ECC On The Radio

Monday night ElectroCult Circus got to play on the radio. We were playing live from CD12.5's Big Room Bar. It's a neat bar located in the station and they have great sandwiches and drinks. I've seen some really good bands there that I wouldn't have heard of otherwise. CD102/5 is a great perk to living in Columbus.

We were all so excited. Once Tom Butler came upstairs and told us 60 seconds everyone said "get your swearing out now" and proceeded to shock me with the amount of expletives they could lace together in once sentence. When 30 seconds passed, they got quiet but every now and then an f bomb would slip and we would giggle like little kids. The count down started and you could feel everyone in the band hold their breath.

We played two new songs from our new album and people who were listening said they really liked it and wanted a CD when they came out. I look forward to owning one myself.

We played a great set and the people in the audience were very happy so it was a great night. When I hung the poster I took from the bathroom with the schedule for the Big Room on it I looked at all of the posters and flyers from my shows over the past four years and I thought to myself that I am so very lucky because I have gotten to do some pretty neat things in my life. What a great ending to 2015! Go ECC!

The Start of Monthly Shows.

On Saturday we performed an hour of our comedy and dance for Varietease, an Ooh La La Burlesque production. They are going for more variety in their shows. We had a good sized crowd and they seemed to really enjoy what we were doing.

We had to switch out a video last minute, because I felt it was too insensitive to play it at the moment, so we played a video from our Trulie Awesome Online Show. It was Button Le Bouton's sandwich interview. The experience was cool because I could hear people's response to the video in real time instead of seeing a thumbs up.

I really enjoy a live audience because we are all experiencing something together and I get feedback in real time. We are already working on new material for the next show in December. The show is December 11th at Ruby Tuesday Live on Summit and starts at 10:30pm. For $5 you get a lot of entertainment in a cool place.

The Trulie Awesome Blanket Show

On Saturday November 7th Feverhead opened it's doors at 5pm for The Trulie Awesome Blanket Show! The admission price was a blanket or $10 to go toward the purchase of a new blanket and they were donated to Faith Mission. Besides, comedy with me, Maulie, and Totalie, we got Nick Glaser and his daughter Lily to do stand up, Erik Tait to do our magic sketch show with us, and Electro Cult Circus to play some Michael Jackson songs. Shawn Schulte brought tea for everyone too! The crowd had a good time and they are all good people for joining us to collect donations.

We dropped the blankets off last night and the Faith Mission is a very busy place. Right now they are asking for monetary donations to go toward a Thanksgiving meal for people. They say $2.40 can feed one person so your money can go a long way. Faith Mission

They also have lists of items needed if you would rather donate items and not money. The need is real.

The Most Exciting Weekend in Columbus

Trauma starts today! The months of hard work are about to pay off in a few hours. The Bluestone, is transformed into a mysterious place with sexy experiences and outrageous performers. Everywhere you look there is something shocking or sensuous to see.

Button LeBouton, owner of Button and Her Notions has a fire show prepared for this evening. She has shot stop motion animation for months and handmade all of her props. The choreography is challenging and fun and the music will stick with you. She invites audience participation in the end, so come prepared to burn baby!

Electro Cult Circus has put together a compilation of music from their album Come On/In. I get to spin fire for this one, along with two very talented fire tamers who I can't name because, it is called The Mystery Box, after all. I am so proud of Casey Oddfellow Ward for this show. It is something he has wanted to do for a long time.

Friday is The Trulie Awesome Show: Live From the Kingdom of Bounce. This show features two numbers that I have been wanting to create for awhile. Twinkle by Girls Generation and Good Boy By GD X Taeyang. Both numbers have been a joy to work on and I can not wait to present it to the audience! The costumes for Good Boy are my version of paper doll clothes. I had so much fun decorating those.  Then of course there is Crazy Bounce by PapaB Chozen Lee and I-van. This number has trampolines, inflatables, and cupcake pasties. It is a real treat!

Then Saturday night Button and Snap, Trulie and Maulie perform as our real selves. Secret identities revealed at Trauma 2015!

You wont be able to see this anywhere else because they do not allow photography or video for this event so come on out to The Bluestone for Trauma 10/29-10/31!

On with the show!

Trauma Season!

