Divinity Rising: All Part of the Show -Entertainment for the Spiritually A'Rosed
|
I am busy do some web reconstruction and transferring everything over to my wordpress installation to make my site easier to navigate. I just realized that some of you may be subscribed to my posts. I’ve been busy transferring posts from one part of my site to this one and you might be getting them in your email. I apologize if you’ve gotten a flood of emails from me. Please bear with me. I’ll be done in the next day or so.
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?