We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eerie Rottica a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Eerie , appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I actually have two meaningful projects I am working on that I would love to tell you about!

Firstly, Trek Wars 2. It’s a burlesque tribute show to Star Trek & Star Wars that myself and Gina the Machina put on- together we are “The SiniSisters Burlesque” It’s meaningful to us as nerds that have followed these fandoms for years and as women in the male dominated space that is Science Fiction. This years show is extra meaningful to us though because we have a huge obstacle. We have a large professional touring group coming to town with the same theme and timeframe. As a small business we are fighting our hardest to not be overshadowed by them. I believe the community support will shine through.

Secondly, I am working on a comic book/burlesque show. I have teamed up with comic writer, Mike Gibson, and illustrator Riely McFarlane (rielymcfarlane.com) This project is extra special because we are making an original comic and the characters are taking a likeness to local burlesque performers. Once the book is complete we will have a whole burlesque show centered around it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Eerie Rottica and I am a burlesque producer and performer in Syracuse, NY. I first got involved in burlesque in 2016 when I joined Salt City Burlesque as a stage kitten. Stage kittens are tasked with the job of cleaning up the stage after each performer discards their garments on stage. Not every performer starts out as a stage kitten, but I am so glad that I did because I learned a lot during that time about burlesque as an art and the intricate details that go on behind the scenes to make a show go on.

I still am a member of Salt City Burlesque, however now I also work on two other productions. There is my solo project “Eerie’s Exhibit” as well as a production I co-produce with Gina the Machina “The SiniSisters Burlesque”
Both of these newer productions have been centered around nerdy themes. If I had to sum up nerd culture to just one word is would be ‘passion’. There is so much passion behind fandoms and that passion translates wonderfully to the stage,

Eerie’s Exhibit started out as a virtual and live hybrid show. We would have some acts be videos that were projected on the screen while others were live and in person. This allowed me to hire dancers from anywhere- a burlesque work from home position. Also the hosts, Alton and Eddie, were able to make skits and puppet shows utilizing green screen to play between the acts. The show has a unique quirk and charm that really resonates with some people. The next big project with Eerie’s Exhibit is the comic book, “Crown of Bones” written by Mike Gibson and illustrated by Riely Mcfarlane. The comic’s characters are all drawn to resemble burlesque dancers and on the grand release of the book, each dancer will take the stage as their character. I am so in love with this comic, I think we really have something special here.

When I started producing burlesque I never imagined it would include puppet shows and comic books, but it feels so right- I must be on the correct path.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In January of 2022 while working at my day job- I suddenly dropped to the floor. Collapsed and fainted. I started that day like any other day and then everything changed. The past few years of my health journey has been a wild ride, but I knew from day 1 that I wasn’t going to let this take away creativity from me. My vertigo and drop attacks made it difficult to keep dancing. A huge lesson I learned was knowing my limits and respecting my body. When I couldn’t dance I would still attend shows.(With my red leopard print cane nearby) and on days where I felt a bit better I would dance barefoot or while wearing flats. Every show to this day- I have someone on stand by, to the side of the stage, ready to catch me if I faint. You won’t see me doing backflips and cartwheels on stage, but I will keep on performing and creating.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me the most rewarding part is the auidence. After seeing a show, I want every person in my auidence to feel like they could identify with at least one person on stage. To sort of see themselves up there. This, among so many other reasons, is why it’s important to have a diverse cast. There are so many rewarding parts of my art- gluing on the final rhinestone of a costume, counting up the tips to proudly present to my performers, having meetings with Mike and Riely about the comic book…..but the most rewarding is the cheers and hollers from the crowd. I have had people after the show tell me that their whole idea of beauty standards and parts to be self conscious about where turned upside down after seeing a burlesque show.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eerierottica/
• Other: Riely’s site: https://rielymcfarlane.com/

Image Credits

bluelionphoto, sweetheartpinup ,Eddie Buffington, Riely Mcfarlane,