Divinity Rising: All Part of the Show -

Or at least, let’s go to Youtube and see some new stuff…. It’s video week!  The parade video/picture slide is finally  finished! HURRAY!

The rough cut of  “Calling All the Magical People” is the soundtrack We rushed to have this version done by the parade, but I went back and redid some vocals, etc afterwards.  I’m hoping the mastered version will be available for purchase within the week. I just couldn’t put off sharing this any longer.

IF you can’t see the video above, you can view it by clicking HERE

I’m going to try to break up my newsletters from now on  so they’re not so daunting  and come a little more frequently. By the time I get around to writing to you, I have so much to share, I fear I will fry your brains. In light of this problem, I have discovered an interesting solution! The “publish scheduling” option of wordpress!

In my next newsletter, I’ll have something fun for Derby for you. Do you have any off the wall photos or videos from Derby? Annual Derby Festivities ? I am compiling a parody youtube slideshow/video and could use your help…I am compiling a parody video/slide show that shows the other side of Derby – the drunken mayhem, the mud wrestling, chaos, traffic, and some of the fireworks, crowds…weird.. can you send your off the wall derby photos/videos?

Send them to ddcsubmit@gmail.com along with your written permission to use them. I will not be making any money off of this video. I will be posting it on Youtube for my Derby blog on my website. I will list your name in the info on youtube.

Thanks!

Annnd, enough of the past: Looking to the future:

May 29, 2011 at Saint’s Skybar in Louisville: I”m presenting a fantasy of poetry, pop culture, visual art and body paint! I can’t wait for you to see the five head to toe body paint designs I dreamt up (applied by international fashion designer Genna Yussman) and the two models wearing my poetry in calligraphy by Jen Grove.  In anticipation, we recently did a photo shoot for upcoming fashion magazine Black and Grey by Bil Brown. I’ll be performing with guests Truth B Told, Raanan Hershberg, Jessica Neamon, Mamakitty Southwood and Tony Smith. Pop music, high energy performance poetry, projected abstract videos, a juried art show and more. This is going to be one of the most exciting and sexy events this summer! Don’t miss it! Tickets and more are available now at Brown Paper Ticket, the awesome sustainable and environmentally friendly ticket service. Click Here .   This event will probably sell out and has limited seating, so get your VIP reserved seating areas today for just a couple dollars more per person! Ten percent of proceeds go to Breaking New Grounds, a local non-profit focused on creating jobs with sustainable urban agriculture.

As I move in some new directions and “break new grounds”, I have once again been reminded that people seem to think that I just push forward with ease as I follow my joy and create my heaven on earth. They comment on how easy it comes for me and remark that I am fearless. These are absolute untruths. I work very hard to make things happen. I sacrifice a lot of simple pleasures, stability and other things that most people want in order to achieve the things that I do. I deal with people who wish to attack me because I stand out.  I have to combat (with the help of friends sometimes) doubt, fear, insecurities like everyone.  I have to remind myself of the following: “There will always be opportunities to worry, to fear, to doubt, to hand over my power – but I will not give it. I am responsible for my experience and I plan to enjoy it. ”

I give you all permission to use my mantra if you feel it will help you in facing the difficulties that come our way day to day, tempting us to fear, to doubt, to give in and not claim our birthright, our heaven on earth.  As a whole, we are all only as strong as our weakest brethren.

Love, Light, and blessings to send you through your dreams <3

Sometimes, it’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday. That’s exactly what I’m doing in many areas of my life, but I also recently had to make a tough decision to let go of my baby of the past three years: Sub Rosa, the Gypsie Courtyard. Weekly production, booking, hosting was becoming too much for me, and I found myself unable to really pursue my own art forms and be such a supporter of everyone else at the same time. I am capable of and wanted to host higher quality shows, but found it hard while I was locked into the weekly duties of taking care of Sub Rosa. It’s been coming for a while. I have been struggling to keep it going because I know it means something to the people who were involved and came regularly and it meant something to me. You all mean so much to me. I wanted to keep it alive for you all, but had to know when to let go and follow where my heart was leading. Thank you for the amazing and overwhelming response of support I have gotten so far. I have met so many amazing talents over the last three years and believe in each of you so much. You’ve all touched me, blessed me and filled me up with wonder and good stuff. You all have such exciting journeys ahead of you if you just believe in the whispers from your heart that guide you. I will continue to produce events on a less regular schedule with a main focus on developing my performance art and hope to work with many of you in those events. I will be posting calls to artists, performers, models, etc for different productions. This is the first one: My next show is Poetry, Pop, and Paint and the information for the call can be found here on facebook : http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=188781017831980

