#but every time I h go o on Twitter I see this one Japanese artist that I’ve been following since middle school still somehow posting

[oobbbear]

Japanese/Korean artist in their niche ass fandom that they’ve been feeding for the past decade (ilysm

[damasquerade]

Photos from Tokyo Doll Show 58 (5/1/20)!

I couldn’t possibly take photos of all the stalls - it was spread over three floors of a convention centre and each hall was BIG. This is only a small fraction of the stalls. I asked for permission from each stall for these photos (and/or took cues from signs as to whether photos were okay).

60+ more photos under the cut as well as information and links for the single artist doll makers:

The 7th floor housed Azone, Jenny (I think - I wasn’t very interested in that section) and tables set up for hobbyists to display their dolls and mingle. The hobbyists displaying in that particular section were almost entirely mostly men with Dollfie Dreams. There were maybe one or two women, or one or two non-vinyl dolls. 

Below are Azone’s displays. They also had several big piles of discounted clothes for various sizes and a pile of blank 1/6 obitsu heads. People were a little fierce in digging through the clothes... 

Here is just a little of the owner display area.

The 6th and 7th floors held the booths of the people selling their goods. A lot of amazing, quality handmade clothes, accessories, eyes, wigs, you name it, in many different styles and aesthetics. Parabox was here showing off their new big vinyl doll (the photo with the doll wrapped in plastic), as well as Alchemic Labo, and Quarantotto with Angel Philia dolls. 

Above is a gorgeous chubby 1/4 size doll from Dollybird called Kumako. As you can see she has animal feet or human feet.  They looked amazing and I loved them. 

There were also a handful of single artist dollmakers with some really unique dolls <3 I wished I could have bought at least several of them but budget didn’t permit... I at least was able to chat with the artists in Japanese and take their cards. 

Universal Poonyan (website):

Monster Factory Mayuko. (Instagram is @monsterfactorymayuko) These were all so cute I couldn’t even decide on what one I’d buy if I’d had the money, let alone which colour! 

Nayuta Nakamura, a bisque doll artist who was incredibly lovely and her work was stunning. Twitter and Instagram is @nayuta_nakamura 

H Yoshino's cat dolls (Instagram is @aiji0531)

Nanohana Doll (website). Full dolls and heads for Obitsu 11, made of polymer clay.

Factory 53 (website). I asked the maker if the robots were 3D printed because the material looked like it had the sort of texture that comes with that, but he told me they were made with papercraft first and then cast in resin that way! :O 

The remaining photos are of various booths who had lovely dolls on display that I particularly liked. There was no way I could have taken photos of everything, it took me something like 2.5  hours to just walk down every aisle of the very crowded venue. 

Finally, my tiny haul of loot! A bunch of pamphlets, flyers and a skirt and stockings for Kikipop from the discounted Azone piles :D 

The end of Tokyo Doll Show 58! Hope you scrolled this far and enjoyed the pics! 

I’m going to iDoll West in Osaka next weekend and hoping I can get photos up sooner this time :O 

[purplesurveys]

572

Where was the last place you drove to? Other than home, I drove to Bonifacio Global City with Gab for a day out. I also drove to her dorm to drop her off after. What is your favorite move franchise? The Twilight Saga or Toy Story. What was the last fast food you ate? We had Wendy’s earlier. I was honestly kinda relieved to just have fast food for lunch because I just needed something greasy as fuck to shed off the hangover from last night, and something quick because I was so tired and was in no mood to even go out to begin with. What is your zodiac sign? Taurus. Do you think you're a good dancer? When I’m drunk enough and when it’s dark, yeah. Hahaha