Trauma is a halloween fetish party that occurs every October in Columbus. It's more of an entire season for performers. Trauma season starts months before the actual even and ramps up in October leading up the the three days of strange and unusual bliss. It's October 29th-31st at The Bluestone and we just had another rehearsal last night. I get to perform with Button and Her Notions as Snap La Snap for Thursday's show. The Theme is fire and she is doing The Evolution of Fire. She works tirelessly on stop motion videos and I can't wait to see them. The rocket ship animation she did last year was magical. We danced last night and I just love it when she choreographs. It's a challenging series of movements but after last night I think I am getting it more.

We also rehearsed for the final number for The Trulie Awesome Show last night. We perform at Friday's Show. This is a song and number I have had in my head for at least a year and seeing it on the performers it's a dream come true! They are making me so proud! I can't wait for them to be in full costume. There are several moving parts to this 11 minute show. The hardest part we start on Saturday and since it will be the opening number I am very nervous.

Tonight though, Trulie Awesome Show performs at Wild Goose Creative as part of the Best of The Underground series. Anime Cosplay and Gaming. We will do our comedy then zoom off to KDB at Easton for a CD102.5 Battle of The Bands. Our band ElectroCult Circus is in round two!

ElectroCult Circus is in Trauma too, also performing Thursday evening. I will be twirling fire!! I've been twirling since I was 7 or so. My mom was a majorette. It's one of those skills I am forever grateful to my mother for forcing me to learn. I started to twirl fire a few years ago and I am in love with it. I rarely get to do it because permits and insurance are so hard to get for it.

Saturday is the last day of Trauma and Button and I will be performing as our true selves. No wigs no costumes no props. Talk about terrifying. I trust her though, I am in good hands and it will be a moving piece. This one is actually starting to be the one I most look forward too because it is something I have not done before.

Trauma tickets are available: Tickets! This is also a charity event. Costumes are required, the theme is not. Thursday is FIRE Friday is KINGS AND QUEENS and Saturday is DYSTOPIA

No cellphones or photographs allowed so leave your phone at home!

Midoricon 2015

We are two days away from Midoricon 2015! Totalie and I travel to Maumee Bay for the convention on Saturday and perform at the outdoor amphitheatre at 4pm then we have my first cosplay shoot right after.

Elizabeth Tappel wanted to shoot after the first Dr. Horrible show because I built a giant mask out of paper for my Atlantis number. I am nervous about the shoot because I have to do a quick change right after our show, but also because I do not consider myself a cosplayer. I like to try and make outfits out of paper and other items I have on hand, but I do not go to the extreme that people who consider themselves cosplayers go to. I just have fun trying to get it as close as possible. My Kida look came together with some muslin and dye that I had already, Christmas ribbon and paper. I only had to buy the wig. I did make a weapon myself but I asked a friend to make me a nice one and it is beautiful but it is not the same weapon as in the movie. That's another reason I am nervous about it. I was thinking of trying to correct the blade if I had time but I don't want to destroy it by taking it apart.

Then in the evening at 10pm I am joined by the Ooh La La's to perform Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Burlesque! This is a show produced by Betty LeRoux Serge LeSinister and Brianne Jeanette all based around the works of Joss Whedon. I will be performing the Atlantis number there but also a new number for Buffy which I am excited about because I get to really dance in it!

Then Sunday I do a paper dress panel and then we travel home so we can be back for our second Trauma rehearsal.

So much to look forward to and it is only Wednesday.

Never Put Spray Adhesive On Your Face

In Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Burlesque Show, I have a number for Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Joss Whedon wrote for this overlooked Disney treasure. I play Kida and she has blue face markings. I made mine out of glitter paper (naturally) and have been sticking it to my face using a roll on adhesive that is safe for skin. Well I decided at the last show, that I should use spray adhesive.

It started to burn

and kept on burning

and tore off a small section of my skin

and now I have a burn mark on my face.

I don't always make dumb decisions with my face, but when I do, it involves glue.

Don't put spray adhesive on your face. Derp.

Take My Breath Away

Trauma 2015 is about 8 weeks or so away and we are pump-ing up a bunch of inflatables. We were given the opportunity to host a section of a private room. That means we get to come up with kinky games. I'm matching my performance to our section of the room and that means lots of blowing...things up...like inflatable blow things up.

I didn't expect it to be this huge. -She


Luckily Maulie had an air compressor. So we had this guy and his twin in the fin brother inflated without passing out.

