Interview With Trixie Little
by Cary
Classic Burlesque has become a huge phenomena lately, what about it first
captured your interest?
Burlesque hits on all of my deepest desires...to be glamorous, funny and
live life like it's the backstage of "The Muppet Show." I have always been
interested in expressing my individuality with my body. When I was young I
did this with outrageous clothes and style. In college, I studied
painting and created figurative self portraits. After college, I left the
gallery walls to bring my work to the chlorinated confines of swimming
pools and began self-producing water ballets with casts of up to 50
people. Then I moved to the air when I discovered trapeze. From my
fascination with circus and extreme physicality, I discovered the world of
burlesque in 2000. Burlesque fit me like a glove because it is about
showing off your own individuality in a sexy format. And I have always
loved the immediacy of the audience's energy. I want the audience to be
moved, to be screaming, to be ACTUALLY changed by my performance.
Burlesque audiences are really vocal and interactive, which I love.
What kind of performance do you put on?
Merging humor, creativity, physical skill and glamour is the essence of
what I do. I mostly perform an acrobatic style of burlesque as well as
duo trapeze with my partner, The Evil Hate Monkey. My goal onstage is to
make sexy fun and fun sexy...all with a really juicy persona. I also like
telling a story, even if the story is a simple one. I LOVE to play
different characters as Trixie...like a Ringmaster taming the audience, a
Mermaid who hates her tail, a Goddess in the Kama Sutra, a Cirque de
Soleil reject, a woman in love with a Monkey. Generally, I set up a very
simple premise and then push it as far it can go.
At what kind of events do you perform?
Monkey and I travel the country for private events and festivals at least
once a month. I also produce a lot my own shows in Baltimore, MD;
Brattleboro, VT and Washington, DC. But our week-to-week bread and butter
is performing in the circuit of variety/burlesque shows in New York City
at places like The Box, Corio, The Slipper Room, The Cutting Room and The
Zipper (closed now).
What's it like performing all over and experiencing the different scenes?
This community of burlesque/circus/variety performers is my family. It's
amazing to feel so supported and encouraged by other performers. They all
help me continue to raise the bar, train hard, practice more, bedazzle
further and be my best. Every show I do, I try to watch as much of it as I
can...even if I've seen it 100 times. I learn so much about the nuances
of connecting to an audience from watching other performers. It is so
inspiring!
Where is your favorite place to perform?
The Box in New York City. A handful of NYC theater luminaries spent
several million dollars on the renovation of an old sign factory that has
been transformed into a cozy-yet-elegant bohemian wonderland. The Box has
a curtained jewel box stage, the best sound and lights and the audience is
seated on velvet couches and in a heavily draped balcony. The spot light
guy hangs his feet through the railings of the balcony and sits like a
monkey to light you. When Monkey and I perform "Total Eclipse" there, the
host, Raven, gets everyone to sing along like it's a beer hall- it's
amazing. Sometimes a girl will perform topless perched in an aerial hoop
above the bar or there will be a midget sitting in a miniature armchair
reading a magazine on the bar- just for kicks. The space drips with
bohemian elegance that feels like home. I love most everything about it-
the smell, the other performers, the wall paper, the backstage, the band,
the bathrooms! They tend to have super elite crowd in attendance- so the
only down side is that a lot of typical burlesque audiences have never
been there.
Has anything crazy ever happened at a show?
Monkey and I generally like to go crazy and be interactive with our
audiences all the time! We have been known to flip, climb or roll all
over people. One time we did a big show in our hometown of Baltimore and
opened the show by crowd surfing to the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen."
That was pretty scary cause we weren't sure people would be on the same
page with our level of energy right out of the gate- but they totally
were- and we rode out over people's heads for quite a while before they
set us back down on the stage!
Are there any other creative mediums you work in?
Trapeze and shenanigans. I am definitely a master of shenanigans...
What are your favorite types of outfits to perform in?
Sexy ones. I like to wear ruffly butt-bustles and top hats the most.
Because my feet are planted equally in burlesque and circus, a coquettish
little top hat feels like my best accessory. I really like working with
designers on my costumes and props too. Because I am such a visual
person, I have a lot of ideas about design and color. I enjoy finding
designers who like to collaborate and we can shoot ideas back and forth
until we hit on the most outrageous combinations!
What are your least favorites?
I really am limited in how blingy and elaborate I can make my trapeze
costumes. Especially for duo trapeze, because it relies so much on being
able to slink around each other and slide body parts across the steel bar
or ropes...it's pretty unforgiving. So, if we have rhinestones or jewels
in the wrong place, they will leave wicked bruises or cuts and at the very
least pop off! So, trapeze costumes are my least favorite because I can't
go nuts!
What kind of music do you like?
I love music. I draw inspiration from all over the place and because I
really like to create narratives with my work, I will totally just delve
into whatever style fits with that story- whether it's exotica, tango,
classical, musette, circus, or blues. But of course, it helps to have
kick ass horns and the right kind of bump from the drums! I also really
love working out to pop tunes- Gwen and Lady Ga Ga are my faves.
What do you like to do for fun?
For fun, I like to go tubing down the Gun Powder River in Maryland and
drink lite beer all day. It's amazing to just go where the river takes
you and have nothing to do but look up at the sky and trees. I also enjoy
doing elaborate photo shoots with my friend and stylist Nikki Verdecchia
and photographer Mike Lee- that is a major hobby of mine- we try to do a
shoot every other month (see photos). And I love to cook then eat big
vegetarian dinners.
See more of Trixie Little at:
www.trixielittle.com
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