Little Brooklyn © Leland Bobbé

Little Brooklyn, the long time co-producer of the infamous Starshine Burlesque is one of the most original neo-burlesque performers on the scene. Her acts mix classic tease with a slapstick sense of humor. Everything we shot together had an element of comedy but when she pulled out “the worlds largest underpants” with the Pee Wee Herman tie I knew this was the one.

A quote from Little Brooklyn:

“Where did all the baggy pants comedians go?  They’re right here, they’re just wearing pasties now.”

Donny Vomit © Leland Bobbé

As part of my Neo-Burlesque project I wanted to photograph not just the burlesque performers but the hosts and sideshow performers as well. This is Donny Vomit. For nearly a decade, Donny has been performing acts of the strange and bizarre such as the Human Blockhead(nail in nose), Fire Eating, Sword Swallowing and more. For this shoot we tried a few different things but i really liked this sword. We actually did some shots of sword swallowing but this was my favorite because i felt it  really captured his personality.

A quote from Donny:

“When I first started doing sideshow stunts I was opening for punk and rockabilly bands back in Oklahoma. A friend of mine who was in one of the bands saw my show. I was eating light bulbs and swallowing balloons at the time. He said  that I needed to get myself a rock ‘n roll name. He smirked at me and said . . . ‘I know what I’m going to call you . . . Donny Vomit, because every time I see your act, I just want to throw up’.”

Veronica Varlow © Leland Bobbé

This is the amazing and provocative Veronica Varlow. Veronica is a burlesque performer, pin-up model, actress, producer and performance artist. She is the owner of the online boutique Danger Dame, which specializes in clothing inspired by burlesque and cabaret. For this portrait session Veronica went military, complete with bullets and rubbed on dirt. Veronica was a pleasure to shoot and with a face like that you just can’t go wrong.

A quote from Veronica:

“I’m very serious onstage: it’s a serious seduction for me. When I do my thing I want the audience on the edge of their seat. I want us to be communicating non-verbally; we’re having a non-verbal conversation. That’s the way I love to do it.”