This Ain't Your Show

I think that a great many people underestimate the quality of nightlife entertainment in this city. It makes sense of course; with Broadway theaters selling tickets for over $100 a pop, the free show at the bar a few blocks over can't be that great, right? Yes. It can. In my experience, some the random shows that you didn't even know were going on in the bars during the week can be even more thrilling and exciting than that show that won the Tony Award last year.

However, after every good drag show or cabaret, I can almost guarantee that some douche bag is going to take over that recently cleared stage, dance around on it, and even possibly take his clothes off.

As a performer and an exhibitionist myself, I still fail to understand how it can occur to anyone that this is either appropriate or interesting to other people. I don't care how hot you are, or how good of a dancer you are: there is no way to do what you are doing without looking like an asshole. I understand that all of us in the entertainment field have to go to ridiculous lengths to get noticed in this city, but this is not the way to go about it.

I won't lie: I am a bit envious of their confidence. I wish I had the guts to take my clothes off in public without request, command, or necessity. But if you have that much confidence to begin with, you can exercise it in a more practical (and flattering) way. Approach a nightlife producer and pitch yourself for a booking. Audition for a show. Submit your photos for a porn company or escort service (applications are not hard to come by these days).  But until an emcee calls your name, please...keep your pants on.