Double Threat, Baby

Every week I read Strawberry Singh's blogger challenges and tell myself I am going to start doing them. The idea, if you don't know, is that she posts a "meme challenge" and encourages people to do their own and link to hers in the comments section of her blog. They are fun little ideas, especially if you're a blogger who is struggling for new material, which I am not, because I mostly ignore my blog, as you all know.

But I have some big news to announce this week, and I am hopping on Berry's meme to do it. The theme of the meme is "Double Threat", and I'm part of one! Starting next week, Meegan Danitz and the crew from After Dark are moving to Idle Rogue!

Double Threat

Two online screen names you’ve had: 
Meegan: embee21.  Usually some form or variation of embee. I can't think of another besides Meegan
Chry: I have been chryblnd since 1997, but I do use other screen names, including, of course, my Guild Wars 2 main, Artje Orestes. Wild-eyed Crazy Mary was an alt I used in the first chat I hung out in.
Two video games you’ve played: 
Meegan: LOL. I'm actually not much of a gamer other than SL.  I played a mean centipede back in the day but I think I'm exposing my age by saying that.
Chry: I like to say I play Guild Wars 2, but the truth is I don't find time much any more. I tell myself every day I will be back, but this Guerilla Burlesque thing, it's time-consuming.
Two things you love about Second Life: 
Meegan: Dance and Music.  It's pretty simple
Chry: The way it uncovers creativity in people who might not even know they have it; and the way you can immerse so completely in beauty.
Two things you’ve done in Second Life: 
Meegan: I'm a business owner and a performer.  Neither is anything I ever would have tried in RL.  I'm really quite shy.
Chry: Well there's naked parachuting. I also played roller derby for about five minutes
Two things you still want to do in Second Life: 
Meegan: I want to learn how to take better pictures.  I also want to learn to make particles.
Chry: I'd like to publish a really cutting edge media outlet. And learn to live mix as a DJ.
Two things you like about your Second Life avatar:  
Meegan: Meegan's ass. It really is fierce. I also think she has a sweet face and I like that.
Chry: Chry is muscular but still curvy. She looks strong, and I love that. She dresses well too.
Two of your Second Life Pet Peeves: 
Meegan: Forced landing points at shopping venues and random people asking me what's going on tonight.  Is your event search broken?
Chry: "I'm leaving". You are not, nobody leaves. Also conference calls summoning me to your event. C'mon. I already have you on my friends list, I am in your groups, and all the other music groups, I have you on facebook ... I know what you're doing, quit that one last spam shit.
Two things you did as a newb that you’re embarrassed of: 
Meegan: wearing boxes but I still do that.  Oh and wearing instead of adding clothes. I ended up nude on more than one occasion.
Chry: I refused to wear an ao for months because I didn't understand what they did. Now I can't even bear to look at someone else who hasn't one. Also, fell madly in love because I didn't know it was possible and didn't have my customary walls up.
Two of your closest friends in Second Life:  
Meegan: TheaDee and Chryblnd Scribe. I would have picked Cori but I'm closer to her in RL.
Chry: Oh this is a tough one. I'm not encouraged to have friends, in case it feels like favouritism. Plus the nature of my work is that I am more or less emotionally involved with people according to their needs, and it's a two way street. If someone I am working with needs extra emotional support, then I am often very close to them, but sometimes it's just for that period.
I will say this - Meegan Danitz has carried and sometimes dragged me through some rough days over the last year, and she does it with a kind of generous calm that I really respond to. I am also, of course, very close to Lingual Markus, who tells people I am his best friend when in reality he is much better to me than I am to him.
Two of the most beloved things in your inventory: 
Meegan: My obscenely large dance collection and my new mesh bodies
Chry: Jet, my dog, and the lip piercing made for me by that first love.

What does this merger mean for Idle Rogue? After Dark run a stylish and cool live music venue, where the attention to detail is perfect. They treat their musicians well, establishing productive relationships, nurturing their talent and promoting their endeavours. They treat the fans well, providing a warm and inclusive atmosphere in which to enjoy performances. So for Idle Rogue, this means we get live music run by people who care at the same high standard we do.

Additionally, over coming weeks we will move the Metaharper Interactive Gallery to it's own environment, making use of Gloriana Maertens graceful "Mayfair" build to house the cutting edge interactive dance stages. If you have not discovered these yet, they house fully-realised version of some of the best-known dance acts in SL. You just select the one you like, and the props and choreography will be rezzed for you as the music begins to play. Jump on the poser, and you are the dancer - it's a really great way to be part of the thrilling things happening in dance entertainment today.

I am beyond excited, and I hope you guys will make yourselves part of the new and vibrant community that can grow around this fusion of music and dance. Double threat? You bet we are! We are about to open the doors to the best entertainment sim in Second Life.

