Madame Rex: My butt has been the center of much conversation in my life as a performer. I’ve had it referred to as “a nation unto itself” among other less charming titles. I have always been bottom heavy, even as a little girl, and as a dancer and artist it’s been one of my dominating characteristics. Every performer overhears things being said about them by audience members who don’t believe they can be heard (btw...we can hear you) and in my case it’s always been, “look at her BUTT!” I ain’t mad...I like my butt just fine. It suits me and i find it looks nice on a hoop. It makes me feel powerful and feminine. Whatever, this is not a post about butts, even if it did make a damn fine title.
2 comments:
So normally I don’t enjoy articles like this because I feel that they negate important information for the story. They sometimes only highlight a failure and ignore how the person recovered or they only talk about the success, ignoring the steps that got the person there. However, I think this article does a really good job of giving a full picture. Granted, I don’t know this woman or her story, but I feel that she gives a good overall picture of the story while keeping the article engaging. I really enjoyed how Madam Rex says that the fact she was passed once because she wouldn't fit into a costume is not a good or bad thing. She says that this was a good learning moment for her and that she needed to accept it and move on rather the be angry and dwell on it. She makes note of how the circus is a business and if you're not happy with how it's run, you can make your own. The article ends pretty energizing and on a you can do it note. I think that Madame Rex has a good perspective on the situation and I’m happy that she chose to share it in the form of this article.
I really enjoyed this article, and didn't quite expect to. I do usually go into articles with titles like this with an expectation of a narrative either on one extreme end blaming the company for discrimination, or on the other extreme going on a rant about how anyone can do anything in a negative and possibly ignorant way. I think this author did an amazing job of pointing out realities of the industry without being discouraging or placing blame. I think it is important to acknowledge what the current state of things is, even if the goal is to change it, so that it is apparent where the base is. I definitely see similar experiences in theatre, and in fact attended a session at USITT about how to behave in a fitting room and costume department in general when it comes to those who might not fit a traditional method of costuming, but nevertheless deserve to be there just as much as their other cast members.
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