Burlesque-Based 'Storyville Rising' Wins 2015 Brassy Award

SEATTLE, WA— Storyville Rising has been chosen as the “ultimate burlesque event of 2015” and winner of The Brassy Award, the industry’s first competition for innovation and creative achievement in a burlesque event concept. New Orleans-based Mistress Kali, the producer of Storyville Rising, was presented with The Brassy commemorative trophy, a $500 cash prize and a one-year mentorship with some of the burlesque industry’s most-successful event producers at Boston’s Great Burlesque Exposition. “The Brassy Award gives producers a chance to dream bigger and gives us permission to take more risks, which is truly remarkable,” said Mistress Kali. “I feel like having the support that the Brassy Award offers will be a total game-changer for me as a producer, and for Storyville Rising as a whole. I think what the Brassy Award is doing for the burlesque community is phenomenal, helping to foster burlesque shows that are innovative and take burlesque performance to the next level.” Storyville Rising is an audience immersion theatre experience that not only recreates the feeling of Crescent City's infamous Red Light District, it depicts the multi-layered social experiences and relationships of the era. Audience members at Storyville Rising performances are invited into an evocation of one of The District's sporting houses and treated to a spectacle of burlesque, sideshow, cirque and song. Throughout the evening, they will interact with the area's various denizens: prostitutes, johns, doctors and midwives, and, of course, madams. Through the acts performed by some of the most lauded names in the burlesque and vaudeville revival, Storyville Rising explores powerful social issues of race, gender, power, sex and more. Storyville Rising was written in a collaboration between Mistress Kali, Armitage Shanks, the show’s artistic director, and Jesse Belle-Jones, and will debut at Café Istanbul, 2372 St. Claude Ave. in New Orleans, Saturday and Sunday, May 16 -17 at 8 p.m. A limited number of discounted early-bird general admission and VIP tickets are available online at $20 for general seating, and $40 for front row, VIP seating, with interactive characters through March 27; tickets will return to regular prices of $30 for general seating and $50 for VIP March 28, and are available here, or by calling Brown Paper Tickets’ 24/7 event concierges at 800-838-3006. The Brassy Award was created through a partnership between The Great Burlesque Exposition, one of the most prestigious burlesque festivals in the world, and Brown Paper Tickets, the most popular not-just-for-profit ticketing partner for burlesque productions. “We wanted to develop something that could grow, benefit the community and act as an ongoing gift from Brown Paper Tickets to the burlesque industry,” said Jimmy Berg, burlesque industry specialist for Brown Paper Tickets, and a co-creator of the Brassy Award. “I've seen awards given to burlesque performers, but never to event producers and organizers, the unsung heroes of show business. We presented the idea to Scratch, founder of Boston’s Great Burlesque Exposition, and he not only agreed to host, he assembled a rock star Brassy Committee: Lili Von Schtupp from Los Angeles, Red Hot Annie out of Chicago, Sailor St. Claire from Seattle and of course, himself. Just like that the Brassy was born.” "We wanted to inspire world-class innovation and originality in an effort to revolutionize burlesque productions and help the industry to continue its worldwide growth,” said Scratch of Boston’s Great Burlesque Exposition, and co-creator of The Brassy Award. “By celebrating creativity and supporting the production of an ultimate event, we hope to bring the burlesque industry to new heights.” Those who organize, perform in or produce burlesque events and think they have a great idea for a show will find that applications are now being accepted for the 2016 Brassy Award here. There's a $20 application fee that goes toward the cash grant. Applicants will submit detailed information about the show they wish to produce, including a pro-forma budget, production schedule, marketing plan and other relevant materials and will be judged on originality and professionalism. Founded in 2007, The Great Burlesque Exposition is a multi-layered event which appeals to all aspects of the burlesque community, from audience to performers, beginners to professional performers and producers. The weekend consists of four shows, including The Main Event at which The Howard Awards are given out, a comprehensive multiday conference, social events, a vendor hall and exhibits of costumes and burlesque-inspired art. Participants at The Great Burlesque Exposition come from all over the world to join in the shows, parties and educational events. Pictured: Kali Von Wunderkammer.