Babes in Space: in 3DD! - Star Trek vs Star Wars Burlesque!

Star Trek vs Star Wars Burlesque is back for its third year!

This year there are TWO shows and TWICE the chance to see sexy girls (and the occasional sexy man) battle it out for supremacy IN THREE DOUBLE DEE~! We're going to entertain you in ALL DIMENSIONS

Red Herring Productions presents BABES IN SPACE!

Come find us at FanExpo with The Comic Book Lounge at booth 614 and grab your tickets in person! Maybe even get a photo with one of the ladies from the show!

Starring world-touring Coco Framboise and NYC award winning performer Nasty Canasta! And check out our amazing trailer!

For all the information you'll need about the show and galleries from previous years, head over to my website and check it out!

 See you there!

~ Red Herring

Heading off to the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend!

.Off to Vegas I go!

Burlesque Hall of Fame, here I come!

One of the images from 2011's event

This year is the 55th weekend event and the 22nd annual Miss Exotic World Pageant that will decide the Queen of Burlesque for the year! It's being held at The Orleans Hotel and Casino.

I'm so unbelievably and extremely excited to finally be heading to Vegas. This will be my first BHoF, and my first Vegas experience! A little overwhelming...but luckily I've been so busy lately that I haven't even had a chance to worry about what I've gotten myself into (aside from the spastic flailings at showgirls who have gone, along the 'What do I pack?!' lines)Luckily, the BHoF site has this little gem of a guide:

Vegas for Burlesquers

I want to go to everything.

I will be heading there with he talented Toni Wallachy of Orangeroads Photography, and Pink Panther Studios, who you've seen images done by...everywhere. Including yours truly. She will be one of the official photographers of the weekend, so keep an eye on 21st Century Burlesque for almost instant photos of performances over the course of the weekend!

This year's image! That's Jennie Lee and Dirty Martini!

'What is Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend?' you may be asking:

The Burlesque Hall of Fame is the name of the burlesque museum that is now located on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. It was formerly located on the site of an abandoned goat farm in California and known as Exotic World. Dancer Jennie Lee started collecting burlesque memorabilia after she retired. After Lee's death in 1990, burlesque legend Dixie Evans took over the farm and turned it into The Exotic World Burlesque Museum. Disrepair and a host of other events eventually had it relocated to where it now sits on Fremont Street.


Dixie Evans started the Miss Exotic World competition in 1990 as a way to draw people to the museum. Queens of the past include Dirty Martini, Michelle L'amour, and more.

Indigo Blue, in chartreuse. Previous queen Roxi D'Lite in blue. Photo by Don Spiro, from BHoF 2011

The annual Miss Exotic World pageant is the first Saturday of every June. Each year a burlesque performer is crowned Miss Exotic World in a contest that is basically the Miss America of Burlesque, or the Superbowl of Burlesque. Winners receive both the title and a gigantic trophy. Last year Miss Indigo Blue of Seattle won, and the year before we had our first ever Canadian winner: Roxi D'Lite!

Roxi D'Lite. Photo by Don Spiro, from BHoF 2010

This year, who knows?

Off to...pack? Ick.

~Red

What is BurlyCon?

You need to go.

I'm just going to write that there before dumping any more information on you, so you get it. Do you get it? Do you understand?

If you are a burlesque performer, or want to be a performer, or are involved in the burlesque scene in a large way...you really need to attend this event. And if it's not 'for you' to attend? You need to promote it to every performer that you know.

BurlyCon is the only annual Burlesque Educational convention that I know of. No shows, no competitions, just pure, old fashioned learnin'!

From the site:

Our aim is to further the development and historical knowledge of this rare American art form that is experiencing a popular resurgence worldwide. Unlike other Festivals and Expos that highlight Burlesque performance, this weekend-long gathering contains no show and no audience. Rather, all activities at BurlyCon are focused on the behind-the-scenes components of Burlesque: building skills, deepening knowledge, and growing as a community.             ~ BurlyCon

BurlyCon is coming up in November, from the 1st to the 4th. That may seem like a ways off, but the deals for tickets started months ago. I advise you get in on it now!

They also have payment plans available! More information and registration options are AVAILABLE HERE!

BurlyCon 2011 class photo, by Don Spiro

You get four days of expert instruction, over 100 classes to choose from, and teachers like Alotta Boutté, Ophelia Flame, and Peekaboo Pointe! 

Keep an eye on their website for more updates, or sign up for their newsletter!

Will I see you there?

~Red

Babes in Space: The Wrath of Thong

Last year was my first ever attempt at producing a burlesque show. It was an opportunity for me to learn the ropes of pulling together a group of solo performers and constructing a night of stellar entertainment. It was also equal doses of insanity and doom.

I promoted tirelessly and we did a huge push during the weekend of the geeky sci-fi slash anime slash horror slash comic slash gaming slash GAH convention Fan Expo, which is a smaller version of San Diego Comic Con (and the biggest of its kind we currently have in Canada).

The show last year was a Star Trek versus Star Wars burlesque battle, Babes in Space: The Force, The Federation, The Fornication, sold out the Rivoli. I had to turn people away at the door! Despite my headliner cancelling an hour before curtain time (who does that?!) and a host of other insanity-causing issues leading up to the show (co-producing six shows, the convention itself, random variables that come about from trying to heard cats performers) the event itself was a resounding success!

