In theatre, a discipline where actors mold themselves into characters and embody the words created by literary legends, the stories sometimes offer a skewed view of the diverse demographics that make up society. The stage brings to life fairy tales and historical epics, yet some performances don’t give voices to women. Lipstick Theatre, a Northwestern student group founded this past year, aims to address this inequality.
Lipstick Theatre has introduced works to the Northwestern community that focus on topics like sexuality and gender. Shows this year include Alice in Wonderland, A Wrinkle in Time and The Vagina Monologues. While Lipstick includes students of both genders, the group is largely female and values shows that are written by female playwrights or ones with strong female characters and substantive themes.
“Lipstick [Theatre] is important because it’s giving a voice to women’s issues,” co-president Lauren Stremmel says. “We’re young, still in our very first year on campus, and we’re still small, but we have already begun to make some big waves by staging works that ask questions about femininity and sexuality.”
One of Lipstick Theatre’s boldest moves came last winter in the form of its first student-run, student-produced burlesque show. Declaring, “We are looking for anything and everything, anyone and everyone,” the group solicited dancers of all experience levels. The second annual show will debut during Spring Quarter.
While the sheer novelty of stripping might contribute to the burlesque show’s popularity, participants believe the atmosphere of acceptance is what made the show a success.
Communication sophomore Michael Fleischer, this year’s burlesque show producer, continues to emphasize the theme of self-celebration, which was characteristic of last winter’s production.
“We strive to help people realize how beautiful they are,” Fleischer says. “We believe everyone is beautiful and that they should feel confident with their body.”
For Medill sophomore Alaura Hernandez, participation in Lipstick Theatre has jumpstarted a burlesque career. Over the summer, Hernandez performed with The Velvet Hearts!, a burlesque troupe in Columbus, Ohio.
This year, Hernandez is returning to the NU Burlesque show as a director and attributes her love affair with burlesque to the nurturing environment Lipstick Theatre offers.
“Right from the start, I knew I found something I loved,” Hernandez says. “Auditions were so open and inviting, and the community was so accepting and loving. I felt I could really express myself around my fellow performers. I grew a lot as a person throughout the whole process.”