Emeraude Plum got her start in burlesque just over a year ago with the very first “Olala Lab” in Paris! A 5-month creative workshop culminating in a major show under professional conditions. I remember her at the very first workshop, discreet, attentive and silent.
It’s true that I always have fun trying to guess which of the 12 participants will be won over by Burlesque fever and won’t be able to stop!
It’s true that I always have fun trying to guess which of the 12 participants will be won over by Burlesque fever and won’t be able to stop!
Often it’s a real surprise, and the time it takes shows us that motivation and commitment to this art is a job that requires a great deal of personal investment.
Since the Olala Lab, Emeraude Plum has created other acts and had the chance to perform on different stages such as the Cabaret Olala at the Eurydice, the Guinguette des demoiselles, the Wunder Kabarett, and recently as a member of ‘La Maison Burla’!
Who are your “burlesque characters”? Are they very different from you?
As far as my numbers are concerned, each one corresponds to a powerful female character or entity around which a story revolves. A possessed doll, a mobster, and I’m currently working on a cyborg in a post-apocalyptic universe.
These characters are different from me, in the sense that they each have their own story, their own personality and even their own little name. I think they were born out of frustration at the lack of representation of heroines in the films of my childhood. Burlesque is a great opportunity to embody them.
“The possessed doll Credit photo Eric Delage
Did you find it difficult to get started with your friends and family? or did they support you?
Only my sister knows that I’m performing, and she’s a great support to me, even helping to make my stage props. As for the rest of my family, they don’t know, I’m afraid they won’t be able to understand or accept it.
“Dirty Malone Credit photo Eric Delage
What was the biggest surprise for you when you discovered this art?
The outpouring of creativity, ingenuity and humor; there are codes, of course, but no real limits to what you can do, which leaves plenty of room for originality.
And some great encounters too!
What are your goals now, and how far would you like to go?
Keep learning, create new acts, get on stage more regularly, learn the tricks of the trade, and why not put on a little burlesque show in a few years’ time? I’d also like to take part in international festivals, but the competition is tough and the level very high, so I’ve still got a long way to go!
“Poupée possédée” Credit photo Guy Landry
When you look back over the past year,
what has changed for you since the beginning of this experience?
I feel that I’ve evolved a lot on a personal level, I’m much more assertive and that’s paying off in my professional life, where I’m more daring to put myself forward and assert my opinion. I sometimes say to myself, “Yesterday you danced in nippies in front of 60 people, so you might as well turn up the volume a bit in this meeting to get your point across” It’s often said that to feel at ease in front of an audience you have to imagine them “naked”, but from a stripper’s point of view, it’s the opposite that helps (laughs).
I’ve also realized that the creative process and the exchange with the public is what really makes me happy and boosts me in all the other areas of my life.
Do you have a phrase or quote that helps motivate you to keep on creating?
Often before going on stage I’m terribly anxious, “Will the audience laugh, will they enjoy seeing my act, am I legitimate to do it?” and finally I try to clear my head and say to myself “Do it and you’ll see afterwards, don’t ask yourself any more questions!” It sounds silly but it helps me!
On the creative side, I have so many ideas in my head that it’s more a case of frustration at not having more time.
Credit photo Eric Delage
And best of all, she has a magnificent voice.
To be continued…
Miss Loison,
