In the world of burlesque, Siomai (pronounced \u201cSHOW-MY\u201d) Moore\u2019s story is unusual.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While some folks don\u2019t even take classes before they jump in and hit the stage, Siomai is a Type A superstar kind of person\u2014and she spent four years intently studying burlesque before debuting onstage in the summer of 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

She says: <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cThere\u2019s not a whole lot of money in burlesque, so I knew I had to keep my day job in order to be able to do my passion! So, I had to ask myself what implications there might be to my professional career from becoming a naked person on stage and on the internet.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

“In the meantime, I was killing myself at work. It was less of a nine-to-five and more of a seven-until-the-janitor-leaves kind of job. I was exhausted.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

For Siomai, burlesque became the \u201cbump and grind\u2019 that set limits on the daily grind. Because she had spent so much time learning about the craft, diving into its history and networking in the industry, Siomai had already made a name for herself in the industry as a fan and passionate supporter. She had established a foothold in the community, so:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to make my debut and hit the ground running in a really thoughtful and strategic way, tackling it exactly as I would a new career, because in a sense, it was.\u201d<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>It\u2019s been a whirlwind. Starting off doing burlesque festivals and shows and traveling, it was only a year before <\/span>21<\/span><\/i>st<\/span><\/i> Century Burlesque Magazine <\/span><\/i>recognized Siomai as number four of their top 50 burlesque performers, based on peer and fan votes. She was honored as <\/span>\u201cone of the most influential performers of the year.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been a wild two-and-a-half years. I’m very proud of that. I quickly made it on this list that really big industry movers and shakers typically get on after a long career.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What inspired Siomai to start a podcast, though?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

As she started performing more and more, she spent more time on the road by herself. So of course, she began listening to more podcasts, and was inspired by those featuring interviews. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201c<\/span>I thought to myself,<\/span><\/i> \u2018What would a show like <\/span>Fresh Air With Terry Gross<\/span><\/i> be if it only featured burlesque performers?\u2019 <\/span>Burlesque is not just pretty people getting on stage and taking our clothes off. As performers, we are telling a story, right? And there is always a story behind the story.\u201d<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>Siomai wanted to get to know the real stories and voices of the performers. She wanted to go beyond the \u201cpersona\u201d they project on the stage to the real person and actual story that is the driving force behind the performer\u2019s act.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a fellow performer, she was also curious about her guests\u2019 burlesque origin story and wanted to dive deep into their \u201cwhy.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEntertainment is a tough business. Performing Arts is a tough business. Burlesque is a tough business. So what keeps these performers in the game? With that in mind, I thought<\/span><\/i> \u2018Okay\u2026 this could be a cool podcast.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pastie Tapes<\/span><\/i> was born\u2014the title a nod to the nipple tassels (covers called \u201cpasties\u201d) worn by burlesque performers. Pastie tape is the adhesive most performers use to stick the pastie to their skin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it’s cute,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Siomai says. <\/span>\u201cThe name just came from something that we burlesque performers all have with us all the time. You know, it’s a thing that we joke about. Someone backstage is bound to not have pastie tape and be in dire need of borrowing some.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Adding <\/span>The Pastie Tapes<\/span><\/i> to her already full day-to-day life wasn\u2019t easy; burlesque had essentially become a second full-time job. <\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cAs your readers may know, podcasting is a whole different thing. Luckily, my day job at the time was very slow, so I could get away with taking a few minutes here and there to Google \u2018how to do a podcast,\u2019 or do some research between busy seasons.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Since launching, <\/span>The Pastie Tapes <\/span><\/i>has taken off. After only a month and a half, Siomai celebrated 2500 downloads of her nine episodes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Siomai balances all that she\u2019s got \u201ctwirling,\u201d so to speak, by giving herself permission to focus on what it is she <\/span>wants <\/span><\/i>to focus on and by setting limits.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know that my joy comes from the conversations I’m having with burlesque performers and the opportunities to connect with other industry figures. So that’s part of my fun. I’m also recognizing that it’s of course a lot of work. If you’ve never worked with audio or in podcasting, there\u2019s a lot to learn.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started, I didn’t hire help. I didn’t hire an editor or producer or anything like that, because I figured if I want to do this, and if I want to learn how to do it, before I ask for help, I need to know what I’m asking for. As the podcast has grown, I\u2019ve given myself permission to recognize that as much as I love it, I don’t owe anyone anything.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

As a marketer, Siomai knows that having an audience is key. Captivating that audience, just like in a live burlesque show, is really important to her. As someone who grew up on the Internet, she knew she couldn\u2019t go to every single city to put on her burlesque show, but people in every single city around the world can look at her Instagram, Facebook, and website. And her listeners can hear the performer stories she shares.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe podcast is obviously a conversation between me and another performer. But I recognize that my audience is made up of burlesque fans and burlesque performers, so I make sure they’re part of the conversation, too. I think one of the great things about the show is everyone loves learning about everyone else. And this is just one of those avenues to continue to connect this burlesque world.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the world of burlesque, Siomai (pronounced \u201cSHOW-MY\u201d) Moore\u2019s story is unusual.\u00a0 While some folks don\u2019t even take classes before they jump in and hit the stage, Siomai is a Type A superstar kind of person\u2014and she spent four years intently studying burlesque before debuting onstage in the summer of 2018. She says: \u201cThere\u2019s not a whole lot of money in burlesque, so I knew I had to keep my day job in order to be able to do my passion! So, I had to ask myself what implications there might be to my professional career from becoming a naked<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9876,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[468,773,776,774,775],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n