Today we’d like to introduce you to Désiré Èvoquer.
Désiré, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My career in performance started as a child. From theatre productions to choral concerts, to dance performances, I loved it all. I focused on musical theater primarily, which allowed me to do a little of everything! While my resume grew, so did my love of performance. The joy it brought me, and continues to bring me is impossible to compare to anything else I’ve experienced.
The beginning of my burlesque career is a little complicated. In 2010, I became fascinated with burlesque after finding a website for what I would soon learn was a recently disbanded burlesque troupe local to Atlanta. I got in contact with a couple of members, and soon a meeting was set up. Little did I know how much that meeting would change my life. I met my burlesque Mama, the Chameleon, that day. Under their tutelage, I grew in my knowledge and skill and began performing with Musee du Couer and Syrens of the South. During one particular performance, I saw some old friends of mine, Jack Calico and Nina Charisse, in the audience.
Flash forward a few years. I had taken a long break from burlesque because life had gotten busy. I received a message from Jack and Nina letting me know that they had gotten involved in burlesque soon after they had seen that performance of mine, and now a nerdlesque production they were in was in need of a main character. It felt so serendipitous! I joined the cast and fell in love with nerdlesque. It joined my love of performing burlesque with dressing up as a specific character. I met my business partners and good friends, Sig Sawyer and Kali Fornication, during that time.
In 2017, we formed The FANDom Nerdlesque: Fiction Art for Nerds. Sig, Kali, and I love the way we have been able to combine our theatre, dance, and comedy experience to bring the Atlanta community something unique. We’ve surrounded ourselves with a group of extremely talented people who work incredibly together on a regular basis, while also being able to include newer and out of state performers. I still perform with other troupes as well, though not as often. Four Suits, Bump in the NIght Ghoulesque, Queerly Beloved, The Dirty Dolls, CIty Winery, The Candybox Revue, etc. have had me on their stages, and a lot of us cross-pollinate between troupes and shows. Atlanta has a full, diverse community with lots of opportunities to perform and be entertained!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As with any artistic field, I think working with a lot of very different people who are all very passionate about what they do can present challenges. Sometimes there are conflicts of personality, or ideas, or thoughts about how burlesque troupes should operate. What brings us all together at the end of the day is the love of our art, and working towards something greater than the individual, while still giving the individual opportunity to shine.
Please tell us about The Fandom Nerdlesque.
In 2017, we formed The Fandom Nerdlesque. We combined what we felt was the best of both the theatre and the burlesque worlds. While we do revue-style shows, which are the norm for the burlesque community, we also write, produce, cast, and perform scripted burlesque parody shows. For example, our most recent scripted show, “Infinitease,” was a Marvel parody hosted by Deadpool, in which he tries to retell the plotline of the most recent movie so as to change the outcome. Think musical theatre, with variety and burlesque acts instead of musical numbers! We host sideshow performers, drag performers, singers, burlesque performers, aerial artists, hoop performers, comedy acts, etc.
We’ve also done shows such as “Under the Cowl: One Good Night,” which was Batman show, and “S3nd N00bz: Game on, Pants Off!” which featured various video game characters. In addition to performers, we have graphic designers, videographers, photographers, and other artists that work as a part of our collective for promotional material and advertising. The magic of The Fandom Nerdlesque is the creative processes all working in tandem, as a team, with everyone having a hand in the show building process somehow. It makes the art we put onstage extremely fulfilling, as well as entertaining. We also work with other troupes on collaboration projects, and perform at multiple conventions, such as Anime Weekend Atlanta, 221BCon, and Conjuration!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
To be honest, I believe that everything along the way has contributed to our success in one way or another, whether it was learning hard lessons or enjoying successes. Every moment and experience teaches something. In retrospect, the lessons I have take the most value from are:
1) The success of your business is completely dependent on the people you surround yourself with. Make sure they are uplifting, kind but assertive, take initiative, communicate candidly, and treat everyone with respect.
2) If it isn’t fun, you won’t put as much passion into it. Choose projects that you can throw your soul into.
3) Patience and questions resolve almost any issue.
4) If you can’t decide if it needs rhinestones or glitter, it does.
5) Keep learning new skills and practicing known ones!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thefandomnerdlesque.com
- Email: info@thefandomnerdlesque.com
- Instagram: thefandomnerdlesque
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/thefandomnerdlesque
- Twitter: @FanNerdlesque
Image Credit:
Apologue Media, Unexphotography, Ariel Allegro, Evgulick Photography
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