Mastering The Ring

As we put the finishing touches on a new round of Le Cirque de Nuit, I find myself reflecting on this creative process of mine. The mind map for this production is labyrinthine, it stretches back many years, and has been hand-drawn, shaded and re-coloured according to my personal belief system and the influences that have passed over that.

I always wanted a Circus. I thought burlesque and circus could work so well together, and that was the motivation behind The Beautiful Freaks Burlesque Circus. Beautiful Freaks was to be a kind of melding of circus, burlesque and dark cabaret influences. It worked too, but I let it go in a moment of self-doubt. Lesson One: Don't let that happen again.

 The story of how we came to The Night Circus is part of the annals now, and has been included in more than one interview: newly arrived at Guerilla Burlesque and on my Facebook friends list, Gloriana Maertens recommended a novel to me, and I was so caught by the imagery within it, it was easy to imagine it in Second Life.

It wasn't my first foray into an event production. Mark Moffre and L.David Hesler had both very generously allowed me to work with their original music to create dance entertainment productions, and I'd learned a great deal about managing my own team and piecing together the elements of a show on their time.

But Le Cirque De Nuit brought it's own magic with it. It arose at a time when I needed very badly to work, and at a time when Arrehn Oberlander's work towards scripted cameras began to show results. And, of course, at a time when Gloriana was available and willing to do the work of building it.

This is what I enjoy most in these projects. Imagining a notion, and drawing together the people who can profoundly influence it. I cannot now imagine a circus project as compelling, as satisfying, as the one Glori, Arrehn and I have majicked together - and I use the term deliberately. Cirque is charmed, I am convinced of it.

The original story, if you do not know, is a tale of two illusionists - one naturally gifted and born into The Business. One carefully selected and trained to it. They were raised to compete against each other, with the ultimate goal of proving which method is the more powerful.

I don't actually believe in magic, of course. But it's not hard to imagine the three of us casting our different energies at that sphere in the sky above Idle Rogue.And then came the dancers, every one of them on target despite a very soft brief. I hadn't known what we could have until they brought it, and it was an indescribable joy to watch it unfold.

I am not easy to work with. I choose people based on their talent, and then let them alone to work up their part of the process. I figure they'll call me if they need me, and I can move onto another part of the plan.

They hate it.

My mission, it transpires, is to try and manage creative people who are capable of a high level achievement. This requires a serious humility, and I sometimes fail at it. I do not doubt I take it all too seriously. But there is fun, there is wonderful fun, when it all comes together - and it comes together this weekend. I hope you can make it!

Style Notes

Body:
Skin - Amber Fair "Smokey" by League
Body and Hands - SLink Physique
Hair: Zaara in Black Amber (modified for hat) by D!va
Makeup - Circuit in Black by Beautiful Freaks (link to blog)
                 Harley by MUA
Eyes - Promise Oxidation by Ikon
Tattoo - Bohemian by Letis
Nails - Dante's Daddles by Koffin Nails

Clothing:

Coat: Alvira Frock Coat by Dark Passions
Chemise: from "Chantilly" by Boudoir
Pants: from "Applause" by GlitterMonster
Boots: Anakre from "Raine" by The Plastik

Accessories:
Monocle by Yasum
Hat by Timelines Vintage Couture
Cravat by Ladies Pleasure (marketplace)
Nose-ring by Zaara
Garter by LouLou & Co
Cane by Creative Insanity (marketplace only)

Idle Rogue Productions: Le Cirque de Nuit

What a wondrous journey Le Cirque de Nuit has been! In small but complex steps, this notion made it's way to me, from my first rudimentary attempt to combine circus and neo-burlesque, to the strangely rare gift of a book voucher serendipitously arriving at the same time as a new and clever friend, who recommended The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. The book was a cute and quick read, but the striking imagery of a monochromatic Victorian Circus stayed with me throughout the remainder of The Very Bad Year that was 2013.

Many things failed in 2013, and others were fatally wounded. Projects that should have been meteoric failed to launch, people who should have felt beloved did not, the fog of many unhappinesses clung to me wherever I rode, but as the year ended I dreamed of a black and white steampunk circus, and when I woke, the idea stayed luminous; by December the dream was a plan, and it strengthened and consolidated throughout the first months of 2014.

Le Cirque de Nuit demanded all the time it needed. We thought we'd be performing it in January, February at the latest, but it was April before everything was in place. In that time, Gloriana Maertens built an enchanting environment that was an inspiration to everyone who saw it; Arrehn Oberlander joined the project with a formidable skillset and enough will to see this project through to a higher level. The two of them gave me toys that weren't even whispers in my dreams, and they polished and refined them as we watched the various other elements fall together around this charmed endeavour.

