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From left to right: Dax!, Vagina Jenkins and Moxie Cabaret producer Dapper Danny Darling. (Photos by Dyana Bagby)
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Moxie: A Queer
Cabaret of Caliber
Sept. 23, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Moulin Rouge Room of Paris on Ponce
716 Ponce de Leon Place NE
Tickets: $10 at Charis, Criminal Records, Doc Chey's and Aphrodite's Toybox
www.myspace.com/moxiecabaret
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HOME > SOVO SCENE > FEATURE
By: DYANA BAGBY
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When James Fancy takes the stage in a black western shirt and black pants, with little red horns sticking from the top of his head and shaking his hips to thumping music before stripping to reveal only a thong — and a red tail — you know he’s got moxie.
“I’m testing the waters,” says Fancy of his devilishly sexy routine during July’s explosive show, Moxie: A Queer Cabaret of Caliber.
Moxie, an art showcase that schedules shows approximately once a month at various venues in Atlanta, next takes the stage Sept. 23 at the glorious Moulin Rouge Room in Paris on Ponce.
As a transman, Fancy — whose actual name is Jae Cripe — performs “boylesque” — an emerging art form in the thriving burlesque scene in Atlanta as well as cities such as New York and Seattle.
“I like taking my clothes off in a masculine fashion — this gives me a chance to affirm my gender identity that I found lacking in the drag king scene,” says Cripe, 20.
“Grabbing my crotch is not my thing. But with boylesque I have a way to express my maleness without being hypermasculine. Plus, it’s really hot.”
Moxie, which held auditions last weekend for this month's show, is really about one thing, says its producer, Heather Provoncha, a.k.a. Dapper Danny Darling.
“Moxie is about being fabulous,” she says. “My job is to assemble the gorgeous.”
A queer positive female showcase, Moxie strives to be an umbrella for all kinds of art — burlesque, drag kings and queens.
“We are trying to embrace everything. We want to never be queer exclusive, but definitely queer positive,” says Provoncha.
“I’m crossing all the lines I can — combing all colors of skin, gender, class, religion,” she adds, noting that Moxie combines the political with the art to send a message of acceptance.
“Brilliant art can teach so much,” she says.
A group of white gay men attending July’s show said they had seen all the drag queen shows in the city. Coming to a Moxie show was an experimental outing — and one they say they won’t forget.
“This is so much more than lip synching — it’s an actual performance. We loved it,” says Ian Palmer.
That unforgettable performance is presented through a cabaret style that includes cigar dames (selling candy such as Hershey Kisses and Smarties), an emcee in a formal tux, dim lighting and the motto “dress to impress” for those who come to watch.
This vision is part of a world Provoncha wants to create.
“Cabaret as an art form will always have an audience. We will always have a need to escape. We will always love the sparkle of rhinestones,” she says. “In our history, it is always art which tells who we were.”
Details are key to Moxie’s reputation of raising the bar of performance art, adds Provoncha. The people who take up the tips are dressed to the hilt as part of their artistic expression; cufflinks are mandatory for the dapper gentlepeople acting as stagehands or emcees. And the performers spend hours upon hours making their own costumes and rehearsing their acts. Only the best can take the stage at Moxie.
“This is an opportunity for us to really show out,” says Veronica Jones, who performs as Vagina Jenkins and is working toward a full-time career in burlesque. “We’re billed as the best of the best. And because of that, we have to fulfill that responsibility.”
Scott Turner Schofield, who has performed one-man shows across the country, says being part of Moxie is being part of something extremely important — as well as beautiful.
“I really love the body positive image Moxie provides, especially to queers,” he says. “Moxie has standardized queer performance and given it a brand.”
For Carey Martin, a.k.a. Wild Ivy, the Moxie showcase allows burlesque performers to envision acts outside the box.
“What I like in Atlanta, especially in the queer community, is there are so many styles,” Martin says. “Moxie furthers diversity in the queer performance scene in Atlanta and you don’t see that in every city.”
For Dax!, a popular “androqueer” performer, being a part of Moxie is like no other show.
“I wanted to be involved in something different and do my own thing,” he says. “The show isn’t the same old ...
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