What is the saddest book you've ever read? I don’t know if I’ve read any sad fiction; AJ’s memoir was sad enough though. I remember having to take breaks every so often because some of the content was just too heavy to take in one go. How old will you be this time next year? I will be 22. What subject do you think you are best at? History. I have a number of relatives who have worked/are working as researchers and historians, so I’m not surprised I got bitten by the bug too. Do you prefer heroes or villains? Heroes, unless the villain’s story is endearing or if the role is played good enough. That’s the case with a number of heels (wrestling talk for bad guys) who are AMAZING at being assholes, like CM Punk or Triple H. What is something you think is overrated? I love milk tea, but it’s definitely hyped up way too much in the Philippines. A lot of people like to brag how they skip water in favor of milk tea and it’s just? what? How are you genuinely proud of that? I mean whatever floats your boat and all, but still????? What political cause are you most passionate about? The SOGIE/anti-discrimination bill that for some reason is being debated on to begin with. How anti-discrimination is still a cause of conflict is the most Filipino thing I’ve ever seen and it’s shameful. What country would you most like to visit? Morocco, Turkey, or India. What is the worst job you've ever had? I haven’t had any so there’s nothing to rank. Who was your best friend as a child? We would change sections every year so my best friends used to change often. There was Kaye, Jaynie, Raegan...but it was Angela for most of my childhood. What is the hardest thing you've ever had to do? Having to keep going when my grandfather died mere days before the UPCAT. That, or seeing Nacho in his coffin. His slight smirk made it easier to deal with, but I still had a good cry about it. Have you ever considered having children? Yeah, I’ve thought about it more and more as I got older - a far cry from my hatred of kids when I was a frustrated 13 year old lmao. If you ever took field trips as a child, which was your favorite? I’ve always been a museum lover so our field trip to Intramuros/various Manila museums in 5th grade, and our field trip to Ayala Museum/The Mind Museum in freshman year were amazing. Do you have any weird family traditions? Not really. I will say that my mom’s side has a very weird, very distinct humor that takes some getting used to (but once you do you’ll realize they’re all funny as fuuuuuuck on that side) but it doesn’t really count as tradition, so idk. Have you ever considered acting? Not at all. I never liked having to do it. Who was the last person you slept next to? Gab. Do you think you can be in love and still cheat on your S.O.? That’s messed up, dude. Do you subscribe to any streaming services? I have a Netflix and Spotify but other people pay for them. Do you consider yourself a crafty person? That’s a big fat nope for me. What is your ideal weather? Cold enough that I don’t need to turn on the electric fan. If there’s a thunderstorm, even better. Have you ever been in a physical fight? With my cousins when we were kids, yes.  What is the most embarrassing thing anyone has on video of you? Angela has questionable footage of me when I got too drunk at Gabie’s party last year; she’s tried showing it to me but I’ve always refused to know what she caught on video lmao. She can keep it if she wants; I just don’t ever want to see it hahaha. Gab also took a video and photos of me all hunched at the toilet and throwing up after drinking too much from earlier this year.

I’m clearly not the best drunk; in the same way, my best friends clearly know their priorities lol. Did you ever get lost as a child? No. If I got ‘lost’ it was only because my parents would intentionally hide from me at malls to see what I would do when I realized I was lost/to mess with me. What is your favorite condiment? Mayonnaaaaaaise. On a scale of 1-10, how attractive do you think you are? I’d give myself an 8 tbh. Minus two points for my two crooked teeth and frizzy hair. Do you prefer horror or romance movies? When it comes down to it, romance. I feel like they have more leeway since romantic comedies (which if you still don’t know by now, is my favorite genre) is under that genre, whereas horror can be just right or way too corny or cheap for my liking. What was the last film you saw in theaters? Hello, Love, Goodbye last August(?). But I think that’ll change soon because I plan to see Charlie’s Angels this month - and can I just say, only for Kristen lol.