In other news, the debut of  my song Broken went so well! Thanks to my partner, Jada Parks for her photography and inspiration and to Nick Peay for the perfect music! Artography was such an awesome and fun event produced by Kenn Parks, and I was very happy with the response! I wish I had set up a webcam as suggested by my friend Tim to stream people’s responses to the web. Some people were creeped out to the point of being unable to look in my direction. One woman leaned in to tell me that I was very brave. Others let me know how much they enjoyed it, and I met some really awesome artists, creatives. Kenn did a great job at creating an event for people to mingle, appreciate art, and I foresee some awesome collaborations coming out of it. I enjoyed it immensely and can’t wait to do more living exhibits in the future. Here are some awesome photos by Tim Valentino of VU (pronounced View) Photography and Joe Mays and a phone video by Tim Druck. Enjoy! I am still working on the parade video footage and photos to share with you. Hope to have them done by the next newsletter.

On another note, I’ve found myself in a place where people that used to scare me with bullying or by holding their approval/love over my head no longer scare me. I’ ve found them raise their heads and try to surface  with the type of behavior that would have used to make me give in or try to defend myself or try to make everything “ok” . I’ve found it quite liberating to realize that I’ve come to a place where I don’t really care what they think.  I’ve found that the more I tried to shine, the more of a target I became. Somewhere in my journey, I overcame a need to prove myself to haters, people who wanted to hold me back and decided to let my actions speak for me. I am human like everyone else on a path of learning, trying to figure out who I am, go for my heart’s desires and learn how to best be me. Part of that process includes falling, making mistakes. We all do. If we didn’t, none of us would learn to walk..we’d still be crawling around on the ground.  Some of us aren’t happy with just learning to walk. We want to fly. The further you are from the ground, the harder you may find yourself falling.  It’s far too easy to weigh ourselves down with our own judgment and criticism.   The last thing we need is a bully or someone we trust/care about to continually grab on to our legs and try to pull us back down. The truth is it has never really been them holding us down that keeps us from flying…it’s our failure to push off of them and leave them behind. It sucks that they are lonely where they are, but maybe if you continue to rise, they will see that they can, too.   My favorite quote this year has been “Do not speak about your greatest gifts…Leave the talking to others.”  I’m trying to make that my mantra.  You’re either for me or against me and if you’re against me, the past is your home and I’m not looking down / back as I rise. The people I now find myself surrounded by and consider friends that have shown  me real love/support, inspire me to continue to rise, and actually care about my well being/happiness and I theirs  are more precious to me than gold, and the others are..well, people….people I once knew.   It’s hard to say goodbye and walk away from the habit/desire of giving others your power and letting them make you feel bad about yourself or scare you into giving up on flying, but definitely a hurdle worth leaping over.  So, raise a glass with me and toast to the liberation of saying good bye to the fears of yesterday!!

Hey everyone! I’m so excited about tonight! I’m performing at the Mother Lodge festival in Louisville, Kentucky with NYC Lady Rizo and a slew of other talented performers like Tyrone Cotton, JP Lebangood, Adam Rapp and Craig Wright.

I got to see Lady Rizo last year and she had me in stitches/awe the entire time! She is just in town for tonight! I can’t say enough good things about her. JP Lebangood is a local favorite performer of mine as well. Billed as “The Mad Bastard”, he lives up to his moniker in a way that forces you to laugh at his bouts of madness. He is an extremely talented writer and comedian. I’m performing a snippet from Doomsday Lover including Baby Girl and Soul Hungry, which means I’ll be all dolled up!

There is a 7pm and 9 pm show, Cost is $8

I’ll be performing/releasing a new song titled Broken as part of a live art exhibit with the Broken Doll photos that I did with Jada Parks. I’m excited to bring this new song to you, but am even more excited about the delivery method in being a living piece of art. I will be there live as a broken doll, surrounded by broken dolls, chained to the exhibit of broken doll photos. This will happen as part of Motherlodge on Friday 3/25. I believe tickets are $8. Also going on that night:

“Superwolf (NYC) Four 1 Act plays of rock and roll and extreme confessions written by Bekah Brunstetter, Jason Grote, Joel Horwood(UK) and Eric Meyer. Featuring: Kate Benson, Jamie Effros, Evan Enderle, and Sherri Kronfeld. Music by JANITORS OF THE APOCALYPSE “

