20 Questions With EMMA MAYE

D E S T R O Y  T H E  J O I N T  B U R L E SQ U E !

Sunday November 25th at The Standard (click above link for more details)

What can I say to you about EMMA MAYE?  Other than she is one of THE MOST incredible, indomitable, beautiful, passionate, fierce, gentle, formidable, warm, hot, cool, crazy, brilliant, diligent women you will ever hope to meet.  She is a fighter, a lover, a destroyer, a builder.

Emma IS a FORCE of nature.  Emma is also the mother of 3 of our STAR DESTROYERS... Iris Mayhem, Betty Grumble and Vinnie Bradley.

3 seemingly disparate characters but in actual fact... ALL are conveyors of the same message.  THIS IS MY BODY.  And all are creations of a brilliant, beautiful mind.

"This is my body and I am Everyone and I am Me." | image by Dusk Devi Vision 2012

E M M A   M A Y E !

1. What’s your breakfast of champions? 

Green tea, sunshine, ocean and that fighting forward feeling.

2. Do you have a pre performance ritual? 

Chanting my mantra, getting excited and embracing the nerves.

3. What inspires you? 

Strong women and resilient bodies.

4. What’s your last passport stamp? 

UK, after taking my performance experiments on a UK tour of London & The Edinburgh Fringe.

5. Time travel; where, when and why? 

Front lines of the Women's Lib movements of the 1960s-70s, to feel the danger, the power and to share that solidarity with the movement today.

6. The book that shook you up was...? 

ANGRY WOMEN, a wonderful book full of interviews with amazing female performance artists.

7. What’s your biggest indulgence? 

Pink champagne!

8. What do you want to be remembered for? 

My voice & my body.

9. Any fictional character most like you?

Titania Queen Of The Faeries.

10. Who would play you in a movie of your life?

John Malcovich 

11. We all know you’re mega talented but what’s your HIDDEN talent? 

Animal helper and healer.

12. A dinner party of 8; you and…? 

7 of my current comrades. Because we are the future.

13. What’s your power colour? 

Green.

14. Swings or slides? 

Swings.

15. The creative masterpiece (book/film/song/painting/photograph/etc) you wish you had created? 

Currently, Annie Sprinkle's Goddess Pose.

16. If you led the country you would...?

Heal, challenge & create new ways of being.

17. Sex is… A right.

18. Equality means... We move forward.

19. Women and Men are....Only tiny specks of stardust in the scheme of things. 

20. How do you DESTROY THE JOINT? 

By becoming the Joint.

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Questions With Iris Mayhem

D E S T R O Y  T H E  J O I N T  B U R L E SQ U E !

Sunday November 25th at The Standard (click above link for more details)

This STAR DESTROYER... is a Goddess and creation... IRIS MAYHEM is...

"...a Messenger, a Rainbow, a Shaking Limb.  Conjurer, Dancer and Shamanic Priestess."

I R I S  M A Y H E M  !

"I offer immersive performance rituals that harness the power of the spiritual body as it has manifested over a myriad of histories, arts and cultures.

I am a rainbow warrior exploring transcendental movement, magic and the forceful worship of the Earth. 

I desire solidarity in celebrating the power of the woman body and with the stomp of my feet, slap of my hand demand a united movement forward."

Sex is… A creator.

Equality means…My movement means as much as yours.

Women and Men are....Capable of great and terrible things.

How do you DESTROY THE JOINT? 

By becoming the Joint.

THANK YOU STAR DESTROYER.

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Iris Mayhem's Facebook fan page

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20 Questions With RITA FONTAINE

D E S T R O Y  T H E  J O I N T  B U R L E SQ U E !

Sunday November 25th at The Standard (click above link for more details)

The next STAR DESTROYER is RITA FONTAINE!

She describes herself as "Mistress of Ceremonies, Storyteller, Comedian and Satirist" but she's also a renowned burlesque artist, her career going from strength to strength since she won the inaugural Miss Burlesque Australia in 2010, as a wildcard choice. 