Have you ever been to a concert? Sure, I’ve been to several, but I keep my ticket purchases to artists I have REALLY been wanting to see, like One Direction and Paramore. There’s a bunch of acts who’ve gone to Manila but I wasn’t religiously obsessed enough to want to see them, like Troye Sivan, The 1975, The Japanese House, etc. Have you ever had an existential crisis? No. I try not to think about that stuff. Where is the farthest from home you've traveled? Bali. Do you like country music? Ugh, no. Can you play any instruments? Other than the basic recorder, which I don’t really count, no. What color are your eyes? Black. What color are the eyes of the person you love? The same. What is your favorite kind of flower? Idk I don’t have one. Baby’s breaths are cute though. Have you ever had your heart broken before? For various reasons, yes. What town were you born in? I was born in, if I’m not mistaken, the district of Sta. Mesa in Manila. Do you believe you had a good childhood? I know my elders tried to shield me from harsher realities, and I’ll give them credit for that. I had the latest toys and gadgets and we had cable TV, so I had access to the cool shows of the time, to give a few examples. I’m grateful for all of those, but nothing could ever protect us from acknowledging the reality that I had alcoholic relatives who also happened to wake me up everyday with the smell of their cigarette smoke; and relatives who would resort to physical fights and screaming whenever they got too drunk, which always made our house a hot topic within the small neighborhood and a source of embarrassment for me, my siblings, and cousins. What was the last dream you had? I’m not sure. I think I was just hanging out with Gab in it. Do you know how to play any card games? Other than solitaire, no. Have you ever taken a taxi before? Yep but I can count those times on one hand. I’d rather use a ride-sharing app to get a driver than hail a Filipino taxi driver. What is something about your childhood that you miss? Half-days in school. What are you currently most looking forward to? Sleeping tonight, tbh. I want to stay up for a bit but I can’t wait to sleep too. Did you ever have MySpace? Do you miss those days? I had, very briefly. It was never a big trend in the Philippines so I didn’t see the big deal. I was more attached to Friendster (which I never got to have because of the 16-year-old signup requirement, which my parents made sure I followed) and Multiply. What is the best television show you've ever watched? Breaking Bad. Are there any songs you can't listen to because they bring back memories? I can’t listen to O by Coldplay anymore because it was the song I kept on repeat when I repeatedly harmed, starved, and tried to kill myself a couple of years ago. Have you ever saved someone's life? I hope I have in some form or another. I know I failed with Nach, though. Do you tend to sleep well at night? Sure, unless I had reason not to. What do you believe is your weirdest habit? I lock my car doors three times before I feel comfortable. When was the last time you were sick? This question is on almost every survey, along with the what-instruments-do-you-play one. Uhhhhhh 2017. What color are your parents' eyes? Black. Do you have any credit cards? I don’t. Have you ever broken any major bones? Nope, thank goodness. Have you ever had a surgery before? ^ Same. Are you ever afraid people will just stop talking to you one day? I never thought about that, no. Can you tell me the last deep thought you had? Meh, it’s too triggering to go back to at the moment. Are there any websites you've used for over 10 years? Twitter, Wikipedia, and YouTube, for sure. Do you have any siblings? If so, what are their ages? Yeah, they’re 19 and 16. What is the best movie you've seen this year? Liway. Did you ever make straight a's in school? Sure. What color is the shirt you are currently wearing? White, with maroon text.

[bbhl-incporated]

what happened in 2014? what was that post about?? (Btw I only now just noticed ur url is "goth"chanbaek not "got"chanbaek...)

L O L don’t worry about the url… I haven’t changed it since summer 2016 (when Monster came out and my mutuals made “goth” urls falsdk;jfaldsf)

So 2014 basically got hit by a huge shitstorm. The Sewol Ferry sinking of course was a national tragedy and left many idols devastated; some kids on the ship were very much fans of different idol groups and relatives / friends reached out to the idols to tell them so. I cried during the whole fiasco and I wasn’t even in the country …. the debacle just made my heart ache.

Related to the actual kpop industry itself, Kris did leave EXO in May of 2014 and opened the flood gates for the biggest SM scandal since the breakup of DB5K into 2VXQ and JYJ. (DBSK had the largest fandom to date, called Cassiopeia, and it had fans in China, Korea, Japan…. they were especially known for how big they were in Japan. Breakout and steady success in what was considered Asia’s largest music market, by foreign and non-American artists was absolutely amazing. For the record, it has names specific to each language: Tong Vfan Xien Qi = TVXQ, the Mandarin name; DBSK = Dong Bang Shing Ki, Korean name; and Tohoshinki is the Japanese name. They technically debuted as a Japanese act and not a Korean act releasing things in Japanese which adds some nuance important for considering record breaking and setting, money, etc which are not important for our purposes here.) Kris’s sudden departure opened wounds older kpop fans had considered closed since the breakup of Kpop’s largest act (BigBang wasn’t shit in comparison for quite some time and even LeeSooMan apparently considered SJ throwaways from DBSK) and cast yet another huge, negative, ugly spotlight on the abuses of SM Entertainment in the past. The sticky part is how people started to analyze why this departure was not so sudden, and I will return to that in a bit.

