In the earliest days of vaudeville, comedy shared center stage with art forms such as drag, burlesque and music. Over the years, the friendly togetherness of these disciplines fell away, leaving each to grow (or, in some case, stagnate) on its own.
Kaitlin Buckley wants to help change that.
That’s why Circus Luminous, the after-hours variety show accompanying Saturday’s Bow Market Circus Extravaganza, is such an exciting opportunity for her. Ahead of the show’s debut at Upstairs at Bow, we chatted about the value of variety shows, what to expect from this particular pairing of “silly and sultry” and how comedy got lumped in with these more artistic forms of expression. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did the variety show and its artists come together?
The idea for the Bow Market Circus Extravaganza came from Lexi [of Lexi Butterfly Vintage in Bow Market). She thought it would be a great idea to have a circus event at Bow Market. During the day, it’s free for people to go to, and kids are welcome.
Lexi reached out to Shari Caplan, a very talented poet and performer and producer. She has her own production company called Luminous Yes. And she performs with the Poetry Brothel, which is really cool. It’s alternative poetry and burlesque; they perform a lot in Salem. I’ve known Shari for years – we used to work on “Old School Game Show” together. So Sheri reached out to me. Shari and I are hosting, and we call it “a celebration of the sultry and the silly,” because we have a lot going on in the show.
Within the past couple of years we’re seeing a lot of intersection between comedy and burlesque, or comedy and drag. What makes them so suited to go together?
It speaks to the Vaudeville era. When stand-up started, it was on the same bill as burlesque acts, as circus acts, as jugglers. It was considered part of – not an underworld, but something cool, like a speakeasy vibe, people who don’t necessarily fit into the mainstream. And drag is a huge part of that too. Especially around Boston, if you went to a burlesque show there was comedy. That’s how so many stand-ups got their start too – as people who came out of vaudeville. All of this was, not to get too deep about it, but avant-garde entertainment always. I don’t know why things got pulled apart a bit.
It’s really fun to think about how these art forms began and came up together. If you had a host for a drag show back in the day, the drag queen is doing stand-up. I really love that Boston is getting back to it through providing this kind of entertainment all in one night.
Maybe audiences aren’t used to having so many different types of art under one roof. What would you want a prospective audience member to know?
I would want them to feel happy and excited, that they are really going to be entertained for every minute of the show. And they’re going to be surprised, and I hope delighted, at the different kinds of talent that we have presented for them. When you think about a circus, you have that excitement of, “Oh, wow, anything could happen. I want to be entertained, I want to be surprised, I want to see somebody do something that I’ve never seen.”
Gven the artistry of dance and costume in drag and burlesque and even circuses, how did comedians – who just go up with a mic and words – get lumped in?
It goes to show: Everyone that’s felt kind of like a misfit or felt a little excluded? Those are the folks that gravitate toward art, to be artists and to be creative. And like Captain Planet, when our powers combine we’re even greater with the strength of how different everybody is.
When you get up there as a stand-up, you’re hoping your jokes work and that your perspective on things that have happened to you can connect with people you’ve never met. That’s very vulnerable – as vulnerable as a burlesque performer who has a beautiful costume and then they are dancing and they’re removing it to show their body.
That’s what all these forms have in common, is they were derided by mainstream culture as being less-than – and I think that’s because who’s more afraid of being vulnerable than the people in charge? If you see someone at a microphone making people laugh, that’s powerful. A lot of people are like, “Wow, I wish I could do that!” Or you see a drag performer get up there and they are lip syncing their heart out and selling the song. Either you’re laughing cause it’s funny or you’re crying cause you’re touched. How powerful is that to present yourself? All of these, if the form is done well, whichever art form you’re talking about, you’re stripping it down to “does this person have a point of view”?
VIP tickets for Circus Luminous are sold out; limited general admission tickets are still available for the 21-plus Saturday evening show at Bow Market, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville. Free to $40.
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