Hot Rods and Heels Recap

By: Hella Goode Photos: Mark Kaplan

Hot Rods and Heels, billed the largest pin-up festival in Texas, is an annual event that takes place every May in Dallas. The Lakewood Theater, a historic East Dallas Theater was home to the annual gathering, and while turnout was about the same as last years’ event, the much larger venue allowed for more breathing room than past event, and as one vendor put it — “Thank God — It’s not all assholes and elbows”. [Her colorful way of giving the thumbs up to a larger venue that was less crowded.]

The daytime activities included a car show- which boasted the Lucky 13 car club, as well as individual owners who had caught word of the festival and brought their mint condition hot rods in for the day. The daytime goers seemed to hang out outside with the hot rod show, as opposed to taking advantage of the workshops going on inside the theater; but by the 7pm Model showcase and runway fashion show, which was emceed by Dayna Delux, the entire crowd had filtered inside, and stayed planted for the 23 act burlesque show that followed; although the crowd thinned out a bit towards the end of the night when the show ran much later than the promised 11pm end time.

While staying true to the all Texan line-up that Hot Rods and Heels prides itself on, they did manage to encompass even more Texas cities this year, with performances representing Houston, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Austin, and Denton. The knock-out performances that drove the audience wild and got the loudest applause were Pixie O’ Kneel’s Car Wash Number, Coco Lectric’s Snake Charmer, Rosie Rawhyde’s classic piece, and Nick’s surprise Michael Jackson tribute.

While it was mainly industry types that stuck around for the awards ceremony, the loving energy was almost tangible. Congratulations to Coco Lectric, who took home the Performer of the Year title, Angela Ryan who won Pin-Up Model of the Year, and Austin’s The Jiggle Watts for best troupe. The newcomer category — One to Watch — went to burlesque entertainer Bunny Bailey and Pin-Up model Bondi Holly. Perhaps the largest applause of the night was for the surprise winner — Mark Kaplan of NakedLens.org who took home the Darling of the Year award.

Pegasus News summed up the night as, “The best pin-up show I have ever seen.” And I tend to agree. This is an event not to be missed, and I can’t wait until next year!

We recently asked Pixie O’ Kneel, co-producer & stage manager for Bewitching Burlesque to give us her tips and recommendations for auditioning for burlesque shows. Here’s her list:

Music

• Put your music on a CD and bring 2 copies. Make sure you use the blank discs that say “CD-R” on the packaging.
• Have the music for your audition piece and only that music on the CD. Don’t use your practice CD that is looped.
• Don’t expect the place you are auditioning to have hook ups for your IPod, or other MP3 player.

Video/DVD

• Move the furniture around so it is not blocking the view of you.
• Clear the room of pets and children, they are unpredictable and distracting.
• Have someone help you with the camera and the music or edit out the parts of you running over to start the camera and then running over to start the music.
• Make sure you are vertical on the screen and not horizontal.
• If you are not using a video link to your audition from a site such as YouTube, send a DVD and not a VHS tape.
• DVD vs. Video link? It is best to send a video link, unless you are specifically asked to send a DVD.

Time

• Be on time.
• Tardiness shows a lack of respect for others and that you are unreliable.
• Get directions, gas, and make sure you have all of your bits (costume, music, etc.).
• Have the contact info for the people in charge of the auditions in case of emergency or getting lost.
• Allow for an extra 15-20 minutes of drive time for traffic.

Closed Auditions

• “Closed audition” means the auditions are closed to the public.
• It can be very nerve-wracking to other “auditionees” to have people they don’t know at an audition. Seasoned performers may feel like they are giving a free show and debutantes could be just plain freaked out.
• Leave your friends at home. You can call and celebrate or commiserate when it’s over.

Gig Bag & Checklists

• Have one bag that you use just for gigs and auditions.
• Put everything you will need for the night in that one bag.
• A checklist is an invaluable tool.
• Make a list, save it on your computer and just print a copy every time you’re getting ready to audition.

Play Nice

• Be nice to the other performers in all aspects of the audition process.
• Don’t gossip. If you get the reputation of a gossip, you might just find yourself sitting in the corner by yourself.
• “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
• Lend a helping hand.
• Be respectful of others and their pre-audition “process”.
• Introduce yourself to the “newbies” and people you don’t know.
• Be humble.