Red Snapper

Time flies

On this day in 2013, Mr. Snapper and I were remarried. Our actual anniversary is August 14th, but we just had to do a show for our 20th anniversary. Enjoy this fun video of the ceremony.

We're taking a vacation week from our day jobs next week to celebrate, relax, and create some content. We also have a tiny dog who's getting spayed today, which means watching her like a hawk 24/7. At least she's out of the cast from the broken foot.

I'm very fortunate to have a co-creator so ingrained in my daily life. We're hoping to have our book ready for next year's anniversary. :)

Tit-Robics 2: Electric Boobaloo

Fun fact: I've learned how to jump rope in the past two months. I could never successfully jump rope until now. You get to giggle at the fruits of my labor. Mr. Snapper managed the fantastic visual effects.

Tub Tales 07.24.22

I made a very cool connection last week, and I'm excited to share about it. Also, Texas heat is no joke this summer. I was up at 6:30am today to prepare for shooting. The studio lights generate some heat, so I was trying to beat all of the heat from outdoors and the lights.

Behind the Scenes: A blank canvas

A couple months ago, I placed a nice little order with Manuge et Toi for some underthings for upcoming projects. I have the know-how to make my own strappy drawers, but it's faster and easier to get some things made by someone who makes them all the time. Plus, her technique has been perfected while mine isn't nearly there.

I need direction and inspiration for the embellishment of these fancy panties. I plan to use them with my Rick Roll fan dance, and I can use them with the rebuilt gift fans from Vivienne Vermuth. I need them to be as versatile as possible, so I'll probably have to stick with embellishments in the same color family as the panties.

But I have no idea what kind of rhinestone pattern to do on them. No clue at all. I do like to have some of the fabric showing, so they can't be fully encrusted. I also have to rhinestone in phases. That means I have to do an even distribution for the initial pattern, then go back and add another even distribution over and over until it's done. That way I can wear them for gigs before they're absolutely totally done. I could even use existing trim, create an appliqué, or add fringe.

Any thoughts?

Orion Slave Girl

In summer 2008, I was inducted into the Victory Variety Hour San Diego Comic Con annual show (off site from the Con) as the Orion Slave Girl from "Star Trek: The Original Series." I think I was invited to perform the role about a month before the show. Penny Starr, Jr. mixed music for one of my current acts with music from the episode, and then she knocked out a very simple costume I could wear for the performance. She asked everyone in the cast to shoot some promotional photos that she would print and we could make money from the sales. Because she has an involved day job in the entertainment industry and producers have a lot of tasks on their plate, the prints were never made.

However, I had an amazing opportunity to shoot the best images I could afford. (Mr. Snapper was behind the camera.) My friend Christopher Payne (now the special effects makeup head on "Chicago Fire") offered to paint me green and do my makeup for free.

Chris was awesome, touching up my makeup in the dry heat of the Los Angeles summer.

We went to the old Los Angeles Zoo, seen in Anchorman and the first year of our Hobo Thanksgiving. :) We didn't get a permit for this Sunday afternoon shoot. I just prowled around cages.

A green girl with red hair stands out in the park, even in Los Angeles. A green girl with her own makeup artist and a dude with a camera attract attention. A cop asked us what we were doing. We had no permit.

Chris, an absolute pro, knew exactly what to say. "We're shooting some stuff for my makeup portfolio." The cop said, "Good answer," and let us go about our business.

I moved into a different role the following year as the Fifth Element who stripped out of bondage tape to a Bjork song. (It sounds much cooler than the actual execution.) The next gal to take up the mantle performed the role for a  year or two.

We performed the show once in Los Angeles and then in San Diego at Brick by Brick. I didn't have Chris to do my makeup. It was also insanely hot for a gal in body makeup, but that's a story for another day.

Behind the Scenes - Dress Rehearsal with Nutmeg

Since she's a troublemaking puppy, we've been keeping Nutmeg away from the showgirl stuff until she has better discipline. That said, we decided to let her witness the magic as I ran my acts for my latest performance at Viva's.

