Kat Wondergloom Oral History Interview

Kat Wondergloom introduces herself as a Burlesque performer and producer of the show Love, Lust, and Leather Burlesque, a kink-based show. She defined Burlesque as a mixture of creativity and sexuality that exaggerates or parodies something. She says a Burlesque show consists of acts usually containing comedy and striptease. Kat enjoys the sense of community she finds in the Burlesque world and likes that it supports Queer art. She says there is a different between stripping in the strip club and stripping in Burlesque. In a strip club there is an element of touch, audience to performer interaction. In Burlesque there isn’t. However, Kat feels that Burlesque does fits in the spectrum of sex work in that Burlesque performers can act as the audience’s therapist, acting out fetishes that the audience would like to explore or giving performances around shame the audience might have regarding certain sexual things. Sometimes the Love, Lust, and Leather Burlesque shows are the first kind of interaction that people have with being kinky.

Kat likes that there is a wide range of production and participation in Burlesque. She likes that you don’t need to take certain classes or wear certain costume. It’s not regimented like ballet is. She enjoys the do-it-yourself aspect and the fact that the performer is in charge of costumes, the music, the choreography, and all the artistic choices.

Kat was born in Modesto, California and grew up in Antioch, California. Coming from an artistic family, Kat is the only one who is following an artistic career. She states that her mother is very supportive of her performance art. Kat acted in children’s theater in middle school, and in high school became interested in the technical side of theatre. She cites her teachers as being an inspiration and supportive to her in her creative pursuits. In 2010, Kat attended Southern Oregon University in Ashland where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Studio Art and minored in Philosophy. She attended the educational conference BurlyCon where she took classes in dance and production.

In 2011, Kat heard about Burlesque in her senior year of college. She pursued it, delving into podcasts, YouTube videos, websites, etc. While still living in Southern Oregon, she auditioned for a local Burlesque troupe and joined them. There she learned about makeup and costuming and the director of the truth taught her about marketing. Kat produced her first show called Rockin’ Pin Up Revue at Johnny B’s in Medford. Kat works as a nanny and also sells clothing and does costume work.

Kat travels across Oregon, from Ashland to Eugene to Astoria, performing in Burlesque shows and producing different editions of Love, Lust and Leather in different towns. She details the process of negotiating with venues and all the business logistics involved in marketing and producing her shows. She explains the financial aspects and considerations in providing for the performers who work for her. She explains further the details of raising money during the show by offering a raffle, games, and floggings and spankings.

Describing the kind of audience that is drawn to her Burlesque shows, Kat explains that they are appreciative that Love, Lust and Leather are a Queer Burlesque troupe and a body positive show. She describes her show as being a punk rock version of Burlesque and the acts are very much neo-Burlesque. Kat explains further the difference between Classical Burlesque and neo-Burlesque.

Kat tells about working at the Hubba Hubba Revue in San Francisco and Oakland. Hubba Hubba Revue is an internationally known Burlesque show run by Jim Sweeney. Kat talks about imposter syndrome as being defined as feeling that you’re not at the caliber that people expect you to be and about having fear of rejection.

Kat talks about her color-coded Google calendar and Burlesque notebook which keeps her super-organized. Her week is fully scheduled, between her full-time job as a nanny, her job as a Burlesque producer, and her creation of new routines. She describes her process for creating a new routine as being based on a song or an idea. She describes how she does Burlesque on a budget, shopping at Goodwill, thrift stores, consignment stores and the Dollar tree for her costume pieces. She said that creating on a budget takes a lot of creativity.

Kat defines cultural appropriation as a dominant group adopting the practices of a marginalized group. She cites examples of acts by white people that are based on Geisha culture or the culture of Dia de los Muertos. Kat defined diversity as being a range of different things or aspects. As a producer, Kat makes sure to invite people of color, different abilities, different genders, different body sizes, and different levels of experience to achieve a diverse cast for her shows.

Kat stresses how much control each individual artist has over their art in Burlesque. Each artist controls their choreography, their costume, their music, their lighting, the way that they are introduced, and the way that they interact with the audience. She finds this very empowering, that she is able to express herself, her sexuality, her humor, and her intelligence in the safe space of Burlesque performance. Because Burlesque can give a voice to marginalized groups and put them at the forefront of the stage she feels Burlesque can be a force for social change. The very fact that marginalized people are on stage is a political act.

Kat feel that fat phobia is a major challenge facing Burlesque today. She says that a lot of directors or producers want performers with a specific cis white skinny body type, and that attitude leaves out a lot of People of Color. Also a challenge is the financial aspect of getting paid or what you are worth regarding the years of training, the experience you have, and the expenses of travel and costume. She wishes the general public knew that Burlesque is for everybody. To participate, you don’t have to have a certain amount of money, you don’t have to look a certain way, or dance a certain way. All it takes is your dedication to your art and creativity.