If you can’t make it Friday night to see the release of Broken, you can come to Artography at Creation Gardens on 725 E Market St on Saturday, where the exhibit will be set up/I will be performing. There will be over 100 artists, bands, music, and a good chunk of proceeds go to support three important nonprofit organizations, including the Fairness Campaign. Saturday’s festivities begin at 4 p.m. and tickets are $15 Check out the full list of stuff going on at this amazing festival!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=194584897229792

The St. Patrick’s Day parade was so much fun! I am so grateful to the forty people who came out as magical people and walked with us or kept it magical on the sidelines! I am so honored to have had each of you as part of the event.  I want to clean up some of the vocals on “Magical People” and have it mastered, but then it will be available to purchase online! Later this week, I will have photos and video for you! Stay tuned!

I hope that this update finds you all well and actively creating your dreams!

In a world where we create what we believe in, I believe in you!

Beautiful Photos from Lisa Oeschli of Solidarity Photos coming soon!

Sometimes…I feel broken. I know I’m not alone. The thing about being broken is that it makes you want to go around trying to fix everyone else’s broken..It’s hard not to for me.It’s also hard not to hate /lash out at similar cracks we see in others.  Maybe it is  my own cracks, fissures, remaining pains and hurts that make me want to hug everyone else and try to help when I see it in them.  It’s hard to remember to focus on my own cracks and hurts and to simply allow what I see in others to reflect something back to me. With that in mind, I did a photo shoot with local photographer/artist Jada parks. I’ve attached a few sneak preview photos. The photos will be part of a live art exhibit march 25, 26 called Artography. The photos will be put into collages that will be on display, and I will be there live in the middle of the display as a broken doll surrounded by my broken dolls as I sing. A lot of people think the photos are creepy. They are. There is nothing scarier than the fact that we  have cracks within us. We  have weakness. The people around us  have cracks and weaknesses. To me: it is scary that some of the cracks can not be fixed. However, we can live brilliantly whether we are cracked or not!!

Coming up before that, though, is the St. Patrick’s Day parade!!! I am super excited! The float is coming along nicely, and Ethridge Enterprises, LLC signed on as our executive producer, which takes care of the supplies! Fashion Designer Genna Yussman is providing some costumes for the Vixens. Cool World Productions will be catching everything on video, thanks to the Great Escape comic books and records and Bearno’s in the Highlands. We’ll be having our after party about 6:30 at Bearnos and shooting some footage there as well.

There are several ways you can be involved and on video if you want! One, come out to the parade in costume as magical people and hold up the sign “Yes, DR, magical people are here!”  as our float goes by…We’ll be turning our cameras outward looking for our magical brethren.

Two, Come out to the after party at Bearno’s in the Highlands, starting around 6:30 – then stick around for some of the wildest karaoke in town.

Three, you can advertise your business in the video or in the program we will be handing out. Deadline March 4.

The parade and after party are family friendly. Hope to see you there! Read more information about the parade by clicking here

Special thanks to Genna Yussman for the use of some of her fabulous costumes, Pagan Community Ministries, Framer’s Supply, Black Water Divers, Hataritaville, and the Va Va Vixens!!

This is my love letter to you. I know it’s not much, but I don’t have much else to give you. My words are the couriers of my soul, and my soul is really all I have to give.  I don’t have riches or jewels purchased from high gloss window displays. A lot of my clothes are tattered, and my existence currently a little scattered as I hop around from place to place trying to be there for you as you’ve been there for me. It may not seem like much…I mean a soul is invisible after all…but I hope it will do. It is the one gift I can give and never run out of…andso I will continue to share it as long as you will let me.

I’ve attached some ECards you can share with others below (Just right click and save as to save them to your computer), and here are some other ways I’ll be sharing soon:
February 18,19 are the final performances of Va Va Valentine at Art Sanctuary and Alley Theater

March 11 – Divinity Rose will be releasing a new dance version of Calling All the Magical People at the Rudyard Kipling during an event there…get a sneak peek of the parade performance. Stay tuned for details.

March 12: Divinity Rose will be calling all the magical people in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade!