This departure itself was ugly because Kris left in the middle of Overdose promotions and a few weeks before EXO’s first tour would commence. For context, Overdose came as a follow up to EXO’s smashing 2013 success with Growl Repackage and Miracles in December. They became the first artists to become million-album sellers in years with Growl and they won Album of the Year at the Mnet Asian Music Awards, when G Dragon had won pretty much every thing else that night (lmao) and SHINee was also up for the award. So they, a rookie group less than 2 years old, managed to win that award despite the STIFF sunbae competition on top of becoming million sellers… All eyes were on them no doubt and the public and fans were looking forward to their next promotions and their first concert tour… … SO you can imagine the laser focus this drew to the group and to the company. I will tell you right now: Not. A. Pleasant. Experience. The fandom was l i t e r a l l y imploding and people were taking pro-Kris and anti-Kris stances everywhere and calling him a traitor and calling fans fake and — and there was the part where only Suho was on stage to receive EXO’s award right after the news came out and my soul broke in half and the days you could tell EXO had been crying before coming onstage and and and – THERE WAS JUST SO MUCH SAD AND ANGRY IN THE FANDOM I hated it.

There are many bloggers who were around, who I followed during that time who aren’t around anymore. T_T

If I tell and explain everything wrong that happened in 2014 I could be here quite a while, so I’ll keep it short and jump to Baek’s instagram post. He made that post (xx) and one or two others I think, in response to the vicious and heinous reactions he and Taeyeon received after Dispatch revealed they were dating. Yes, this happened even in the aftermath of Kris’ departure. Yes, this only made things worse. Why? Well to add fuel to the fire, Baek had made a sort of cheeky promise that he wouldn’t date until EXO had made it, weren’t rookies anymore… basically he “promised” not to date until around 5 years after EXO debuted. That would be this year… so you know …. those deluded fans who took him seriously flipped out. Add on to that the fact that Taeyeon is many years his sunbae in terms of activity in the industry and the leader of the Nation’s Girl Group ™ and both jealousy of her and resentment of the fact he was in a relationship caused fans to make vicious posts and comments on Instagram–BOTH of their Instagrams, though his was far worse–and many other social media sites and forums. (Twitter comes to mind too.) THEN to top it all off, Baek was an MC on a music show (Inkigayo maybe?) and YOU COULD SEE HE HAD BEEN STRESSED, SLEEP DEPRIVED AND CRYING on many days and so-called “””fans””” had the nerve to shout and call him a traitor–among other things–ON LIVE BROADCAST like h o l y  s h i t this was bad. Baek should not have had to ~apologize~ for dating Taeyeon, as he did in the post.

Okay now winding back to what I mentioned earlier: rumor theories. Theories about every damn thing started floating around. There was a big theory about how Kris had wanted out of EXO since before Wolf (Wolf preceded Growl, but both were in 2013) and that Kris fabricated his visa issue. I have that on my blog and can hunt it down for you if you want to read the full body of “Evidence ™” but it’s actually plausible. Another theory was that Taeyeon and Baek were not actually dating–and this has many strains. One strain indicates that the entire relationship was fabricated as a distraction from the Kris departure and lawsuit , while the other states that they did date at one time but broke up way before any of the drama started–SM just used them since they had been together before as an easy cover up. These kinds of theories did not help a damn thing and just seeded further distrust and resentment within fandoms. Like seriously you had SONEs and EXOL screeching at other over this relationship, and even though they were not majority or mainstream fandom members / opinions, they still became pretty vocal. Many bad egg EXOL attacked both Baek and Taeyeon, and fewer SONEs attacked one or both. The theories that surrounded their relationship, including that they gave “hints” with couple items and that Taeyeon gave Baek a fan gift just . It was so ugly. Kpop fans showed their ugliest side. There were venomous comments for weeks. Baek and Tae even left Instagram for a while and Baek stopped being energetic and talkative when with EXO. I hated it so. fucking . much.

Let me tell you. Within SM? It only gets worse. Outside of SM? It gets much worse.

Within SM… Luhan also leaves EXO in October of that year. That’s TWO members, both Chinese, leaving the SAME up-and-coming and ~spectacular~ group, in the SAME year. Boy did that get media attention. Oh, and SM’s stocks took a much bigger dip after Luhan left than when Kris left. Oh, and Luhan’s deteriorating condition was much more visible than Kris’s and just stoked the flames of hatred against SM all over again.  Oh, and Luhan was EXO’s biggest China connection and most popular member in China … hence the stock drop. A few months later, Luhan was making literally millions on his own, which reinforced the premise that the dude was worth wayyyy too valuable for SM to give up willingly. Which of course they didn’t , which is why the main lawsuit lasted for about 2 years. But yeah now the forever-12 group with 4 Chinese members was down to 10 and only 2 Chinese members (bad for connecting to the Chinese music market which is full of $$$$) and media was losing its mind ! So was the fandom! Now the definition of traitor had shifted and you were a traitor and YOU were a traitor and we’re all traitors !!!! 