We called for auditions, and warned hopeful candidates that we intended to edit their work to get it to a higher standard than anyone had seen before. And one by one the candidates brought us intricate, beautifully realised acts that required nothing from us but our delight. Stars from all over the grid came willingly to work with us, hard-working, gifted performers who agreed time and again to rehearse with us, to meet with Arrehn, to learn new tools and new ways of performing. Not once was there a tantrum or a rift: everyone who joined this project brought with them goodwill and diligence, and sustained it even when they weren't quite sure of the vision. I am so grateful to you all for staying with me, for trusting in the concept and in our ability to make it real.

Two days before the April 6th premiere, we held a "teaser" preview for SL media, and as they reacted, we knew it was really, truly the spellbinding achievement we suspected it could be. Opening night audiences were rapturous, with the sim filling at both performances within minutes and people left outside the sime clamouring for a chance to see it.

Tonight we perform it again, two more times, in hopes of satiating some of the demand. Is it my magnum opus? Is it that one lucky time when everything fell into place? Is it the beginning of a SLifetime of producing totally immersive, high-quality original entertainment? Is it enough, just one time, to wash the taste of ash from my mouth?

Le Cirque de Nuit is a dance entertainment production set in a black-and-white steampunk circus, and will be performed to audiences on the Idle Rogue sim in Second Life at 7pm and 10pm on Saturday, April 19th. It features original performances by 13 professional dancers from around Second Life, as well as art installation interludes in a 90-minute production.Seats are limited to ensure a high-quality production, so the sim will be reset an hour before each performance. Audiences are advised to arrive early, seat their avatar and remove all unnecessary scripts and devices to assist the performance.
An Idle Rogue Production.

2013 Retrospective

Merry Christmas everyone, my very best wishes to you, that you will find time for play and for love and especially for creativity (however you enjoy it) in these busy days. Spend time with people you adore, and please adore yourself, for without you, you have nothing. It's hard to do, believe me, no-one knows like I do, but if you think about what being loved should feel like, and do it for yourself, you cannot really lose, right?

2013 opened with the flurry of the Dance Queens awards. I wanted us to win. I wanted me to win. I wanted that recognition, from our peers and for the entire grid. I wanted to say "winner of the 2013 Dance Queens Award for ..." in our promo. I wanted my dancers to see what they have become.

It seems a little hollow, now, and not just because it got white-anted by bitterness. Guerilla Burlesque is a phenomenon, it fills the house at every show. It pleases audiences who see it, and it draws the best talent on the grid to be part of it. It inspires great loyalty in it's fans. There really aren't any awards that match that feeling of watching a dancer take a concept through to completion, or watching a team combine together like fine machinery. I am ever-lastingly proud of Guerilla Burlesque. I know I am not universally admired, and this troupe lost many dancers it would have been nice to keep; nevertheless, those who have stayed all display characteristics I find to be the best of human nature. They are diligent, warm-hearted, sensitive, open, smart, giving and immensely creative. It is an honour, truly, to breathe the air they breathe.

I wonder how many of you, who thought you would struggle to find a place as the team shifted and changed, think back through the year and see just how close we've all become. Guerilla Burlesque is a force of nature, baby, and I thank you if you are someone who's hung on for the full ride.

Losing the luxurious privilege of owning a whole sim was very hard, and I miss the unlimited potential. But Idle Rogue will always survive, in some form, and I am still, always, so grateful to Cait for giving me the playground of my dreams.

My inter-personal skills remain a bit of a worry, but I am working on it, and I know I have made some major progress this year. That said, there are times when the malice I draw baffles me. One person, and one person only, gets the unedited version of chry, and I will admit he finds it very hard going. The rest, including those malcontents who think I have or had something they deserve, are making shit up. It's more annoying than anything. I did a great job in difficult circumstances, and it won't be done as well now that I am not doing it any more. Other than that I am at ease. I try to give my best, in everything I do. But I am not everyone's cuppa tea, as we say in the antipodes.

It's no secret I spent way too much time in Guild Wars 2 this year. I love it, though Burn2 broke it's grip on me a little; it's also true to say that I once felt I was becoming part of the community there, and I no longer feel this way, which made playing the game more optional than it had been. I really only like World vs World, and my partner likes many other aspects of the game. That means, in a practical sense, that I just don't go there as much.

Let's not forget, after four very long and humbling years, I finally got a real job, and there's no doubt in my mind that just that fact has made a huge difference to my attitude to everything around me right now.

