Burlesque, game shows and a doughnut-eating competition will all be featured this Friday at Game Show Cabaret, a fundraiser to help local group Queerlesque build a new stage venue in town.
Ady McLeod, a member of Parkas and Pasties, the organizers of Friday's event and a burlesque performer with Queerlesque for the last three years, is organizing the event.
“Queerlesque is in it's first year as an independent company as they are no longer part of the Pride festival,” said McLeod. “It's been a gradual process. Queerlesque wants to focus on becoming their own entity. Its hard to be co-dependent and have two groups with different goals.”
An independent Queerlesque hopes to establish its own “dream venue” to host its shows. McLeod said that venue will be accessible to anyone in the community regardless of their physical capabilities.
“Queerlesque are looking at wheelchair accessible buildings, so ground floor entrances. Right now they're looking at airport hangars and other warehouses... but I can’t say if that’s what they will settle on,” said McLeod.
In order to create this dream venue, the production company will need to raise a large sum of money, although the target number hasn't yet been disclosed.
“Creating a venue from scratch is no easy feat,” said Ruby Slickeur, Parkas and Pasties' artistic director, in an news release. “Finding rental space and buying equipment, all the way to initial production costs, this will be an expensive project.”
It's a project that McLeod hopes to help with this weekend by setting a goal to raise $1,000 at Game Show Cabaret. The evening will start with a live burlesque show at The Top Knight. After the show, the audience will get involved with a no hands doughnut-eating competition and then with a game show-style event.
“The big thing about a show like this is that everyone can feel like part of the show, whether your friends are participating or you're the one with the guts to get up there,” said McLeod.