It was the week of the show. It had all come together and we had sold 10 tickets. I was straight freaking out. All these synchronicities and wild enrollment was falling flat. And then, like magic, the day before the show the thing SOLD OUT! What the what?!?!?! Against all the odds the show went on. The opener were the two then owners of Studio Rouge, and they dazzled with their pole spinning. Tasi Rigsby twirled with her professional partner. This one was the only one I have performed in. My smile was straight perma-grin. Joe Bare rocked the house. The Zebras were a smash hit. The Lion and Tamer act freaked the grandmas out. The Acrobats were amazing. The Marionette act, brilliant. The Siamese Twin brought tears to the eyes with creative melancholy. The Snake Charmer act was complete with real live snake, and the Patient Husband played the diggeridoo.

Shakedown’s first ever Contortionist.

At the end of this show, I was beside myself. Beside torn stockings and my face was sore from smiling so big and eyes swollen from crying tears of joy. Here was the thing, the really interesting thing, that I had not expected: guests from this show walked up to me afterward and said, “I want to be in the next Shakedown!’. I could barely process what they were saying let alone wrap my head around what that would mean, or how that would be done…. But I got that folks were down with Shakedown. It was fun, outrageous, enthusiastic, powerful and sexy, and as full as I was that night at curtain call, there was more to come.

XOXO- The Ringleader

SOLD OUT

Team work

A series of important past events, that grew to be Shakedown