As the year draws to a close, I am busy, in both lives, and I don't have the time to dwell on things that are re-shaping right now. I am very very excited about Le Cirque de Nuit, a project that will take the next several weeks to pull together, but which I hope to turn into one of the most successful, cutting edge collaborations of 2014. I am also delighted and honoured by the calibre of the people who have lately expressed interested in projects we are working on. I am stimulated by the possibilities ahead of us all.

Chill the champers, babies, let's ring it in, I'm keen to get going on it :-)

Burned for life

I'd always wanted to have a camp at the virtual Burning Man Festival, certainly after I learned of the Metaharpers and their camp, but all the way along. The festival idea is not a new one for me, most people know Idle Rogue's live music stages are designed to emulate outdoor festival stages. I have a long history of outdoor concerts and bike runs in my real life, to me it's the Australian Way.

In real life there's a good chance I'd avoid the Burning Man Festival. I don't actually care much for the heat, and it sure looks hot out there. Interestingly, the virtual festival coincided with local heatwaves and fires, so I didn't really escape by going virtual; but I enjoy that juxtaposition of the two environments, it makes the immersion more savoury.

Make no mistake, it is expensive to go to Burn 2. The parcel we procured through the generous donations of Idle Rogue supporters cost 12000 linden dollars - $48USD. For that we got a 1024m² parcel with 468 prims for roughly six weeks. The event itself runs for a week, and it runs on the same principles as the rl festival. There are no tips or other income. So that $48 bucks is spent for love.

But oh, Burn! How I loved you!

chry goes feral

The Idle Rogue community has been in a kind of recess, for one reason and another. The downsize meant we had to fore go the housing and the new resident program. The community has been languishing anyway while I licked my wounds by falling in love with another game. It's my belief that successful venues consist of a nucleus around which a wider community are loosely gathered. Those things are still very much part of Idle Rogue, and we wouldn't be who we are without Chewie, Jess, Di and Shippy. But some faces are gone, the flavour has changed, and we are in a form of stasis.

For me, the Burn2 project was a return, of sorts, to Second Life. I have spent more time there over the past month than I have for a long time, indeed, since The Big Ruckus of 2012. And it was good! It was fun!

Shippy's glorious Observation Tower, our home away from home on the playa

I talked to strangers, and watched them fashion beautiful things purely for the enjoyment of passersby. I learned their stories, I listened to them wax about their Burn experiences, their philosophical ideals, the ethics they have developed and how those are shaped by the Burn and by Second Life. I saw passion, I saw real joy, I saw kindness and spiritual generosity. I watched people transformed by their engagement with this virtual environment. I heard people cry at the Temple Burn, I saw them entranced as the man burned.

And then there was my team, Guerilla Burlesque, who grabbed hold of my vision and ran like bandits with it. They made beautiful, thought-provoking performance art and gave it to everyone who was interested to come and watch. They, also, met and engaged strangers, made people welcome and gave them memories. They were generous with their time and thoughtful with their energy. They were endearing, curious and made me full with love and pride.

Dance like everyone is watching

All of it, every bit of it, was the enchanting human at humanity's best. My humble thanks go, in no particular order (well except for first and last, who are first and first), to Thea Dee, GMetal, Meegan Danitz, GarGraVarr Rau, February Jinx, Cool Plasma, Jess Cauld, Gloriana Maertens, Azabella Alamar, Zahra Ethaniel, Huntress Cattaneo, Jordan Reyne, Maeve Branner, BabyPea von Phoenix, Knowledge Tomorrow, Biebi, Aubreya Joszpe, Deb Heron, Chewie Quixote, Tukso Okey, Padula Bing, Pol Arida, Jenna Dirvall, Darkshore, Mulder Watts, Leroy Horton, Mercutio Evanier, Diawa Bellic, Buttermilk Panacek, Eifachfilm Vacirca, Trinity Hunghi, and most especially, forever and always, Shippy.

"Wolf" Act Part 3 - choreography

omg gah! Did you guys realise this act is due this Friday night? Where did our twenty days go?

I'll never be half the instinctive dancer he is

We are up to choreography - the bit I struggle with hardest. Some people, like my partner, have some kind of photographic memory for the dance animations, and can hotkey the shit out of any musical situation. I have tested Diawa Bellic countless times, and she is always able to find a sequence of dances that will fit the music I have played, within seconds of first hearing it.

 But I can do none of these things.

 Choreography, for me, means setting aside countless hours to test dances against the music. Yes, I listen to the song I am using over and over again through this process. Not many songs make it out the other side with as much favour as they went in.

It should come as no great surprise that I have no real life dance expertise. I am that person who doesn't dance until they're so drunk they should be prevented from dancing. I will dance at home though (which is a good thing, since it's many moons since I got that drunk, and really, a life without dance would be no life at all). I trained in ballet, as a young girl, but unsurprisingly lacked the discipline to do it properly and drifted out of it before I hit high school. I am not the woman who scampers joyfully to belly dance or burlesque classes.

