When I started burlesque well over a decade ago, there wasnt so much an online community as there appears to be now. Sure we had forums to chat on but there was often spats or various other things going on that sometimes felt is was more about the drama than the dramatics onstage.
I stayed away a lot of time, preferring to slog it out on my own and working to my own targets. Simply I just did not the time to be bogged down the with issues that would continually rise. I spent more time on me and less on the community as it seemed healthier for me at times. What was the point in repeating that you MUST have insurance, you must have a contract, be tax registered and such like if I would only have to repeat it again in a few hours. So many of the issues came from the same place: people didnt prep themselves. I was being exhausted replying to so many posts as I thought that was what community was about I stepped away.
Over time I was performing so much I rarely had time to spend hours trawling the forums and before long social media really stepped up its game and its platforms. Now we have groups and websites dedicated to helping the community. I started to dip my toe back into helping, advising and more. The community really started to feel bonded. We started to work our own rules out and more importantly learnt to stand up for ourselves more, collectively and individually. We became a collective working for the most part for something better.
But again I was sinking deep into conversations with endless notifications. Some people would message wanting advise but getting annoyed when I didnt immediately reply or give them the answers they wanted. The Google of Burlesque was what one performer called me. Again the age old problems would crop up. Contracts (or lack there of), bad pay and bullying. I realised very quickly, these issues will always be there. Any thing that involves money will always have issues.
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest – Benjamin Franklin
There will always be fledgling performers struggling. New and more experienced artistes will inadvertently drink the bullshit kool aid of promoters and performers because they know no different, dont understand or simply because they are worried they will ‘ruin’ their careers. Thats when I stopped. I worked out for there to be more ‘me’, there must be more we. I needed to give back to ensure I had space to perform. Ignore the community, step back from it and realise you would be allowing the poison to take hold. The scene would rot…slowly.
I always think that in order to have a healthy mindset in this industry you need to honestly step back. Sometimes ‘more me and less we’ is better. But dont isolate yourself so much. The community has it’s bad parts, they just help highlight the better bits. Sometimes you catch a performer before she falls, hold another whilst he struggles and stand together against the tide. Burlesque is a fire walk. Some parts hurt but you toughen to them if you prepare. Some parts will be a breeze and some you will avoid all together. Knowledge will always help you. Always.
