You know at this time of year, so much is centered on kids and entertainment for kids. Personally … blecch! I say it’s time to take that shiz back from the kids! I like my kids entertainment to be adult, like cartoons.I want cartoons to be so adult in fact, that they inspire folks to rip off their clothes and cause potential harm to themselves. Lucky for me, Glit-O-Rama Productions has answered my holiday wish list with All Kids Out of the Pool, a burlesque and variety show inspired by the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. I recently got to chat with two of the stars of All Kids Out of the Pool, Xander Lovecraft and Liberty Rose about their upcoming shows in Baltimore at the Ottobar on December 18 and in DC at the Bier Baron on December 19.
Lucrezia: Let’s start with the basics: names, taglines if you got ‘em and when and why did you start doing burlesque/variety?
Liberty: Liberty Rose, “Philadelphia’s Badass of Burlesque”. I started in January of 2008. I began doing burlesque out of an appreciation for vintage aesthetic, the idea of being glamorous and iconic, and the concept of creating a persona for the stage. What I started out as and where I am now, though, are vastly different.
Xander: Xander Lovecraft, Burlesque Mercenary for Hire. I started doing shows a little over 7 years ago, back when I was living in my hometown of St. Louis, MO. I started out emceeing a very small every other month show and went on to be a house player/performer in this regular show called The Beggars Carnivale. It was a full on vaudeville/burlesque/variety show that lasted a couple of years. I’ve always been interested in performing, but it wasn’t the easiest to get my foot in the door. I started by just going to a ton of shows and getting to know the performers and those involved. It’ll be 8 years sometime next spring since I first took the stage, and honestly, I couldn’t be happier with where it’s taken my life.
What was your favorite kids’ show growing up?
Liberty: Power Rangers for live action. Cartoons … I loved He-Man and She-Ra!
Xander: I grew up in the 90s, so first and foremost, my childhood revolved around Nickelodeon.They always had some of the best cartoons and shows. I would come home from school every day and turn on two things: Power Rangers, and Nickelodeon. My favorite cartoons then were Ren & Stimpy, Rocko’s Modern Life, and Ahhh! Real Monsters — you know, the more twisted shows in their lineup.
Have you done any acts based on any of those?
Liberty: None of them, but playing awkward adolescents and obscure heroes and robots is the majority of my nerdlesque career… so I guess you can say I’ve been heavily inspired.
What characters are you doing for All Kids Out of the Pool?
Liberty: I am doing Nathan Explosion from Metalocalypse and Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I’m excited to create solo versions of these acts because I love the costumes and am excited to be able to start using them more. I mean, a skin tight white vinyl satin pistachio-lined milkshake with a swarovski sparkled pink straw headpiece needs to be my look more often.
You had me at pistachio.
Liberty: Right? My favorite!
Xander: I’ll be emceeing as Rick Sanchez, the genius scientist/inventor from Rick and Morty. He’s a very strange and hilarious character. Rick and Morty is one of my favorite shows right now, so I’ve been having my share of fun going back and re-watching the first couple seasons, to take some extra notes about who he is as a character, and what all I can do to properly portray him.
Whose idea was it to do the Adult Swim-themed show?
Xander: All Kids Out of the Pool has been a show idea that Bella La Blanc (our producer and my dear friend) has been talking about for close to a year. She’s been itching to put on this show and we’re all feeling the same way. All Kids Out of the Pool will have something for everybody who watches Adult Swim. We really thought long about what shows should or need to be involved. We’ve got acts from Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Metalocalypse, The Venture Brothers, Rick and Morty, and maybe a couple surprises as well.
You’ve both done some touring. Liberty you’re from Philadelphia and Xander you’re now a DC resident. Do you think there are certain styles and/or elements that are native to one area or is it pretty much the same just with different local performers?
Liberty: I think there is a difference from city to city, for sure. Especially when it comes to certain trends in performance style and costuming. For instance, some cities are very into lip syncing with their burlesque. I think the costuming differs for two reasons: what they are exposed to/have readily available supply-wise, and sometimes the blue laws can affect it; i.e. blue laws not allowing the butt crack to show or the underboob.
Xander: I don’t think that there are “native” styles to certain areas. I think there are styles that may go over better in certain cities, though. I’ve noticed for one, DC definitely loves its Nerdlesque. Most of the shows I’ve done in town this year would definitely fall under that banner.
Liberty: I agree about DC being a nerdlesque city. You could say NYC is as well, but honestly, that’s an everything city due to the sheer size of the scene. Philadelphia, on the other hand, would almost be more of a mixture city, but definitely not a city that is IN LOVE with nerdlesque. I might be the only regular nerdlesque producer in town.
What do you plan on doing next year to top this year?
Liberty: Next year, I have some plans to do some weird and wild scripted shows (sort of like the Star Wars one I’m producing on December 11th here in Philadelphia: The Farce Awakens) based on different directors and written in their style. For instance, on February 20th 2016, I am in the process of writing a John Waters show where David Lochary and Mink Stole a la Pink Flamingos host a public competition to find the “Filthiest Human Alive!”
Xander: Next year, who knows? I’ve had the privilege of being part of so many amazing productions in the last 12 months that I don’t know where things go from here, but I know they’ll be fun, and I hope people will come along with me. It’s been quite a journey so far, and I don’t see it stopping any time soon!
Glit-O-Rama presents All Kids Out of the Pool plays this Friday, December 18, 2015 at 9:00 PM, at Ottobar – 2549 North Howard Street, in Baltimore, MD, and Saturday, December 19, 2015 at 10:00 PM, at the Bier Baron – 1523 22nd Street, N.W. in Washington, DC. Tickets available at the door.
