Femme2006: Conversations and Explorations
Saturday Evening Cabaret
Saturday, August 12th, 2006
12 Galaxies
2565 Mission Street @ 22nd
San Francisco, CA . 94110
415-970-9777
Doors open at 8pm, show begins at 9pm
DJ La Niche (MANGO) and DJ Olga T (BUTTA) spinning from 11:30pm to 2am after the performance.
Free for Conference Attendees
$15.00 or more (sliding scale) for those not attending the conference
Click here to check out the program schedule

	Rosie Lugosi the Vampire Queen, co-emcee for Saturday's performance, is Manchester England's very own undead performer extraordinaire. She has been described as ‘one of the country's finest performance poets' (Apples and Snakes) and a ‘must-see act' (The Fed). But poetry is not her only talent - she is also a riveting cabaret chanteuse, entertaining with her own brand of twisted tunes. These include perverse parodies of well-loved songs from Elvis to Andy Williams and Mozart arias. www.rosielugosi.co.uk
	Erika (aka Bubblinsugare) Rawlins, co-emcee for Saturday's performance, is a femme who for the past three years has donned the hat of educator. She has been active in the theater scene in Sacramento for decades. She most recently has begun an emcee career in the Bay Area at Butch-Femme and BAITTS events. Recently she has made the move to Silicon Valley with her partner and is happy to have made the move. Her hobbies include but are not limited to, reading, shopping, cooking and being Auntie Mame to her wonderful nephew and niece.
	Susan Stinson's novels are Fat Girl Dances with Rocks, Martha Moody and Venus of Chalk , a 2005 Lambda Literary award finalist . Belly Songs: in celebration of fat women is her collection of poetry and lyric essays. She has spoken and performed at Smith College , Amherst College , Dartmouth College , Nolose, NAAFA, SisterSpit Northampton, among many others. Her work has been widely published in anthologies and journals such as Kenyon Review , Size Queen, Curve, Women's Review of Books and Diva . http://www.susanstinson.net Photo by Katie LeBesco
	Tara Hardy is a working class queer femme poet who founded Bent, a writing institute for LGBTIQ people in Seattle , WA .  A daughter of the United Auto Workers, and activist in the Battered Women's Movement, she was elected Seattle 's Poet Populist and won Seattle Grand Slam Champion in 2002. www.tarahardy.com
	It could be the elephant trunk attached to her crotch, or the dozens of blown up latex gloves surrounding her torso, but you just know that sultry bombshell on stage isn't your uncle's burlesque dancer.  She's Miss Indigo Blue -- and get ready, because she's one comely coquette that will leave you panting for more. Sexy, funny, irreverent and ingeniously clever, Miss Indigo Blue flirts with the edgy, exotic and erotic fringes of burlesque. Evoking the elegant tease of legend Gypsy Rose Lee, and inspired by the brilliant comic wit of Whitney Biennial recipient Julie Atlas Muz, Miss Indigo is more than just a great practitioner of the ol' bump and grind; she enlivens her performances with a heady blend of brainy and bawdy that makes audience's mouths water, as their minds whirl. For the last ten years , this “nouveau burlesque” entertainer has titillated crowds across the country and in Europe with her wild tassel-twirling techniques and smart, sexy, and funny skits.  With a strong dance and theater background and extensive experience as a stripper, Miss Indigo Blue brings sensuality, sexuality, eroticism, and humor to her carefully crafted routines. Miss Indigo is known for her creative and hilarious surprises, erotic dance skills, detailed and authentic retro 1930's-1960's costuming, and naughty reformulations of favorite characters like Holly Golightly and Wonder Woman. www.twirlygirl.net
	Darrah de jour (Los Angeles, CA) is a femme who likes to belly dance to hip hop in her living room and whose work has been published by Lodestar Quarterly, Alyson Books, InSightOut Books (ISO), Mother Tongue Ink (2006), butchdykeboy.com, Doorknobs & BodyPaint (2005, 2006), and will be featured in the forthcoming anthology, Desire in Transition . She was a featured performer at the "Trans/Genderqueer Literature Celebration" at Circus of Books in West Hollywood in April; an event filmed by the West Hollywood cable network.  She has performed theatre, song and experimentally since a child, at venues including, The Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, Center for New Words, Gender Crash, Out of the Blue Gallery, with Boston's cutting-edge street theater troupe, Dagger, and on various stages on the West Coast, including, Ryka Aoki de la Cruz's, Trans/Giving , and Eve Ensler's, The Vagina Monologues , at the Directors Guild of America, in Hollywood. She played “Annette” in Michael Ritchie's award-winning satire, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader Murdering-Mom , starring Holly Hunter and Beau Bridges .  Currently, she is editing a novel and auditioning. www.darrahdejour.com
	Bring Your Own . . . is a cabaret collective based out of Vancouver , BC , Canada .  We are a queer focused, femme centric group of activists and performers who produce cabaret events made up of dance numbers, short scenes and musical acts which break expectations and titillate the senses.  We want to push your buttons and then unbutton them.