But I know what looks right, and I know how to feel a beat and stick to it, and that's how I do my choreo.

The first stop is always A&M Mocap, and regular readers will know why that is. The first time I went to A&M, I was so besotted I was there for four hours. I am still there for hours, but I must admit it's not the joyous experience it was then. The animators at A&M Mocap have a great sense of theatrical dance, and I think it's important to see and recognise the difference. These dances, as beautiful, emotional and sensual as they are, are not for use in clubs - though A&M have plenty of dances which are - and to my mind, it's similarly true that club dances don't look good on stage.

the advent of mesh has added a new set of hazards for choosing a dance

I'm no  fan of Gor, but I think we professional dancers owe the girls who come to SL to play slaves and concubines a great debt; their active engagement with SL has ensured a legacy of sensual and performance-oriented dance. Some of my very earliest dances and poses come from the Gorean lifestyle.

So based on what we know about my dancing style, we know we need rhythm. The song has a good pace to it, it's looking for fast and big steps ... but I think the story calls for some dignity too. It's the story of the respect and love "wolf mother" inspires. So she won't be prancing, and she won't be rolling around on the floor. But you knew I would say that anyway, right?

Each time I do a new act, I purchase 4 new dances. A dance animation is usually around 26 seconds, and a song is roughly four minutes long. So I buy four new dances when it makes sense, and use between 2 and 4 that I already own.

You can't really say this too many times, so here's my PSA for the day: Do NOT buy trans/no copy animations. Yes, they can be as much as 200L cheaper. But you only have to lose your hud one time to realise your investment was pitifully inadequate. We know 4 new dances will cost 400L each. That's 1600L, for those playing at home. A Guerilla Burlesque dancer will earn 700-1000L in a Friday night show. My second PSA for the day - do not go into professional dancing thinking it will make money.

Suddenly it's midnight, and I have bought four dances - Thought You Knew, Spring Jive, The Arrival and Aziza, all from A&M. I'm sleepy, I have to stop now, but I'd wanted to have a look at Henmations and My-Animation too. I like Henmations dances very much. I am less impressed with My-Animation, but I love their AO stuff so much I will use any excuse to go by and see what's new. And sometimes it's a great dance :-D.

I caught a break, in that no-one else is ready for Sunday night rehearsal either. We'll reschedule to Wednesday, which wreaks havoc on my other jobs, but buys me a little more time to pull this act out of my head and onto the stage.

Chry's interview with Gem Karas from the Australian Trader

One of the most inspiring and talented people I have met in SecondLife has to be Chryblnd Scribe, a tireless and enthusiastic worker for her group Idle Rogue and Second Life in general. Her infectious personality seems to inspire other to give of their best.
Caught up with Chry this week to find out a little more about what makes her tick!
Gem: What was your first impressions when discovering SL?

Chry: Heh ... like so many of us, I rezzed on the Pond Estates, and was bumbling around, more than a little out of my depth, when Parky Lane dropped out of the sky looking all kinds of glamorous, and helped me find my way from orientation into the game lol. I have never lost that sense of wonder, that instant bonding as I learned I could create things, put things together that were really beautiful, and meet other people who have this same (sometimes untapped) creative streak in them, that SL lets loose.
Gem: To us you seem to be a woman of many facets, are there parallels in Rl?
Chry: It is my profound belief that, if you allow it, SL simply distills and underscores who you are as a real person. And you will know who you are, what moves and motivates you, and what you wish you could change, if you pay attention to the choices you make in your Second Life. There are many things it turns out I am, in RL, that I didn't really recognise until they wove themselves through the ether.
Gem: What was your Inspiration behind Idle rogue?
Chry: I was raised by people who lived the philosophy that you get out and create the community you want to be part of, and that is all that I wanted Idle Rogue to be. A community where like-minded people could come and be who they are. Idle Rogue grew organically. I'm a little bit alternative, so it's a little bit alternative. The people who enjoy it best are people who have similar interests to mine, and they are who makes it strong. Idle Rogue is the community I always wanted to live in.
Gem: Have you had any disapointments?
Chry: Of course! We are dealing with humans, and I am relentlessly human myself. I've had painful personal losses that I still struggle to accept. I will say, though, that my biggest disappointment, and this is true for many committed SLers, I think, is that SL remains a misunderstood "fringe" medium. We all, to a more or less degree, treat it like our dirty little secret, and perpetuate the notion that there's something not-quite-right about having a virtual life, when in fact, having a virtual life allows us to explore, trust, create, love, in a way many people will NEVER get from their real life.
Gem: Your greatest highlights are?
Chry: My greatest moments have come from times when I see my friends and family pull together. There are times on Idle Rogue, or with Guerilla Burlesque, or when a group of Idle Rogues travel to an outside event, when I am just bursting with joy to part of such a diverse, engaged and clever group of people. They make friends wherever they go, they get involved with things on the grid, they're people who do, and they do it without bullshit or drama. An Idle Rogue is never alone, and that's actually a pretty awesome thing.
I often say that everything I do, I do for Idle Rogue. The highlight is and always has been that Idle Rogue is worth it.
Gem: Where to now for Chryblnd Scribe?
Chry: Honestly? I have no clue. I am flattered to be offered marvelous opportunities almost constantly. And I am lucky to have the time to be able to accept some of them, though the unadorned truth is that I badly need real life work.
All I really do, in everything I do, is look for ways to help my friends live the kind of Second Life they want. I manage time and resources in a way that lets them get on with doing the (much cooler) stuff that they do, and by "they" I mean the musicians I work with, the dancers in Guerilla Burlesque, the content creators on Idle Rogue. It turns out that this is a kind of leadership, but it's just so exciting, for me, knowing that if I do my stuff right, they can do their stuff brilliantly. It is most definitely, as anyone will tell you, a work in progress, but I'm getting there!

