Blog

Blue Light

Natasha Minsk

Too much Shpeel, not enough Banana!

For my birthday this year I received tickets to Banana Shpeel. I saw it last night at the Chicago Theater in downtown Chicago, making this the fifth Cirque du Soleil show I have seen. My list thus far includes:

• Zumanity
  
• Corteo
  
• La Nouba
  
• Kooza
  
• Banana Shpeel

Cirque is billing Banana Shpeel as “A theatrical mix of comedy and dance” and “A new twist on vaudeville.” It is most definitely not like the rest of the Cirque shows I have seen.

Things I liked:

• Cirque du Soleil shows always exceed my expectations and imagination when it comes to production quality. The stage, the costumes, the lights, the music – all top notch. It reminds me of my time as a stage manager, ensuring that the inner workings of concerts flowed as smoothly as possible, hiding the chaos of backstage from the audience, and only showing them the final, polished product. I’d love to peek behind the scenes at one of these shows.
  
• The solo acts were fantastic and inspiring. They were what I’ve come to expect from Cirque (talented, mind-blowing and high quality) and although I’ve seen some of them before either on stage or on TV, they are still thrilling to watch again. The acts included a hat juggler, a foot juggler (she juggled umbrellas, not feet), a tap-dancing duo and one of the most buff and graceful pole-dancing/balancing contortionists I’ve ever seen.
  
• There were a number of group dances throughout the evening, the most fun of which was the black light number. I couldn’t help but think, though, how any of these dancers could just as well be backing up Britney Spears. So was it Cirque-tacular? Not really. Fun to watch? Definitely.

Things I did not like:

• The “Shpeel” was apparently the vaudeville aspect of the show and I feel it missed the mark a little bit. The bits seemed to drag on too long at times, and there wasn’t really a compelling story line to tie the whole show together. I also expect more character development from the comedy relief, and each time I thought there would be a new revelation or climax to one of the characters it would turn out to be more of the same. I would break the show down as 60% Shpeel, 20% solo acts, and 20% group dances. I would have preferred more from the latter two categories.
  
• The parrots behind me. There was a woman and her boy/friend that repeated nearly every punch line that was said on stage. It was quite a distracting and unnecessary quirk for someone to exhibit in a theater audience.

I do recommend seeing Banana Shpeel, but with the warning that you will not receive the full Cirque du Soleil show experience by doing so. It seems like Cirque might be feeling the effects of the relaxed economy and decided to produce a light-budget show that will still sell well simply because of the reputation behind the brand. Even then, the theater was not sold out, but nicely populated nonetheless.

Pinup Photo Party – Grand Rapids

Giant Cupcake

Last week I created a giant cupcake to be used as a prop by Natasha Minsk. Inside said cupcake there is a place to store a real live cupcake that is revealed during the performance.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

See the cupcake in action here!

[Tech Details: The cupcake creation portion of this video was captured by a Canon G2 camera tethered to a PC with interval timer shooting, the rotating cupcake was captured by a Canon 5D Mark II with a 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens, the music was written, programmed and recorded by me, and the whole thing was assembled in Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. And though you're seeing this presentation as a Flash video, the final output is HD 1080.]

Cameo

Natasha Minsk for Cameo Intimates Lingerie

Hoopity Hop

Here’s an outtake from the session with Lula Houp-Garou:

Lula Houp-Garou

Composite Trump

Trump Tower, Chicago, IL

This is a composite of 11 separate images of the Trump Tower in Chicago, IL. The original image size is 12″x26″.

Spreading Sheet

The spreadsheet I’m using to track potential and confirmed participants of All That Glitters is growing very, very large.

Now Available in Detroit!

Madison Glitters

Saturday morning I packed up the car and set off down the Kennedy Expressway, aka. US 90/94, en route to Madison, Wisconsin with the lovely Natasha Minsk as my travel companion. It was a quick trip at just under 2 1/2 hours.

My first portrait session for the day was with Ms. Behavin’ of Foxy Veronica’s Peach Pies. She welcomed us into her lovely home where I also got to meet her little ball of energy known as her son. We gave him the opportunity to choose his own stage name. “Beast” he wanted, so Beast it is! Ms. Behavin’ is a fantastic example of what it means to be confident while being a complete sweetheart.

Next up was Moxy Rhodes, also of Foxy Veronica’s Peach Pies. She introduced us to the kitties – Leonard & Baby Leonard – her boyfriend, one of her roommates, and her boyfriend’s nicely prepared garden that was beginning to show signs of life. Moxy wanted to be photographed in her bathroom and was very proud of her cleaning job. So much so that she apparently showered at a friend’s house after cleaning so that it would remain pristine for the photo shoot. Such dedication! By the way, while I didn’t get to see it for myself, I hear she’s very bendy.

I borrowed the wireless internet connection at Moxy’s house to find and secure a hotel room for that evening. Little did I know that there was a major football game in town that day, along with the Ironman competition the following morning. As a result, just about ever hotel in town was booked. I managed to find an affordable place on Priceline, but learned upon arrival at the hotel that they were booked up and Priceline had oversold their inventory. I resumed my search for a hotel and, with Priceline’s “sort of” help (which included 15 minutes on hold) we were placed in a decent inn a mile down the road from our first attempt. The inn served its purpose and even included free breakfast.

Sunday morning we headed out to find Foxy Veronica, who just so happens to be the Foxy Veronica in Foxy Veronica’s Peach Pies. She was impressed with herself for having full hair and makeup completed at 10 o’clock in the morning (and I very much appreciated it). She introduced us to her collection of kitties including Bug (so tiny and so cute, but watch those claws if you get too rough), Mr. Buddy Grimkin (non-stop energy, a show-off, and a bit of a bully), and the reclusive-yet-cuddly Kashmir. Foxy Veronica is a multi-talented lady involved in a variety of creative pursuits and has pulled together a great group of people for the burlesque cause in Madison. If you bump into her, ask her how difficult it really is to stand on a sofa in 4 inch heels.

We stopped for a quick lunch break at Ella’s Deli. This place is an ADD dreamland. Mechanised contraptions hang from the ceiling throughout the diner while shadowbox tables showcase miniature scenes with moving parts. We promised ourselves an ice cream treat back at Ella’s after the next portrait session.

The final session of the weekend was with Kitty LaRue, also from Foxy Veronica’s Peach Pies. She greeted us on the porch looking fabulous in her ruffled mini-tutu and corset. The photo session was a breeze and we captured some fun moments.

All of the ladies we met this weekend were kind, hospitable and so much fun to talk to. I’m looking forward to getting back up to Madison to catch them in action on stage.

Before heading back out on the road we fulfilled the promise of ice cream at Ella’s. The scoope each of strawberry cheesecake and turtle ice cream was delicious and just enough to give me the sugar energy I needed to drive back to Chicago.

A big Thank You to Ms. Behavin’, Moxy Rhodes, Foxy Veronica and Kitty LaRue of Madison, WI. You’ve joined All That Glitters and I sincerely appreciate your contribution!