Hello
there, My name's not actually Busty St. Claire, as many of you Simpson's
fans will attest. It's Iris, which is my middle name. And before I begin
a rambling Charlotte Bronte kinda autobiography, suffice it to say high
school was a rash of dark clothes, creepy music, and geeky thespian troupe
awards. Coming to the Bay Area to attend University was the real `turning
point' in my life. In 1993 I pounced on the UC Theatre my first weekend
in Berkeley to experience the Rocky Horror Picture Show in all its fabled
campy glory. All I had to go on was that scene in `Fame' and an imaginative
reading of the `play' from my local library. That first night the show,
the cast, and the atmosphere blew my expectations out of the water. Ever
since then I have worked to try and bring that feeling to some Virgin
out for their first bite.
I promptly joined up with the then predominately female (if you catch
my drift) security crew for Indecent Exposure and scurried around the
long aisles and cramped spaces that were the UC Theatre. I do mean scurry.
Imagine looking after a lanky drag queen as he crawls over seats and people-keeping
him safe, and keeping frat boys from aggravated assault, when they realize
they're getting hot by looking at another man's crotch! Comfortable with
your sexuality, boys?
Then one night, I decided to participate in Techie Horror as Magenta (Actors
do tech stuff/tech crew performs). I practiced and got the first taste
of being the drunk, cranky house maid we all know and love. Unfortunately,
that was around 1994-5 (I'm getting old so the years are running all together)
and Indecent Exposure soon bowed out of the scene. But there was life
in the old girl yet. A group of enthusiastic Rocky-ites formed Barely
Legal. I auditioned for Magenta right off the bat in my poor college student
Magenta costumes and passed. Wee Hee!
So after a couple Riff Raffs, Sluts in Chucks, and a couple of relationship
speed bumps I gave it a rest for about a year. Then my friend Keith encouraged
me to audition with the cast he moved to perform with once IE went the
way of the Dodo, Bawdy Caste. At this point Barely Legal did not have
a solid theatre gig so I said OK because I wanted to perform again. It's
such a fabulous part. I had the costume collecting dust and I love the
dress so why not. Did that, BC lost their theatre, so I floated for a
while. Another year and I was re-auditioning with Barely Legal. Only a
few faces were at all familiar but the gig was the same and the vibe was
even better. I could never leave performing for long. It lets a part of
my perverted mind play around without being completely anti-social. That
leads us to this point in my life-bibliophile (I'm a librarian), horror
fan (I'm a gore hound) and amateur portrait photographer (I'm simply obsessed
with film). If you're ever fiending for a Frankenstein fest I'm the person
to call! Shackle me to a wall till I answer your questions or give me
a smoke and I'll wax romantic about anything else.
Deepest Sympathies,
Iris
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