For the few who have yet to see Guerilla Burlesque (SL), it's a show not to be missed, the talent and professional performers make this a rivetting hour of music and dance.
The key to Chryblnd Scribe's success is simple, good music, good friends, and a different slant on life, she helps open your eyes to what can be.

Story by Gem Karas
Pictures by Whelan Ferraris Australian Trader, November 2012

Dresses: Left - GizzA - Dolly Dress [Lace]

              Right -  salt. summer romance vintage sundress
                           Slink Womens Natural Barefeet (Mesh Rigged) (with thanks to Sho Kyong for her patient help with skin-matching)

Teardrop featuring the Guerrilla Burlesque Dancers

My girls rock. Practicing for a Guerilla strike on Bowie Bravin's show (for my rezzday), we were captured by the eagle eye of Ormand Lionheart. This is his machinima.

chain of events

tip, noun, verb
a small present of money given directly to someone for performing a service or menial task; gratuity: He gave the waiter a dollar as a tip.

Things you may not know about me: In my country, "tipping" is not a cultural norm. Here, we are paid wages for work, and rarely, a gratuity for a job well done. I have many years of RL work history in the hospitality industry and can count the instances of tipping on one hand.

No matter where you are from, however, it only takes a few days in SL to realise that "tipping" forms the basis of the economy. At almost every venue and many shops, you will be invited to tip the venue, the performer, and sometimes the staff working for the venue. In every venue I have been to, this "tipping" is, in fact, the only payment for any entertainment enjoyed by people using the venue. There are no cover or door charges, and very few membership or subscription fees.

Since I started working inSecond Life, I have worked for tips. To me, from my cultural perspective, this means, in order to be tipped for my work, I must do a "better than usual" job; as an entertainer and as the owner of an entertainment venue, I have struggled at times to ensure that my work was the best it could possibly be. I did what I could to make sure my work as a performer was diligent and committed. I made sure my venue was competently run and outfitted.

As a performer, I was aware I was not to everyone's taste. Knowing I was "light" on the standard themes and practices (grrr@emoting). I always assumed I would appeal to a "niche" market, and was comfortable with that.

But lately my niche has dropped away. Lately I have made consistently less in tips than the other performers. And it has occurred to me, as I watched my ability to provide for my virtual life dwindle, that perhaps times or tastes have changed. Often, at shows, the audience would be filled with friends of one or another dancer. My friends either couldn't attend, or were broke. And I was not reaching the audiences who were in attendance.

On Saturday night I made a clear 500L less than the other dancers. All of them. I am well aware of how and why it occurred, and there IS reason, but let's pretend that I am wrong, and I am just 500L less quality than other dancers. That's a significant difference. Particularly at a Factory show. The Factory is supposed to be the flagship venue of Virtual Burlesque. In my opinion, if a dancer is 500L worse than the rest of the team, she is below the required standard.

So I retired.

And as I considered retiring from burlesque, I remembered that I took up burlesque to pay some of Idle Rogue's expenses. And that my work has not, for some time, come close to meeting the weekly outgoings of running Idle Rogue. And that was when I realised that Idle Rogue had to stop too.

more to come ...

The Big Show

Inspiring, exhausting, intimidating, creative, time-consuming, rewarding.Way more good than bad.

