelsey Jacobson s3 s7 Photo by David Hawe, courtesy Photo by Derek Stevens, of CoCo La Crème fubarfoto.com 76 Volume 158, Spring 2014 Burlesque Editor-in-Chief Laura Levin Associate Editors Barry Freeman, Reid Gilbert, Catherine Graham Editors, Volume 158 Shelley Scott and Reid Gilbert Editorial Advisory Board Jillian Keiley, Jenny Munday, Margaret-Gail Osachoff, Marcus Youssef Review Editors Natalie Alvarez, Jenn Stephenson Managing Editor Anne Marie Corrigan Editorial Assistant Melanie Bennett, Adriana Disman Editorial Coordinator Lizzie Di Giacomo Advertising Coordinator Audrey Greenwood Production/Layout Artist Antonia Pop Founding Editors Don Rubin, Ross Stuart, Stephen Mezei Publisher University of Toronto Press Founding Publisher Joseph Green CTR gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. CTR is available through subscription from the Journals Department, University of Toronto Press, 5201 Dufferin Street, Toronto, Ontario M3H 5T8. Phone: (416) 667-7810; Fax: (416) 667-7881; Fax toll free: 1-800-221-9985; [email protected] to.ca, http://www.canadiantheatrereview.com/. Subscriptions inside Canada: institutions $145 per year; individuals $45; students $35; Theatre Ontario Members $40. Single copies $15. Orders from USA and abroad submit payment in US funds. Overseas postage add $20. CTR is also available on microfilm through Micro Media Ltd, Toronto. Indexed in the Canadian Pe- CTR Online - complete archive of 17 riodical Index. volumes and over 189 articles, interviews, Editorial enquiries and manuscripts should be sent by email to cana- book reviews, slideshows, and scripts. [email protected], or by mail to CTR Editorial Office, 317 Centre for Film and Theatre, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not nec- Recent theme issues essarily those of Canadian Theatre Review. Burlesque Copyright © 2014, University of Toronto Press Alternative Globalizations ISSN 0315-0836 E-ISSN 1920-941X ISBN 978-1-4426-1380-5 Printed in Canada. Archives Dance and Movement Dramaturgy Publications Mail Agreement number 40600510, Toronto, ON. Canadian Theatre Review (USPS # 006628) is published 4 times per year (January,