We will be performing on Friday of Trauma which is October 30th, on the main stage. You will have to come and find us to play with us in the special room. ^_~

I am also performing with Button and Her Notions and ElectroCult Circus on Thursday October 29th at Trauma and you can catch Maulie and I as our true selves on Saturday October 31st. Why not be ourselves on Halloween when we dress up for the rest of the year!? ^_^

Check Out Trauma it's a Halloween Fetish Ball and Fundraiser!

Gen Con-To Review

It's been a week since Gen Con and I THINK I am feeling normal again. I think...

We drove down Wednesday night and checked into our room. The staff was nice but the hotel was so sub par I can't believe the ratings are real. You can read our review entitled Did R Kelly Stay Here? but spoiler alert: that hotel is nasty and you shouldn't stay there.

We didn't spend much time in our room though!  We met with some of the Hex community at the Tilted Kilt. The Tilted Kilt is like Hooters only everyone is dressed like "oops I did it again" Brittney Spears. I was just happy to sit down. The waitresses were doing their best to dodge being hit on and doing their jobs without punching someone. After that we got our badges (thank you Gen Con for making it 24 hours because even at midnight the line was soooooo long) and then we went back to the hotel to play games.

Next day we were up and transformed into Totalie and Trulie so we could do our panels. Full Metal went well, and the dress making panel was so much fun! The group was smaller which meant I could sit and make flowers with them out of some blue ray sleeves I snagged at Origins. Everyone had a great time!

Paper Dress Panel

Friday we gamed and gamed and gamed and gamed and gamed some more.

Saturday was the big show day. Death Note Panel was a good chat with fellow fans. We learned how uncomfortable it is to talk about the subject of writing names in a notebook for certain purposes. Death Note is a lot more than it appears on the surface and it is interesting to talk about it. The comedy went really well, except the door was locked so people who were late couldn't get in. It was so exciting to see people I knew from Columbus waiting in the hallway. In fact we were recognized by a few people which made us feel pretty special!

We weren't the only pink and green haired duo in the convention this year but Awesome's hair is still the most...special?

He has some good points.
I am a tad concerned with the pink and green haired characters from Home Stuck looking a lot like us but then again, just like in gaming, the more the merrier! Besides, Wanda and Cosmo from Fairy Odd Parents are older than us. ^_~
I got to play a game I wanted to play last year! Werewolf. OMGlob I LOVE WEREWOLF I want to play it until I can't play it anymore then play it again.

Overall Gen Con was so exhausting but I met people and played and had so much fun! Besides the hotel, traffic was bad, but our carmates entertained everyone by reading Tweets from the One Direction concert and watching videos so we can all learn how to whip and nay nay.

Whip and nay nay is not a pony.

But the chair is a banana and we must beware the ficus.

and that is what Gen Con does to your brain.

Gen Con 2015 -To Prepare

Gen Con 2015 is almost here! The Trulie Awesome Show was fortunate enough to connect with Wasabi Anime via JoyYou Café for Origins, and since we were already funding our own way to Gen Con, we were able to do four panels this year!

We learned a lot at Origins so we feel slightly more prepared for the panels for Gen Con. Full Metal Alchemist is Thursday at 11am. Fan Panels are great because we just talk and people bring up points and questions and we discuss everything.  I don't watch Full Metal Alchemist but King Sweet Beard and Totalie Awesome are fans, so I will be in the audience for this one.

My Alternative Cosplay Paper Dress Making Panel at 1pm has only two people registered but it will be fun to teach people a simple way to turn paper into a dress. I filmed myself making two dresses so I would not have to drag a lot of equipment around the convention center. The first time I did this panel was Midoricon 2014 and I forgot the scissors and the tape. It would have been a disaster if not for Peach Roulette, Serge Le Sinister, Totalie Awesome, and Maulie Squee entertaining the audience while I found some scissors. I hope to be able to turn my Gen Con program into a skirt at the end of the panel in under five minutes. With less people in the class, I may be able to show them a lot more than just three dresses.

We also have a Death Note fan panel on Saturday at 2pm but I'm MOST excited about our Trulie Awesome Show on Saturday at 8:30pm. Totalie says the Hex gamers will be there, but so far no one has taken a ticket for it. As long as there is one person in the audience the show will go on. I hope there are more people, but I still can't believe we get to perform there!

We have a lot to get done before we leave on Wednesday and then it's gaming and anime for the next four days!!

