Once upon a time (2013-2014) I was a cast reader, later turned producer, of Naked Girls Reading in Austin. It was a local branch of a national show, now called the Bare Book Club, created by Miss Exotic World 2005, Michelle L’amour. The Austin show eventually turned into Stripped Storytelling and was continued by some wonderful burlesque friends for a while after I left.
This production was so special. If you went to any of them, you know. I LOVED this show because I got to bring stories and authors that were important to me to my audience. And when I produced, I got to create a space for other performers I loved to do the same.
But it was a hard show to do in Texas. Because of TABC rules, we couldn’t do this show in any of our regular burlesque venues. Why? Because Naked really meant NAKED. No pasties or g-strings. We were reading IN THE NUDE. Exactly like the show name says.
A nude show and alcohol sales can’t go together, per the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. So none of our performance venues that have bars could host our show. Venues that had a bar in a separate space, or community theatres were harder to book and harder on our budget.
We were lucky to land a long-term space at the Salvage Vanguard Theatre when they had the building on Manor Rd. After that Stripped Storytelling had a few shows at Sky Candy Aerial Arts, and I seem to remember that they had one in a local comic book store? Don’t quote me on that.
Since the last show was at the end of 2019, I’m sure the pandemic was a big factor in the show going dark, and one of the producers has moved away since then too. So it’s unclear if this show will come back at some point.
Facebook has been teasing me for years with NGR memories! And I have been trying to reconcile this feeling of unfinished business I have surrounding it. I’ve had a show idea brewing for a while that captures some of what I loved about NGR (the book lovers, the body positivity, the performance art of it all), but moving it more into the burlesque space, and including local writers, poets, artists, and musicians in the mix.
And so… The Galactic Salon is going to keep the spirit of Naked Girls Reading alive. It’s not completely what NGR was, but it will fill the void that was left when the show stopped, at least for me.
The Prologue is Thursday, August 10th at Kick Butt Coffee. Doors open at 7:30pm. Browse the tables of books, photo prints, and more by the performers. Visit the bar for both coffee shop mainstays and craft cocktails. Mingle and find your seats. Show starts at 8:30pm. 18+ only.
There will be burlesque based on books, art, politics, and poetry and some of the performers are doing readings that complement their acts. Performances by Bobby Barnaby, Kitty Von Quim, Folly Parton, Jojo Jezebel, Hibiscus Bloom, Stormy September, Ruby Lamb, and Gemmi Galactic.
There will be music!!! Cigarettes et Queue, members of of Mr. Lewis and the Funeral 5, are creating a jazzy new arrangement just for this show to get us in that underground artist nightclub mood.
Featured local writer and artist, Ricardo Acevedo, reading from his new book and selling prints.
There will be a somewhat unclothed (pasties and g-strings) reading by some of the original Austin NGR cast as well!
I really hope you come and see what we’ve been working on. It’s going to be a treat.
Reserve your seats for The Galactic Salon: Prologue before presales close!
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