Photo by Erica Reid.

So on Saturday night I sat in on the Belmont Burlesque Revue as the on-stage stagehand, a role usually filled by Chris Biddle as Second Cousin Joe. I was Slick O'Donnell, Jack Midnight's bastard half-brother.

It's an odd job/role. I mean, it really is a job -- I was the house manager before the show, trying to get a sold-out crowd into the theater in an orderly and speedy fashion (and I realized as the show began that I hadn't been doing it in character -- which I don't think really mattered, and I don't think Chris does it either, but it suddenly seemed like a mistake.) -- and then I really was the stagehand, setting tables and chairs on stage and cleaning up after each act (and I was a human prop for one number). Other than that there's not much to do, but I was onstage the whole time. I tried to keep Slick engaged, without taking any focus. Noah told me that I was doing a "Billy Bob jaw thing" which I'm not even sure what it is, and I don't think I want to think about too much, lest I trigger the centipede's dilemma.