A Brief Nerdlesque Moment from Emerald City Comicon
This weekend was a big win for Seattle burlesque and nerdlesque. Let me explain…Mr. Wil Wheaton attended a comic book themed show at Emerald City Comicon and seemingly loved every second. If you don’t know who Wil Wheaton is, that’s okay. But, for some of us, it’s kinda of like telling non-burlesque folks “You don’t know who Dita Von Teese is?” But I digress.
Nerdlesque is not a dirty word. Keep doing the good work, nerds, and keep putting your best foot forward. I told Wil two years ago that this joke of “Wheatonesque” could maybe happen. And someone took that little joke a wee bit too far, thank goodness. Nerdlesque is not something silly or trivial. We are gaining respect not only of our peers but of our personal heroes.
With all the tension about the term nerdlesque in recent weeks, I want to just write about a moment and a performer: Scarlett O’Hairdye. Miss O’Hairdye is the real thing. She puts her heart and soul into every act she creates, every costume she builds, every show she produces. She lives and breaths burlesque. She made a Wil Wheaton act because she is a true fan of his work. She isn’t faking it. She also made an act about a man transforming from a shy awkward boy into a proud adult who is now “the one that’s cool.” It’s a story many of us relate to. Plus, hey, she performs with a Wil Wheaton merkin and Cape of Dicks! (FYI-she made the original Cape of Dicks and the 2.0 version as well). Watching Wil Wheaton watch Scarlett O’Hairdye perform as Wil Wheaton almost moved me to tears. I’m a funny sort of girl (the kind that crys over boobs) but it seemed like a perfect moment. He loved it. The audience loved it. It was the kind of magic that will never happen again.
That’s nerdlesque. 
