Jo Weldon Will Be Performing and Teaching
at the
1st Annual
Booklover's Burlesque Festival
Portland, OR
April 13-16
Jo Weldon will be performing, reading, and teaching!
The International Booklover's Burlesque Festival is an annual celebration of literary and performing arts, highlighting burlesque, boylesque, and draglesque artists from around the world and some of your favorite literary pieces and some you have never heard before. Our four-day festival takes place in Portland, Oregon USA at multiple locations, including two main "open-themed" showcases celebrating all genres of the written word at the historic Alberta Rose Theatre, our exclusive "classic literature" burlesque brunch show at the Victorian Belle Mansion, and our opening night "gothic literature" themed show at Swan Dive. Our festival features over 50 different acts and performers, each show featuring different casts, including world-renowned "Guests of Honor," performing artists and authors, professional actors/readers, and specially-curated burlesque, boylesque, and draglesque acts.
Each show is entirely different, with different casts and acts, so audience members should buy a separate tickets for each day. Come join us for our unique, inaugural festival on April 13-16, 2023!
Details and Tickets
Workshops:
Pleasure and The Art of the Eyefuck
Saturday, April 15 1.30-2.30 pm
At the Alberta Rose Theatre
3000 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211
Flirt. Seduce. Devastate. Talk dirty with your eyes. Learn how to convey deep sexual confidence through eye contact, body language, and breathing exercises. Discover the power of being motivated by your own pleasure and joy. This is a playful, erotic, and penetrating class. Not for the faint of heart! Not a dance class, but wear clothes that feel good and in which you can move.
Jo Weldon has travelled the world teaching this class, designed to help both performers and nonperformers access their innate knowledge of seduction and sensuality. Come prepared to break past your comfort zones into a challenging, intimate, and sometimes hilarious session of self-discovery and improved connections.
Bring: a button down shirt for some of the exercises and a bottle of water for the break.
Pay what you will!
To request a scholarship slot, email schoolofburlesque@gmail.com with the words "Booklover's Burlesque Festival Scholarship" in the subject line.
Free Workshop:
How to Develop a Book Proposal aturday, April 15 2.45-3.45 pm
At the Alberta Rose Theatre
Have you ever thought about writing a book? Already written one but not sure what to do with it? Get clarity and insight on the possibilities of your book idea or project! This workshop is suitable for any level of book idea development, from fleeting thought to completed project.
This workshop will take you through the essentials of creating a book proposal agents and editors will be pleased to read. You’ll learn the basic format of a proposal, how to describe your work, how to present your platform, and how to approach a literary agent. Differences between fiction and non-fiction proposals will be addressed. Publishing myths and misinformation will be discussed. Most importantly, you’ll be able to ask questions of an industry insider who has completed two book deals with a Big Five publisher (google “big five publisher”). The goal is to give you tools and boost your confidence so you can take the next steps toward publishing success. Remember: any topic or idea can sell, but it a great proposal is where the sale begins!
Bring a notebook and pen. You will be asked to write your questions on notecards when you arrive, so if you already know what your questions are, please arrive with them composed into one-sentence queries. If you aren’t yet sure what your questions are, you’ll definitely benefit from hearing the questions of others.
Questions? Tech issues? Email schoolofburlesque@gmail.com
Recommended to wear: comfortable yoga or workout wear.
Bring: a button down shirt for some of the exercises and a bottle of water for the break.
Diversity statement:
Jo Weldon and all the The New York School of Burlesque instructors respect all gender identities and body types, and strive to be anti-racist in all policies and actions. We are pro-sex-workers' rights and pro-drag-queen. We honor all levels of ability at every age.
There is no accurate burlesque history without diversity.
