Penny Arcade
Incorporating Burlesque Performance

Incorporating Burlesque Performance The term burlesque derived from the Spanish burla (joke) as its root and was used throughout Europe from the 14th century to describe works in which serious and comic elements were juxtaposed or combined to achieve an unsettling and ironic effect, and like its cousin, commedia dell'arte, burlesque turns social norms upside down and provides a new vehicle for political satire. The Neo Burlesque Performance movement began in New York in the late 1980’s and has grown over the past two decades into a hugely popular art and entertainment form which is now flourishing over the world. While much of contemporary burlesque pays homage to the glamorous show girl burlesque of its heyday in the early 20th century, Neo-Burlesque makes use of performance art, and its ability to subvert and is a style of live art that encompasses pastiche, parody, and wit in dance and movement. This workshop will focus on how to develop themes, characters and gimmicks that allow us to express from our own point of view, a personal commentary using burlesque forms. Burlesque performances are a short art form, rarely longer than a 3-5 minute song, perfect for investigating the different ways we can use burlesque forms to stage authentic meaning from both our conscious and subconscious mind. Beginning with a video survey of the best that contemporary performance burlesque has to offer, we will move on to identifying our own possibilities, either in existing work or in short exercises. We will work improvisationally to process and generate the different stages of development from idea to performance. Performance concepts of how to integrate these sequences into full-length work will also be explored. Bring a 3-minute song that inspires you. Penny Arcade Penny Arcade is an internationally respected performance artist, writer and cultural icon. One of a handful of artists who helped invent performance art in the 1980’s, she is at the top of her game and she continues to define the genre she helped create both in solo and group work. A pioneer of Neo Burlesque performance, her 1990-1995 tours of her sex and censorship show "Bitch!Dyke!Faghag!Whore!" inspired an international Neo Burlesque movement in it's wake. Penny Arcade is an internationally acknowleged master in her field and a gifted and inspiring teacher and mentor.