"Rita Fontaine is .... a red headed vamp with dangerous curves, Rita Fontaine is the meanest fox in town. She has 'gypsy' in her blood and she knows to use it. 
Rita's acts vary from drag, comedy and dance. Rita is renowned for her social commentary in a comical depiction of Julia Gillard's conquering of Kevin Rudd and rise to power. She is also known for her hot blooded prowess and lush glamour, performances of depth with smoldering moves."

The meanest fox in town...

R I T A  F O N T A I N E  !

1. What’s your breakfast of champions?
Mitt Ronney's head on a plate ... mmm… chilled monkey brains 

2. Do you have a pre performance ritual?
I prefer to get there really early and walk through my act on stage. Otherwise i get vertigo during the performance. Then I take my time to do hair and makeup and catch up with the others. 
...but right before my act, I take time out in a corner to give thanks for the opportunity and to draw on the energies around me to focus and deliver my message with passion. 

3. What inspires you?
Sometimes a funny joke or a sexy song… but I do get a great kick out of political satire. There aren't often events on politics, which inspire me to take action, but when this does happen, I relish the opportunity and the audience reaction is the best part. 

4. What’s your last passport stamp?
Paris - My prize for winning Miss Burlesque Aus.

5. Time travel; where, when and why?
I often fantasise, while I am sewing costumes, about falling into a time-warp and coming out in the 16th Century and what I would do to survive… I imagine I would find work in costuming, contributing my technologies to the craft and learning ancient skills. 

6. The book that shook you up was...?
‘And the Ass Saw The Angel’ by Nick Cave. 
I read it in high school ... a very Christian high school. It was such a dirty secret enlightenment to read such sordid and revealing truths about dogma vs sin and how the worst sinners were actually the least expected people.
It made me understand that things are not always what they seem and how fear is a tool for control. My Education provider was not so bad as the characters in this novel of course. But it allowed me to begin questioning everything I was told. 

7. What’s your biggest indulgence?
Chocolate. a cliché I'm aware... but I often eat it for breakfast. 

8. What do you want to be remembered for?
It is important to me to inspire passion and feeling in people. Being on stage allows me to communicate my beliefs.  
But I also work as a carer with people with disability and it's nice to be remembered as the funny lady, or the lady who sang to someone when they were sad. Which fulfills the first point.    

9. Any fictional character most like you?
These aren't all fictional but I get crossed with Pippy Longstocking, Pollyanna and Woody Allen a lot. 

10. Who would play you in a movie of your life?
My best friend Thomas does a pretty good impression of me. 
It involves being the Little Mermaid and Joan Crawford at the same time. I think he should play the part. 

A cross between The Little Mermaid and Joan Crawford | image by Thom Kerr

11. We all know you’re mega talented but what’s your HIDDEN talent?
Sometimes at parties I do a Janis Joplin Impression.. I can also mime sewing my lips together.

12. A dinner party of 8; you and…?
Jeanie Little, Wesley Snipes in a Santa suit, President Obama, Julia Gillard, Mika, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Shania Twain.

13. What’s your power colour?
Burgundy 

14. Swings or slides?
Swings 

15. The creative masterpiece (book/film/song/painting/photograph/etc) you wish you had created?
J.W. Waterhouse's paintings. 
These portray women in the most sensual and strong and beautiful way. He also explores witchcraft and Pagan stories, and mythological women. 

16. If you led the country you would...?
Well... there needs to be more explanation for the public regarding the mining taxes and the results of Fracking. 
I worked for Greenpeace for a little while a year ago and have many friends with pro tax and anti frack opinions. But then My father is a Geologist in mineral exploration who has worked in these fields for 35 years. He argues so many good points the other way. 
He feels that the facts are being covered up and that real science is being ignored. Now truth is that he makes a living off feeling this way but his passion shows real frustrations that the public are fed slogans. 