Last year around 30,000 came out to enjoy the awesome parade that had over 120 floats/units.  This year Divinity Rose will be joined by a crew of magical people like the beautiful Va Va Vixens as she performs a new dance version of “Calling All the Magical People” and brings the enchanted forest to the streets of Bardstown Rd, blurring the… line where dreams and reality meet.   Divinity Rose calls all creatures of the imagination to step through the mists and gather on the streets of Bardstown Road to make some noise to remind others that we are here and that IMAGINATION is alive and well and ready to thrive in a world that needs creative help.  Bring the whole family and throw down like only the Fae and creatures of the subconscious know how!  We invite you to come in costume! Faerie, Unicorn, troll, goblins, angels, etc, UNITE! Come to the parade and join with other magical people as we rally together to make some noise, make our presence known, and open the floodgates of BELIEF that we can live out loud and make dreams into reality. Also, join us after wards for our magical after party – location TBD.  If you want to be in the parade and walk with the magical people, let us know!  It’s time for inhabitants of different worlds to meet and mingle once more.

March 25, 26: ARTOGRAPHY – an awesome art show that pairs photographers with artists for exhibit, live music and more – I will be part of a live performance art installation – Come and see! Location TBA

April 1 or 2 – Stay tuned for a very special event involving Poetry, pop and paint

In between all this, Don’t forget you can join us on Mondays at Zazoo’s Bar and Grill in St. Matthews

I’ve had a bit of a vacation lately, with only a few shows to keep up with, but things are picking up again.

I was recently a guest on The State of Affairs on NPR affiliate WFPL. If you missed it, you can check out the radio show  by clicking here. It’s a very interesting chat with the host and author Karen Abbott about the history and art of Burlesque.

This is a pretty busy week!

Va Va Valentine starts tomorrow! If you’re a fan of Burlesque, these Louisville ladies will keep you on the edge of your seats.  I’m honored to open the show with my piece “Letter from Goddess to Man”. You can buy tickets ahead of time by clicking here

Monday is Sub Rosa: The Gypsie Courtyard at Zazoo’s Bar and Grille.

Wednesday, I am speaking to a class at Jefferson Community College and then headed over to Howl at the Moon on Fourth Street Live!

Rocky Horror Picture Show party at Howl at the Moon is this Wednesday from 9 pm – 11 pm. I have a $50 gift card for the person who shows up before 8:45 with the most people in tow. Come on down for this awesome costume contest, easter egg hunt, games and see if you can stump the pianists and win prizes, hosted by Divinity Rose and the Va Va Vixens. Come meet and mingle with some of Louisville’s favorite entertainers! Say you are with me at the door to get in for free, eat at the buffet for free and get half price drinks! You will get a card that will allow you to come back with no cover and receive half price drinks at any time. A special treat from me and Howl to you!

Then Va Va Valentine again next weekend!

In addition to all that, I begin recording a new track Wednesday in preparation for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Louisville, Ky. If you’ve never been, you’ve missed out! I love it! The streets are absolutely packed! The parade lasts for hours and everyone throws down and has a great time!! Even after the parade, Bardstown Rd businesses and bars stay busy well into the evening.  CUTE IRISH BOYS (and girls) everywhere! I’ll be calling all the magical people, performing live in the parade. Don’t miss it!  Better yet, show up as a magical creature and be ready to cheer for our float!! Faeries, gnomes, goblins, and more welcome!! If you’d like to be in the parade with me, let me know (costume required)!

I hope you’re all doing well. Valentines Day approaches,  and I will be in Louisville at Sub Rosa that night. I hope to see you then. Whether or not we can be together, I hope you’ll join me in being the best lovers we can be to everyone around us.  I hope to have some E-cards again this year that you can share with others.  You are my beautiful and magical lovers after all, and I know I can count on you to go forth and spread the love to EVERYONE around you. Why keep it monogamous? Our love is far too great to be greedy. The more the merrier.  See you then <3

First, some news: Doomsday Lover turned out awesome! I’ll have some photos soon.  I’m so proud of everyone that was involved. In the aftermath, I have a radio appearance this Monday on The state of Affairs, a show on NPR affiliate 89.3 WFPL. I’ll be discussing burlesque and chatting with author Karen Abbott about her new book “American Rose”, which is about Gypsy Rose Lee. The show will be on at 1 pm and you can listen live through their web site.

Then, starting February 5, I’ll be making a short appearance in the burlesque Va Va Valentine. The Va Va Vixens are moving into their second year of performance, and I’m honored to be able to work with such a fun group of talented and creative people. Visit Art Sanctuary and Alley Theater web site for details. Following shortly after that, I’m throwing a Rocky Horror Picture Show party with Howl at the Moon on February 9th. Come dressed to win the prize package for best outfit and be prepared to win all kinds of fun stuff with the easter egg hunt. (Or win for stumping the pianists with this round of “You can’t do that on Piano”. My guests need a ticket from me to get in and eat for free, drink for half price.