When she was even smaller (like that's possible), she would creep into my showgirl closet for fun. She didn't destroy anything, but she'd hide behind the barn door and make puppy noises.

Enjoy a little silliness.

Tub Tales 06.26.22

I got a root canal Friday. Surprise!

Full Reveal: Butterflies

A surprise root canal interrupted the creative timing this month, but I'm very excited to share this with you. From 2011 to 2012, Mr. Snapper and Mr. Buddy had a silly quarterly show at various theaters in Los Angeles. It was a great opportunity for me to debut or work on new acts. I had a lot of freedom, and I was able to better hone "Butterflies" there.

This video is made possible by Markus Alias, documenting the various shows. Mr. Snapper assembled everything and added the awesome animated title for me.

The act is a classic panel skirt number where I first used magnets in a costume. Let me tell you, magnets are a bitch. Transporting a costume with magnets is a bitch. Dressing in a costume that has magnets is also a bitch. I loved the costume and had a cool idea, but it didn't work as well as I'd hoped. I also hand painted a bunch of the panels, and the paint stuck to itself when the costume was folded. Not great. I use the gown for improv burlesque, and it's gotten more embellishments since its debut.

Watching this anew reminds me of how much I love this song. I love dancing to this song. Maybe I bring it back but with new and improved costuming. I wonder if I could figure out a butterfly wing veil/panel skirt situation with what I've learned over the years. I'll skip the 16 magnets and hand-painted panels this time.

Delightfully Dumb

This July marks a decade since the last installment of Snapper and Buddy's Rumpus Revue. I was in every show, but I didn't want to be listed as a show regular or featured performer because it was my husband's joint production with his comedy partner, Mr. Buddy. I don't think I ever paid him to do my Sassy Classy show in 2010.

For "Ten Gallon Giggles," I wanted to do "My Little Buttercup." Rumpus Revue was a madcap vaudeville show with a through line, antics, comedy, stripping, and a Craigslist wild card (an act that no one on our team saw before the night of the performance). I made the retro swimsuits out of some spare fabric from a costume swap. I got three matching cowboy hats. The choreography was simple enough that Pistachio the Mime and Mr. Buddy could do it. We performed in a black box theatre, so anything goes. (I think I skipped pasties at least once.)

Mr. Snapper assembled this footage and added it to music. Enjoy this reflection of past creative nonsense.

Full Reveal: Just the Two of Us

Mr. Snapper knocked this one out of the park. Shot in front of a blue screen in my home studio, he made magic with the Grogu marionette and the footage. Blue screen work meant he could remove himself as the puppeteer and we could do a fun effect that we couldn't do live. Enjoy!

Tub Tales 05.25.22

I didn't hurt myself during Star Wars! Also, I'm facing interesting challenges with training the fluffy brat that I hadn't yet considered. (This is the last of the cinnamon roll bubble bar from the Lush Boxing Day sale.)

Behind the Scenes - New Starlet?

(Patreon is being shitty with posting video links right now. Not sure why. Video is hyperlinked below.)

Most of my month so far has been spent trying to tame the tiny beast. She's smaller than we expected, was the only one from her litter who survived (parvo claimed the others), didn't want to eat, and is always underfoot. Mr. Snapper is turning my studio back into a studio space, as it served as a puppy pen for a spell. (It's going to be a challenge to shoot with 3 lbs. of fur ball crawling around.)

Nonetheless, my Nutmeg is now 10 weeks old. We can finally start teaching her some basic tricks. For stage, we need to look at the behavior she offers naturally and consider how to work that into an act. Here's a little video of some things she's already doing. In addition, she offers a paw, will walk on a raised 2x4, hops on a small pedestal, and carries her own leash.

I wish she was motivated by food. It would make training much easier. We'll see how it goes.

Showgirl in front of the camera next time. :)

Is she going to be a starlet or a sofa loaf?

