Itty Bitty on a Bowling Pin
This week’s random bonus pic comes from our talented sister city, Portland:
Itty Bitty Bang Bang (photo by Greg the Mayor)
Rose City Shimmy’s Itty Bitty Bang Bang performed with this ridiculously amazing prop at Lebowski Fest. The fearless lady took some time to write about how the prop- and her involvement in the yearly festival- came to be:
My two greatest loves in life are burlesque and The Big Lebowski. So naturally one of the first acts I created when I started performing two years ago was a tribute to my favorite movie. I donned a bowling pin headdress for a burlesque version of The Dude’s drug induced dream “Gutterballs”. A few weeks later I heard that Lebowski Fest was hitting the road for a West Coast tour, and on a whim sent the organizers a video of my act. I was completely overjoyed when they invited me to perform at the Portland stop of the tour! The crowd loved it and I felt like I had died and gone to heaven.
I was beyond ecstatic when the Lebowski Fest crew asked me to join them again at the Seattle show in 2010 and I knew I needed to do something REALLY outrageous. I spent weeks brainstorming and playing with ideas. I had to find the perfect way to take my act to the next level. Finally I found my inspiration in a fabulous poster by Bill Green for the Los Angeles Fest. For “Gutterballs” 2.0 I needed an Itty Bitty sized bowling pin. My friend Jason, boyfriend Paco and I began a month of hard work and what-have-you creating the pin. I am so proud to have put plenty of my very own elbow grease in to this beautiful prop. My Rose City Shimmy sister, Charlotte Treuse, helped me perfect the final details of my costume and I was ready to hit the road for Seattle.
When the night finally came I was a ball of nerves, but once I stepped on to that stage and heard the cheers of a room full of Achievers – I was right at home! This act was especially created for that crowd, so receiving such an amazing response from them was one of the most rewarding and thrilling experiences I’ve had in my burlesque career. And that pin really tied the room together! The following night at the bowling party, I got to meet Achievers who traveled to the Fest from all over the Northwest and even won a trophy for my costume… not exactly a light weight. The whole weekend was just magical and it was an absolute honor to be a part of it. Now all I can think about is packing up the pin and traveling to Louisville next summer for the 10th Annual Lebowski Fest. That would be far out, man… far-fucking out!
**More on Itty Bitty Bang Bang and Rose City Shimmy can be found in the sidebar Suggested Peeping links, at right.
Burlesque Seattle Press 
I love it! So creative and perfect for Lebowski burlesque!
xo
Red Hot Annie