T'was the Bitch Salad Before Christmas!!!

So, it wouldn't be Christmas without our end-of-the year helping of a festive holiday favourite- Bitch Salad.

Come all ye faithful on Tuesday December 6th at 8:30pm, and enjoy some Santa sanctioned hilarity. $10 at the door.

I'VE BEEN THE WORST!

Hey guys!... it's been a while...
                   Ok, I know... I've been the worst. I've been soooo busy lately! I haven't carved out the time in my life to keep up this blog, and really, there's no excuse. I need to recommit to posting shit here on the regular. For reals though. I'm gonna make it happen despite the whirlwind. Mark my words!

So I'm back... and you know what else is back.. kids, in school. I'm going back to school for a short stint myself. I'm attempting to re-learn french. I went to Montreal with a few work buddies of mine, and became OBSESSED with the city! I was gagging left and right. Everything was awesome- people, places, things...
so I decided, 'why not learn french?' My class start September 21st. I'm so excited! I better be the prettiest bitch in the class!

Going back to school is gonna be super fun, but in all honesty, I'd much rather go "BLACK TO SCHOOL" like the fabulous ladies headlining this months BITCH SALAD.

Slotted to happen Tuesday September 20th, "BITCH SALAD Goes Black To School! 2 School is Black in Session!" is a much anticipated re-mount of the wildly successful show the happened in 2009. ( I think...) Hosted and produced by Andrew Johnston. http://bitchsalad.com/

Please come and check it out, it's gonna be hilarious. You will catch a multitude of jokes. Guaranteed!
Also, Andrew has started a Podcast to go along and expand the BITCH SALAD brand- and he's asked me to be part of it. Take a listen.

http://hw.libsyn.com/p/c/3/2/c327bdbeeb3ec7e3/Bitch_Salad_001_-_Dini_Dimakos.mp3?sid=3b94dfb94f19f6eeb500685cc2181d45&l_sid=33457&l_eid=&l_mid=2714408

MY SHOW AT THE RUSHTON

Hey guys,

               I know it's been a hot minute since I've posted anything.. I'm terrible, I'm well aware. Life gets busy, new things and projects occupy our time, it's not always easy making time for everything we want to do, no matter how much we love doing them. Seriously though, I could stand to have an extra day tacked on to every week. God I'd be SO much more productive, or at least I tell myself that. 

Anyway, moreover, as I blogged about earlier this year, I've got a small exhibition of my working hanging on the walls of the Rushton. A fabulous little restaurant that serves up exquisite cuisine and high style. Naturally, my work looks amazing displayed in this cozy space, against exposed brick and modern furnishings.  Gurrrrl, it looks good! If you have a chance, check it out. The show runs until March 31st. 

The resturant is located at 740 St.Clair Avenue West. Stop in. Have a drink. Look at some art.

 

http://www.therushton.com

Another Year to Get it Right

So it's 2011, one year ends and another begins.. another chance to get it right. 

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, honestly the month of December is and always have been my hibernation period... I don't know what it is about that month...the cold, lack of sun, holiday insanity or gluttonous behaviour associated with it, its straight up a time where I am not trying to do any kinda work... Full Lazy Girl Month.. it's terrible.

But, it's January 2011, and it's time to get started 'cause it's late. 

This Year is all about change, transformation, and setting myself up for the future. 

Here we go...

T'was The Bitch Salad Before Chistmas

So guys, it's time for another installment of the Bitch Salad franchise, slotted to happen December 7 at Buddies In Bad Time Theatre. This years theme is 'Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special'. The poster takes some of the classic imagery we all know and love and offers a modern interpretation.

The show promises a rousing and festive performance from everyones favourite Tranny Trio- The Cheeto Girls.  Other performances include She Said What, Keesha Brownie, Kathleen Phillips and a slew of other guests. Please come out and have a Merry Bitch-mas.

http://www.youtube.com/user/heidibrander#p/u

This is old news but- 'To Wong-Foo, Thanks for NOTHING Julie Newmar!'

Ok, so after seeing Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the Musical and revisiting the 1994 cult classic film, I decided to go back and re-watch 'To Wong-Foo Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar'. Truthfully, I'd never actually seen the movie the entire way through.Only ever watching bits and pieces when it aired on CityTv, years back.While sitting down to view the film, it dawned on me... this movie is a piece of CRAP!

Swayze in painted face lookin'
like someones mom

And it all came back to me. I remembered why I hadn't taken the initiative to watch this thing from start to finish in my youth... I was repulsed, 'those guys don't make convincing women at all'- I thought, and a spritely me was right... The casting was TERRIBLE! Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo in dresses... I mean who thought that would be a good idea?!? Don't get it twisted, Patrick Swayzes' face DID take paint well, but really, that's where it ends... Way to Butch!
The parallels to Priscilla are far too apparent. Three Queens in a vehicle trekking across a great land for some prize at the end.
To Wong-Foo stops short of a story and gets sidetracked. The story stops being about the queens and their own trials and development and starts being about empowering middle-American white women. Haven't we seen this predictable plot enough. So BORING. And besides, teaching women drag secrets is RuPaul's job now bitches. Maybe she got the idea for Drag U  from this movie, after all she did have a small cameo in the film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwmbfOD2ock , but I digress. 
Ultimately, To Wong-Foo was an American flop monopolizing on the hype of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and attempted to pander to a wider audience demographic by casting big Hollywood stars in otherwise unlikely and unsuited roles.

I'm sure ALL this has been discussed before and is SO totally obvious, but it was just something that I was compelled to put to writing.

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT

So about two weeks ago, I had the opportunity of attending the opening of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the musical. And I have to say it was absolutely AMAZING!... the costuming, the dancing and obviously the music, just awesome.

I had seen the film, from which the stage version was adapted, years ago. I might have been in high school as I recall... yikes- So it's definitely been a hot minute since I was familiar with the plot, characters etc. The other night, out of boredom, I decided to revisit the original 1994 release, and was pleasantly surprised! The story was incredible- it's no wonder that they decided to do a stage version of this tranny trek through the desert-the only question is why it took so long? The screen to stage adaption really did the film justice. There was an obvious attempt to keep true to the story and characters while making it revenant enough to a younger audeince by replacing ABBA references with the queen of re-invention- Madonna.
Other than the aforementioned, the plot translation from screen to stage, even with the obstacle of the fourth cast member- the bus- seemed flawless and on point. What a marvel of set ingenuity.
The play really monopolizes on key sequences in the story where one would expect a musical number and effectively interjects them, enriching the overall story telling experience.
The nuances of the stage characters as mirroring their screen counter parts was impeccable- from Ticks trepidatious attitude, to Felicia's exuberant and boisterous swagger to Bernadette's wistful and contemplative demeanour. These traits were not only exhibited in effective acting and convincing dialogue, but were re-inforced in the way the actors would move and perform the musical numbers on stage-it was all encompassing.
The music itself was fun and playful. I mean when referencing disco, funk and 90's hits- how could it not be??? The costuming- lets not even talk about it. Gorgeous... just gorgeous. The show is about drag queens... just imagine what you might expect and multiply it by at least 10. The costumes aren't afraid to be over the top, literal translations in the most interesting way. Example- in the scene where the cast members start painting the bus and they brake into 'Colour My World' by Petula Clark- those back up dancer bitches show up in dresses that mimic the silhouette of giant paint brushes... Genius!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKK1vTIEj9s
Loved it soooo much. It rekindled my affection for the movie... colourful, vibrant, delicious. What more is there to say.