Hot Air

Well, some tropical air and come to think of it the hot air died out fairly early. I just received an email from an Aunt in Oregon reminding us of our relatives in Florida. I hear about the destruction Katrina caused, and the fear of Rita and the passing of Wilma, but it never occurred to me that my extended family in Florida had been hit. All's well from the update, though a bit shook up.

The other hot air was the discussion I was prepared to have with the director about the stripper. I bounced my thoughts off of several people (with a more gossipy and complaining manner than I should have been discussing the problem with). Everyone seemed to agree...the guy's strip show was less about the tease and more about the end product. Our director seemed to have the female burlesque world stuck in his head. Despite gut reactions from several people (I was disappointed to discover none of the people in question had ever witnessed a male strip show that wasn't on screen or on Broadway a la Full Monty), I did what I should have done when the issue first became an issue and did the research. Regretfully, I do not have the time or finances to witness the show first hand. I did the next best thing--called up an agent in New Jersey to discuss male strip routines and costumes. It took a bit of coaxing to convince him I was not trying to book a show, but researching for a production. In the end he confirmed what I thought. The costume didn't matter so much as what was underneath. The clothing itself is fairly run of the mill...shirt, tearaways with the flavor of an occupation...etc. Very little tease involved.

I talked to the gentlemen, visited their site to print off images of their shows (mostly guys already down to their pouches), and prepared for a fight. Turns out our director had stewed upon the same problem. When I approached him asking to discuss the stripper he was very open to talk. I mentioned research and he was all ears. I stated the lack of tease and the forceful, in your face quality and he was sold. Exactly what he had been dwelling on the night before. It hadn't been sitting with him right either and what he had been trying to sell to me about female strippers just wasn't working with the male stripper. We both agreed, moved on, and now I have one more sketch to do. Designs go into the shop tomorrow.