I feel that there needs to be clearer and obvious forums and fact finders for the general public to make educated choices. Sure the information is all out there but what is truth and what is false? How does the average person know the difference? 
There are good and bad outcomes for all of these things. That's politics. You can't make everyone happy all the time but you should put forward the pros and cons so that everyone can feel involved in understanding the hard calls. 

17. Sex is…
Something that young men and women should be taught how to enjoy in high school. Not just the condom on the banana or the 'just say no' policy that I was taught. 

Sex education should teach people how to make to most of it. Current ignorant sex-ed leaves teenagers fumbling in the dark and embarrassed and afraid of themselves and each other. We also ought to abolish attitudes that 'boys will be boys” that puts the fear and the responsibility onto the young women. 
Young women should also be taught how to have orgasms… If they haven't already worked it out. 

18. Equality means…
Being assessed and promoted on your hard work and your skills. Regardless of who you are. 

19. Women and Men are....
Both hindered by sexism. Whilst misogyny puts social binds on women, men also suffer from disenchantment in themselves and a pressure to perform in certain ways to achieve respect from their peers. 

20. How do you DESTROY THE JOINT?
I destroy the joint by speaking openly about sex and the adventures that I have had. I continue to stand by my beliefs that sex should not be such a taboo... especially between men and women. Sometimes I feel that this is a redundant exercise. But then younger women around me and often guys I meet feel great relief that they are not alone and say hey... me too! And it was fun! 

If the joint is destroyed and all of the walls come down. We might all see each other as we are…  A whole bunch of people who just want love and to get along.  People do terrible things to each other in the name of love and sex. 
I'm not saying 'free love'.  I’m saying that we shouldn't have to hide who we are... be it open or monogamous or kinky or not... Isolation is the worst thing we can do. Destroy the walls that hold up the joint. 

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Rita Fontaine's Facebook fan page

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20 Questions With Diesel Darling

D E S T R O Y  T H E  J O I N T  B U R L E SQ U E !

Sunday November 25th at The Standard (click above link for more details)

This next STAR DESTROYER is a powerhouse!  A new addition the Destroyer line-up... DIESEL DARLING "...is a snake charmer, keeper of the flames, vertical gymnast, remover of clothes, legs of your dreams.
A trained actor, dancer and jeweller, this little Darling combines all of her talents to visually assault the senses with her conceptual attacks on acceptable behaviour."

DIESEL DARLING is also the creator of GlamRock Burlesque and the handler of Danger*...

Diesel handles Danger aka Claudia her snake.

1. What’s your breakfast of champions?
Muesli with fresh fruit and a cup of tea 

 2. Do you have a pre performance ritual?
Stress? I indulge waaaaaay too much time on hair and make up but its my zen place and I get carried away until I realise I’m gunna miss my curtain call! 

 3. What inspires you?
Things I don’t know, things people think are 'too hard', things just outside the acceptable cusp of 'normality' 

 4. What’s your last passport stamp? How was it?
Hmmm I was in the USA for two years but I have an American passport so there is technically no stamp on it.
On the Aussie it’s a stamp for Amsterdam... I broke my leg there, jumping off the back of a bike that was ‘dinking’ me around the city. I stereotypically ended up in emergency in Amsterdam and was awarded a knee high cast for my efforts.
 My friend helped me cut it off a week later and I hobbled around Europe for 3 more weeks ignoring the pain and the thought of irrevocable damage.
By the time I got back to the USA I was forced to wear an air-boot cast, which I also promptly removed to climb a 6 story flower tower at burning man... I’m still able to rock the socks out of 6inch heels so it was well worth it I think.

 5. Time travel; where, when and why?
I think I’d rather be able to stop time than time travel... I’m perpetually late!

6. What’s your biggest indulgence?
Shiny shit; jewellery, fabric, costumes, glitter. Also it’s possible that alcohol belongs on this list...

 7. What do you want to be remembered for?
Being different. In Sydney this is hard but I’m from Broken Hill, and what I’m doing right now is very 'different'. Being fearless.