Idle Rogue is producing a show. It is my current obsession, so much so that disappointments in other areas of my life are rendered disinteresting. If you're finding yourself a little ignored, sorry, but I'm busy.

It all started when I discovered the singer for my favourite band was launching solo performances. I immediately booked him and he performed following a performance of The Beautiful Freaks Burlesque Circus. The dancers loved him, I've always loved him, and he loved us right back. It seemed a natural progression that we should work together, but the project took months to warm up, because of commitments on both sides.

Bowie Bravin is a prolific and talented musician. He collaborates electronically with musicians across the globe. He is a buoyant and dynamic personality and a pleasure to work with. His voice is an absolute gift, and lucky me, I spend a portion of each day listening to it.

Bowie and Deep Sky Traveler both give an amazing show experience, with lighting, special effects and warm personalities. Beautiful Freaks likes to hand out an experience, too. So the challenge, for us, has been to make a show that looks astonishing and provides a foil for Bowie's talent, but equally, ours.

Enter Slappy Doobie. Friends will know that Slappy is my not only my best friend, but my collaborator, mentor and yes, idol. I have yet to see her fail at achieving something she set out to do. She is a legendary builder and a gifted graphic artist. She brings a wealth of rl experience to every project, and her imagination is completely unconstrained. To Slappy was given the unenviable task of building s stage that would, as a minimum, equal the work Kentarr Vendetta does for Deep Sky Traveler, and, preferable add in features specific to the show we want to present. Did she succeed?

Does she ever fail?

wtf is this crap?

Crap Mariner is a robot whose internet "presence" is undeniable. Being a robot, Crap is presumably gender moot, but I have no idea. I love Crap's name, it's been rolling around my head for a few days. I love Crap's blog, which I've only just begun reading and do not yet profess to understand. I am very aware that Crap is highly regarded in certain circles, and Crap's opinions are touted across the length and breadth of the grid.

My morning lately consists of reading blogs and perusing the network sites. This morning I read that Crap Mariner "will only tip performers that are listed in Tunes inSL" and "will only tip venues that display the sign" for the same entity. Immediately, I thought I had better check out this thing called Tunes in SL, because I would hate to miss out on a life-sustaining venue tip simply by not having understood the importance of the Tunes in SL venture.

To be honest, I was expecting something worthily connected, perhaps raising awareness, or funds for some righteous cause. But no. Or not, at least, at it's inception. "I started off Tunes inSL because I had been given a bunch of iTunes gift certificates and wanted to buy music from SL performers with them." Oh, okay. So this is Crap's personal project. Right. Well ... it's a good idea. And it supports live music, which many of us enjoy and which needs support.

In case you didn't know, here's a quick rundown on how live music works in SL. This is the generalised version. We all have friends, god knows, Idle Rogue would not survive without them. And friends make special concessions to friends, that's understood. But if you are a new venue or a new artist in Secnond Life, the procedure goes something like this:

* Artists equip themselves to stream effectively into SL, with such musical instruments, hardware and software as they can afford to provide the best quality performance. They then seek venues to perform at and hopefully deliver performances that encourage a fan base. Common wisdom has it that startout artists will work for tips. Artists with a small fan base will work for 1000-1500L. Artists whose group has more than 100 members can command fees starting from 4000L.

* Venues rent or buy the land and build or buy the premises they will operate from. They undertake to meet the costs of running the venue and can do this by sourcing revenue in any of the usual ways - subletting real estate, retailing content, and tips from avatars to the venue. They also use these funds to pay the artists the fees mentioned above.

* The theory, as I have come to understand it, is that artists with a large following will bring good "traffic" to the venue. That traffic will then spend money in the various ways mentioned above. That money goes to the venue operator and is used to, at least, offset, the costs of paying for the performer.

* The problem, as I see it from a venue owner's perspective, is that staging a live performance actually brings very little return to the venue. Avatars assume that the artists are working for tips only, and naturally give their lindens to the talent. Large or popular gigs are extremely hard going for a lot of fans, and lag prevents them from camming around and purchasing something that might take their fancy. And fans, by their nature, follow the artist. They do not stay on after the gig, have a look around, purchase items or join the group with the intention of returning on a regular basis.

So when Crap Marriner announces that tips for the month of February will only go to those who support Crap's personal venture, I cringe on behalf of Idle Rogue, and on behalf of the artists who so generously share their time with us there.

Because it's not just about me and my little club, though in the past few weeks I have watched several well-known and loved venues fold. It's not even just about all clubs. Because, you see, the only artists who can be on Tunes in SL are "performers with music for sale".

So, for my fledgling artists - who are scrambling to get up to the speed of real world money earners like The Follow; who are in beg/borrow/steal mode to get good equipment in order to compete; and who haven't even begun to consider how or whether to record and distribute their music - the tips of Crap Marriner, and those who follow Crap's advice, will not be a prospect. At least for this month.