	Nakera Denise is a 24-year-old spoken word artist, playwright, feminist, poet, and speaker that currently resides in Orlando, Fl. Chaney is originally from Newark , NJ . She has been writing for much of her life. She says that she finds much of her inspiration from things she either sees or experiences in life. She has published two CD's (most recently "The Right to Write" in 2005), and has performed at many venues around the country from Chicago to New York City to Alabama . For the most part, Chaney is an underground artist; however, it is her intentions to soon change that with the tour of a play that she has written based on her life. In her writings, Chaney addresses many issues of politics, socio-economic differences, misogyny, and future hopes for the African American community. All of Nykieria's written works and her performances command the attention of all who read and hear it, and demands deep contemplation by all who understand it.
	From the creative minds behind guerrilla burlesque and Diamond Daggers come the showgirl stylings of Twilight Vixen Revue. Prepare to be dazzled and delighted by this queer quintet as they dance, vamp, and wink their way into your heart. These girls have it all—captivating choreography, hypnotic high heels, sparkles, spangles, and plenty of sass. Featuring Scarlett Bottoms, Daisy Delight, Penny Whistle, Madelyn Marrrowww and Cherry Lix...this is burlesque as you have never seen it before.  www.twilightvixen.com
	María Cristina Rangel (aka Cherry Galette) is a West Coast based sinvergüenza queer Chicana femme theatre artist and multi-genre writer of works for both the page and the stage. Believing that autobiographical work continues to offer one of the most essential forums for bridging communication between diverse communities, Cherry's work offers a counter-discourse to dominant forms of imperialist/colonialist/nationalist media through pieces that manifest the multidimensional struggles of day to day survival that queer people of color often face. She has graced stages from coast to coast, and is the two-time recipient of the Gertrude Posner Spencer Prize in Fiction and Non-Fiction, the Premio El Andar in Creative Non-fiction, the Word Up! Award in Poetry, and was selected in 2000 as one of seven playwrights from the US to attend the Inaugural US-Cuba Writers Conference where she had the opportunity to present her work in La Habana, Cuba . Her work has been featured in Flyway, the University of Iowa 's Latino literary journal, Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation, El Andar, Jota, the forthcoming F-Word anthology, as well as in many community, popular education, and social justice periodicals and zines.
	Amazing Grace , the Vaudevillian Vamp, is a booty-shakin', music-makin', copper curls, boots n' pearls downhome Femme who has been known to sing, dance, run with sharp things, and play with fire all in one show. She is currently docked in Seattle, where she converts the masses to a life of shameless debauchery as the ringleader of the queer, heathen vaudeville revue, The Amazing Grace Revival: a Celebration of Gay Oddities & Odd Gaieties. www.myspace.com/amazinggracerevival
	The Miracle Whips work to deconstruct the transparency of femininity, to create radical erotic possibilities, and to disrupt conventional notions of sexiness. We are a non-competitive feminist collective that whips the status quo into shape. To love us is to love all things genderqueer; to savor fat, skinny and in-between; and to stand (in heels) against all social inequalities. Our shows hurt like a good spanking, providing just enough sting to make you remember what you've learned! www.themiraclewhips.com
Fran Varian	Fran Varian is a writer and performer who recently relocated to the Bay Area. Her work has been published in "Without A Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class," and Lodestar Quarterly, Issue 11. She has been a featured reader at the Bumbershoot Arts Festival in Seattle , Washington as well as the Seattle Poetry Festival. She is very honored to participate in the 2006 Femme Conference. www.franvarian.com
	Mama Plenty derives great satisfaction in feeding her friends and, most especially, her favorite butch boi.  Among other things, she reflects on the care and feeding of butches in her blog at femmenation.blogspot.com
	Heather MacAllister is the founder of the Venus Group, a social and support network for large women, and is also known as RevaLucian, founder of Big Burlesque/Fat-Bottom Revue, a performance group of fat artist/activists. She has conducted size acceptance workshops and/or performances nationwide, including the True Spirit Conference in Washington , D.C. , the National Women's Music Festival (IN), the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, Eastern Michigan University , University of Michigan , Michigan State University, the Abundia Retreat (IL), the NOLOSE Conference (NJ), Fat Girl Speaks (OR), and Burning Man (NV).
	Angie Ward is a Southern born and bred author, activist, and ordained minister. Raised in the foothills of Arkansas by a pack of rabid sloth bears, Angie has devoted much of her life to all things odd and is forever in search of the perfect oddity to add to her collection of  teeth, bones, and preserved chicken feet. This red-headed bodacious babe believes that MAC lipstick is the cure for the common ailment, that Ranch dressing is the nectar of the Gods, and that Tori Amos should be inducted into Sainthood. She is the "down-home" conglomeration of June Clever, The Bride of Chuckie, Mae West, Etta James and maybe a little Maureen O'Hara. Southern, but not simple...There are Molasses in them thar' hills!
