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thewidowstanton · 4 years

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Evelyn Carnate, burlesque artist, producer and director

Known as ‘The Shapeshifting Showgirl’, Evelyn Carnate is the current Miss Burlesque UK. With acts ranging from the playful to the powerful and unpredictable, the neo-burlesque performer has been on the scene for five years. She has a naughty sense of humour and can play everything from sweet and subversive to sensual and downright twisted.

Evelyn is also a director, producer and teacher and one of the founding members – along with Lilly Snatchdragon and ShayShay – of the all-Asian cabaret collective The Bitten Peach. All the proceeds of its show at the Underbelly Festival in 2019 went to Rose Thorne’s Cabaret vs Cancer charity. Evelyn now appears in CvC’s fundraising event Ashes to Ashes – a cabaret tribute to David Bowie – at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club in London on 26 February 2020. She chats to Liz Arratoon.

The Widow Stanton: Where are you from? Evelyn Carnate: I’m now from London but I’m actually half Thai, half English. I grew up in Thailand in Chiang Mai. I went to an international school so that’s why I have this kind of American accent. [Laughs]

Are you from a showbusiness background? I was always obsessed with dancing; I did a lot of ballet and all kinds of dance. I did so much that my parents ended up sending me to a full-time ballet boarding school in England for a few years. It was Arts Educational School in Tring.

Had your family moved here by then? No, my dad is from Bristol but he moved to Asia over 30 years ago and never came back. My family have always been in Asia so I came back on my own.

Did you get straight into burlesque? Oh no, not at all. After dance school I went back to Thailand, then came back to London for art college. I trained as a theatre designer at Central Saint Martins in London. And then I did acting classes on the side and I went, ‘Oh, shit! I’m an actor!’. [Laughs]

So how did you move into burlesque? After graduating from art school, I then did drama school in New York – the William Esper Studio – right in Manhattan. So in my second year of studying I ended up living in a circus studio in Brooklyn – The Muse – and that’s where I fell in to cabaret. It was a training space; a big warehouse for training and they also did shows. Because I was at drama school six or seven days a week I couldn’t really do circus. I really wanted to do aerial but I had no time. I would help out at the shows and directed my little projects there when I had time. Then I saw burlesque and thought, ‘Yeah, I could do that, I could strip’.

Who did you see that inspired you? Oh, some of my flatmates did it. They would do these little showcases so I saw burlesque there and then I started going to the dive bar shows and cabaret clubs, such as The Slipper Room, Nurse Bettie, House of Yes, Duane Park and the Bowery Poetry Club. And all the underground, like alternative New York performance-art shows. And then someone recommended me to go see Jo Boobs at the New York School of Burlesque. She’s a really famous teacher. She runs the school and is a very incredible lady. So I did her beginner course and that was it. We did a showcase and it was just so exhilarating.

You must have real body confidence, which not everyone has… Yeah, I guess also from the dance training my body wasn’t… I didn’t really think about it. I was used to getting changed with other girls and guys and being backstage, you know, in skimpy leotards. I mean if I had to speak onstage without a script I would be very scared… doing stand-up comedy terrifies me more than being naked. [Laughs]

I love your name Thank you. I really love Lulu, the play, and I was reading it and there’s one part where he calls her ‘You little devil incarnate’. And I thought, ‘Ah, Evelyn Carnate! OK!’.

How does it feel that you’ve won the UK title? I feel very surprised but in a good way. [Laughs] I haven’t really done competitions. They’re very popular in burlesque; it’s a good way for newcomers to get in. I once did another one when I was first starting out, which I won. It was the Alternative Cabaret Battle. I went with an existing act, but for the UK competition I had to prepare a lot; a lot of work went into it. Many people helped me with costumes and polishing the act. I’m happy that an alternative performer won. I’m quite proud of that because I did think they would go for a more classic traditional performer.

So tell us about your style; you call it neo-burlesque… I’ve never worn a corset in any acts yet! So my style… I really love characters, I love stories, so all my acts have quite different characters and even when I’m doing classic I need a clear image and story behind it. I am, in quotes, The Shape Shifting Showgirl, so I do go from really classic slow striptease to quite strange performance-art burlesque. And sometimes people don’t actually recognise that I’m the same performer. I’ve had that a lot: “Oh, you’re the one that did that act? You look so different.” I really enjoy that.

Do you design your own costumes? Yes, because I did theatre design I really love sketching costumes. I sketch all of them but I’m not super-skilled at making so I go to professional people. For this one (pictured with green fans), a lot of people helped me… there’s this amazing lingerie designer called Rosie Von Boschan. It’s the second time I’ve worked with her; her work really inspires me, I guess because it’s not the classic burlesque look. It feels more true to my style and taste. She made the lingerie for my traditional act for the competition and Bourgeoisie made my dress. We had to submit two categories of acts, one traditional and one, they call it ‘unique’. I did my subversive pink fan dance that goes a little bit wild for that. [Laughs]

Why did you set up The Bitten Peach? I co-founded it with two amazing performers, Lilly Snatchdragon, who is a trustee of Cabaret vs Cancer (pictured right below), and ShayShay (centre below). Lilly is a drag queen and burlesque performer and ShayShay is a drag performer. We all had our ideas before of doing an Asian show. I wanted to do an all-Asian burlesque show. I read some things about The Forbidden City in San Francisco, where they would do all these revue shows with Asian performers. That was very inspiring and I just thought, ‘Where are all the Asian burlesque performers? Like, let’s gather them up’.