The Follow, incidentally, cost a venue 15000L for an hour's access. Please tip your venues. Take my word for it, they are hurting.

EDIT: To his credit, Crap Mariner has taken the time to respond to this post in his own blog, and I urge anyone with further interest in the matter to give him a fair hearing. I appreciate the time he took to consider and respond to my opinion.

100124 Burly Factory on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I would like, when I remember, to post my acts from E&S Burlesque Factory's Saturday Night Revue. This show is always a spectacular, and a great deal of hard work goes into the performances.

This week I wanted to do something for Australia Day, simply because there is so much celebration of other nation's national days.

The dress is from Violator. It is the ludicrously expensive Eva And The Snake, which was a gift from a friend. It's an amazing creation, I'll grant you, and looked stunning. Based on today's earnings, I will only need to wear it fifteen more times for it to have paid for itself - but since I didn't pay for it, the point is moot. No disrespect to Soraya Vaher intended - I certainly understand her philosophical leanings, and more power to her, she's making real money from her work.

There are a few more pictures from the act at Tilly Theas' flickr page:

100124 Burly Factory on Flickr - Photo Sharing!.

While you are there, check out her stunning photos from the Deep Sky Traveler show at Idle Rogue. What an amazing night!

Tweak Tweak

I have spent this week making changes to the Idle Rogue Complex.

Before Y left SL, the parcel next to Idle Rogue became available, and it seemed a bad business decision not to take it, not least because, like all landholders, I will always need more prims. I joined the 3000 club with the idea of putting in a retail mall, with affiliate vendors to generate some income and space for group members to rezz their own vendors. The store complex didn't take off, really, partly because of the build (mine) which gave it a shrouded air, and partly because I didn't give it the attention it deserved. Beautiful Freaks was born just one epiphany later, and my emotional energy was going into acts for BF and for Ellie's Burlesque. I am extremely creative when I am miserable ... but not especially good with people.

I have always wanted Idle Rogue to be a "hub" for like-minded souls. The people who associate with Idle Rogue are all generous and spirited people. We like to socialise, we prefer chat to gestures, we love to make new residents feel a little more comfortable. There are so many "people" people around Rogue, it seems a shame that we're not there more often.

Mainstream media who have lately addressed Second Life often point out that it's hard to find anyone. To new arrivals, the grid seems a vast, though pretty, wasteland. I know when I rezzed, my ISP had a well-developed presence inworld, which made it considerably easier to find other avatars and begin the journey. The Pond Estates closed in December last year, and an amazing number of avatars attended her to her death. We are all a little less anchored without her.

For all of these reasons, and a few more, Idle Rogue has undergone a small renovation.

There are photos of the old layout here, and shots of the new Idle Rogue here.

Miss Busy

When you love outside your own timezone, there will be casualties.

I always felt we existed in a kind of twilight, since my early mornings were his evenings, and vice versa, though once the torrent of words began, whole days and nights could and did disappear. I couldn't stop it, I couldn't bear to tear myself away. After a while, though, one of us had to, and so he did.

I rented Idle Rogue within a month of rezzing. It was to be a space to build, so it didn't matter that it was a mountainside block. I covered it with trees and a pagoda, put in a chess table and sine wave's kung fu balls (better than sex - though frankly I have nothing on which to base that comparison).

As he withdrew from Second Life, he added me more and more to his real life, always with the understanding that he would be back. And from time to time, often, really, he did come back. And when he wasn't there, I waited for him. I don't wait easily, so I got busy.

First it was a Christmas Party. My first actual building ~lol~ a platform that looked like an iced pond, but it was fun. There was lots of fun there. After the christmas party was over, I came up with the idea of an all day music festival, and that grew out of hand to include a designer market. Idle Rogue Live was successful, so we thought we may as well address the shortcomings of the venue. A sleepless weekend later, Idle Rogue stood as it now stands. I have much love for that building. It will stand for some time yet.

By then, of course, I was learning the hard lesson that all aspiring live venues must learn: live acts are expensive, and operators get very little return on the fee they pay to have an act appear. Avis rarely tip the venue, and they disappear as soon as the act is over. It was always our aim to be self-supporting inworld ... but I lack the skills to be a successful content creator.

I had an idea to put together a "show", something different to, or more than, a live act. I wanted to run a blues night, and couple a performance from Arman Finesmith to, I hoped, a performance by a traveling burlesque troupe. And it was on my hunt for this traveling burlesque troupe that I walked into Ellie's Burlesque Club on Jupyter. I walked out with a job, and a burlesque diva was born.