Press

Blazen’s adventure began where most art manifests, at the corner of curiosity and conflict. I was coming to terms with trauma, seeking a way to reaffirm my autonomy. I struggled with self-esteem and into my life came an ad for a burlesque class. After wrestling with my inner demons, I threw nerves into the wind, put my best heel forward and fell in love with Burlesque...

I think there’s always been a push for particularly women to express their anger in a way that is palatable for people, and I’m tired of that,” said Haag. She turned her anger into the Ladylike Project, a collective she created to connect artists who want to raise money for progressive causes—and she threw a big middle finger smack-dab in the center of an otherwise dainty logo to show that she’s not pulling any punches...

... this festival has always been an intimate favorite, truer to the nature of a gathering of the nerd variety than large commercial cons, and inextricably linked to the theater and comedy scene in Chicago in a way that make it unique to the city. Comedy was followed by burlesque, with Shirley Blazen, who we’d also see as emcee for Acrobatica Infiniti the next evening, provided My Little Pony’s “bronies” and gal pals with plenty of PG-13 thrills. Later on in the show, she made another appearance as beloved (?) Simpsons clown, Krusty, in a particularly story-driven piece of titillating performance art...