Floating World

Floating World has come and gone. After all the prep work that went into it, it would be nice to relax. That's not going to happen... SalonCon is less than a month away.

As for FW, it was a fun event. There was some trouble getting there this week, between cast interaction and not getting direct answers from the venue for what to expect. Sound did not work out as we hoped or expected. In fact we had to use a boombox that didn't carry sound very, very well so who knows what the audience actually heard. But we had an audience! And they clapped! It was certainly my worst Viktor ever; I gave up banter after about a minute and a half of blank faces. But they got way more into during the performances.

"Tell Me" was largely improvised by Regina and myself. We had an idea going in what we wanted to do, but it all came together on the stage. My favorite moments were throwing Regina to the floor (hot!) and taking her against my hips and twirling her around, her hair flying (hotter!).

Genevieve and Danielle rocked the hell out of "#1 Crush" and Sandy pulled off "Closer" very well (I felt so bad that she couldn't hear the music as clearly; with a song like "Closer" that is largely monotonous, that's killer), and Angie mesmerized for both "Poison Ivy" and "Why Don't You Do Right." Jordana, Genevieve, and I got through "Script Language" without a misstep and I think it looked really good.

Truly, the whole set worked out brilliantly. I would love to do the exact set again (next time, as Danielle pointed out, with a stronger final song-- "Why Don't You Do Right" is a lot of fun, but a more energetic track afterwards would've sealed the show a bit better), and we very likely may for the Labyrinth show (more on that another time--but I'm hoping it will feature both irony and ironing) or October if I get my way. The exciting November show is also still on the horizon...

The rest of evening featured our cast participating with Midnight Seduction. After the extremely quick show we just performed, I'm not sure everyone was really gearing to have a low-key roleplaying session with strangers, but we all ended up having a lot of fun. It was far more interactive (and voluntary) than we had realized, and the time flew by. We met a lot of great people, several of whom may be coming to our other upcoming shows or may be able to hook us up.

After the show, we packed and headed to a diner where we gabbed for quite a long time.

As always, a bit of post-show depression (it was over too fast!) but that's good--get's us ready for the next one.

Pre-Floating World

T-4 hours until call at Floating World. This is it, y'all. We're heading out now to make our respective stops.

Make-up in the car! It's tradition.

#1 Crush

Thank ducks. That last bit of choreography was worked out and suddenly, it was like everything fell into place. Quite literally. Our last rehearsal was rife with tension, clashing expectations and just... frustration. And neither of us had a particularly stellar day and it was late and we still had to nail down some elusive bits ... I was expecting at least a modicum of tension. What happened made me so very happy. We gelled. We worked together; Danielle gave incredibly valuable input and I changed some things around and suddenly we were like, "wait ... did that all just come together in just under an hour?"

Yes. It did. I'm happy with it. She's happy with it. Our bags are 90% packed, we're showering, eating and then collpasing into bed. Tomorrow is a busy day. I'm so excited to see how all this comes together.

Oh! Fae found a dress! It's lovely. It was far too expensive. She doesn't give a good goddamn. Unfortunately, my wallet gave a good goddamn and then some. It weeps now. But Fae being happy just makes the world sparkle and I like that.

Rehearsals for Floating World

This has been a very busy week. Jordana, Genevieve, and I worked on a track for Floating World, which is happening THIS FRIDAY. We finally got all of it done, which causes both relief and anticipation.

Regina's birthday (23 y'all!) was on Tuesday and today (Wednesday), Regina, Sandy, Genevieve, and I got together to work on the final two numbers left unpracticed for Floating World. Sandy was amazing; she worked on it with her boyfriend, and it came out great. No spoilers, but I did take a video that hopefully will go up on our youtube soon (gotta edit it still). Regina and I nailed some basics down but a lot of it will be spur-of-the-moment.

Tomorrow, some SalonCon work with Dani, and then FLOATING WORLD ON FRIDAY!

I am very excited and also relieved for it to be over as well. SalonCon's in exactly 1 month. It's all happening so fast.

ALSO, VERY EXCITING NEWS coming soon! Don't want to give too much away and certainly not before Floating, but I'll be giving out official word shortly. It must be said that it's a fabulous opportunity and in November, so we've got some time. I just don't want too many sugarplums dancing just yet.

Focus!