Sub Rosa: The Gypsie COurtyard, our anything goes variety show, has been going extremely well lately. We continue to see a wonderful array of talent show up. We always have the featured acts, but we have seen some great new open mic talent lately as well. It is still on Mondays at Zazoos in St. Matthews. We get started at about 7, although sometimes it’s closer to 7:30.

Since Doomsday Lover pulled off as such a success, I’ve been spending some downtime in the woods. I’ve finally had a moment to sit and reflect over how much I’ve changed and learned in the last year. There’s nothing like warp speed to leave you with a lot to reflect over when you finally get a chance to kick it to a lower gear. I like to occasionally check in and share progress with my dear friend Truth B. Told as we both follow our dreams.  He shared some of his lessons in a newsletter and inspired me to share some of my lessons from the last year or so in creating my dreams. I know that many of you are out there plugging away following your own dreams, and I hope some of these help.

I want to be beautiful on the inside. What we are at our core is what flows into our lives. Our core is made of what we fill ourselves with. Therefore, it is important to fill myself with beautiful things, people and ideas. Remaining true to myself is always the way to go, and standing up for what I believe in. I will inspire others more by being myself and living/creating my dream rather than trying to give everyone else theirs.

Keeping what is important is a top priority – Family and real friends who inspire, encourage, challenge me and hold me accountable. My goals and accomplishments and those of my closest circle. I know a lot of people. I should do everything I can to make sure the people who are important to me know that they are. My goals:My goals are my focus. It’s easy as can be to get distracted with other people’s dreams and projects – especially in the arts/entertainment world where a lot of our dreams overlap and things happen with the power of prayer and trading favors.

Don’t give your power away – There is always another way – if you are not completely happy with what someone is offering you or wants from you or is trying to make you believe you have to go for..don’t fall for the illusion that you have to do things their way – there is always another way…

Balance – Without balancing downtime and fun for the sake of it, I become a stressed out mess who can’t enjoy the fact that I’m creating my dream. Since I’m living my passion..it’s sometimes hard to step away from it and remember that there is more to life.

Make wiser and more sustainable investments – Pour money, energy, attention into wise “investments” whether it’s business, people, projects – pay attention to ones that are “worth” it. When it comes to people, pour your attention and time into people who are doing it on their own and will take your contribution and build on it, flowering into something awesome or people I will continue to get enjoyment from or learn from. When it comes to project and business, which ones can I continue to build on or benefit from with royalties, continual promotion or other ongoing benefits? If I pour energy, time, money into people and projects that lead no where, I might as well be pouring myself into a whole in the ground and burying it.

Gossip and rumors are hurtful. I’ve been on both sides of this ugly thorn. People will always talk..there will always be rumors, untruths, haters, misconceptions, misunderstandings – but keep acting right and your actions will follow you. The ones who run their mouths behind your back will sing your praises again once you do something that benefits them. If you’ve messed up, make sure to say when you’ve been wrong and to do what you can to make it right, but sometimes it takes time to repair something that fissured.  I’ve also learned that most people will not be direct or honest with you when they have a problem. It’s easier to talk to everyone else in the world. You have to try to address it, move on and keep shining. I want to use my words to build others up. It’s why I got into this business in the first place.
Most people want someone else to make things happen for them and if you let them down, they have nothing good to say about you. These are people you will only continue to let down – you will never be enough because they don’t have themselves.

I am a speck on a speck. No matter how much love I have for it, the city I live and work in is a speck. There is much  more out there than anything I’ve created, and the world is much bigger than any moment I happen to find myself in. This too shall pass. Don’t let anything suck you in and worry you for long.  It is easy to get caught up in seriousness, but you can turn around and do something new in any moment.   I am where I am because it is where I choose to be, and I can move away at any time

Let people handle their own business – I genuinely care about pretty much everyone who comes into my sphere – I guess it’s just in my nature. However, I found myself remaining in unhealthy environments or relationships out of “love”. I have had to learn to let people deal with their own anger, their own fears or “issues”.  I don’t have to sit around and let their toxicity be hurtful to me.  I have had to walk away from a few people over the last couple years to protect myself or my son from words and behavior that are not healthy and do not match what I truly love and hold true.

People are just people – I’ve learned to accept people where they are with the amount of love they are capable of giving instead of trying to make everyone into what I want them to be or into the person I want to be a friend with…I do not have to be everybody’s best friend – only mine…If I spend more time loving myself, it  will naturally flow into others. If I keep the focus on loving others, I will just keep pouring it out and find myself drained.