And JESSICA LEFT SNSD TOO !!! The only way I can characterize everyone’s emotions at the time is: WHAT  T HE F UC K ??? Luhan and Jessica’s respective departures literally happened within two weeks of each other !!! What were we supposed to d o ??? Between all three departures, you felt like you were getting punched in the gut, then the face, then the genitalia, then kicked on the ground. SNSD was forever nine man, nation’s girl group, biggest Kpop girl group ever and suddenly a main vocalist is gone ??? B O Y !

Oh, I forgot to mention how Tao posted on his Instagram very …. resentful things when Kris left . Mmmmm yeah it was bad, not gonna elaborate too hard but … he took it back later in 2015. You probably know that he, too, is now a former EXO member by now.

2014 was good in that you had groups GOT7, Mamamoo, RedVelvet, WINNER, Akdong Musician, Lovelyz, JJCC, etc debut that year. But it was bad due to circumstances surrounding some of  those debuts. 

Notably, Red Velvet was accused of having their debut rushed because SM wanted to cover up the ongoing lawsuit news. Now I know this sounds ridiculous: a dating scandal AND debuting an entire group early just to cover up some bad publicity about an idol leaving your company? Well given how persistent the press was and how bad the lawsuit and allegations made SM look … it’s not that difficult to believe and it most definitely was not hard to gobble up as reliable gossip at the time. At the time, it was considered the norm that SM covers up bad news by Any Means Necessary, and to generate positive publicity. The BaekYeon thing backfired tremendously in that it gave hatred to artists instead of positivity but it sure as hell kept folks’ minds off the lawsuit for a bit. (Also there’s the whole strain of thinking corporations and business control and influence the media, which is something many of us can relate to and why this can appeal so strongly.)

I believe the fact that Yeri joined RV later and was going to be a permanent addition, and the only addition, only helped this theory. After all, apparently she was intended to be with the group from the start, but she was too young when RV debuted. This seems to imply that RV debuted sooner than they were supposed to. ~X files music plays in the background~

WINNER also got shafted pretty hard. They won the big reality idol-elimination show WIN: Who’s Next? hence the title WINNER (formerly Team A) and then YG highkey neglected them because  …well honestly YG wanted the Next Big Bang ™ and WINNER’s ballad style wasn’t going to do that–no matter how much Mino you throw in the song. Plus he demonstrated obvious favoritism to Mino, Bobby and B.I. in general and once WINNER highkey disappeared after they dropped their release (as rookies you are supposed to do follow up promotions the same year and within a decent time frame – EXO did not do this like they were supposed to, again because of Kris visa issue [hey that theory’s looking mighty Fresh again]) it became clear that YG wanted the next group out of the WIN cycle to get the spotlight–that group became iKon (formerly known as Team B). 

Lovelyz had an issue with one of their to-be-debuted members name Jisoo. Jisoo was accused of … well have you heard of the things the boy trainees under Produce 101 are being accused of ? If so, think along those lines. If not: suffice to say it involved manipulation, lesbianism and abuse within the relationship…. bad stuff to be accused of in South Korea lmao so the group was involved in scandal before even debuting! In the end, Jisoo did not debut on account that the allegations were being investigated and taken seriously–in addition to claims that she was ill due to the drama on the internet and within her live as a result of the accusations, and that she needed to recover.

I will end with those three examples of debut issues. Let’s go back to a group that debuted the same year as EXO: B.A.P. 2014 was the year B.A.P sued over “slave contracts” with TS Entertainment. According to the suit, since debuting in 2012, B.A.P had earned over 9 million dollars, yet the company had only given each member $16,000 on top of forcing members to perform to the point of hospitalization and fainting.