So I'm doing it again!

This year Babes in Space: The Wrath of Thong will be holding two nights (August 28th and September 1st) at Revival Nightclub in Toronto, Ontario.

I've gone bigger, and even better than last year!

Here's the trailer below, and stay tuned for performer features over the next few days!

Tickets are available online at: http://babesinspace2.eventbrite.com and I highly suggest you purchase them in advance if you plan on coming. There's an online discount (only $20! $25 at the door) and you're guaranteed a seat!

Me and some lovely ladies will be at Fan Expo again over the coming weekend, August 25-28th promoting the event. Come find us in Artists Alley 229 and pick up some tickets, pasties, and a boozey cupcake or two!


See you there!

~ Red Herring

In which I ramble on about my Easter chocolate of choice (cadbury creme eggs!), a photoshoot with Craig Cochrane at Dragon Lady Comics, and more, plus! My tits say Ka-Pow.

I think the sound-to-video sync on this is off. I'm not sure why. Anyone have any tips? I'm using photobooth on my mac to film...

~ Red Herring

Ad Astra 2009 - Burlesque, Steampunk, and Alcoholic Cupcakes

Ad Astra passed about a week ago, and thanks to the dashing Kenneth Shelley, I was invited to perform and promote myself and the upcoming Babes in Space The Sequel: The Wrath of Thong (my yearly Star Trek vs Star Wars burlesque show)

Kenneth. I told you he was Dashing. Photo by Tina Olah

The duration of the convention saw me seated beside the beautiful Emi Joy Lim, of the webseries Trapped in Terra, and Todd Clark of the Toronto Steampunk Society. Hilariously, Emi recognized me from an audition I did for the webseries way back when I first moved to Toronto. Seems the character I auditioned for is coming up in this season. Hmm...will I get a callback?

Emi Joy Lim and Todd Clark. Photo by Tina Olah

Todd is just dashing. He certainly helped pimp out our wonderfully alcoholic cupcakes, made by the same Brook Alviano that spends hours sewing the amazing costumes that Obskyura and I (among others) remove.

Below is a photo after my performance. Clearly, I have been photobombed.

No, I'm not wearing anything behind that fan.

Costume by 3B Artistry

Also making up some of the amazing company was Adam Smith, the Epic Dude* of the Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition, which will be running for the first time in Toronto. You should go. Adam can always be counted on as a repository of information (and occasionally, delicious booze). I may live in his pocket.

Kristen Thoms, pictured below, was my saviour and glorious companion for the convention. She may or may not have used that gun, and her feminine wiles, to pander cupcakes like the fiend she is. Look out for her bits on stage, if I have any say in the matter.

~ Red Herring

* Not his actual title. Should be, however.

FanExpo 2010 - Marketing in Space!

FanExpo and I have a long relationship. Back in the days when I ran a webcomic I knew the Artist Alley section like the back of my hand. Prior to that I was a con-goer (and cosplayer. What.), and then the last few years I've been a Booth Babe. This year, once more, I was behind the booth.

Babes in Space

Mission: Target Marketing

The weekend was a whirlwind of fans and 'Hey, have you ever been to a burlesque show?' and posing and cupcakes and drama and phew!

I managed to wrangle up a set of delicious Sci-fi beauties for the duration of the Expo, despite a couple cancellations. We had the lovely looks of: Obskyura (also as an Orion Slave Girl), Dolly Berlin, and Bibi Bourgeon, the presence of Jojo of Circus Entertainment (and provider of the backdrop under BigHead Murals), the bodypainting talent of Mark Boyer from 3B Artistry, and the omnomtacular cupcakes of Stacey Laureyssens.

Our team was unstoppable!

My eye-catching red lame starfleet uniform was made by Brook, who is a goddess among sewing machines! It certainly caught the attention of the fans I was luring over...for three days straight!

Obskyura as an Orion Slave Girl, a fan, and myself!

We were located in a bit of an akward area downstairs, between Gravy Train and Nerdgasm. It was delightful company allweekend, even throughout the closure due to over-crowding!

We DID have Stan Lee and William Shatner in our area, which really helped with targeting our fliers to people who'd be interested in seeing nerdy burlesque.

Down with us were Nerdgirl Pinups, Steampunk Canada and the Toronto Steampunk Society (shoutouts to Adam Smith for being a doll all weekend, and Liana K for upholding redhead power!), and the 501st! R2D2 is such a doll, and the stormtroopers that dropped by our booth certainly added to the theme!

Dolly Berlin, myself, and Stacey at the booth

I have learned, as I always end up doing in the midst of disaster, that I probably shouldn't plan three hundred things for the same three days. Performing in the Shameless Showcase (with a new act!) AND doing the convention, AND prepping for a show the following week? Proven way to give myself soaring blood pressure.

Endless thanks to those that had to put up with me (Stacey, Mark, Jojo) and those that helped out (all of the above, with double thanks to the beautiful-freaky-talented Obskyura), and FanExpo for sponsoring our table!

Until next year, FanExpo!


~ Red