To be proud of my accomplishments and know when to say “I deserve this” – for good or bad
Ask for help when needed, and reward myself for hitting my marks.

Sometimes people just want a hug: Just because people bring their problems to me does not mean they actually want any advice. Sometimes, people just want a hug and to hear it will be okay.

When something is not working, accept it and try something new.

The need for control is a ball and chain: The desire to serve is empowering.

Keep ideas/etc quiet until they are ready to be born: talking about them only releases some of the steam/energy that could be applied to making them happen.

Know how to say NO.

These are a few of the things I’ve learned along the way. What about you? What are some of the revelations that have shaped you over the last year?

…as we approach 2012 (OMG, EVERYONE, RUN, PANIC, Fire, RIOT in the STREETS)…we countdown to doomsday…but I mean tomorrow – just a mere 31 hours until we commence with the debut of Divinity Rose as a Doomsday Lover…it’s a sneak preview of a show still in development for tour.

Everyone has worked so hard on it, and we only had a month to put together this full length show – one month to put together the script, the act, the costumes, and the choreography..Prepare to be astounded <3

Check out the staff pick the Louisville Eccentric Observer gave us

We also got to do a fun spot on WFPK with Laura Shine. I had to rush straight from where I was doing costume to the radio station, and then to dress rehearsal, so it was tremendous walking down 4th st live! in the cold wearing an outfit that was barely there from the waist down….All the fellas said hello to me on the way, though. ha! Mike Nusser was wearing his fedora for the show with skulls across the front, so he looked like some kind of pimp. Al Holbrook and Mike got to each play a song on the air, and all I could do was think about how awesome it is to have such talent in this show.

(Speaking of the costume…I am so proud of myself! I do not sew, and I made it myself with the supervision of beautiful Miss Christiane Nicoulin! – Photo below)

This year is only a week old and already it has been fantastic and beautiful, stressful and terrifying, keeping me up nights with it’s desire to feed and grow. I think we’re going to get along rather well, and this year is going to grow up to change the world as we know it <3

I hope to see you at the show tomorrow! Tickets are $20 ..if you can’t make it, I hope to see you at our official cast party at Howl at the Moon! I have tickets for you to get in free, eat for free, and enjoy half price drinks

Also, I just found out that I will be on the radio show The state of Affairs on WFPL with author Karen Abbott to discuss her book “American Rose” and burlesque.

Amidst all this Doomsday Lover buzz, don’t forget to come enjoy magical nights of variety and recharge your batteries at Sub Rosa: The Gypsie Courtyard on Mondays at zazoos in St. Matthews of Louisville, Ky. We start between 7 and 8 pm and it’s all ages until 10 pm (tho rated pg -13 regularly).

Here’s the official information on Doomsday Lover

Buy tickets ahead of time at http://thealleytheater.org/site/?p=990

Even in the End Times, The show must go on!

…When a love affair leads to the end times, Divinity Rose as a Doomsday Lover….to seek out other magical people before leaving the dead behind to seek out more life.

This highly interactive and hilarious post-apocalyptic burlesque stars zombies, showgirls, a reporter and YOU.

Don’t miss the chance to see Divinity Rose and an all star cast of Louisville talents perform like you’ve never seen them before, including a zombie fashion show by Rachel French of Venomiss Designs.

(Darshwood the Conjuror, Jaime Duvall, Jorena Faulkner, Dennis Bell, Dusty June, Mike Nusser, Cyndi Snow, Katie Durham, Ed Black, Va Va Vixens, Cirque Airotic, and others fill out the cast and help keep the dead under control)

Rising starlet Divinity Rose has performed theater, comedy, spoken word, and song in over 15 cities nationally and is best known locally for hosting “Sub Rosa: The Gypsie Courtyard” in many different Louisville venues and “You Can’t Do That on Piano” at Howl at the Moon on Fourth Street Live!. Recently, she stole the hearts of hundreds of audience members as emcee of “Va Va Vintage,” a burlesque show she helped to write at Art Sanctuary and the Alley Theater, and in the show BlackJack that she co-produced with Cirque Airotic.

In March 2010, she released the first of her graphic novels—”Diaries of a Godling: The Promise”— which introduced a storyline that will continue to unfold on stage, page, and the Internet.

The next step in the journey (originally presented in the book) will be taken on Jan. 8, 2011 at Art Sanctuary and the Alley Theater with Divinity Rose as a “Doomsday Lover”— a highly interactive, hilarious, and sexy burlesque variety show/concert set in a post- apocalyptic world. For this show, she will be releasing new original songs with Ohio musician Al Holbrook.

