Emjay Mercury
- sangfroidbooks
- Dec 28, 2018
- 4 min read
Shows:
The Body Political (annual in San Francisco, CA)
Rebel Kings of Oakland (bi-monthly at The White Horse in Oakland.)
Links:
Facebook: Emjay Mercury
Instagram: @emjaymercury
Questions contributed in part by Angsty Andy:
Introduce yourself with a brief description of who you are. Please be sure to include your location and pronouns. Taglines are also welcome.
EM: “I’m Emjay Mercury, that’s my performer persona, Jade Mercury for drag… my ‘muggle’ name is Rebecca Salas…I’m from Fresno, California, based in Oakland… Taglines: ‘The Tiny Hellfire of Burlesque’ because I’m only 4’ 11”, but I like to believe I have a giant, fiery presence!”
What influenced you to get into burlesque originally? Is this the same reason you are doing burlesque nowadays? Why or why not?
EM: “Originally, I started because I really wanted to feel sexy and empowered. I went to a lot of shows and that’s the sense I got from the performers. Over the years it changed a lot more to challenge…the gender-norm. I’m a pretty campy performer, so a lot of humor is in my acts now…I definitely still get that sense of… empowerment and sexiness…Now people laugh too so… that’s nice.”
What observations have you made in the demographics of burlesque performers, and what would you like to see change?
EM: “To be completely honest I’ve seen a lot more white performers in classic burlesque…that inherently isn’t bad but I would definitely love to see more Black and Brown bodies up there…Everyone I meet [who’s] a burlesque dancer I’m gonna get along with… but that’s honestly the first thing I noticed when I got into burlesque was [that it’s] pretty dominated by a lot of white performers especially here in the Bay Area. “
In what ways do your performances/ productions forward or embody intersectional feminist thought and advocacy. Why is this important to you?
EM: “…It is definitely important to remember intersectionality and there’s a lot of ways you can apply that in a performing space…with my performances I…focus on myself as a flat-neck Chicanx performer…I grew up…middle-class, that is changing as I get older, get more experience in different jobs but, it’s more so the productions than my actual performances…I just don’t feel I’ve developed an act yet that I’d say challenges what people think intersectional feminism is but I think the productions I’m involved with definitely have…Body Political is one show that I do [(] that I did with Angsty[)] and that is a show that is very important to give face… There’s also Rebel King which is a drag troupe that I’m part of and we also produce a show about… maintaining a safe space for everybody, performers and audience members alike… I’ve seen a lot of amazing acts there that brought up a lot of different feelings and issues regarding feminism [(] and intersectional feminism in particular.[)] It’s important to keep those spaces available for folks and that’s my biggest role is… trying to keep those performance spaces open for people.”
Are there any specific cultural and/or systemic issues that you address in your performances/productions?
EM: “I really love to challenge the idea of gender-roles, especially machismo in Latinex culture, pretty much just trying to make that all funny and sexy at the same time… That’s the easiest way I find that I can get through to people because I… feel and think with humor…That being said I definitely have more focus on me as a Brown and Queer performer and gender-bending because…in some way it doesn’t matter but it does…it could be everything, it could be nothing for some people and that’s okay!”
What do you hope your audiences take away from these performances?
EM: “I really hope that people walk away not only having…laughs based on humor, but that they actually put some thought into this tiny woman playing all of these rather machismo roles onstage, like yeah it’s funny but they can also acknowledge that a tiny woman can emit a… energy like that.”
What are some unexpected reactions you received from audience members, and how did you deal with those interactions?
EM: “One act that I do is El Rey by Vicente Fernandez….I bought these tiny sombreros in Mexico and was like “I’m gonna put these on my titties.”… I won the San Francisco Drag King Contest with that act… Someone at one of my shows… They were singing along with the words and they were crying and they gave me a $5 bill shaped in a heart and they told me “Thank you for doing that” and I remember feeling like “oh shit, I’m gonna get emotional right here”…it was… a moment of solidarity… like we’re in this together like I’m representing you too. It ended up being a very humbling, sweet moment. I didn’t want to cry too [due to wanting to keep it professional]…”
Any upcoming performances or events you are doing that relate to feminism and intersectionality?
EM: “Rebel Kings at the White Horse in Oakland every 1st and 3rd Wednesday… That’s the one that’s going to have the most political and thought-provoking acts. It can be a very campy shows but it’s also very thought-provoking. There’s a lot of different acts, a lot of variety, a lot of different backgrounds… a hub for Queer performers to explore what their gender and how society these days might be impacting that and if there’s anything we can do within our show to help…it’s probably the most reoccurring space that I have where I would feel comfortable taking a heavy number if I needed to or wanted to.”
What do you think the future of burlesque, in regards to intersectional feminism, will look like five years from now?
EM: "…I hope that it’s not so focused on how expensive your rhinestones are or whether you got your dress off Amazon…I know fashion has a lot to do with burlesque and that’s awesome, but at the same token there’s more beauty in art and creativity, making something out of nothing is way more extravagant to me and… I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t envy performers who are able to commission these beautifully rhinestoned heavy dresses, I do, but I also can respect the performer who made something just as dazzling as like the thrift store… there is definitely a burlesque paradox of ‘I want to see all that shininess’ but I also respect and understand the people that make it work in other ways.”
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