Charitable Weekend

The Trulie Awesome Show had a weekend jam-packed with charitable events July 10-12th. Friday we saw Stars and Strips, an original burlesque musical produced by Mon Cherie Entertainment and performed at the Garden Theatre in the Short North. It was a benefit for Honor Flight Columbus. This organization helps veterans visit the memorials and sites honoring their service.

The musical was based around two sailors going off to fight in World War II.

On Saturday Team Cheetah ran the Dash for Donation. Lifeline of Ohio puts this event on to raise awareness about organ donation. We run in Team Cheetah to honor my step-son Ian who passed away in 2010. He loved to run, despite his asthma, and gained the nickname Cheetah because he had become so fast. His classmates graduated in 2015 and they never forgot him. They carried him with them throughout. Cheetah Strong. It's always an emotional day. We try to stay light. The donor family experience is much different from a recipient family. Lifeline of Virginia helped us through Ian's passing. The support we received from them will never be forgotten.

While we were running around downtown Columbus, Totalie was streaming the game Hex Shards of Fate for a charity called Extra-Life. They raised $27,515 for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Big gamers with big hearts.

That's Awesome at the top!

Later that day, Totalie Awesome, Maulie Squee, and yours Trulie (Scrumptious) took over the Ready Room at The Columbus Museum of Art for their Connector Series! Totalie built a whiteboard app and we turned it into a game. Participants kept us laughing with their zany drawings!

 Be sure to check out their new wing opening in October 2015!

Finally, we hit the road to Pittsburgh to support Beverly's Birthdays an organization that provides birthday parties to homeless children and children in need in the Pittsburgh area. They provide childhood magic for little ones who live difficult lives. This fundraiser was a charity ball, and the theme was Disney Princesses so I went as Princess Vanellope Von Schweetz from Wreck it Ralph. My "dates" Queen Elsa and Prince Charming, were pint sized, and experiencing their wonder and excitement was beautiful. Knowing that this organization brings that wonder to people in need is so heartwarming. Yes, these families need the basics, but providing them with something they wouldn't get to experience otherwise is a treasure they can keep with them always. In the winter, my family collects donations for Christmas stocking sized toys for the children of Franklin County's foster care program. It is a way to give back and helps them have experiences similar to their peers. It also helps to distract us from our own loss by doing something good.

There are so many ways to participate in making this world a better place. Thank you to the volunteers for these organizations. "You can change the world, there's nothing to it"



June is Over

June is over! The Trulie Awesome Show managed to perform at Comfest despite the rain and cancelations. We performed to a crowded tent (because it was raining and the tent was shelter). It was fun to entertain people and make them last while the park was slowly turning into a mud pit. By 7 the park was closed. Unfortunately, right as our band, ElectroCult Circus was setting up to go on. After the Pride Parade, we had had it with rain (but I will take rain over 100 degree heat)

Forced Happiness.

The Doo Dah Parade was a success. We went as Math Heads, because a mind is a terrible thing to waste. The sun was shining and it wasn't too terribly hot. My goal for this was to be anonymous until after the parade, which worked out well. I put some hints as to who we were on the car, but other than that people did not know who we were. We had people solve math problems and danced to math music. Math is Algebraic.

Math Skills.

This weekend will be another packed one. Totalie and I have been working on the Trulie Awesome Game Show for Columbus Museum of Art Connector Series (more on that later) and I am going to a Princess Ball in Pittsburgh! My sister is Princess Ariel and their group is raising money for Beverly's Birthdays. It's an organization that makes it possible for homeless children to experience a birthday party. Totalie will be doing a charity stream for Hex to raise money for Extra-Life.org benefiting Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

 I've been working on my dress for the Princess Ball. I am going as a toned down version of Princess Vanellope Von Schweetz from Wreck It Ralph. I want to make an over the top version just for fun. (when I get time ^_^)

Splishing and Splashing

It rained on our parade on Saturday. A nice constant drench of big ploppy raindrops. We moved forward with constructing the monster, using an awning to try and shield it a bit. The business opened though so we had to move out from the awning.

We didn't even get a chance to take a picture before it started to melt. Those blue and red pieces on the end of the slinkys were art pieces cut from art books. They melted first. So I took them off. That was about the time the Columbus Museum of Art came over and said their stuff was melting in the rain too. I'm glad at least one of them got to see it though.