ZE:A, which debuted in 2010, also revealed issues with their company (shocking!!! at this point) and the group leader Junyoung (Lee Hoo) took to Twitter  to criticise his managing company’s, Star Empire’s CEO Shin Joo Hak for allegedly mistreating idol groups and their unfair contracts. He also alleged that CEO Shin Joo Hak both abused him and lost the company money. So there were accusations of financial and human capital abuses. He even posted income receipts on Twitter. You can read through (reliable!) translations of the events here: xx.

I want you to imagine hearing about all this shit throughout the year and thinking things are “over” and then just getting whacked whacked whacked whacked all about because you care about all these groups at the same time . J US T . :~)))))) I was fine : ^) everything : ^) was fine : ^) Nothing bad :~) was happening at all :~)

Oh and let’s add to this list, another thing that got negativity and didn’t deserve it: Super Junior’s Sungmin marrying Kim Sa-eun in 2014. ELF (SJ fandom name) were f u r i o u s at him for marrying so suddenly. ELF were trending #SungminOUT on Twitter because they wanted him kicked out of SJ for marrying. I was a pretty big SJ fan at the time so between everything !!! I WAS SCREAMING what the hell was wrong with people ???? Mad about a marriage ! They weren’t even mad at the lady (which doesn’t make it better), but purely the fact that he was getting married and didn’t give … idk some kind of prior notice? I knew he was enlisting soon after, but that wasn’t the source of the anger… anyway, other ELF counter-trended the #SungminOUT thing with a positive tag instead, and sent him lots of love, so it worked out…. but still many ELF were mad at him. If memory serves correctly, it was primarily K-ELF (korean SJ fans) who felt this sort of entitlement to him that led to the anger and it was …. yikes.

What else is there to say about that year? Of course people re-examined previous abuses by companies, including SM Entertainment’s maltreatment of DBSK, Hangeng of SJ (SJ’s former Chinese member who sued, won, and left the  group and the company due to mistreatment), disbandment of H.O.T., Shinhwa’s departure from SM, etc etc etc so you had layers of SM stan pain. SHINee and f(x) became known as SM’s only groups to not lose a member or disband … and then f(x) lost Sulli in 2015 … :| 

This is the most I remember or came to light when I looked up different issues I had thought of. If anyone wants to add to this list of catastrophe then please, go ahead. .-. I’m not even proofreading or else I’ll just get emotional for the umpteenth time. Hope this answers your (and 3 other folks’) question well! 

[vileart]

Dr Carnesky's incredible bleeding Dramaturgy: Marisa Carnesky @ Edfringe 2017

Its time to reverse the curse! Because the revolution will be menstrual!

1970s horror meets 2020 feminist activism as Dr Carnesky's Incredible Bleeding Woman paints Edinburgh red

Putting the magic back into menstruation, showwoman and artist Marisa Carnesky reinvents menstrual rituals for a new era drawing on the hidden power of a forgotten matriarchal past. She is joined by amazingly skilled stars of the UK's alt cabaret scene - an eclectic group of women performers aka The Menstronauts who combine activism, art, humour and stagecraft. Delivered with a tongue in cheek reverence, the show mutates from a curious ladylike lecture into a glam 1970s magic show and finally into a spectacular 2020 feminist activist ritual.

Referencing representations of women and blood from ancient mythological deities and traditional human cultures to classic horror movies, here menstruation takes centre stage in a profound exploration into what it means to be ‘female’. Issues around fertility, body shame, taboo and lost ancient herstories are scrutinised, politicised & reclaimed.

With a potent brew of horror and parody The Menstronauts perform mind blowing menstrual rituals utilising all manner of skills, tricks and props from hair hanging, a sawing in half illusion, sword swallowing, gushes of strawberry jelly, floods of theatrical blood, spurts of red lipstick and an unstoppable flow of sheer heart and soul. Starring Marisa Carnesky, Fancy Chance, Rhyannon Styles, MisSa Blue, H Plewis, Sula Marjorie Plewis Robin and Nao Nagai.

What was the inspiration for this performance? 

It stemmed from my (Marisa Carnesky) research into menstrual rituals for my PhD at Middlesex University. I gathered some amazing women performers from the cabaret scene I knew together and asked them to reinvent menstrual rituals and create some menstrual activism with me. The show is the result.

As a group of women we were all going through different challenges to do with our bodies, from  miscarriage, infertility, childhood body shame, transitioning gender and childbirth. We wanted to explore new ways to mark and represent these experiences through performance and ritual.

