The Illuminaughty Burlesque began as the pipe dream of myself and my freshman-roommate-turned-best-friend, Grace, during our senior year studying theatre at The University of Michigan. We wanted to create variety shows, themed to match a charitable cause, where audiences could do good, and feel good doing it. A bit of a tongue-and-cheek foil to the idea of “important” theatre being the only means of enlightening audiences and changing minds; a philosophy we’d been immersed in for four years while working towards our degrees. Through a little luck and happenstance, The Illuminaughty Burlesque debuted the summer after our graduation, in a small town a few hours away from campus. The cast was made up of a handful of friends and classmates, and despite its ragtag and under-rehearsed nature (and a last minute loss of a performer due to a rock climbing injury), we managed to put an hour-long show together celebrating Pride Month. Little did we know that seven years would pass before we would put on another show…until last Saturday night, when The Illuminaughty Burlesque rose again!
There were many hurdles that kept us from putting on a show in the intervening years. Myself and Grace’s separation by distance (she moved to Baltimore, and I moved to New York), struggles with finding post-graduate work, and a global pandemic to name a few. But there were also many important lessons we had to learn in the meantime before the stars aligned for our revival. And align they did, first and foremost, when I began working at Green Space last September. After working a season of performances, and getting familiar with the space, I decided to take the plunge to book it for myself. Myself and Grace’s mutual love for all things Halloween (and the company’s inherent mysterious and cultish aesthetic) made settling on a spooky-themed show a no-brainer. And somehow, we managed to raise enough money to cover the cost of the venue, and found eleven other performers, a stage manager and a lighting designer willing to do the show for free. Our lineup featured drag kings, drag queens, burlesque performers, live music and even a modern dance piece - hosted by Grace as her historical parody persona, Edgar Allen Hoe.
Our re-debut shared many similarities with our first performance back in 2018; a cast made up of good friends and former classmates, a frenetic, fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants energy. But in many ways, I’m proud to say The Illuminaughty Burlesque has evolved since its first iteration. CREEP SHOW was longer, the acts more varied, more polished and creative. I made my debut as a drag king, and collaborated on choreographing the opening number (a ritual to bring Edgar Allen Hoe back from the dead). And unlike our first fundraiser (which garnered very little in the way of donations), this time around, we were able to donate all of the $650 in profits from ticket sales to our non-profit of choice, Trans Lifeline. I’m so grateful to have been able to do this show, with these people, for the audience we had - and in such a unique, intimate, beautifully-New-York space. Forgive the cliche, but if you’re looking for a sign to take a risk, and do the show you’ve been dreaming about, this is it.
The Illuminaughty Burlesque is a queer-centric, body-positive, drag-burlesque-comedy-performance collective. We aim to bring queer joy and artistry to audiences, where profits from ticket sales are donated directly to a charitable cause. Our motto is Secretum, Securum, Spectatum – which means Secret, Safe, Spectacular. This speaks to our mission of creating a unique and exciting performance environment where audiences and performers alike can feel safe and ready to have an absolutely fabulous time. https://theilluminaughtyburlesque.com/
Lily Cole (they/them) serves as Programs Manager at Green Space. Originally from the Bay Area, they graduated from the University of Michigan with a BFA in Theater Performance (Directing) and a minor in Women’s Studies (LGBTQ+ and Sexuality). Lily is passionate about making the arts more accessible for artists and audiences alike. In their free time, Lily performs with parade dance team The TailShakers, and enjoys learning ASL, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and spoiling their two cats, Rooster & Ginger. They made their drag king debut at CREEP SHOW as “Captain Slammer.”