I planned a little show with Lilly, which never actually happened! Before that, Lilly was working on Polly Rae’s show at the Hippodrome in London, and she had these ideas of doing a big Asian extravaganza with like, lion dancers and traditional things, and was going to get me involved as a producer. ShayShay had already done an Asian show, Lunar New Queer. Lilly and ShayShay met up and decided to do The Bitten Peach together and then they brought me on board.

So, we’re the three founders but we’ve also launched a mentoring programme for new Asian cabaret performers; we call them Peach Fuzzes. We help develop their acts and they debut at a Bitten Peach show. We’re making the programme a bit more official this year. I teach burlesque as well at The Cheek of It! School of Burlesque and Cabaret. And I recently opened my own studio in Hackney Wick, where we will be launching The Bitten Peach workshops for Asian newcomers. The info will be on our website.

Does The Bitten Peach have a regular venue? We’ve been everywhere; at all the kind of iconic LGBTQ venues like The Royal Vauxhall Tavern, The Glory… we move all around and we’ve done a variety of styles, like club nights and theatre shows, more classic cabaret; we do everything. What can you tell us about Ashes to Ashes? All the acts are set to David Bowie’s music; original Bowie tracks, no covers, featuring Bowie from every era. It’s hosted by Benjamin Louche, another Cabaret vs Cancer trustee…

Rose Thorne adds: What a night we have in store! This is the fifth annual Ashes to Ashes show at BGWMC and is very much our cabaret family showing love for Bowie and recognising the influence he’s had on so many of us. Among many others, we have amazing burlesque from Demi Noire, circus from the internationally renowned Andromeda, and, of course, the sound of Bowie from Keith Ramsay, seen recently at Southwark Playhouse. We have a Bowie raffle, badges and our exclusive officially licensed Bowie merchandise. We encourage our audience to dress up and sing loudly! Best of all, every penny raised will support Cabaret vs Cancer.

How is the burlesque scene doing in general? Evelyn: There’s a lot of crossover with burlesque and drag now, which really excites people. I mean drag is so popular now because of RuPaul’s Drag Race and also it’s a lot more diverse than it used to be, especially after The Cocoa Butter Club was founded by Sadie Sinner. She started a regular showcase for performers of colour and Lilly and I and ShayShay have done that. That existed a few years before Bitten Peach and that was definitely an inspiration and has completely changed the way cabaret is cast. It has become much more exciting and diverse.

Can you pick out a highlight from your career? Definitely the Underbelly show for Cabaret vs Cancer. It’s the biggest thing we ever did; there were 22 performers… there were group numbers… and we raised almost £4,000. Also because Lilly’s father passed away a few years ago from cancer and it was really important for her, it was so nice to do it for her as well.

Do you have any particular ambitions? Definitely more Bitten Peach. We’re really on a high right now. We didn’t even expect it to grow so fast, we just thought: “Oh, let’s just get together…” Sometimes I think people think we’re some big organisation but it’s just a few of us like, with our laptops in a coffee shop. But we’re making another full theatre show for March that ShayShay’s writing and directing, and we’d like to do more theatre and theatrical things that we could also possibly tour and get more audiences, especially Asian audiences in the UK and Europe.

Evelyn appears in Cabaret vs Cancer’s fundraising cabaret Ashes to Ashes at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club in London on 26th February 2020.

Pictures: Corinne Cumming; Claire Seville; Juliet Shalam

For tickets to Ashes to Ashes click here

To donate to Cabaret vs Cancer click here

Evelyn on Facebook

The Bitten Peach’s website

Twitter: @Evelyn_Carnate @cabaretVScancer @bittenpeachuk

Follow @TheWidowStanton on Twitter

#evelyn carnate #bitten peach #cabaret vs cancer #ashes to ashes #david bowie #lilly snatchdragon #shayshay #burlesque #burlesque interview

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lorrainecparker · 7 years

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VidCon: shaping the future of online video

Experts from the biggest names in media are coming together at VidCon to discuss the future of video, advertising, and more. The conference is held annually in Southern California since 2010.

The annual conference will connect hundreds of the most innovative and influential online video creators for a program that includes performances, workshops, discussions, and networking. The Industry Track alone features more than 150 online video experts and innovators sharing their insight and expertise in how to build sustainable communities, channels, and franchises. The lineup of over 300 Featured Creators participating in 2017 suggests the conference is gworing each new year it happens.