Calling all the Magical People…Buy your tickets today! Don’t be left behind!

Come in costume as zombie or survivor night of show to receive $2 coupon to the bar.
Tables up front in the high action area may be purchased/reserved for up to four people for $100.
Ads may be purchased in program by contacting divinityrose@gmail.com (some levels of advertising include a reserved table).

The upcoming event will also feature an online contest. By joining the street team for Divinity Rose on ReverbNation.com, members will receive instructions on how to win $50, a T-shirt and a copy of her graphic novel.

“People can win by helping to collect magical people for the end times,” Divinity said. “We want no one left behind!”

To enter, please visit http://www.reverbnation.com/divinityrose and click “Street Team Missions” for more information.

This immersive and interactive show starts Jan. 8, 2011 at 8 pm at Art Sanctuary and the Alley Theater at “The Pointe”—located at 1205 E. Washington Street in Louisville. Tickets are $20; however, patrons who come in costume (as zombies, showgirls or survivors) will receive a $2 coupon to the bar. Front row VIP table s

eating can be reserved in advance for up to four people for $100. Tickets can be purchased in advance at http://www.art-sanctuary.com/.

Even in the end times, the show must go on!

I have a lot of people say to me “You’re really living the life” or “You have it made” or “You receive more love in a week than most people do in a year”. I think the best gift I can give to those of you following me is vulnerability. I don’t want to be on a pedestal. I am surrounded by people when I am out and about..but then, I go home and live life like everyone does, and oftentimes I am not invited out or thought of because people assume I am surrounded by people or busy or have something going on. I have pain and disappointments and trials like anyone. It is my desire to keep going despite these things and the continued belief in myself and support from others that brings me the successes I do find. I would be nothing without you.

I know what it’s like to feel alone. I know that times like holidays can make you think of everyone going to see their family or the things that others have to give each other…..for some reason that often inspires us to look at our own lack or think of people we miss who are no longer around or we’ve decided to discontinue having in our lives for one reason or another. NO matter how grateful we try to be or think of those who have less, it can be hard to fight back emotions of sadness.

During the holidays, it can hit hard. It can hit so hard that it makes us forget the amazing things that we do have…it makes us blind to the fact that there are probably people looking at us, wishing they had what we have.

Humans are funny creatures. We look around at everyone else thinking they have it made, but there are others looking at us the same way.

Everyone has their ups, their gifts, their talents, and everyone has their pains, their disappointments, their demons.

Around the holidays, I find myself missing family members or people I’ve chosen to leave behind or people who’ve chosen to leave me behind. If I don’t catch myself, I’ll let my own thoughts torment me. I’ll find the judgments of those people continuing to affect how I feel about myself. I begin to believe that I am not useful to anyone. I begin to believe that I am alone. I begin to believe …lies.

If I take a moment to turn on some relaxing music and have a conversation with those thoughts swirling around and try to look at things from a higher place, I remember..I left those people behind for a reason – they couldn’t accept me…they were painful to me, they were toxic.I came to a moment where I realized those people would never be what I hoped they would. Others left me behind because they felt I was toxic or mostly I couldn’t be what they wanted me to be. Those ties were severed for a reason, and although painful, were for the best. I don’t have to go to a place for the holidays anymore where I feel insecure, feel judged, will be met with a sermon, or called stupid or embarrassing. I don’t have to go somewhere where I will feel as if I have to put on a mask and be a model american to earn love. The reasons others couldn’t accept me are endless, I’m bisexual, I wanted to be a performer/writer and hated a 9-5 job, I decided to homeschool my son because he was doing horribly in the public schools, I wanted to address emotional scars/pains from our past that terrified others too much to deal with, I made mistakes while I was young that they will never get over….And their disapprovals, rejections, etc continued to shape me into believing that’s who I was…it blinded me to the good that I have within me… What they didn’t know is that we become what we are filled with…

And while I find myself free from the pain of judgment, rejection, being a pain in someone else’s side – I still feel pain – I feel lonely, and will probably always grieve the loss of those relationships that I spent years hoping would one day be okay…but the only time they were okay were the holidays, and even then the toxicity bled through. What good is a relationship like that? My nature is to fix things – to try to create harmony, to try to keep the peace, apologize and forgive…but I came to a point where I couldn’t let others continue to emotionally hurt myself or son just so I could be loving to them or the “forgiving one”. I had to learn to love them from a distance so that I would not be subjecting myself or my son to that. …or subjecting them to the stress that is me for that matter.

