Greetings From the Nerdlesque Fest! (Patreon)

The glamorous Nasty Canasta fuels up backstage.

The Nerdlesque festival was GREAT. Front to back it was the best the festival has ever been. Just act after act of AMAZINGNESS.

Friday night, as one of the headliners was being introduced, it finally hit me that I was HEADLINING. That was both a huge honor and truly terrifying. The person being introduced was a professional dancer who had choreographed for Beyonce and Kanye West. I'm just some weirdo with too many feelings about Hannibal.

So I started off Saturday feeling pretty damn anxious. I was also teaching a class I'd never taught before and worried how it would go. It was, appropriately, a disaster. I started late, only one person came, and people started setting up for the show while I was teaching. BUT this was a class about Making It Work, even when everything goes wrong, so it kinda worked. My one student, who I at first thought was bored and looking at her phone, was actually taking copious notes on her phone. And she seemed genuinely happy with the class, despite the fact that I rushed through my material and was so nervous that I couldn't breathe.

So nobody died. And then I had a lot of time before I performed.

Time in a space is invaluable to me. I assume it's because I spent most of my childhood in various theaters and one of the things that really makes me confident on a stage is feeling like it's *mine.* I've performed at Coney a bunch of times but somehow this year, watching tech, flirting with techies, stretching in the aisles, it really felt like a home.

I managed to time my getting ready so that I got to see most of the show, but didn't feel rushed. By the time I got on stage, I was ready to slay. 

When I stepped offstage Victor Devonne said "I don't know what you were referencing, but it was AWESOME!" And that seemed to be the general consensus. During curtain call I knelt down in front and Sarah Tops dove across the stage to hug me. Then Lefty took a bow and collapsed into our group hug.

We felt like a family. The whole night was a distillation of all the things I want burlesque to be.

I crashed at a friend's place in Brooklyn, then came back Sunday for the peer review. I was grungy, achey, and a little hungover but also that happiest I've been in a long time.

The peer review was also great. We saw acts in all stages of development and only one of them was *really bad.* But even that one received helpful feedback in a kind, positive, and helpful way. I wish burlesque had more of this sort of thing. Even the more developed acts got some great advice to help them go from good to great, which I think most of us could use, to be honest.

That was followed by more eating, hanging out, and catching up with old friends. It's been a long time since I've spent that much time around people without feeling drained.

It was a great weekend.