I had the pleasure of costuming four of the performers at All Tease All Shade: Sloppy Seconds at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival.
The producer Beau Creep has been running this queer rotating cast themed show for about 10 years and this show has been one that’s very close to my heart. When I was more involved with local burlesque I would dress up with the crew and occasionally even stage kitten the show. It’s been an important outlet for local queer performance arts and it’s just amazing to see it thrive.
We had some fun rhinestoning and prep nights at my studio with the entire cast to get ready for the run. This is the second year this production has been brought to Edmonton Fringe Festival and it was clear that the performers challenged themselves to level up their acts.
I wanted to first and foremost thank Brendan Roy Photography for the following photos in this post- what a gift to have after a few months of pure hustle to get this show together!
This is Beau Creep in their new costume for their act to Rufus Wainwright’s “Zing! Went the Strings of my Heart”. They wanted something classic but over the top and absolutely queer af. The costume highlights are all the amazing textures I was able to put together and developing the very specific character Beau was dreaming up. We got them to a 24” cincher, custom made with interesting style lines and I added black eyelash lace with metallic gold to mimick patina. I feel like this is a new era of Beau’s burlesque style and I’m so happy I was able to pull off a costume style that reflects that.
Next is a costume I’ve been chipping away for the last several months for Stella Darling. Stella made my new logos and graphics to trade for costuming- a perfect match since our styles are so similar. We wanted high glamour showgirl with classic polkadot and bow motifs. What a dream! Highlights are the hand pleated detailing on the corset and gradient black-to-pink tulle. It’s one of the kinds of costumes that if you look up close you’ll find so many small sweet details. She’s worked so hard getting the act together and my heart grew three sizes seeing its debut.
I was so excited when Ladonna Stone contacted me to do this costume for her- she’s been a wishlist client for a long time. I’ve always envisioned doing something gold and with one of my bullet bras for her. She presented me with and idea of a gold chained showgirl to the Cher song “Prisoner” and I couldn’t believe the vision was going to come true! We had a lot of fun getting the pieces together and figuring out the rhinestone patterns- we really put her rhinestoning skills on overdrive! Completely worth it because she came out just GLISTENING!
Lastly, Jizz Elle in her Patent Vinyl costume. This one is not new to this show- it was a set I made for her production “Cumchella”. It was the first costume I made her and the act was instantly one of my favourite local drag acts ever and it was a great challenge to make something that matched Jizz Elle’s ferocious attitude on stage. It was exciting to hear that it got picked up for this Fringe show. Highlights are the teenie waist the cincher gives and the silver spike details. Jizz Elle and I have a new costume design brewing up for the Fall!
I wanted to give a shout to the rest of the cast.
Callmekeeks is one of my best burlesque pals. She helped get me through these months of costume production and it was fun to watch her put together the details of her costume for her Break These Chains angel/demon act. We keep each other surviving in ebb and flow of artist life with the best convos and endless laughs. Excited for the day we finally get to put together our dream costume!
Rae Ricochet is someone I’ve gotten to know more of during this Fringe run. It’s been so cool to see their dive into sideshow clowning. I was so impressed by their work on their blue and green vinyl costume- every detail was so perfect. It was so sweet that they were also the first beaming face that showed up to my Open Studio.
and Jay Flair- such an incredible person I’ve also gotten to know more of this year. She brings so much joy every time I see her, especially when she graciously shares a new magic trick she’s been working on. She performed at my wedding and has a really sweet friendship with my mother who alters a lot of her magic costumes. The act she presents in this fringe run is pure fun and chaos and is not to be missed!!
This production is a great example of the diverse and wildly talented performers in our city. I heard about some of the exciting future projects in the works and they are not to be missed! Make sure to add their instagram page to keep updated!