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Lola Coquette Oral History Interview

Dublin Core

Title

Lola Coquette Oral History Interview

Description

Lola Coquette introduces herself as a queer femme, Latinx, and Mexican performer, originally from Arizona and now based in Portland. She is a performer, producer, and instructor of Burlesque. She defines Burlesque as a combination of satire, shimmy, and the humor of Lucille Ball or Carol Burnett. Coquette describes stripping in a club as being physically demanding with no minimum wage, long hours, and expected close interaction with the, usually, male customers. She describes Burlesque stripping as being a four to six-minute theatrical performance, with no expectation of audience interaction, and a paid stipend is usual. She goes on to detail the various styles of performance she does.

Coquette pays tribute to Burlesque icons and Legends, who inspired her: Michelle L’amour, Miss Indigo Blue, and Kitten Natividad, among others.

She goes on to explain how she came to move to Portland in 2014 and began to develop her Burlesque performing career. Coquette lists the shows in which she is a regular performer and describes the shows she produces.

Coquette talks about her involvement in the Oregon Burlesque Festival and her role as a producer of that annual event. She describes the organization, operations, and financial considerations of producing that Festival.

Coquette goes on to explore her experience in traveling to and performing in the national and international Burlesque festival circuit and mentions the competition titles and awards she has won. She tells about her role and duties as a volunteer Community Member at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas.

Coquette explains the artistic intention behind the Portland Burlesque show, Signature, which she co-produces with performer Kit Katastrophic. Coquette explores the artistic aspects of how she creates a new Burlesque performance piece. She has around twenty-five acts in her repertoire.

She explains her views regarding cultural appropriation and diversity within the Burlesque world. She discusses how Burlesque can be an important force for social change and also describes the challenges facing Burlesque today.

Creator

Lola Coquette

Source

Oregon Burlesque Performers Oral History Collection (OH 49)

Publisher

Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries

Date

January 19, 2020

Contributor

Laurie Kurutz

Format

Born Digital Video

Language

English

Type

Oral History

Identifier

oh49-coquette-lola-20200119

Oral History Item Type Metadata

Interviewer

Laurie Kurutz

Interviewee

Lola Coquette

Location

Portland, Oregon

Original Format

Born Digital Video

Duration

0:52:36

OHMS Object

Interview Format

video

Transcribe This Item

  1. 6. NEW Lola Coquette photo.jpg