Here is us trying to raise the monster after giving him an umbrella hat. This is the closest to a full picture of the monster that we got. Unfortunately.

and here is where the monster ended up before the parade even started. Now, it is common for me to take time building something and then destroy it in the performance. In my experience, life is about building up to something that never happens. About spending time and energy building something that gets destroyed in an instant. So this was made to only last one day. However, watching people throw their garbage into something that I worked on for so long, before it even got to be used for what I needed it for, well that was an experience. I was expecting to be upset but the whole situation was so typical that I just had to improvise and keep going. I tore the slinkys off of the monster and we wore them as we splashed our way through a soaking wet parade. It was an illustration of "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain" Dance we did. It was magical.

I need to thank Totalie Awesome, Maulie Squee, Meester, Casey Oddfellow Ward, King Sweetbeard, Queen Sweetrack, Serge Le Sinister, and Peach Roulette for joining us in the downpour.

Slow Like Sloth Progress is Slogress

I have the patience of a two year old and I am training myself to take my time on projects even if I am going to destroy them during a performance anyway. Taking things slow makes me angry so I try to think of a sloth so at the very least, I have a cute fuzzy animal in my head while I clench my jaw and sigh heavily every five minutes.

Progress is slow going on the New CMA Building Monster but I'm getting closer to being able to add teeth, eyes, and tentacles.

The front and back of the building has big beautiful windows but I was not sure how I was going to mimic those without spending money. Totalie and I toyed with the idea of plastic, but I went with some artist shots of buildings cut out of a marketing book produced by a retail management company.

Not too bad for a cartoonish imagining of the real thing. Imagine this with sharp teeth and giant eyes.

One of the reasons this is a slothy process, is because I am building a piñata for my friend's daughter. It's a rainbow themed party so I made a rainbow for them to smash into bits. I was thinking I could put chocolate coins into it, but an outdoor party in 90 degree weather and chocolate may not be the best idea. It's not finished yet but here is my first party piñata.

It needs more clouds!

After I get the color right on the New CMA Monster, I will be a happy sloth.

Origins Game Fair 2015

The Trulie Awesome Show had the opportunity to host panels at Origins this year for their Anime Track. We covered a variety of topics over the course of four days, but my favorite was when we got to perform our show.

Bringing a show to a convention is a bit tricky because you have to be able to set up and tear down quickly and you have to create your own backstage area. I learned that the hard way with our first convention, Midoricon. I had not seen the room before the day we were doing the show, and if they hadn't had a giant screen, we would have been changing in front of everyone. Not exactly the show we want to present! Since then, we have put together a mic-stands and bed sheets version of a backstage area, which travels well and can double as a projection screen.

 The staff of the Hyatt were very helpful, letting us use a bell hop cart and letting us pull up to the entrance to unload. (The bell hop cart is one of the most useful inventions) Thank you Hyatt!

We performed a 45 minute set of our original sketch comedy and dance which was a lot of fun. I was surprised we were able to clean up all of the paper, candy, and tech in under five minutes.

Since this was the first year for Anime Track at Origins, it wasn't a heavy traffic area, but we all had a great time! We met some folks from JoyYou Cafe and Anime Punch, two anime loving companies in town you should definitely check out. We hope that Wasabi Anime does this again next year!

Our next stop is Gen Con July 30th-August 2nd and we will be performing at Midoricon 2015 September 25th-27th

The Art Monster

This summer, Totalie and I have the opportunity to work with Open Heart Creatures and Columbus Museum of Art to celebrate love in the Pride Parade. Since The museum is opening a newly built portion of their building this fall, I decided to make a monster out of it.

When I saw this building go up I thought it was unattractive but the more I studied it the more I saw the beauty. The overall shape seemed boxy but the windows, which are everywhere, open the building up. I wonder if I would be able to stand across the street and watch what is going on in the building like live television.

The sides of the building are an interesting blue green and gold color that pops even more in the rain.

The best part of the building is it is easy to turn into a monster. I'm having fun trying to recreate something in a smaller scale. I've also been able to repurpose items from my other builds for this project. My clamshell from DRAUMA 2015 has become the base for the monster.  The building itself used to be part of my fort. (everyone needs a fort)

Model Peach Roulette DRAUMA 2015 Oh My Cod! A Piece. Photo Credit unknown.