Here she is! That's my Nutmeg. We picked her up the day after the Star Wars show. We've visited with her every other weekend since she was four weeks old. I thought she'd be a little bit bigger when we picked her up, but she didn't do much growing in two weeks. She was so tiny when we collected her that we had to trade out her 3XS harness for a kitten harness. The breeder said she weighed 2.6 pounds.

Part of my goal with this third dog was to train her for stage. Aussiedoodles are smart dogs, and I want to train my Einstein dog to perform with me. I also wanted someone I could easily carry as I get older. The breeder said she'd be 15-25 pounds fully grown. Perfect for travel!

We had a parvo scare on Thursday. Her litter mate was positive for parvo and wasn't doing well. She's still fine. That's when we discovered she's only 1.8 pounds, and she might be close to 10 pounds as an adult. Holy shit. That's smaller than I expected.

She's a velcro dog, very attached to our family. It's hard to start teaching tricks when they're this young. When she's 10 weeks, we can start some basics. She does know her name, comes when called most of the time, and offers a paw sometimes. I'm watching for those natural behaviors that we can encourage, hoping to find some stuff that we can work into a stage act. She likes walking along our retaining wall, a line of bricks, and across a small 2x4, so maybe she's going to like walking across a beam.

The first week of this month was all Star Wars, job promotion, and a quick family visit. The past week has been mostly Nutmeg with some job promotion fun in the mix. We'll work on the full reveal now that she's a bit more settled.

Tub Tales 04.28.22

I was sick and missed my last gig, and I've been focusing on the Star Wars show. I'm maybe doing a stupid thing and building a bra from scratch for it. I should probably get started on that this weekend after I finish my other Star Wars chores (Star Chores?).

Full Reveal: Cocktails with Red Snapper - Recovery

I don't tend to consume alcohol after 8pm these days, but I've felt hungover after shows. This is my little magic potion to rehydrate and get ready for a day of activity. Fresh lime juice is better than bottled, but if you're reaching for a recovery drink, you probably don't feel like juicing limes.

Behind the Scenes: Mando Mando Mando

Last year I was asked to create a Mandalorian act with under three weeks until the show. I was replacing a performer who couldn't do the show. I whipped together foam armor and a simple costume, bought a 3D-printed helmet and finished it as quickly as I could, and Mr. Snapper made a Grogu marionette. It was insane.

I asked the producer in March if the Star Wars was on the books for this year. Since time was on my side this year and I plan to perform this act for as long as I can, it was time to invest back into the costume.

I bought 3D-printed pauldrons (shoulder armor) and gauntlets from different sellers. Everything looked awesome. The pauldrons are done because they arrived right away. The gauntlets, however, arrived at the beginning of wind and rain season. We don't have a garage and spray paint is toxic anyway, so I have to work around the weather to fill, primer, and paint these suckers.

I'm really excited to have improvements to the costume. If time allows, I'll see about getting a little choreography help. We threw that together last year as well. (There's a unique challenge to follow-along choreography that a marionette can perform.) I'm already thinking about what I can improve next year.

The newest Snapper: Nutmeg

This is the puppy. She's four weeks old. Comes home in four weeks, the day after the Star Wars show. I wish she was here now so we could start her stage training (and pet her sweet little head). Very excited about Nutmeg.

I almost didn't get to meet her this weekend. I've been suffering from food poisoning since Friday. Telemedicine and medication haven't really helped. Doc is fairly certain it's food poisoning since I'm the only one in the house dealing with it. If things don't improve significantly by Thursday, I won't be performing this Saturday. The greatest concern right now is dehydration. Super fun stuff.

Let's get back to the fun stuff! She was wagging when I held her. She also licked my neck and my face. I photographed the other puppies on the farm (22 other dogs) and then spent a little more time with my girl. She's getting some teeth, so she gnawed on my thumb.

