The way the performers see it, the weekly "Bits and Jiggles" show at Siberia isn't about bringing together comedy and burlesque. It's about bringing comedy and burlesqueback together.
Kitty Kaos, aka the "Queen of Catastrophe," best represents this happy reunion on Monday nights. A former regular performer in local theater, she literally ran off with the circus after working local nightclubs doing stand-up comedy, in recent years focusing her burlesque performance on the old circus sideshow acts.
So she knows funny.
"Burlesque's original definition was as a vaudeville show," she said, in reference to the form of entertainment popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. "You had dancers, you had clowning, you had emcees, you had musicians, magicians and comics. All of that has its place in burlesque. Burlesque has evolved a lot into its own thing, and now stand-up comedy is what it is now.
"But both have their roots in vaudeville. I don't want to separate them. They come from the same place."
Fear not; on Monday nights at Siberia, they crash together, as some of New Orleans' most popular burlesque dancers alternate sets with local stand-up comics (of widely varying levels of experience) on the modest stage. The show was conceived and is organized by comedian Fayard Lindsey. Veteran New Orleans comedian Corey Mack serves as the ringmaster, warming up the crowd for both comics and dancers. It all plays out in alternating packages of sets; a group of comics take the stage, followed by burlesque sets, and back to the comics again — with Mack providing the transitions.
BITS AND JIGGLES
- What: Striptease burlesque performers share turns on the stage with open-mic stand-up comedians in this weekly show from Fayard Lindsey. Comedian Corey Mack serves as one of the rotating hosts.
- Where: Siberia, 2227 Saint Claude Ave.
- When: Mondays, 8 p.m.
- Admission: Free.
- More info: Call 504.265.8855.
On a recent Monday evening, the burlesque set featured local performers Kitty Kaos (with her embrace of the circus sideshow style), Roxie Le Rouge (of Big Deal Burlesque) and Chatty the Mime along with Florida-based (and frequent New Orleans visitor) Vita DeVoid. The roster of comedians ranged from the very inexperienced (a young man we'll refer to simply as Tifton) to the wildly popular Andrew Polk (who performed toward the end of the evening). In between were comics who work the burgeoning open-mic circuit, including Betty Boo, Amanda Masters and Mack's wife, Iina Ester. (The funniest moments, in fact, came in respective bits by New Orleans-born Mack and Finnish-born Ester as they recounted their culture clashes, particularly with his family.)
Considering the range of experience in the open-mic set, the evening can be erratic in its rhythms, which was the case on this Monday, when opener Tifton's rambling, sometimes-incoherent set had to be brought to a merciful end by Mack. At first Tifton wouldn't budge, and had to be gently forced off the stage. Later, Tifton and his cadre of supportive friends marched out of the club in a kind of protest, though the crowd applauded their exit.
Still, the moment left the audience in a funk, and Mack found himself reverting to more stand-up to warm the crowd back up. While in the moment he confessed to the audience he'd never experienced anything like that in 12 years of stand-up, later, Mack could laugh about it.
"That was an interesting experience," he said by phone, chuckling. "I've never had one that bad."
It's that unpredictability, though, that gives "Bits and Jiggles" much of its charm — along with the opportunity to see some of the city's best performers hitting the stage on what is arguably the slowest night of the week for entertainment.
"It's like walking into a completely different dimension from all the other comedy shows that exist," Mack said. "You come here and there really are no rules. There's no, 'Get here at this time. You give the word, and we say you get ABOUT this much time.' I don't know what's going to happen.
New Orleans comedian Corey Mack performs a routine while hosting 'Bits and Jiggles' at Siberia on Monday, Jan. 5, 2015. The weekly show combines burlesque performances with open-mic stand-up comedy routines. Mack rotates with other hosts. (Photo by David Lee Simmons, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
"And it's exciting to know I don't know what's going to happen."
The burlesque performances feature their own range, and on this night represent a wide spectrum of burlesque culture. Kitty Kaos, with her circus sideshow roots, in her first set brought up a volunteer to help with a routine in which she lay on a bed of nails — but first inflated a condom as a balloon for the trick. Chatty the Mime lived up to her name with a wordless striptease number, complete with mime face makeup, a red bowler hat, black-and-white-striped hose and top, and not much else.
Roxie Le Rouge, with a period costume that paid homage to the golden days of Bourbon Street burlesque, danced to Aurora Nealand & Royal Roses' cover of the Sidney Bechet classic "Egyptian Fantasy." Vita DeVoid helped further blur the lines between comedy and burlesque (and drag, really) with a hilarious, stumbling send-up of the classic Lucille Ball "Vitameatavegamin" skit (from "I Love Lucy") in which she gets progressively soused (and undressed) while sampling a "tonic" during an audition as a pitch person.
"Bits and Jiggles" is but one stop on a number of nights — themed or otherwise — in which the performers work their respective circuits. For example, Kitty Kaos is preparing for next weekend's "Winter Whimsy Tour 2015," featuring sideshow, burlesque and comedy performances Saturday and Monday (Jan. 17 & 19) at the AllWays Lounge. She also will appear in "The Look What I Can Do VaRIOTy Hour!" on Friday at the AllWays with Ooops the Clown, Dr. Sick, Mr. Cheese and Ratty Scurvics.
Roxie Le Rouge returns to Siberia on Thursday (Jan. 15) with a special musical version of Big Deal Burlesque with the Stevie Wonder tribute, "Thongs in the Key of Life." (Next weekend also features a return of Bustout Burlesque on Saturday, Jan. 17, at the House of Blues. And then there's the Bad Girls of Burlesque on Jan. 30, also at the House of Blues.)
"But both have their roots in vaudeville. I don't want to separate them. They come from the same place." -- Kitty Kaos, burlesque performer
Both comedy and burlesque have exploded in New Orleans over the past few years, so there appears to be something for everyone. As Bella Blue — voted the No. 16 burlesque performer in a 21st Century Burlesque magazine poll — recently noted, "[y]ou can see a show (in New Orleans) almost any night of the week."
Roxie Le Rouge, who performs all over town in various burlesque iterations, also appreciates the unpredictability of the performances — and audience — and the challenges they represent.
"This type of format is a bit different because we switch gears a bit as we steer the audience from being attentive and listening to comedians, and then completely swinging to an encouraged, audience-participation sort of energy," she said. "As a performer, this can be a challenge to you to really put it out there to draw the audience in.
"It really is a back-and-forth and a give-and-take."
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