Angel Burlesque Announces Summer Performance Series Featuring Superstars of Burlesque

Indianapolis shows to feature Ray Gunn and Bazuka Joe of Chicago’s Stage Door Johnnies and Jiggles McGee of St. Louis’s Randy Dandies.

Indianapolis, IN – Angel Burlesque announces its summer 2012 performance series with Going Down: A Fallen Angels Revue, Ray Gunn and Bazuka Joe of Chicago’s Stage Door Johnnies and Jiggles McGee from St. Louis’s Randy Dandies  headlining Hot Summer Nights: The Boys are Back in Town and featured performances at the Days of the Dead horror Convention,. Angel Burlesque is also making their debut at the Indianapolis Fringe Festival with Prrrrr-Lesque: A Pretty Kitty Review.

Angel Burlesque is pleased to welcome back Ray Gunn and Bazuka Joe of Chicago’s Stage Door Johnnies (the World’s Best Burlesque Group 2011 and ranked #9 in Twentieth Century Pinups list of top 50 international burlesque stars) and Jiggle McGee from St. Louis’s Randy Dandies for Hot Summer Nights: The Boys are Back in Town on Friday, June 29 at the Athenaeum. Tickets will be available for those 18 and older at angelburlesque.com for $20.  Bazuka Joe appeared with Angel Burlesque in 2011 at Nerdgasm!, Angel’s tribute to GenCon.  Ray Gunn was a featured performer in Boo-lesque! Things that Go Bump and Grind in the Night, delighting audiences with his athletic, dance-inspired theatricality.

Bazuka Joe and Ray Gunn will each offer their expertise in 90-minute workshops available to the public on Saturday, June 30.  Sign-up for “Boylesque: For Men Only” by Bazuka Joe, and “The Business of Burlesque” by Ray Gunn at angelburlesque.com.

Going Down: A Fallen Angel Revue, a naughtier branch of Angel Burlesque, will make their debut on Saturday, June 16 at Indy’s Jukebox.  This revue features favorite Angel Burlesque performers exploring darker, more edgy material.  Tickets are $10, cash only at the door.  Doors open at 8:00, performance starts at 10:00; 21 and over venue.

Prrrrr-Lesque: A Pretty Kitty Review, marks Angel Burlesque’s first foray into the Indianapolis Fringe Festival. An all cat-themed show, Prrrrr-Lesque will feature a rotating cast of Angels presenting the furry art of the striptease.  The IndyFringe festival runs August 17-26.

Members of Angel Burlesque will be featured performers at the Days of the Dead convention in Indianapolis, July 6-8.    Days of the Dead is a national convention for horror fans that visits Indy yearly. The Angels will have a booth at the convention and provide their special brand of horror burlesque at the VIP party for fans and celebrities of the horror genre.

In addition to local performances, Katie Angel and Desda Mae Q Moana represented Angel Burlesque at the Show Me Burlesque Festival in St. Louis in May and will also perform at The Windy City Burlesque Festival in Chicago from July 11-14

In Short:

Going Down: A Fallen Angels Revue

Saturday, June 16, 2012 10:00 p.m.

Indy’s Jukebox, 21 and over

$10, cash only at the door

Hot Summer Nights: The Boys are Back in Town
with Bazuka Joe and Ray Gunn
Friday, June 29, 2012 8:00 p.m.

Athenaeum, 18 and over

Tickets (18+)  $20 at angelburlesque.com

Workshops: Boylesque & The Business of Burlesque

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Fox Hill Dance Academy

Register (18+) $30 per workshop at angelburlesque.com

Days of the Dead

Friday-Sunday, July 6-8, 2012

Tickets for Convention attendees only - http://www.daysofthedead.net/indianapolis/

Prrrrr-Lesque: A Pretty Kitty Review

 August 17-26, 2012

Indianapolis Fringe Festival

Tickets and Information at indyfringe.org

About Angel Burlesque:

Angel Burlesque showcases ladies and gentlemen of all shapes and sizes celebrating their bodies with confidence and sassiness.  Professional, classy and dedicated to giving the audience a great show, Angel Burlesque delivers a theatrical experience that has Indy buzzing! Find Angel Burlesque at angelburlesque.com, facebook.com/angelburlesque,  on Twitter @angelburlesque and www.youtube.com/angelburlesque14

About our Special Guests:

The original Death by Chocolate, Ray Gunn combines acrobatics, capoeira and Chinese pole in his striptease arsenal with over 15 years of training and performance experience behind him. This sexual assault on your senses is the morning coffee of burlesque—he’s strong, black and keeps you going all day long. Ray Gunn is one-third of the only all-male burlesque group in Chicago, The Stage Door Johnnies, who won the Best Group at the 2011 Burlesque Hall of Fame showcase in Las Vegas.

