A Peek into What it Takes to Create a Feature Show
A ‘Feature Entertainer’ is someone who performs a themed show, with costumes, props, and special acts. Typically, a Feature will tour the country, and compete in competitions such as the ‘Stripper Olympics’ ‘Exxxotica’ and the ‘National Gentleman’s Club Expo’. My club is host to many Feature Entertainers.
I always enjoy when Features come to our club. It reminds me of my first few years in the industry, when I held back-to-back Entertainer of the Year titles in Philadelphia. My colleagues feel a little differently- every time we have a Feature they say, “When do we get to see you up there?”. I just smile.
My club hosts an annual Entertainer Meeting where we discuss any changes, questions, comments and concerns for the upcoming busy season. This year the girls overwhelmingly requested that rather than advertising and hosting outside Features, they wanted to showcase our In-House talent… and then they all stared at me.
Flattered, I said I would be happy to spearhead a group of in-house features and gathered a few phone numbers of interested girls.
A common occurrence in this industry is that for every ten girls who say they’re going to do something, only two actually follow through. When you’re creating a feature show, things can fall apart pretty quickly. In my time in Philly, we had a “dance team” and were required to be at 8:30am rehearsals before the club opened at 11. When you’re working until 2, 3, 5:00 in the morning, an 8:30am rehearsal is reason enough to back out. So when the number of interested girls dwindled to just two, one being myself- I completely understood.
A challenge I was prepared for in creating a show was that I knew the House wanted to be as uninvolved as possible. They have enough on their plate, so the less I bugged them, the better. I knew that I would need to self-suffice and ask for their attention when, and only when I was ready to show them the final product. I knew this was also my opportunity to earn their trust and respect as a Feature, with the intention that if this went over well, I would be invited to do it again. With my background in Dance Performance and Theater, I was able to organize a timeline of expectations to present two feature shows.
I already had a bunch of tricks up my sleeve that I currently perform in my regular stage sets. What I wanted, was to do them all in one show. One of the common things I hear of my stage sets is, “How did you do that”? To which I reply, “magic”- which is how I got the idea to make a Magic Show. My plan was to start off as the Magician, and rather than pulling a rabbit out of my hat, I would *be* the rabbit in the hat. I chose songs that were playful, energetic and carried the theme. I opened with Bruno Mars, ‘24K Magic’, and Dua Lipa’s ‘Houdini’, followed by Caroline Rose’s ‘Money’ and finally, Lady Gaga’s 'Applause’. I had one trick I was most excited to showcase- although if the club was going to say no to anything in my show, that was going to be it. You know how Magicians are often seen performing a skill in which they pull 15 feet of scarves out of their mouths? Well, I pulled them out of somewhere else….. 🙀
The other Entertainer I worked alongside, Heather- had some serious Fire Dancing skills that she wanted to showcase. I have limited experience with fire, but at the very least I knew to ask if she was both A: Insured, and B: had a Fire Douser on standby for our performance. She was, and she did. Already, we were off to a great start.
Rather than the ambient, and improvisational performances Heather was experienced in, setting choreography was necessary in order to make a repeatable and dynamic show. We only had one hour a week for rehearsals at the club, and I knew that a feature show would require far more than that. I recommended we rent studio space to hammer out our aerial skills, and secure outdoor space to set all fire choreography. I had yet to see Heather’s fire skills, and we didn’t work together often, so this was all new for me, just as much as it was for her.
Heather impressed me almost immediately. She was on time to rehearsals, communicative, and well prepared. She knew which skills she wanted to showcase, and what music to pair with them. On a late night in September, she showed me her Fire skills for the first time. I needed a forklift to pick my jaw up off the floor. We promptly and aptly named her show “Girl on Fire”.
Because of my history, I was careful to not dive into Rehearsal Director Mode. After years of experience with directors who projected onto and overwhelmed me, I didn’t want to bring that energy to the table. So, in rehearsals I was mindful to check in with both of our emotional capacities. Asking things like “Is this feedback appropriate?” “What do you need to feel prepared?” and “Is this movement effective?” made for a productive rehearsal environment. Shortly after, and somewhere between sharing costume ideas, giving feedback, and offering encouragement- Heather and I became friends.
The time quickly came when we were both satisfied with our shows, and we were ready to get the approval from management to set a performance date. We also had yet to perform Heather’s fire in the building, and I was apprehensive that management was going to intervene. I even went so far as to gently prepare her for the event in which they might remove an element of her show out of an abundance of safety.
While Heather’s show was an adrenaline ride of fire, sparklers, spinning lyras and flaming bubbles, mine was a story of sequins, confetti, twirling ribbons and pole acrobatics. We both had this moment where we realized that with these shows, no one in our club would look at us the same way again. We asked our General Manager for the one favor we needed: his approval. On a Sunday, he opened the club for us two hours early, and offered fair and valuable feedback to ensure a smooth run. His immediate reaction was both “Wow, Good Job!” and, “We’ve never had Features perform like that before”.
When our show day arrived, we were a healthy mix of excited and nervous. It felt so good to see which of our friends and supporters showed up for us. We both performed to wide-eyed, and speechless audiences, followed by waves of congratulations after we re-entered the club floor. We were almost immediately asked when we would perform again, and everyone who arrived later on was sorely disappointed they missed out.
We do have plans for our next shows, although to be very honest- creating a show costs time and money. The best way to support our creative processes is to come to our performances and participate in the magic by sitting front row and throwing cash. We love that.
A huge thank you to everyone who came and supported, I can’t wait for the next one…
xoxo,c
Coco’s Magic Show is available to view on thebadgirlpage
To follow Heather and her endeavors, click here
Opening look for Coco's Magic Show
Inspiration
Heather's Fire Fans
2014 Delilah's Entertainer of the Year in Philadelphia