 8. Any fictional character most like you?
Hmm, I’ve never thought about this... [but I] put this one to my friends [and it was] a tie between Jessica Rabbit and Pheobe from ‘Friends’.
(also in the favourable mentions was Joey from ‘Friends’.)

 9. Who would play you in a movie of your life?
Hopefully me ha ha! But perchance I was dead...

 10. We all know you’re mega talented but what’s your HIDDEN talent?
I can wiggle (and I don’t mean flare, although I got that down too) my nose really really fast, sounds weird, looks weirder...

 11. A dinner party of 8; you and…?
I think you are looking for celebs here but aside from the guy who says "my name is Inigo Montoya you killed my father, prepare to die" in ‘The Princess Bride’, it would be my family and my closest friends. We are spread near and far and never together enough.

 12. What’s your power colour?
Red

 13. Swings or slides?
Slides

 14. Sex is… What is this 'sex' you speak of??

 15. Equality means… The freedom to be exactly who i want to be. I wish this could extend to the greater world. I appreciate immensely the opportunities I have. We are not all so fortunate.

 16. How do you DESTROY THE JOINT?
One article of clothing at a time

THANK YOU STAR DESTROYER!

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Diesel Darling's Facebook fan page

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20 Questions With BETTY GRUMBLE

D E S T R O Y  T H E  J O I N T  B U R L E SQ U E !

Sunday November 25th at The Standard (click above link for more details)

Now THIS STAR DESTROYER is, without a shadow of a doubt... most unique.  Ladies and gentleman and everyone beyond, between and below... I give you, the one, the only, oh grrrrl is she the only... BETTY GRUMBLE!!!

"Betty is a Sydney-based former child pageant star, beauty queen and burlesque heroine and is, in all her camp ironic splendour, setting her sights on world domination."

To watch Betty perform is to see the world through the eyes of a feminist performance artist... an artist who uses her formidable brain, her powerful body and her high priestess soul to drive a change.  BETTY GRUMBLE is her gift to you. 

B E T T Y  G R U M B L E  ! !

1. what’s your breakfast of champions?
Well I CAN’T hardly eat anything if I’m going to be a supermodel? Glitter flakes?

2. Do you have a pre performance ritual?
Looking at myself in the mirror and blowing kisses, that is, if I’m not being bombarded by the fans and paparazzo!

3. What inspires you?
I’m going to have to say the obvious answer and that is obviously myself. 
I am a constant source of inspiration but I also get influence from the bourgeois masses and horror of mainstream culture. Ha Ha! Parasite Kilton is always on trend.

4. what’s your last passport stamp?
London, where I met the queen and started my whirlwind UK tour!

5. Time travel; where, when and why?
30seconds into the future so I can see how hot I look.

6. the book that shook you up was...?
The Bible.

7. what’s your biggest indulgence?
One peanut M&M and pink vodka cruisers.

8. What do you want to be remembered for?
The most famous most beautiful most talented woman that ever lived.

9. Any fictional character most like you?
Jesus Christ.

10. Who would play you in a movie of your life?
ME! Lindsay Lohan can be my body double.

Betty could be talking to LiLo or Tony | image by Dusk Devi Vision

11. We all know you’re mega talented but what’s your HIDDEN talent?
Challenging the patriarch.

12. A dinner party of 8; you and…?
Tony Abbott, Parisite Kilton, Annie Sprinkle, Alan Jones, Vinnie Bradley, Tom Jones, Iris Mayhem

13. What’s your power colour?
Hot pink and hot green!

14. Swings or slides?
Reverse slides.

15. the creative masterpiece (book/film/song/painting/photograph/etc) you wish you had created?
The Bible.

16. if you led the country you would...?
Create history and free the people from the machine through the honorable worship of glitter and excellent dance moves.

17. Sex is….
Whatever you want it to be.

18. 

19. Women and Men are....
Responsible for their behavior.

20. how do you DESTROY THE JOINT?
By becoming the Joint.

THANK YOU STAR DESTROYER

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Betty's Facebook fan page

Betty's website

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