Happy ThickMAS: Puckduction’s ‘Post-Neo Burlesque’ Fatocracy wants effort, not excuses

Lady Lola LeStrange at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.

This Thursday, a resplendent cavalcade of talent arrives to deliver three thrilling nights of classic striptease, nerdlesque, boylesque, and draglesque at the iconic Triple Door in Seattle, USA. Welcome to Fatlesque – a unique burlesque festival with a powerful message which, to our collective shame, the burlesque scene at large still needs to sit up and listen to.

Founded by Mx. Pucks A’Plenty in 2023, the fest began as part of Fat Con, which will run alongside it this weekend, featuring 30+ workshops, panels, fashion shows, size-inclusive vendors, and more.

Fatlesque Fest NW is the sibling event to Fat Con, over a weekend that we affectionately call #ThickMAS,” Pucks explains. “It’s always in January, so performers and our audience can start the new year without something centered on diet. All Fatlesque Fest NW performers receive a three days pass to Fat Con as an extra compensation perk.”

In August, Pucks will oversee the sixth edition of What the Funk?! An All BIPOC Burlesque Festival, also at The Triple Door and co-produced with Stormy Chance and Rebecca Mm Davis, with a live band on opening night, a showcase and a competition, plus a Sunday afternoon barbeque at a local park for performers and community.

Mx. Pucks A'Plenty, Founder of Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.
Mx. Pucks A’Plenty, Founder of Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.

Pucks A’Plenty got their start in burlesque in 2017 via Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque in Seattle. In 2019, they produced their first festival. 

“Producing was an act of oppressed pettiness,” Pucks tells me. “A local producer told me that funk music wasn’t classic enough for her show, so with that and a general lack of representation, I started What the Funk?!. Shuga Shaq, produced by the Goddess Briq House, was the longest running POC show in the Northwest, and What The Funk?! doesn’t exist without it.” 

“The early Body Positivity movement had a huge impact on Neo-Burlesque, created by black femmes, but over time it got whitewashed and Columbused. You had these thin white women doing yoga in India, zero natives to be seen. How did we get so far from the original movement?”

“Our mission is to improve the lives of fat humans through art, health, public policy and community outreach,” Pucks continues. “By improving visibility and uplifting the voices of people of size, we don’t seek acceptance, we seek Fat Liberation.

“This involves calling out all the gaslighting we face. We’re told, ‘Oh, I’m just concerned about your health; do you not want to live into your thirties?’ I’m not mincing my words here: harm is being perpetrated, and there’s clear cause and correlation. We’re not dying at a high rate because we’re fat – doctors are refusing to look past fatness to treat things that have nothing to do with that.  

“Then there’s Body Neutrality, which is what Body Positivity should have been,” they explain.
“Your body is your body, and you shouldn’t be judging other people’s bodies and putting a value on them. Burlesque should be centering this more. Same goes for ‘helpful’ comments on the really thin; people just need to mind their own business across the board.”

Lavish The Jewel at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.
Lavish The Jewel at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.
Alotta Boutte at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.
Alotta Boutte at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.

Who does Pucks consider our Neo-burlesque pioneers and Legends of size?

“Alotta Boutte, Dirty Martini, Chola Magnolia, Jezebel Express, Madame E, and of course Big Fannie Annie. Also, I loved learning about The Beef Trust – a chorus line composed of large and beautiful women around 1909.”

We discuss the pillars, purpose and politics of their organisation.

“Puckduction is all about uplifting and highlighting performers of color and size, queer and disabled. It feels like us versus the ‘box of white crayons’ as I call it. You know, when a poster comes out and it’s all white and white-passing, able bodied, straight-sized performers. What about other talent that needs to be cultivated, nurtured and mentored? These producers like to say, ‘Well, I’m just hiring the best.’  I also want the best of the best on my stage. My shows are in high ticket venues, so I have to prioritize talent as a business model.”

“I think that a lot of fat burlesque performers do feel pigeonholed into being comedic or a novelty. I want to see more fat performers doing classic and high glam. There is something magical about fat burlesque performers doing high glam or classic striptease; it’s stunning.”

Lady Lola LeStrange at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.
Lady Lola LeStrange at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.