I want to get a a nice amount of content shot before she gets here. I don't want to worry about her chewing on costume bits while we're shooting. Once she's 10 weeks old, I'll be less worried about it. She'll be oriented to our home a bit better by then. :)

Full Reveal: Sailor Jupiter

At long last, it's ready! I think the last time I performed this act in an actual venue was August 2019.

This was an interesting challenge because we had to get a blue screen as there's a lot of green in the costume. I had a very small dance space on the fabric blue screen, but I think it worked out okay for the fun background in the video. It also took four hours to render because of the special effects! I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Tub Tales 03.23.22

I've been a Dallas resident for five years as of this month! Good things have happened and are happening. :)

Behind the Scenes: New Starlet Alert

If you've seen the Tub Tales in recent months, you may recall my mention of a new pup. I was on a waitlist for a toy/mini aussiedoodle. This little girl was born last week on Saturday. She comes home the day after the Star Wars show. Only family, very close friends, and you have gotten to see her.

She'll get a name once her eyes open later this week. I have an agenda for bringing her into my pack and laying the foundation for stage training. I'm very excited that my friends at Viva's Lounge are willing to let me bring her in for a tech rehearsal and a show, just to be sure she's comfortable in the space as we work on her training at home.

My hope is that she takes to the stage like a fish to water, but I recognize that she may only be able to manage virtual entertainment. Buster and Coca can do some tricks at home, but they aren't stage hounds.

I suspect you'll see her making guest appearances during Full Reveals or Tub Tales starting in May or June.

Actorly Things

This week has been such an actor-filled week. My daytime hustle as a copywriter is for an agency, and sometimes talent is needed for product shoots. I was in two product videos this week. The above photo is from a location shoot.

Tonight is L'Heure Verte at Viva's Lounge. I have lines in a couple of scenes. (I guess the third-most lines in the show.) I'll be mic'ed up and wearing heavy skirts. I got a haircut a couple of weeks ago so I have to use some fake hair to suit the show. I'm excited that I don't have to wear fake eyelashes. (That glue is sometimes tricky to completely remove.)

I've been at home on the stage since I was five, and I learned some tricks for handling scripts when I was 15. For chunks of lines, I sometimes beat my script. It's not as intense as required in college. The beats (drawn lines) are for transitions in a scene. When motivations or topics change, the beats help. The phrasing of my lines isn't like my everyday speech.

With script beats, it's normal to give infinitive verbs to define the intended motivation or action for that beat: to comfort, to reassure, to enlighten, to advise. In college, we would always joke "my action here is to seduce," especially in the least appropriate scenes.

Another little actor-director trick is the speed-thru. The cast goes through all of the lines and blocking but at twice or thrice the speed. It's a great refresher when time has passed between rehearsals or shows. Mr. Snapper and I have two scenes together, so we've been speeding through at home.

I'm back to the burlesque focus after I sleep in tomorrow, but it's been fun revisiting the actor life for a minute.

Full Reveal: Cocktails with Snapper - Afternoon Delight

I concocted a little drink and made it silly. :) The drink itself is tasty.

2 oz. Citadelle French gin

2 oz. pineapple juice

1/2 oz. grapefruit juice

1/2 oz grenadine

Ginger beer

Fresh raspberries for garnish

Tub Tales 02.20.22

I got another haircut! I'm rambling on about birthdays, death, learning lines, and puppies. :)

Let's get back at it!

Photos by Mr. Snapper, and these are all of the photos from the set!

In order to achieve that '80s fitness look, we had to get a backdrop and grab a couple wardrobe pieces. I love how it turned out. I added the fishnets for better balance in the presentation.

I've wanted to do a fitness video for a long time, but being over 40 with some dance-related injuries means I can't predict having the stamina to shoot a 30-minute workout video with high energy for eight hours. (It took about an hour of working out for last month's Full Reveal recording.) Of course, I've been preparing to run a 5K, using my rebounder as my jogging location. That helped me with the stamina for the video.