	Billie and Genevieve are Incarnadine Tribal Fusion, the queer community's own belly dance performance duo.  Incarnadine blends American Tribal Style belly dance with sultry modern music, dangerous curves and powerful chemistry . Genevieve and Billie have been performing together as Incarnadine since 2005, and studying belly dance since 2003 and 1998, respectively.  They have studied with some of the most dynamic, cutting-edge teachers in the country – Ultra Gypsy, Fat Chance Belly Dance and Belly Groove – and have created their unique performance style rooted in the guidance and inspiration of these amazing women. Together and separately, they have performed at exciting events and venues in the Bay Area and beyond, including Gender Pirates at El Rio, The Exiles' Folsom Meet & Greet at Studio Z, the San Francisco and San Diego Eagle Taverns, Rakassah, Tribal Fest 2006, Cowell Theatre at Fort Mason , Noe Valley Ministry, the Victoria Theatre , as well as at private parties.
	Foxy Locks aka Kelly Carey : A founding member of the Queen Bees, this fat, sexy, queer femme is a Southern California import who's been living and loving in Seattle since 1995.  A solo burlesque and drag performance artist, Foxy performed with the Seattle Queen Bees for over three years.  Her performances are motivated by her desire to show the world her supple curves, smooth moves, sassy camp and big girl sex appeal. In the daytime she's a full-time professional with a Master's Degree in Social Work with a penchant for Pepsi.
	Burlesque-Esque wants to be YOUR Tartine morning bun. They like slapdashery, meaningful messages,  medium-high kicks and costumes held together by a single safety pin. They've been performing (on stage and off) for 107 years now and can STILL manage to combine sexy dance moves with bringing down the Republican Right. They have an agenda and aren't afraid to show it . . . just make sure you don't try to feed them any low-carb snacks.
	Girlie Pink is just that-- a pretty pretty princess with a wild side. She often switches from cute cupcake to vicious vixen in mid-number, to keep your eye on this high femme diva because you never know what might be coming next.  She performs regularly with the Girlie Q Variety Hour in Chicago and performed last year with her Daddy at the Butch-Femme.com conference in Baltimore . She hopes to perform again this year in Vegas-- maybe she'll see some of you femmes again there!
Photo by Suzy Malik	Hadassah M Hill [aka Axon Panter] is a New York/Toronto based performance artist and writer. Her written work has appeared in Geeks, Misfits and Outlaws (2004), and Without A Net (2003) among other places. She toured Ontario and Quebec in 2004/05 with the performance troupe Trash and Ready, and has performed at Ladyfest, Cheap Queers, Hysteria, and Mayworks, to name a few. Her recordings include Bombshell Lexicon (2005) and Bad Girls Belief System (2005). She's going on the Perpetual Motion Roadshow this July and then keeping on going to Femme 2006 in San Francisco in August. Hadassah is also a textile artist who works in reconstructing/recycling vintage clothing and embroidery, and a graphic designer currently working with $pread Magazine as Associate Art Director [www.spreadmagazine.org]. She loves anything on two wheels and rhinestones. Check out www.hadassahsbizzare.com
	The Transformers, Tin Hardware, Drew Montana,  Billy the Kid  , Malcolm Pecs, Ben Dahmen, and Corky St. Flair  are dedicated to bringing glitter, pop music and pyrotechnics to the masses.   Join the Transformers in their continued fight to   hype positive social messages  with synchronized dancing, sequins, and good old fashioned male-bonding. These guys have wowed you at the San Francisco Drag King Contest and have been voted best of the bay, 3 years running. You won't be disappointed when you come out to see these boys. Catch them at www.thetransformers.org
	Krista Smith aka Kentucky Fried Woman/Mrs. Miller is a proud fatass.  She received her BA in History at the University of Kentucky, where she also founded the Annual UK Women's Studies Graduate Student Conference.  She then attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where she joined the drag troupe the Disposable Boy Toys and co-founded the Fat Bitch Caucuswith Summer's Eve/Tony Celebrity.  After moving to Seattle in 2001, she founded the fierce, mix-sized body positive queer as fuck performance troupe the Queen Bees.  Kentucky Fried Woman has performed and conducted workshops all over the United States in an attempt to change the world one jiggle at a time.
	Amy Mahoney is a high, hard, stray-cat, tomboy, rocker, homo-flexible, culturally queer femme writer from Seattle. She is the co-director of Oratrix Productions and served as president of the inaugural board of directors of the BENT Writing institute. She was a member of the All Girl- All Word tour, the Write-Off tour, and the Out of Apathy tour and is currently working toward a degree in creative writing and arts management at Antioch Seattle.
	Savory Sweet, a "good girl" from Wyoming, brings a fresh face to burlesque and drag with her sweet smile and savory moves. Recently transplanted from Seattle where she was a founding member of the Queen Bees, Savory Sweet now resides in Oakland, near her alma mater Mills. Using humor and sexiness, she loves pushing the boundaries of what is seen as feminine and femme.
	Simone de la Getto~ Founder of Oakland's own award-winning burlesque troupe, Harlem Shake Burlesque, Simone's quest is to pay homage to the black burlesque and vaudeville performers that came before her and honor them with her talent of the tease.  A realtor, mother, dancer and diva...Simone has come to realize that she is a spiritual being having a human experience and is loving lavisihly, indulging, fabulous experiences!!!!