Nerdlesque models a supportive community of diverse artists and storytellers — just like the greater Clarion West community. Join us for this fun, campy, and boundary-challenging event in which women, POCs, and queer folks stand up to say, “Hey! We want to envision these stories in a way that includes us.” Nerlesque is live-action fan fiction, created and performed by the fans.

Sailor St. Claire (she/her) is a curvaceous redhead with a learned mind and an A+ anatomy. With her scintillating wit and charm, Sailor channels academic excellence into burlesque bravura as a performer and emcee.  Since 2009, The Showgirl Scholar has been putting her knowledge of the literary canon to more-than-scholarly uses, crafting elegant and erudite stripteases that offer audiences an education in the humanitease.

Briq House

As seen in 21st Century Burlesque Magazine's 2020 Top 50, Autostraddle's 23 Black Queer & Trans Femmes to Follow as well as: The House of Knyle, Seattle Times, Time and the cover of The Stranger Seattle. 

Professional Dominant, Intuitive, and Burlesque Goddess Ms. Briq House (she/her) is the founder and owner of Briq House Entertainment. Under this umbrella she produces All People of Color Burlesque Revues, Sexual Healing through Movement and Body Love workshops, spiritual gatherings, Kink-based antiracism trainings, and Kink events exclusively for People of Color throughout the US and abroad. Her monthly production (co-produced with Sin de la Rosa), The Sunday Night Shuga Shaq, is the longest-running monthly all-POC Burlesque Revue in the PNW. 

As a proud Black Woman with a background in education, sacred intimate arts, entertainment, and LGBTQIA and Sex Workers rights advocacy, her Royal Thickness holds a deep understanding of intersectional identities. Briq’s mission is to harness the power of her bright light to stimulate and educate the masses to work toward a mutual goal of liberation. 

To keep up with and support her latest love projects, please go to www.msbriqhouse.com and follow @Ms.briqhouse on all social media platforms. Photo credit: Miss Prys.

Al Lykya

Al Lykya (he/him) is Seattle’s dreamy, dimpled drag king stripper. Utilizing his background in dance, theatre, and the art of drag, Al Lykya challenges ideas about gender and stretches the definition of masculinity. A former competition dancer and child pageant star, Al parlayed his natural charm into his performances as an internationally known drag king over the last decade. The Man with the 10,000 Dollar Chest has performed at the Seattle Boylesque Festival, the FIERCE! International Queer Burlesque Festival, and played the role of Captain James T. Kirk in all three iterations of Star Trek: The Sexed Generation. This trans-masculine sweetheart was also the regular emcee for Revelry, and a guest vocalist with Pervana, the Tuesday Tease house band. Photo credit: Meneldor Photography.

Tootsie Spangles

Tootsie Spangles (she/her) is a queer clown, a schmancy femme, and a fart joke connoisseur. She's also an actor, burlesque performer, and storyteller, a director with an emphasis on new and generative work, and a Gregory Award Nominated Playwright. She can be seen running amok with the comedy duo The Salty Licks or delightfully terrorizing audiences as one of The Bearenstoned Bears, “America's probably only stoner bear entertainers!" As an emcee, Tootsie has hosted events, parties, and story slams for MoPOP, The Moth, She is Fierce, P(ART)Y, The Pink Door, and numerous variety shows and burlesque spectaculars. Since 2011, She has served as the artistic director of The Libertinis, an interdisciplinary performance ensemble who deliver a low blow to high art and have been affectionately dubbed "bright shiny theatre weirdos" by CityArts Magazine. When she's not performing (which is a lot these days–Thanks, pandemic), Tootsie enjoys puzzles, being a plant mommy, and managing social media accounts for Ms Mabel, the mini pig. Dig Deeper at www.TootsieSpangles.com. Photo credit: Ashley Korslien Photography. 

As part of its mission to bring writers and readers of speculative fiction together, Clarion West holds a number of events throughout the year. The Clarion West Nerdlesque is one of these gatherings, albeit online and containing some mature content. 

We want you to have fun, participate in this interactive event, and enjoy the performances. By purchasing a ticket for the Nerdlesque, you and all of your guests are agreeing to our Harassment Policy and Code of Conduct. 

Clarion West is dedicated to providing a safe and harassment-free environment for everyone. On that note, here are some extra pointers on how best to enjoy a burlesque performance:

Consent: The performers you are watching tonight give you consent to enthusiastically enjoy their presence. They do not consent to recording or photographing their performances. They do give you their consent to follow them on social media and to tip them if you'd like!

Appreciation: The performers want you to show your appreciation in the chat by clapping, cheering, and other displays of appreciation and amazement! Burlesque uses sexuality as part of storytelling, so it's perfectly fine to comment on how sexy an act, costume, or dance move was. It is not okay to use the chat to say you'd want to have a sexual encounter with a performer. If you're not sure what words to say, clapping hand emojis, heart emojis, and "wow" face emojis are solid choices. And of course, if you don't have anything respectful to say, just enjoy the show and without posting comments.

Body Positivity: Burlesque is a body positive and inclusive space. You'll see lots of different body types, sizes, and gender expressions in this showcase. Enjoy it! You are welcome to tell people they are beautiful, or that their acts or costumes were beautiful, but please don't talk about their bodies in ways that objectify or demean them, such as commenting on specific body areas or commenting on their "bravery" for choosing to reveal their bodies in performance.