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Waxie Moon by Eli Schmidt Photo

Marc Kenison Interdisciplinary Work

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Choreographic Character and Performance Research

as Waxie Moon (2006–2023)

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Introduction

Waxie Moon is a choreographic character and long-term practice-as-research project I created in 2006, blending gender, camp aesthetics, queer audacity, theatricality, and multiple performance genres. Over seventeen years and more than 1,500 performances, the work moved between theatre, nightlife, cabaret, and contemporary performance contexts.

 

Research

The practice explored persona inhabitation, the interplay of sex and humor, the centering of queer bodies, audacity, theatricality, glamour, genderfluidity and heightened binary expression, a hybridity of lowbrow content and highbrow craft, and a character marked by masculine signifiers within a form that celebrates the female form. It also operated across and within esteemed art institutions and nightlife and cabaret cultures, extending into film and media, interdisciplinary collaborations, and touring work throughout the United States and internationally.

 

Impact

Waxie Moon became a widely recognized cultural figure within Seattle’s performing arts landscape, bridging choreographic character practice with the LGBTQIA+ community, local arts institutions, and broader performance cultures. The character’s visibility included the creation of more than thirty solo works, a feature on NPR, recurring mainstage productions, and over 1,500 performances nationally and internationally, culminating in a permanent mural at Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market and shaping a generation of performance aesthetics in the city.

 

Selected Performance Highlights

  • Annual holiday productions include Scott Shoemaker’s War on Christmas (Re-Bar / Theatre Off Jackson, 2018–2021) and Homo for the Holidays (West Hall / Oddfellows Hall, 2009–2010, 2015–2018).

  • Headlined more than a dozen productions at The Triple Door (2006–2019), including The Burlesque Nutcracker, House of Thee Unholy, Camptacular!, Kings, J’Adore!, Lost in Space!, Seafarer Follies, Cornucopia Cabaret, Celebration of She, and Everything but the Kitchen Sink.

  • Featured alongside BenDeLaCreme, Dina Martina, Dan Savage, and Jinkx Monsoon.

  • Commissioned and presented by On the Boards: After the Funeral (2017); Bolero (NWNW Festival, 2012); Trinity (A.W.A.R.D. Show, 2011); Waxie Moon: EXTREME Boylesque (NWNW Festival, 2008); Shall I Compare Waxie to a Summer’s Day? (12 Minutes Max, 2010).

  • Presented work at Henry Art Gallery (2011) and Seattle Art Museum (2012).

  • Halftime entertainment at KeyArena with Rat City Roller Girls (2010–2012).

  • Appeared at Moore Theatre, ACT Theatre, and Seattle Repertory Theatre (2008–2013).

  • Featured at Bumbershoot (Bagley Wright Theatre, 2007).

  • Additional performances at Neumos, Columbia City Theatre, Hugo House, and Teatro ZinZanni.

  • New York appearances include the New York Boylesque Festival (Gramercy Theatre, 2013; Sony Hall, 2015) and Man: A Tease at Coney Island USA (2011, 2013).

  • Burlesque Hall of Fame Festival, Las Vegas (2011, 2013, 2015), including Movers, Shakers, and Innovators and Tournament of Tease (Orleans Hotel & Casino).

  • Headlined regional festivals including the San Antonio Burlesque Festival (Josephine Theater, 2014) and Wisconsin Male Burlesque Festival (FIVE Nightclub, Madison, 2016).

  • Spotlighted in the West Coast showcase at Tease-O-Rama (Bimbo’s 365 Club, San Francisco, 2007).

  • Headlined Canadian festivals including Ottawa Burlesque Festival (Ottawa Art Gallery Theatre, 2018), Vancouver International Burlesque Festival (Vogue Theatre, 2014), Edmonton International Burlesque Festival (Westbury Theatre, 2014), and Salt Spring Island GLOSSI Pride (2015).

  • International appearances include Helsinki Burlesque Festival (Culture Arena Gloria, 2016) and Vienna Boylesque Festival (Stadtsaal Wien, 2015).

  • Featured at Vienna’s Life Ball (Rathausplatz, 2015), one of the world’s major HIV/AIDS charity events, sharing the stage with Dita Von Teese, Conchita Wurst, and Bianca Del Rio.

  • Guest artist at Fabulous Lab’s Hootchy Kootchy Club, Stockholm (2010).

 

 

Selected Film, Television, Web, and Media

  • Capitol Hill – Web Series (Waxie Moon, Dir. Wes Hurley, 2014–present; streaming on Tubi)

  • Zolushka – Short Film (Fairy Godmother, Dir. Wes Hurley, 2014)

  • Savage Love – Podcast (Featured Guest, Dan Savage, Episode #354, 2013)

  • Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel – Feature Film (Waxie Moon; Co-Writer, Producer; Dir. Wes Hurley, 2011; streaming on Tubi)

  • The Unlikely Career of Waxie Moon – Documentary Short (Dir. Wes Hurley, 2010; Bumbershoot / SIFF)

  • Television appearances on Art Zone with Nancy Guppy (Seattle Channel), KING 5 Evening Magazine, KING 5 Morning News, KOMO News, and PBS/KBTC (2008–2010)

  • Waxie Moon – Documentary Feature (Dir. Wes Hurley, 2009)

  • $5 Cover Seattle – MTV Web Series (Dir. Lynn Shelton, 2009)

  • A Wink and a Smile – Documentary Feature (Dir. Deirdre Timmons, 2008)

 

 

Selected Awards and Honors

  • Seattle Repertory Theatre Commission Development Grant – Full Moon Suite (2016–2018)

  • Webby Award Nominee – Best Actor in a Web Series, Capitol Hill (2014)

  • Top 50 in Burlesque Worldwide – 21st Century Burlesque (2014)

  • Honorable Mention – Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel, Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (2012)

  • Gregory Award Nominee – Excellence in Theater (2010)

  • Festival Awards for Waxie Moon: Audience Award (Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, 2009); Jury Prize (International Queer Fruits Film Festival, 2009); Honorable Mention (CineKink New York, 2010)

  • “Seattle’s Sexiest Dance Company” – Dance Belt, The Stranger Readers’ Poll (2010)

  • “Best Performer” – Seattle Weekly, Readers’ Choice Awards (2009)

 

Selected Book Mentions, Press, and Profiles 

  • KUOW (NPR Seattle) – “Burlesque Performer for a New Century” (2013)

  • The Burlesque Handbook – Jo Weldon (HarperCollins, 2010)

  • United States of Americana – Kurt B. Reighley (HarperCollins, 2010)

  • The Stranger – “The Unlikely Career of Waxie Moon” (2008): “Onstage, she gambols, coos, and when she doesn’t get her way, she roars.”

  • Seattle Magazine – “Marc Kenison (aka Waxie Moon) Won’t Shut Up About Opera” (2017)

  • Coverage in The Seattle Times, City Arts, Seattle Weekly, Seattle Met, and Seattle Post-Intelligencer (multiple features and mentions across a decade of coverage)

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