Shenanigans

We're Gonna Have a Celebration

Dolls Ideas We Wish We Thought Of

This is not our project; just something we thought was a cool idea and in support to act we love much.)
(REPOSTED FROM THE DRESDEN DOLLS MYSPACE)

Hello Comrades:
In the many years of touring that I've done, one of the things i've been consistently impressed with is the high creative quality of the original artwork that people have brought to the shows in many forms. I can't tell you how many times i've seen someone with a handmade Dolls-inspired purse/shirt/lunchbox/duct-tape creation/thing and heard someone next to them say "you MADE that? can i PAY you to make ME one??"
so here it is, the age of over-inter-connectedness and the internet and it's time to change the world. I want to create an internet exchange forum in which really talented artists and artisans can directly reach out fans instead of posting photos their wares to the internet to get feedback. this is awesome but i would really like to see these artists making MONEY and doing BUSINESS with our fans. so it was that after years and years of discussion, the concept of Post-War Trade was born.
my good friend and fellow artist Katie Kay has agreed to take on the job of trying to organize this conceptual nightmare into a daydream reality, but we obviously can't do it without YOU. the main idea is to get as many artists and artisans as possible to submit their work, we will pick the stuff we think is amazing enough to be reproduced en masse, and the featured items will be sold on the net with the majority of the profit going back to the artist.
it's the DEMOCRATIC FUTURE OF MERCHANDISING! how AWESOME!!!! it's like Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. fashion line without the.....horrible capitalist connotations? sweatshops? spandex? no artist is too professional or amateur to get involved. ANYTHING GOES. that means anything. even spandex, for christ's sake!!!! if you can make it, and we love it and think other people will love it, we will sell it.
so spread the word to all your artist and artisan friends. there's a lot more information about the nitty gritty, katie kay will get y'all informed further:

from Katie Kay:
Calling all designers, artists, craftspeople and anyone who has ever thought of being any of those!
The Dresden Dolls are happy to announce their latest project, /Post-War Trade./ After years of seeing the most amazing pieces of art come from fans, we felt the need to share with the world at large—it is just too beautiful to keep under wraps! The time has come to bridge the gap between artist and fan, making these lovely creations available to everyone.
We'd love to see your best work—everything from wallets to lampshades to pillowcases, large fine art to toothbrush holders, journals to tea-cozies, alligator-leashes to zebra-saddles. The sky is the limit, as long as it incorporates Dresden Dolls-inspired imagery, or the name of the new project, /Post-War Trade/. We will hand-select several pieces at a time, and each artist will have a biography and photo featured along with their listing, as well as a link to a personal website. Artists and products will be in rotation, each one being featured for 3-4 months per cycle. Payment will work on a consignment or percentage basis, depending on the situation. Post-War Trade will be responsible for all marketing, sales and shipping, with a check being issued to the artist at the end of their featured time. After we receive photos of possible items, potential artists will be asked to provide us with a high-quality sample and should be able to reproduce several of the item within an agreed upon period of time.
We are looking for every level of artist, fans of the band and people new to our world—from people newly creating to established, professional designers! Please pass this along to your favorite artists, friends or talented enemies.
*This is the official call for /Post-War Trade/ submissions! Send photos/ sketches of your work to: postwartrade@dresdendolls.com
Deadline for our initial launch is September 3rd, 2007. If we select your item, you will be asked to mail in a sample, from there we will select the featured artists. Quantities ordered will vary on an item-by-item basis, taking into account cost and time restraints. Spread the word-- let's change the world of band merchandising, let's bring it into the hands of artists!
if you'd like more information or aren't sure about what this is all is or means, please email:postwartrade@dresdendolls.com

Check it out!

The New York Burlesque Festival at the end of the month! I don't know if I can afford to go, but some White Elephant people should check it out!

Miss Saturn and Scotty the Blue Bunny are the only people on the roster that I know of, but there are acts from all over the world that look awesome like Budoir Bondage and Trixie Little & The Evil Hate.

I really wish I had money...

Who wantsta be my sugar daddy/mommy?