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

We have found it to be really important and effective to bring a live show that really connects and touches people with issues that we face around our bodies. Because we are live people experience the show communally together and the shared energy in the audiences reactions can create poignant and cathartic group reactions, as well as all the fun of being at a spectacular circus show.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

I had been working with these artists in a number of projects through the east London alternative cabaret and live art scenes. We have worked together on a number of projects including our Ghost Train ride show that was in Blackpool and a rollerskating spectacle for the Cultural Olympiad based on the tarot.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I trained as a ballet dancer and then discovered the avant garde, punk rock and magic! I love creating performance, devising it, teaching it, performing it! I live and breathe it now for over 25 years and yet this is the first time I have brought one of my own productions the Edinburgh so I am excited to see how it is recieved!

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

We did an amazing experiment in this project where we only created the acts on the dark of the moon on the beach every month for three months on special performance retreats at the Metal artists residency house in Southend….its witchy stuff indeed! 

Then we got together for one week at the National Theatre Studios and pulled the material together. We further developed it by continuing to meet every dark moon and creating activist performance events and connecting with womens marches and campaigns.

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

None of my productions are usual…they are all unique investigations into ritual, gender, politics, spectacle and what makes us human…. From an arthouse Ghost Train in Blackpool about immigration and disappearance to a rollerskating psychedelic spectacle about the tarot and collective change we try to meld performance forms, popular and high culture, political issues and visions of the conscious and unconscious experience.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

We hope they will think about menstruation in a new light, be informed by the real research, entertained by our spectacle, showwomanship and humour and moved by our personal journeys.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience? 

We think its important to address the shame long associated with the female bodilly cycle but we want to do that and make work that is both entertaining, current, knowing enough for contemporary audiences and speaks to a diverse mixture of people from different walks of life and experience. 

The material is both fun and popular in style but also serious and arty. We are activists and we are here to act and use everything we have in our box of tricks to create experiences that speak to people and move them.  

Collectively the group devised the ritual performances by meeting every dark moon at Metal in Southend over the course of three months. Through a process of performance making, spell casting, dream diaries and cathartic sharing, the cabaret performance came together embodying the diverse lived experiences of menstruation in the group; from physical pain, fertility, , miscarriage, transgender identity, menopause and religious ritual.

Described as the High Priestess of Cabaret, Marisa Carnesky is the Creative Director of Carnesky Productions, a theatre company responsible for highly original large and small scale interactive performance works. Previous projects include Carnesky’s Ghost Train (2004-2014) and alternative stage school Carnesky’s Finishing School, which just completed a residency in the old Foyles building in Soho (August 2016 - January 2017). Carnesky Productions is interested in the use of spectacle, magic illusions and grand ritual as a means of creating highly accessible provocative work rooted in popular culture to promote cultural and political discourse.

Dr Carnesky’s Incredible Bleeding Woman is the end result of Marisa Carnesky’s Incredible Bleeding Woman research project which she has completed as part of her PhD at Middlesex University.

Listings information:

Dr Carnesky's Incredible Bleeding Woman (16+)

Venue: Pleasance

Dates & Times: 14.00 2 – 28 August (not 9, 21)  

Tickets: Previews 2, 3, 4: £7.30,

5, 6,9,10,16,17, 23, 24: £10.80 (£9.80 conc)

7,11,12,13,18,19, 20, 25, 26: £13.80 (£12.80 conc) 7 & 8 are on 2for1 offer

Box Office: 0131 556 6550 or 0131 226 0026 online at: pleasance.co.uk  or tickets.edfringe.com

Connect with Carnesky Productions on Twitter: @CarneskyProds #Bleedingwoman Facebook: The Menstronauts, and online at: carnesky.com

Become a menstrual activist. The Menstronauts are a menstrually identified activist group inspired by Dr Carnesky’s Incredible Bleeding Woman and The Radical Anthroplogy Group. They aim to raise awareness of the importance of the cycle and global issues relating to women’s bodies and their menstrual rights. You too can take part and reclaim the importance of your menstrual cycle through the power of ritual activism! Find The Menstronauts on Facebook.