Bazuka Joe is one third of The Stage Door Johnnies from Chicago ~ winners of Best Group 2011 at the Burlesque Hall of Fame and named in the top 10 performers in the world! Headlining at venues all over the world he routinely gives his mother a reason to wonder 'Where did I go wrong?' And just like his hometown's famous hot dog he's 100% pure beef pleasure (and too classy for ketchup!)

You've heard of Burlesque, you've heard of Boylesque, but you've never heard of BRO-LESQUE!  Jiggles McGee is the Midwest's Original Bro-lesque Performer.  Women want him, children want to grow up to be him, and men leave him feeling confusion mingled with shame and adoration. With a twist in every performance, Jiggles McGee is the man for everyone. Vote for Jiggles and he'll bring giggles.

Media Inquiries Contact:

Katie Angel,  angelburlesque@gmail.com

Angel Burlesque Announces Show Dates for the Start of 2012

NEXT EVENT:
Angel Burlesque presents a full evening of singing, dancing and the classic art of the striptease at Indianapolis’ newest venue, Deluxe at the Old National Centre. The January 6, 2012, extravaganza includes your favorite Angels and features guest star Red Hot Annie from Chicago (voted one of the top 50 burlesque performers in the nation in 2010) and two artists who will perform at the Best of Midwest Burlesk Festival in Minneapolis in February—Tessa Von Twinkle and Sugar Lee. It’s the perfect after-holiday treat! 

Angel Burlesque at Deluxe
Friday, January 6, 2012
Deluxe at the Old National Centre
Doors open at 9:00, Performance at 9:30 p.m.
Tickets are $20, cash at the door or credit card by calling 317-536-6512
18 and over, non-smoking, bar available
www.angelburlesque.com 

ABOUT RED HOT ANNIE:
Drawing on over a decade of performance background, Red Hot Annie turned her attentions to burlesque in early 2008. Over 350 performances later, she has become one of the most recognizable and visible faces in Chicago burlesque, blending comedy, sexiness, and storytelling into a crowd-pleasing style.  Red Hot Annie teaches burlesque classes at Vaudezilla Studios and also serves as one of the Executive Producers of the Windy City Burlesque Fest since its inception in 2010.  She had the honor of being voted into the Top 50 Burlesque performers for 2010.  Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you: Red Hot Annie really knows how to make the wieners boil! 

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Our highly successful Open Bra series (Like an Open Mic Night but with Burlesque!) continues on the last Monday of every month at the Crackers Comedy Club in Broad Ripple. In honor of the Big Game, our January 30th performance will be The SuperBra Spectacular.

Do you have an idea for a routine?
Want to do your first solo?
Need some experience performing?

Open Bra night is the perfect venue! We are looking to fill this open mic-style evening with women and men from all of Indy's burlesque troupes and those who have never performed burlesque before.  Variety acts, performance art, singing, dancing, and most especially, the art of the striptease are all welcome. All body shapes and sizes are encouraged and welcome; Angels believe that “Real is Sexy!”  Contact angelburlesque@gmail.com if you are interested in performing; we have a limited number of spaces which fill quickly.

The SuperBra Spectacular Open Bra Night (Like an Open Mic Night but with Burlesque!)
Monday, January 30, 2012
8:30 p.m.
Crackers Comedy Club in Broad Ripple
Tickets $8.  Reservations by calling 317-255-4211 or through www.angelburlesque.com
18 and over, 2 drink minimum, non-smoking venue 

Angel Burlesque at Deluxe
Friday, March 2, 2012
Doors at 9:00, Show at 9:30.
Tickets are $20, cash at the door or credit card by calling 317-536-6512
18 and over, non-smoking, bar available
www.angelburlesque.com

Image credit: supplied by Angel Burlesque.

Katie Angel Shatters a Few Burlesque Myths and Talks About Angel Burlesque's Upcoming Shows

This week, The Indy Tribune (TIT) got to catch up with founder and CEO of Angel Burlesque, Katie Angel, to get more of an insight into the wonderful world of burlesque. Here, she talks about the hard work that goes into putting on a burlesque event and helps to tackle the myths that surround this parodic profession.


IT: Welcome, Katie. May I call you Katie?

KA: Yes, please.

IT: Excellent. Now, as CEO of Angel Burlesque, you’ve been a busy lady haven’t you? Tell us a little more about running a successful burlesque company in Indiana.

KA: I've been so busy! Last Thursday I had a nine-hour rehearsal session - we ran through nine different routines and today I had a six-hour rehearsal session. I have a lot to do at home with writing the script, promoting the show, building my own costumes and props and also helping my performers with their costumes and props.

IT: So you basically do a bit of everything?

KA: Yes. As the CEO it's my job to keep an eye on the overall picture. There are aspects of the job that I love and aspects that I find a bit tedious but need to be done anyway.

IT: Burlesque is making quite the comeback across the Midwest. How does it feel to be at the forefront of that?