My next in-person show involves NO STRIPPING (from me). I was cast to be a talking girl in L'Heure Verte, An Absinthe Variety Show. Show is in March. I won't be cute or sexy, just talky. I'm excited to do the show and be paid as an actor. :)

A brief delay as I plan a wake...

My father's health was poor for a long time. I posted about it a few years ago. He was a stubborn old bastard, and he lasted years longer than we all expected.

I got news on Sunday, the day before my birthday, that he finally passed. Strokes took a toll on his ability to function, and he chain smoked for at least 60 years of his life. He was diagnosed with COVID in mid-January, and he wasn't healthy enough to best it.

I've been grieving him for years. The last time I saw him in person was before the pandemic. He couldn't speak very much. Couldn't walk. He just wanted to die. He was once a vibrant, foul-mouthed, charismatic guy, and he never would've wanted to live as he did over the past few years. We couldn't have phone conversations, couldn't crack dick and fart jokes, and he couldn't even ask about my dogs. The news was ill-timed, but I'm relieved for him. (Still a little sad though, to be honest.)

I'll have some pics and fun stuff for you soon. I have to plan a virtual wake, and I didn't anticipate the timing of it all. I'm the best person to plan the wake because I can demand attendees bring their best dick and fart jokes to give the old man a proper send off. :)

Full Reveal: Tit-Robics!

I had to title the video differently on Vimeo so it doesn't get flagged. This is what we've been working on for you this month. I had too much fun with it. I hope you enjoy this quick and fun workout! ;)

Tub Tales 01.23.22

Maybe I'm a little too giddy about it, but we're going the direction of short films with the Full Reveal stuff. Still showing skin (sometimes pasties and panties, sometimes not), but harnessing our storytelling power and the skills of Mr. Snapper to really shine. I'm so excited about this month's project. :)

Behind the Scenes: Putting in the Work

I'm not calling it a resolution, but I am dedicated to getting physical a little each day. I have dancer aches and pains, so I need to keep my joints lubricated and my body flexible. Tonight was ballet. It's been yoga, jogging, and virtual dance classes so far this year.

We finally put up some of the old mirrors in the studio. I want a big mirror on my wall, and that's not an expense I can manage this week. I can see the television from the mirrors. You can see my portable ballet barre in the background. You can also see one of the box lights and the red curtains from performance videos.

While I was dancing, Mr. Snapper was researching some things for a virtual burlesque show. Pretty optimistic about 2022. :)

Sizzle Reel 2021

Here it is: our Snapperama Studios sizzle reel for 2021. Mr. Snapper and I love entertaining people together, even if that puts me on the stage and him behind the scenes. He's been directing, editing, animating, and titling works for me over the past year.

If you're looking to book something fun for a virtual show, reach out to us.

Grateful for my patrons, supporters, producers, and colleagues for keeping this showgirl active!

Fourteen years as a pro

Holy crap! I just realized that January 2nd or 3rd marks 14 years of performing burlesque professionally for me! That's bananas! I have more smile lines and freckles now. I'm also so happy to have the opportunities to perform for so many years!

With necronomicron or whatever the current breed of COVID is, we may be facing limited in-person performance opportunities for the foreseeable future. Of course, we're working a little bit each week to make our production capabilities more awesome in the home studios. (I'll share a little video tomorrow to highlight what we did last year.) We're always learning something around here.

I find myself at a crossroads with some costume stuff. I have no intention of resuming commissioned work indefinitely. I'll still work on stuff for myself, maybe make a corset here or there if I feel like it. Right now I'm thinking about paying someone else to make me some really fancy pasties, complete with rhinestones and beaded tassels. I know I can make my own, but I don't really want to do it. Since I first took a pastie class back in summer of '07, I've made hundreds of pairs of pasties. I feel like a break from that. I've also considered paying someone else to build my dinosaur costume. (I should probably do that one anyway. It's not fair to ask the designer to try to understand what's in my head.)

I appreciate you joining me on journey. I look forward to entertaining you in 2022!