So, it leaves me here, in this space where I can trick myself into thinking I am alone…but I’m not. I think the temptation to be sad during the holidays is because our attention is so focused on this big hyped up moment…this big NOW that is supposed to be so spectacular. Some of us know that our big NOW won’t be so spectacular, and so emotions arise from the conflicting information around us….but if I take a moment to exist beyond the NOW and beyond what all the information around me right now is saying, I see a huge stretch of moments and so many of them are FULL…full of love, full of gifts, full of people who’ve touched me or whom I’ve touched, and so many of those gifts, those moments with others are far better than a clock wrapped up under a tree, or an awkward holiday party with people I don’t feel loved with…I see beyond this “Christmas” and realize that my life is full, my heart is full, and come to peace with the fact that I may always miss people I’ve left behind and wish that things were better between us….but that I am miles away from a life I used to live that had a lot of pain….I am moving more and more into a life full of love, more fully myself and who I truly am, surrounded by people I can count on that do not attack me out of their own fears of who I am…but I had to be the one to start that journey to find those people…and choose to let those beautiful people in.

I have found that turning on some beautiful music, lighting candles, and making a list of everything I do have is a great way to begin to feel better. Writing always makes me feel better. I start with the simple, like the pen I’m writing with, because I don’t know what I would do if I could not write. It is the only thing that keeps me even remotely sane. Before I write about what I’m grateful for, I write a letter unleashing all the ick…all the feelings that I feel that need to come out – they usually are not pretty, but if we don’t find a way to vent them, they will continue to stay inside and be a part of us. So, I write about what disappoints me, what hurts, why I’m angry, who I miss. Then, when I’m free from tears, I write about what I’m grateful for…It leaves me feeling much better.

I want you to know…I know how it feels to have pain, to miss people, to feel down on yourself…but I believe in you. I’ve come so far, and I know that you can, too, if you need to.

I usually have a party at my home for single people, or people who do not have a lot of family…It is important to reach out to the people you do care about, and I want to make sure that everyone has somewhere to go and be loved, but this year, I find that my home is an hour and a half away from everyone or further, and am spending the holiday at a friend’s house while she is away. This is the first year that Cody will be spending Christmas night with his dad. I will probably be headed up to spend Christmas night with one of my best friends, Larry, at his karaoke at Bearnos in the Highlands. If you find yourself wanting good company and some fun, please join us there.

If you’re too far away, accept my air hug. xoxo. Feel free to email me if you want someone to talk to. Divinityrose @ gmail.com

I was so touched this week to find that my youngest fan is not even three years old. I was shown a photo of a sharpie tattoo he got from his dad (tattoo artist) that is a rose with “Divinity” over top of it….He also sings my songs and intelligently asks “Is Divinity Rose NOT coming over?”

I was so amazed to make such an impression on a young boy who evidently loves “lady gaga, pink and Divinity Rose”….I was floored when his family told me that.

I’ll be honest. It scared me a little. The idea of someone liking me enough to have a tattoo saying so is a BIG deal….I’ve had someone tattoo my logo on their leg before, but to see someone as young as Abel look up to me that way…well…that is even more of a big deal …I want everyone to be their own hero and to show me what they’ve got…Show me their unique awesomeness…So, it’s weird to be in a place where others look at you like a hero or something special. I bet we are all a hero to someone…and don’t even know it.

Then, I look back at when I was a child…in foster homes, and how my stuffed animals lined my bed at night creating a protective wall around me and I imagined that one was Mr. T, another the guys from Mash, another was Optimus Prime, one was Snake Eyes from GI Joe, and so on…..When I was Abel’s age, I had an entire sticker book full of Michael Jackson stickers. Having those characters to believe in carried me through hard times, and even as adults, it helps to have someone to look up to and believe in…So, I guess it’s important to have heroes. I only hope that I can live up to the tremendous responsibility, young Abel ( and Sarah). Thank you for inspiring me to be better. I am truly honored.

Destined for greatness
From an early age
Your stories will be told
In life and on page.

Whenever you feel down
Or feel even a little afraid,
Remember you are Abel
And I believe in you.

You navigate this dream
deep within your heart.
You carry the same force
That’s created every part.

Whenever you feel down
Or feel even a little afraid,
Remember you are Abel
And I believe in you.

All it takes is a little belief
In a hero or maybe two
But remember always, dear one
My biggest hero is you.

Whenever you feel down
Or feel even a little afraid,
Remember you are Abel
And I believe in you.