Originally conceived by Hank and John Green of the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel, the convention is the largest of its kind in the world, gathering thousands of online video viewers, creators, and industry representatives worldwide. In 2016, VidCon hosted more than 26,400 fans, creators, and industry leaders to celebrate the transformational power of online video. With YouTube OnStage kicking off this year’s event, the program for 2017 is expected to be even bigger and more dynamic than ever.

For the first time ever YouTube, the title partner of the conference, and VidCon are partnering to produce a live entertainment showcase to kick off the 8th Annual VidCon. YouTube OnStage will be an electric celebration of the cultural trends and notable artists from the history of YouTube. Yes, YouTube already has a history, started 12 years ago!

Multi-platinum recording artist Jason Derulo, whose current hit “Swalla” feat. Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign has over 211 million YouTube views, will headline the event and perform some of his fan favorites. The high energy 90-minute show presented by Pop-Tarts will be held on Wednesday, June 21 at The Arena at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. YouTube OnStage will feature appearances by top YouTube creators, including Tyler Oakley, Rosanna Pansino, Collins Key, Joey Graceffa, The Slow Mo Guys and many more.

Additionally, the audience of more than four thousand fans can expect performances from: Todrick Hall, who starred in Broadway’s Kinky Boots and will produce and star in the show’s opening number; Grace VanderWaal, America’s Got Talent winner, performing her new single; and a special dance performance from So You Think You Can Dance winner Fik-Shun, along with YouTube dance sensations Dytto and Poppin John.

VidCon will also be the stage for two high-level interactive workshops series, this year aimed at companies, brands, and top digital content creators, launched by CreatorUp, a leading digital media training provider based in Los Angeles. The workshops are for attendees of the Industry and Creator Tracks.

“VidCon has always been about learning new things, gaining new skills and improving your game when it comes to online video”, said Jim Louderback, Editorial Director for VidCon’s Industry Tracks. “We’re super excited to take this to the next level with the addition of these two half-day workshops that will deliver a tremendous amount of value to our attendees — at no additional cost beyond standard admission.”

A global provider of executive training for clients like YouTube, L’Oreal, BBDO, and Mullen Lowe, CreatorUp sees increasing demand from brand and agency clients for its expertise in the digital space. “Brands are spending more on digital now than on TV advertising,” observed CreatorUp CEO Mike Tringe. “But there’s still a lot of uncertainty about how to make sure these campaigns perform. If your digital strategy involves posting the same TV ads to your social channels, or playing them in an app, it’s a missed opportunity.”

CreatorUp will preview its industry-facing training series in a half-day interactive workshop, “Platform Deep Dive for Industry” (for Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat), where brand and agency participants will work with experts to develop customized, digital-native action plans they’ll take from the workshop as usable assets.

Tringe sees a similar need for professional development to reorient top creators to their emerging role as media entrepreneurs. “The creators we work with have built incredibly engaged audiences with awesome stories, but there’s more to thriving in this ecosystem than what got you to half a million followers. Especially when you start competing for deals with the biggest brand names in the world.”

CreatorUp will introduce its creator-facing training series with another workshop at Vidcon, “Business Skills Level-Up for creators.” Participants will work with experts from across the media and entertainment industry to understand the business side of successful content creation, and build assets like digital press kits and branded content pitch strategies.

Experts from the biggest names in media are coming together at VidCon to discuss the future of video, advertising, and more. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, as well as other executives from the company, will be featured in keynotes and panels throughout the four-day convention to showcase YouTube’s ongoing efforts to support creators around the world.

Marni Walden, Executive Vice President and President of Media and Telematics at Verizon, will deliver the headline keynote on Thursday, talking about the company’s vision for its growing digital media business, including go90, Oath, Fios, Complex, AwesomenessTV and more.

Other top conversations include Cheddar CEO Jon Steinberg discussing the future of TV with AT&T’s Tony Goncalves (who’s been deeply involved in the company’s evolution in the digital world and approach to OTT, including DIRECTV NOW and Otter Media initiatives), discussions on the future of video with Alex Hofmann, President, North America at musical.ly, Inc., Disney’s Andrew Sugerman, and Brad Allen from NextVR, a look at the Future of News with CUNY’s Jeff Jarvis and Cenk Uygur from the Young Turks, and top executives from Facebook, ABC News, Now This, Awesomeness, Instagram, and many more.

“This is shaping up to be the biggest and most important Industry Track ever,” said Jim Louderback, Editorial Director of VidCon’s Industry Track. “With television changing radically, the advertising world in turmoil, and the rise of new storytelling formats — including virtual reality, mixed reality, and more — there’s never been a more important time in the development of visual media. This unprecedented collection of the top thinkers AND doers in the space will deliver guidance, insight, and actionable strategies to put in place even while VidCon happens.”

Debuting this year is a new focus on branding and advertising — and alternate monetization schemes — with 15 conversations and workshops devoted to these topics, a first-ever debut of five new research studies delving into the behavior of online video consumers, a session on video-centric product design led by Eric Feng (partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and former head of product at Hulu and Chief Technology Officer at Flipboard), 26 hands-on workshops, 16 panels, 15 fireside chats, parties, social events, concerts, and more.

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