KA: It's funny because while burlesque is so hot in Indianapolis right now, the revival started in the early to mid-90s on the coasts. So while I do feel like I'm on the forefront in the midwest, we'll go to the conferences or larger workshops like the Burlesque Hall of Fame weekend in June in Las Vegas and we feel like such Baby Burlesquers. We're so new! But people in New York and in California have been working and building their international reputations for years now. We have a lot of catching up to do to make Indy a real presence in the national burlesque scene.

IT: I like the fresh and raw aspect you bring to the scene. As a frequent patron of Crackers Comedy Club, I feel like I see one or two new performers every time I see an Angel Burlesque show. How many performers, at last count, do you have?

KA: Ooh...let me count.

IT: Take your time.

KA: What's especially neat about the Crackers scene is this Open Bra (Like an Open Mic Night but with Burlesque) series we have created. We have given an opportunity for people who have never done burlesque before to try it out and we are also very inviting to other burlesque troupes to perform and have a chance to be onstage. With burlesque, especially, you cannot improve unless you perform and we give people a chance to perform. Anyway, at last count, we have 25 Angels - some more or less involved than others, which is the beauty of having so many performers.

IT: And you have an emerging boy-lesque scene, am I right?

KA: Oh, yes! And with boy-lesque I am particularly excited that we are hosting Ray Gunn from Chicago's Stage Door Johnnies at our Halloween Boo-lesque show! Right now we have two gentlemen Angels. A new Angel boy-lesquer is going to make his debut at Halloween and we've finally had a boy-lesque performer at our Open Bra night - we did a routine to the Reverend Horton Heat's Where in the Hell Did You Go with My Toothbrush? He was our first straight boy-lesquer and our first gentleman who is larger and not model perfect to get onstage - everyone loved him.

IT: What would you say to people who say that Burlesque is “probably not my scene”?

KA: First, I want to figure out what is their perception of burlesque? Do they not like to laugh? Do they not like good-natured fun? I feel a lot of people have a lot of misconceptions about burlesque. We are not a strip club; we are not grinding on poles or giving lap dances. We are a very theatrically based group of performers that don't take ourselves too seriously, but love entertaining people and making them laugh. Do we take off our clothes? Yes. But the way we take off our clothes is usually hilarious or very stylized and lots of fun. The most common response I get after a show from a newbie audience member is 1) "I had no idea it would be so funny and I'd have so much fun" and 2) "Seeing those real bodies onstage makes me feel confident and proud to be a woman" - unless you're a dude, then you don't think the last part. But if you did, that'd be okay too.

IT: Haha. Well, I'm glad we got to shatter some myths, there.

KA: I'm always intrigued to see why people are not interested in coming to a show - especially guys. Usually, if they are in a relationship they might be hesitant because they are not sure what their wife or girlfriend would think, but the girls are the ones having the most fun!

IT: So how can fans and even reluctant newcomers keep up-to-date with the latest Angel Burlesque events?

KA: Facebook is best: www.facebook.com/angelburlesque. Also www.angelburlesque.com. We have great videos and picture galleries online. Brigitte Petite, one of our lovely ladies, keeps our website up to date...bless her.

IT: Awesome! Now you spoke a little bit about recruiting new Angels. How should one go about becoming a member of Angel Burlesque?

KA: The best way is to attend a workshop - our next one is on December 4th (which sounds so far away, but with the holidays it will be here sooner than we think) - and to take a big breath and sign up to do a routine at our next Open Bra on Monday, December 12th. There is a sign up sheet on our website and you can apply to perform. As a part of the Open Bra Night, all of the performers get a free coaching session with one of the Head Angels to help prepare you for performing. Our last few Angels came out of the workshops. People who were interested took a workshop, learned how to build a routine, and then performed. We were impressed and invited them to join us.

IT: Final question: A little birdie tells me you have one or two other big events coming up before Open Bra Night?

KA: Yes, so many fun things. Thursday, October 27 thru Saturday, October 29th there are five opportunities to see our Boo-lesque! Things that Go Bump (and Grind) in the Night! show with special guest Ray Gunn at the Crackers Comedy Club at Broad Ripple. Thursday-Saturday at 8;00; Friday and Saturday also at 10:30, Tickets at www.angelburlesque.com or save a $2 web charge and call 317-255-4211. Also, we are performing at Deluxe in the Old National Center on Friday, November 4th and Friday, December 2nd at 9:30. Tickets at www.livenation.com or by calling 317-536-6512. In November there is a Food Truck Festival so you can get some tasty eats and then go see some tasty treats onstage.

IT: I know I said "final question", but I almost forgot the Indy tribune's signature question, which is... "do you have any questions for us?"

KA: If you had to wear a dress in public and couldn't explain that it was on a dare, would you wear red or black and why?

IT: I'd wear red because it matches my lips, but don't tell my readers that... oops, too late.

KA: (Laughter) Awesome!

IT: And on that note, Mrs Katie Angel, you are free to leave!

KA: Thanks! I'm going to bed.