Cast and Creative Credts:

THE MENSTRUANTS Veronica Thompson aka Fancy Chance performs regularly in the cabaret, variety, burlesque, live-art and circus communities. She was crowned Alternative Miss World in 2009 and London's Top Tranny in 2010. She will be performing her solo show 'Flights of Fancy' at the Soho Theatre in April 2017. She is also one of the few active hair hangers in the UK. Rhyannon Styles has been a Carnesky company member since 2008 performing in Carnesky’s Ghost Train and Carnesky’s Tarot Drome. Styles is a journalist and is currently Elle Magazine’s first trans columnist and her memoir ‘The New Girl’ will be published in July 2017. H Plewis has worked as a performer and choreographer with Carnesky Productions since 2008. She is also associated with Duckie, collaborating with the collective for over a decade, currently on The Posh Club and PC/DC. An all round live artist specialising in dance, H has worked across many contexts, most recently motherhood. Sula Majorie Plewis Robin is the

youngest Menstruant. An early arrival weighing less than a bag of sugar, she is now almost standing on her two chunky legs. She likes the milk of human kindness and Notorious B.I.G. Nao Nagai is a London based Japanese artist who immigrated to the UK at the age of 15. She has worked with postmodern pop performance pranksters Frank Chickens (winner of Foster’s Comedy God Awards 2010) and has devised and performed in shows by Hey Ho Ha. She trained as a Lighting Designer and has worked in diverse genres from cabaret - Copyright Christmas (Duckie) to Opera - Madama Butterfly (Grimebourne), touring nationally and Internationally. MisSa Blue is a renowned international performer who has been working on the circus/ sideshow and burlesque circuits since 2011. MisSa thrills audiences with dangerous stunts; a femme fatale who blurs the lines between high end entertainment and performance art. She performs at many international burlesque festivals and regularly headlines gigs all around the world. THE TEAM Assistant Director Florence Peak is a London-based artist who has been making work since 1995. With an extensive training in dance and a background in painting, Florence Peake's performance practice uses drawing, painting and sculpture materials combined with found and fabricated objects placed in relationship to the moving body. Site and audience, live and recorded text, wit and humour are key to her work. Dramaturg Kira O’Reilly is an artist currently leading a new MA pilot in Ecology and Contemporary Art in Helsinki. Her practice, both wilfully interdisciplinary and entirely undisciplined, stems from a visual art background; it employs performance, biotechnical practices and writing with which to consider speculative reconfigurations around The Body. Lighting Designer Marty Langthorne is a Lighting Designer for theatre Live art and Dance. He studied at The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) graduating in 2000. From 2001-2005 he was Production Manager for Performing Lines which took him outside Australia for the first time. Touring internationally with William Yang brought him to London and in 2005 he decided to move there. Always interested in experimental work, he became involved in the London live art community. He was a member of Pacitti Company and Production managed their SPILL Festival. Costume Designer Claire Ashley is a London based costume designer who runs a studio offering bespoke costumes and clothing, from metamorphic and vintage inspired costumes to bridal and tailoring. Magic Consultant Tom Cassani is a graduate of Carnesky’s Finishing School where Marisa Carnesky runs one week crash courses in solo performance. Trained in sleight of hand, misdirection and prestidigitation, Tom now uses these skills of deceit as an artistic framework to explore truth, honesty, manipulation and fabrication through performance art.

Carnesky Productions – A brief herstory

2000-2002 Jewess Tattooess national and international tour including BAC, Arnolfini, Los Angeles International Festival

2002-2004 The Girl From Nowhere national and International tour including Riverside Studios and Anti festival Finland

2004-2014 Carneskys Ghost Train London, national touring including Glastonbury, European tour in Belgium, residency for 5 years on Blackpools Golden Mile

2007 Magic War , Soho Thetare and touring nationally and internationally including City of Women Slovenia, Les Halles Brussels and Red Cat In Los Angeles

2012 -2014 Carneskys Tarot Drome for the Cultural Olympiad, Old Vic Tunnels and touring to festivals nationally and in Europe including Latitude and Cirque De Jules Vernes France.

2009 ongoing Carnesky’s Finishing School at various locations including 2 year residency at The Roundhouse, touring summer festivals and residency at old Foyles building Soho, October 2016 –January 2017

2015 premiere of work in progress National Theatre Studios and Duckie Dr Carneskys Incredible Bleeding Woman (DCIBW)

2016 DCIBW at UCL for International Women’s Day and Soho Theatre

from the vileblog http://ift.tt/2sHz7In