Rock Candy Burlesque: Past and Present
Rock Candy Burlesque started as a neo-burlesque performance group in Olympia, Washington. The troupe formed in November 2011 after founder and then artistic director Ms. May B. Naughty reached out to several aspiring burlesque performers after she attended that year’s BurlyCon, burlesque education and social conference. Ms. May B. had a dream of building community by calling in local artists who had not had an opportunity to show their talent on the burlesque stage. After several meetings and conversations -and some dropouts- the group finally had a name! The Rock Candy name was brought to the table by Perlita Picante, and voted in by the original six founding members. The troupe then produced its first show at the now defunct Royal Lounge in 2012, noted as the the year of its official establishment.
While still in a performance collective capacity, some of Rock Candy’s former members had been on the stage for many years, and some were just beginners to the art of burlesque. However, we all shared a desire for that burlesque flair. Rock Candy Burlesque as a performance collective produced theater-style burlesque shows from from its inception; The Royal Lounge changed ownership becoming the Rhythm & Rye, and thus our official home. In June of 2015, Rock Candy produced and hosted Olympia’s first and then only monthly burlesque revue Tassel Tuesday, which later included more variety acts. Tassel Tuesday ran until March 2020 with the last show happening just a few days before the pandemic lockdown was mandated in Washington State. During lockdown in 2020 the Rhythm & Rye was forced to close its doors and members of Rock Candy Burlesque found other means of artistic expression; Latina returned to RCB and took over the name and artistic direction of the brand.
Notable Lineups
2011 Founding Members: Ms. May B. Naughty, Kristina Weena, Minx Julep, Momo LaVein, Ooky Spooky, Perlita Picante.
2020 Final lineup before lock down: Ms. May B. Naughty, Bananas Foster, Frida Fondle, Kristina Weena, Momo LaVein, Rainie Dae, Riveting Rosey, Vanessa the Witch.
Present
Olympia is an artistic town; the Rock Candy name has been embraced and supported by our community as our shows dazzled local and out of town audiences. Rock Candy keeps working hard to produce entertaining shows that offer a variety of talents and styles to the city we call home. Our audiences are regularly titillated, surprised, amused, and shocked by what we bring to the stage!
It is Rock Candy Burlesque’s hope to continue entertaining audiences post-pandemic. As part of the Latina K Presents family, we look forward to contribute to Olympia’s thriving nightlife prioritizing local artists. You may even see a former Candy or two at any of our shows!