Tips and traditions

I really hope that all of my friends can forgive me for my behavior lately. I’m at the point of utter numbness and defeat, and their patience and understanding has been absolutely phenomenal.

That being said, there’s been a bit of drama surrounding the next Geek Girl show.

Obligatory plug: https://www.facebook.com/events/316477628447829/

In traditional vaudeville/burlesque, tips are accepted and encouraged. I have never performed at a venue outside of New England where that wasn’t true. The taste level of us saying this has come into question… here’s the thing: I really don’t care.

Geek Girl is not a hardcore dance show. We model ourselves more after drag and cabaret-style shows. My background in burlesque I like to consider to be variety, and circus more than dance. That being said, we follow the model as such. Tips are encouraged, we love to know when people like our acts, we love the support of the audience and it helps people feel more involved with the show. We’re entertainers, we’re in front of people, live and in their faces, we are not just on screen. Interact, engage the people.

Now, we also love when people buy us drinks. That’s awesome too. We want to hang out with the audience, break the wall that often separates the performers from the audience. We aren’t above them.

We can send around a tip hat instead of having people hand us tips or try to stuff it in our clothes. We need our hands and clothes, after all. I won’t say no to a fiver thrown at the stage, though.

To some, it seems tacky. Backhanded comments have been made, all-out arguments have ensued. I can’t put it better than the great Amy Macabre has: Strippers get tips. Drag Queens get tips. And honey, we are both.

Haters gonna hate. My house caught fire, I don’t give a single fuck.