As two thirds of What The Funk?! and half of Fatlesque Fest participants have producer credits to their name, it’s clear that marginalized performers are being actively encouraged and empowered to create spaces and opportunities for each other.

Do the festival demographics provide safe spaces and common ground as well?

“Both festivals offer a green room experience with allyship most people aren’t used to backstage,” Pucks affirms. “If you forget your concealer at What the Funk?!, there’s a much higher likelihood someone has what you need. If I forget a safety thong at Fatlesque, it’s very likely I’ll find one in my size from someone there. You can share similar stories and experiences in the scene and speak freely.”

Inevitably, where there is understanding and shared experiences, there can also be tension. 

“The burlesque scene in general falls prey to what I call the Oppression Olympics,” Pucks explains, “who has it worse, who is feeling and grieving the most, who has the most challenges, and using ‘superior’ suffering as an excuse for all sorts of bad behaviour. 

“A lot of people in burlesque didn’t get involved because their lives were going well, you know? Be it divorce, body changes, having a baby, kids leaving home, or rejection from family, society or other art forms. It heals something for them, fills a space. There’s a lot of trauma and dysregulation in our scene, and people with the same experiences are butting heads with each other. It’s difficult to own our feelings at the same time as other people’s, and many of us struggle with self awareness and managing strong emotions.

“There has also been pushback from performers who are having a really hard time accepting that it’s going to take more than a pretty face and a straight size body to make the cut,” Pucks expands. “We live in a society that upholds mediocrity, and most of us know that if you’re in a body that’s considered undesirable, you’re going to have to work ten times as hard to be taken seriously. So no, fat performers aren’t just being handed spots in shows. That’s ridiculous.

“I don’t think safe spaces really exist,” Pucks concludes. “Only the most marginalized person in the room can decide if a space is safe.
It comes down to accountability – how we hold ourselves accountable when something goes wrong.”

Deeva Rose at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.
Deeva Rose at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.
Kitty Von Quim at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.
Kitty Von Quim at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.

Pucks tells me that several festival participants have gone on to perform and compete at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend and other prestigious events after appearing. What of competition at their own festivals?

“What The Funk?! crowns a Grand Master and we partner with nine other festivals to secure high-profile appearances for the winner. However, Fatlesque doesn’t have a competition; in this case love of oneself trumps contest. Producers’ Choice is an idea we are thinking about, though. We would announce it at the end of the festival, more of a best-in-show rather than one night of pressure.”

Jezebel Express at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.
Jezebel Express at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.

I ask Pucks if they think preserving specific demographics in dedicated festivals may start to work against progress in the long run if the aim is to see the scene fully integrated and equally considered without a sense of exception or novelty for any given group.

“If I’m still doing these festivals ten years from now, something has gone wrong,” Pucks concurs. “I’m putting a flag up and sending a clear message: start incorporating more of this.
I’ll do the homework for you and show you who to showcase. I’ll give them footage to send you. The work is all done for you. You say you can’t find one great black or fat performer. Here’s 50. You just need to contact them. Do the laziest thing and pick from cast lists and ask for their press kits. That’s a good way to start.

“Some of us are still clinging to a vision of burlesque that simply doesn’t exist any more. There have been deep philosophical conversations since the pandemic about what comes after Neo-burlesque, because we are already there. We’re Post-Neo Burlesque now, actually. What are we doing? Where are we heading?
Perhaps going on to amazing things.”

Stormy Chance, Rebecca Mm Davis and Pucks A'Plenty at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.
(Left to right) Stormy Chance, Rebecca Mm Davis and Pucks A’Plenty at Fatlesque Fest NW, by Keith Johnson @paradeimages.

What does Pucks want to say to performers (and perhaps audience members also) who are struggling with discrimination, low self-worth, hesitation on applying and networking, or internalised fatphobia?

“Do it fat. Just do it fat. Our bodies are just a shell. The perfect body is your body. The body that takes you where you want to go. I think self-love is the hardest thing to obtain in this lifetime. To love yourself and your body unconditionally, that’s hard work. We live in a world that is always telling us that we’re too much or not enough. It’s a radical act to accept yourself. Do it fat.” 

Fatlesque Fest NW at The Triple Door, Seattle from Jan 30-Feb 1.

Pucks A’Plenty interviewed by Holli Mae Johnson for 21st Century Burlesque.

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