HAPPY NEW YEAR, folks! What better way to kick off 2011 than a blog post from everyone’s favorite grad student and one of the most talented ladies in the biz – Ms. Angela ‘More Glitter!’ Gulner.
Can You Measure Your Areola Tonight? (Pasties Are Expensive, Tiffy Will Just Make You A Pair.)
With one of Jules' many security blankets... her typewriter.
After two hot, summer days spent in the hip, little Bushwick Starr, my homemade (thanks, Tiffany!) silver pasties hang on the wall of my bedroom and I keep finding glitter where I least expect it…
Shooting Jules’ burlesque was one of my favorite moments of working on Oh, Sophia.
I’ve never danced burlesque. I had actually never really SEEN burlesque before being cast in Oh, Sophia. Originally, we planned to have a choreographer set Jules’ final piece – but that plan fell through before rehearsals started, so I arrived on the first day of ‘dance rehearsal’ thinking “alright Angela, don’t embarrass yourself TOO much”…
But with no choreographer, Bornila decided she wanted me to make up the routine myself. She gave me a song, sunglasses and scarf and and that was that. I was going to have to come up with a burlesque number.
Well, perhaps I shouldn’t even call it ‘burlesque’, perhaps I should call it, ‘angelawatchesalotofburlesqueonyoutubeanddoesherbestapproximationofajulesversionofburlesque’. Regardless, it was great fun. What I grew to love about burlesque is that the routine tells a story and is done with a sense of humor, often through parody and exaggeration – the woman takes the objectified, over-sexualized female body and exploits it. Through embodying the very stereotypes that often degrade women in our culture, burlesque reclaims those stereotypes as sexy, empowering, informed, and, most importantly, fun. It allows women of every shape and size to BE sexy, to ENJOY being sexy — beneath the costumes and the makeup and the gags there is a very true appreciation for feminine beauty and sexual power.
This burlesque was, of course, a Jules burlesque — so I took what I found exciting about the art and tried to explore it through Jules’ eyes. Jules loves to push boundaries, to shock, to be the center of attention, and to be flashy. The performance comes at the end of her ‘Oh, Sophia‘ journey, at a point where she is reclaiming her spirit (for better or for worse). So for me-as-Jules, the burlesque was about her getting back in the game — about entertaining and ENJOYING entertaining again – with as many bells and whistles as I/she could muster. Mocking the hipster culture she, and especially paddy, live in was a great way for her to laugh at herself and get back to being the vibrant my-way-or-the-highway kinda gal she is.
The whole experience for me was very freeing. There is a lot of Jules/Angela overlap, but she is much gutsier and bolder than I am — so it was a thrill to live in her skin for a while. And it was exciting to have a taste of live theater again amidst all of the camera work. I felt a hint of nerves before the first full costume run in front of the cast and crew (I get down to pasties and panties, after all)– but Bornila reminded me ‘this is Jules’ big moment’ – and there was no choice but to go for it. And the cast and crew were sitting in the audience, hooting and hollering and sending me so much love- I couldn’t help but enjoy Jules’ ride. It was a really good lesson for me in bravery. and it was a hell of a lot of fun.
