We recently connected with Lola Loveletter and have shared our conversation below.

Lola, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Deciding to leave the safety net of a classroom and performing burlesque on public stages is a big risk in many ways, especially if it’s not your full time job.

Stability has always been at the forefront of my career decisions. I went to college and got a bachelors because I wanted to have something that would give me a foothold in the job market. I now work a corporate job during the day because it pays the mortgage.

Stability though, is like decorative greens in the spice of life. Chasing the thing I felt would undo all of my childhood trauma left me void of feeling truly alive. I disconnected from my body. I retreated. Clock in. Clock out. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. When a friend suggested I take a burlesque class back in 2021, I thought it would be a fun thing to do with a friend. I went and learned the art of striptease. I started feeling like my body was light and capable. When my instructor, Lakota Shekhar, said “you need to be on stage”, that’s when I had to take a pause. Was I really going to bare myself in public, in a body I knew at the time I was foreign from? What about my day job? Could I get fired for this?

After checking with my HR Rep at work, I took to the stage. I was scared. I don’t have the ideal body type to just show off to hundreds of people under shiny lights. But I needed this for me. I needed to seek my connection back to myself on stage, even if it meant people were seeing me learn myself outside of stability live and in person.

I haven’t looked back. I have performed over 30 times across several cities and states in the last year, and am becoming more involved in conversations regarding body diversity in our local burlesque industry. Yes, I still have my day job, but I feel like I’m *living* in my body every time I step on stage.

Lola, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am Lola Loveletter, also known as Cleveland’s Special Delivery, and I am a burlesque artist born and raised in Cleveland. I didn’t come to burlesque as a body confident person with access to expensive costumes. My background in costuming comes from being a Cosplayer for over a decade, and I think that’s what makes me unique in this industry. I come from the era of cosplaying for conventions where plus size costuming was not readily available and we had to make everything from nothing. I’ve been trolled on the Internet for not only being fat, but also for not being able to afford custom commissions to go to conventions in. I bring with me all of that to exemplify that even in burlesque, there is room for unconventional people like me. I offer tips and tricks for plus size burlesque performers to costume on a budget, and I’m proud of what I’ve been able to show people on stage. Many people go, “wow, I didn’t know burlesque could look like that”. To me, that’s the highest compliment you can pay me.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Go. To. The. Shows. Tip performers, this is how we are able to continue to perform!

Also, be active in your local and state politics. There are many bills and laws targeting drag performers that also affect burlesque and other forms of non-theatre performances. Know where your senator and governor stands on these issues. Moral panic and conservatism will kill the performance community if we let it.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I am combining my love of all things nerdy with finding and feeling my body on stage as a burlesque performer, and in that I have found that there are many elitists in the industry who don’t think fat people should perform. We are priced out of custom costuming, costume styles are not made for our body types, and when we do find something it’s usually one of a kind or limited run. I sit in a place where using my Cosplayer background, I can help other performers like me look just as good as thinner performers do.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @lola_loveletter
• Facebook: Lola Loveletter
• Other: Tiktok- @lola_loveletter

Image Credits
DefinitelyNotZoe Photography Kayode Omoyosi Bridget Caswell Sainteven Photography Sainteven Photography Bridget Caswell Kayode Omoyosi Lola Loveletter