Angela Lansbury

last night, Dan(te) and i got to meet

Angela Lansbury

i told Dan(te) that i finally had his birthday present and asked him to meet me in NYC last night after i got out of process. i wouldn't tell him what we were doing all week, and gave him hints that were good, if one were to really think about them. last night we met up in Bryant Park, and walked to Times Square. i purposely walked by the Spamalot theatre and said something like "hey, we could see Spamalot" as he had no idea what time we were doing what the surprise was, or what it was to begin with. i knew he wanted to see it, so the plan to confuse him worked. hehe. it all worked out well though. Angela Lansbury and Marian Seldes are in a play on Broadway till next week when the run ends, and the theatre is right across from Shubery Alley, where Spamalot is. we walked pass the theatre of the play, Duece, and i stopped outside right in front of the collage they have on the wall of the 2 actresses, but purposely in front of Angela Lansburys, which includes a huge picture of her as Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd. i rummaged through my bag "looking for something" and said something like "well, so, you know how you see Angela Lansbury behind you on the wall?" "yea..." "well you get to see her in person in a couple hours". he was confused, and when i said we were going to the show, he didnt believe me till i showed him the tickets. i had a bag with me, and when we were in the park i said something about how i needed to be careful with it and make sure nothing bashed into it. i showed him that in the bag, i had my original Sweeney Todd record from when it was on Broadway, my Mrs Potts bank, and his Sweeney CD. as i was reorganizing my bag, Marian Seldes walked by. we both looked at each other and she smiled. she stopped to talk to someone at the door, and i asked if she would sign my little notepad book. she did, and was sooo quiet when she spoke, and sweet as can be. she personalized the page and everything. i said i had seen her in the Process office a few weeks back when she had an audition at the casting agency. it was a good start to the evening.
we went to planet hollywood, where Dan(te) and i wandered a bit looking at all the movie memorabilia they have. after that we went to the theatre for the show. it had gotten awful reviews, but really wasnt that bad. we both agreed meeting Angela Lansbury was more important than the show, but it was still cute. and the language the 2 actresses used was just amusing to hear. there was a part where Angela Lansbury talked about pies(sweeney), and lucky strikes(con joke), to which we both laughed a good amount. after we raced out of the theatre to the stage door. Marian Seldes came out first and was just adorable. she stayed and signed everything for everyone and took pictures with whoever asked, and even was talking to people about all sorts of things. then Ms Lansbury came out. i was shaking so much, and the look on mine and Dan(tes) faces was nothing but excitement. we're both HUGE Sweeney Todd fans, so this was like the coolest Sweeney related thing ever. she was sooo nice and signed a couple things for me, my Sweeney record, the booklet from the record

and my Mrs Potts bank which i gave to my sister (she was Mrs Potts in a production of Beauty and the Beast at the Papermill Playhouse), and she signed Dan(te)s Sweeney CD, and took pictures with both of us. she went to the other people who were outside too, and then got in her car.

it was one of the best nights ever. we got on the bus going home, and were pretty much speechless. yes, shes a regular person, but is also someone we both admire greatly. i'm still in awe of yesterday.

Jordana Marielle

Floating World Prep

Thanks to a recommendation from someone at the Libertine Ball, the Society was invited to the Floating World fetish event in Edison. It's extremely gratifying to actually have someone see us perform and think that they want us for something else. It makes me proud.

We are setting up an entirely new set for the event; most of the cast hopefuls have confirmed much to my own relief, and while I can't say a lot about it now, I'm excited.

First rehearsal aimed for Monday. Like we did SalonCon, it'll probably be a rehearsal per number at different times. Looking forward to it. We also realized from SalonCon 2006 and Libertine 2007, that while we the numbers in common, a few months and poof a lot of choreography was hard to get back into. So I think we're taping it. Who knows; maybe we'll get some behind-the-scenes action up here.

Libertine Photos

It breaks my heart, but so far I haven't been able to find any photos of our actual performance at Libertine Ball. So far I have spotted 1 single image of Regina, though, in her gear from "Wicked Woman, Foolish Man." (site NSFW)

Fourth row, first pic. It's a great shot. At least we have proof we were there!

I e-mailed the Passional crew as well as the MySpace but no luck. Cross your fingers.

"So let me get right to the point..."

I am so hooked on "Big Spender" by Shirley Bassey right now. Unfortunately, not a song for any upcoming performance, but definitely going in Fae's box of tricks.

Geroge and I spent the evening having dinner and brainstorming. Much still needs to be done in the next few weeks and we had a night of it planning and scheming.

Everything is coming together so... amazingly. I bust into a grin everytime I think about the society and how it's grown. I can't wait for SalonCon. I can't wait to see how it all looks and feels and goes. There are so many frickin' talented people and such an expansive opportunity for a show.

The website is up and I'm so damned proud of it. George has done much of the work and I think the result is quite excellent. We still need more bios, more pictures, more of a lot of stuff. But it's coming in. It's getting done.

It's actually happening...