Interview With Reina Terror

Continuing her Reign Of Terror: Reina Terror

by Cary

Classic Burlesque has become a huge phenomena lately, what about it first captured your interest?

I was actually initially a fan of sideshow performers. When I was a little girl I used to go down to Coney Island and watch Sideshows By The Seashore. I was lucky enough to get to meet some of the performers backstage, like Michael Wilson, who showed me how he hammered his tongue into a board (this was before everyone and their mother had a tongue piercing). It was after that, that I became eternally fascinated with sideshow performers. There weren’t many women doing it either, which gave me further ammunition to become a freak.

It was my first roommate The Reverend B. Dangerous that mentored me. He taught me how to do everything from glass walking, human blockhead, human dartboard, bed of nails, and fire eating and breathing (my favorite). I was sixteen years old.

But I’ve definitely always been a fan of burlesque and it’s stars like, Bettie Page, Tempest Storm, and the like.

At what kind of events do you perform?

I’ll perform at any type of event. I’ve done everything from birthday parties, weddings, BDSM parties, concerts, corporate events, Halloween parties, and even national tours. I was lucky enough to be a part of Ozzfest 2001 when my mentor toured with them and let me join and perform with him for the East Coast leg of the tour. It was an amazing experience! I also did a national tour with The Girly Freak Show featuring Slymenstra Hymen from Gwar and Zimora The Torture King formally from The Jim Rose Circus. Touring is amazing and I absolutely love it!

What's it like performing all over and experiencing the different scenes?

Lately, because I’ve been in school, I’ve mainly been performing in and around NYC with a few exceptions. But I love being on the road because you get to meet so many amazing people and the locations are so diverse. There’s nothing quite like waking up in a new city everyday.

I would sum up touring as being a combination of both the best and the worst times of your life. It can definitely be a bit grueling at times. But it also made me realize how adaptable I am. On the road you’re forced to adapt to a lot of things, like military showers, for example. That’s when it pays to be a low maintenance kind of girl!

How did you start performing with fire?

The first time I ever ate fire I was sitting on my couch in my first apartment when I was sixteen and my roommate stuck a flaming torch down my throat. I was too scared to do it myself so he did it for me. Ha! After I realized I could do it, it was over. I was hooked. I’ve always liked fire but it was then that I fell in love with it. I practiced for a while and began performing with it professionally shortly thereafter. Now, for the most part, my shows consist of fire performance almost exclusively.

What about fire intrigues you?

I definitely think part of what intrigues me is the danger and the challenge of working with fire. I am the type of person who constantly needs to be challenged, if it’s too easy I get bored. With fire it’s always a challenge and you always keeps you on your toes. Getting too comfortable with it can make you vulnerable to an accident. You are never really in control of fire and you always have to be very aware of how it’s behaving. This is the reason that when I started performing with fire I did extensive research on fire safety. No matter how good you are or how long you’ve been doing it you always need to be prepared if something ever does go wrong.

Thank goodness I’ve never had an accident or seriously burned myself (knock on wood). I think the closest I’ve ever come is burning my tongue a bit (like when you sip coffee that’s too hot), and I lit a couple strands of hair on fire once a couple years ago.

What safety concerns are involved in that type of performance?

If you’re doing it correctly and you have the right precautions set up it’s really pretty safe. If you don’t, however, it can be an accident waiting to happen.

First of all, I work with gas fire, which is completely different safety wise from “regular” fire. Water will not put it out and can actually do the opposite and cause it to spread. Therefore, you always need to take that into account when setting up your safety precautions. If you have all your precautions set up correctly, if something does go wrong if anybody gets hurt it will only be the performer. But that’s the risk that any fire performer takes, you have to accept that most likely you’re going to get burned at some point in your career. As the old adage goes “you play with fire and you’re going to get burned!”

Where is your favorite place to perform?

Wow, that’s a tough question. I love performing so much in general that the venue doesn’t really matter all that much to me. I’ve performed on stages the size of pool tables and at places with ceilings that were barely six feet tall. But I guess I’d have to say performing at larger venues are the most fun because then you really get to move around and you don’t have to worry about the confines of the space as much. It gives you more freedom.

Has anything crazy ever happened at a show?

Oh yeah, definitely. Although, the really crazy stuff usually happens before or after the show and usually involves crazed fans or just plain crazy people in general. At some smaller venues, like bars and such, I have had people come right up to me while I’m performing and try to light their cigarette or grab one of my torches. That is not fun at all.

At one venue I was performing at in South Carolina, I had a man who was wearing women’s panty hose sans underwear and a fish net shirt follow me into the lady’s room. When I told him he was in the wrong bathroom he looked at me, smirked, and said, “I know”. I ran out of there and grabbed the bouncer who, thankfully, threw him out. Phew!

Are there any other creative mediums you work in?

Definitely! I started out as an actor at a pretty young age and attended The Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan as a drama major. My father was an actor and worked a lot on Broadway so I kind of followed in his footsteps taking dance and vocal lessons and auditioning whenever I could. Acting has always been my first love. I definitely need my performer’s fix, which I now get through my shows.

I also went to school for visual art and worked as a tattoo artist and body piercer for a number of years. I’ve dabbled here and there with music and sang or played drums in a couple of bands, but it never really stuck.

Basically, I’m happy as long as I’m working in the arts in some way, shape, or form.

What are your favorite types of outfits to perform in?

Leather!!! I love leather!! It’s the ultimate costume for performing with fire since you can set it on fire and not have to worry about it burning or melting. I typically wear a leather corset with fishnets and heels or boots. So, yeah, anything made out of leather and corsets are my favorite.

What are your least favorites?

That’s easy! Anything flammable! Ha! It makes my job even harder. Also, any outfit that’s unflattering to my figure. I have an hourglass figure and I love it, so I definitely enjoy wearing anything that compliments it when I’m onstage.

What kind of music do you like?

My musical tastes are really eclectic. I basically listen to different types of music depending on my mood. Music that can make me feel some sort of emotion or where I can really tap into what the artist was feeling at the time is my favorite but I probably own something from almost every genre. My collection ranges from rock, classical (I’m really into Vivaldi right now), metal, big band, alternative, contemporary, cabaret, to Bulgarian folk music (it’s super eerie and awesome). Basically, if it’s good music I can appreciate something about it. Even though I’m not a very big fan of a lot of the popular music that comes out these days I can still appreciate that there was someone who put a lot of effort into making it (though most often their not the one performing it, unfortunately). I’m a huge music fan, if you can’t tell already.

What do you like to do for fun?

When I’ve been super busy with shows and school my idea of fun is sometimes just staying in bed all day watching movies and ordering take out. Then again I love going out with friends to burlesque shows and bouncing around the NYC bar scene, especially the dive bars. I’m also big on spontaneity so if a friend calls me up with a wild idea I’m usually up for it. I actually just took a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas this past January with a friend of mine; we rented a Harley and drove through the desert. It was amazing! I like to think of my life as being analogous to a movie and I want to make it as exciting and entertaining as possible!

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