ENTERTAINMENT

Local burlesque Carnivale Revolver troupe marks 2 years

Kate Kompas
kkompas@stcloudtimes.com
Tiana Otto of St. Cloud, who goes by the stage name “Scarlette Revolver,” begins her burlesque routine in 2013 at Cream City Tattoo.

Carnivale Revolver is marking its second anniversary. Fans of the St. Cloud burlesque troupe should have plenty to look forward to next year.

"Going into our next season, I think our audience will be very pleasantly surprised because we're taking the show to a whole different level," said Tiana Otto, Carnivale Revolver founder and producer. She performs under the name Scarlette Revolver.

Before the next season, though, Carnivale Revolver will wrap up this one. The troupe is performing Saturday at Pioneer Place on Fifth, its second to last show of the season. Sammy Tramp and Musette "The Mistress of Mischief" are the troupe's special guests.

Carnivale Revolver shows include vaudeville, mime, sideshow acts and comedy. The troupe does five performances a year from September through May.

Otto was always interested in performing and entertaining, from speech competitions when she was younger to becoming a fire performer/hula hooper. After she saw a burlesque act in the Cities, the longtime sideshow enthusiast knew she wanted to start a troupe in St. Cloud.

"I think anytime we can bring more culture or entertainment to this area, it's really beneficial," Otto said.

And the audiences responded enthusiastically, Otto said, proving to her there are people who want that kind of entertainment.

Burlesque "combines all the things that I like — the theatrical elements, the costuming, the sexiness. I can even do fire in my acts."

Otto says burlesque also appeals to her because she's a feminist. The art promotes women of all shapes and sizes and isn't confined to one standard of beauty, she said.

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St. Cloud burlesque troupe Carnivale Revolver shows include vaudeville, mime, sideshow acts and comedy.

And the burlesque act includes striptease, which is an empowering and not shameful thing, Otto said. She laughs that the difference between burlesque and striptease may be "more feathers and rhinestones" with the former (and less pay, Otto says).

"I think the negative connotation there (with striptease), for me, it's kind of a flaw in our society, and that's why I do burlesque," Otto said. She performed when she was pregnant (no fire eating) not long ago.

Much of Carnivale Revolver's audience is made up of women, Otto said. She's received messages from some who are happily surprised that burlesque celebrates women in all sorts of ways.

Otto runs the business Cream City Tattoo with her boyfriend, Ryan Schepp, who does magic in Carnivale Revolver under the name Sarin.

Schepp said he's looking forward to honing his craft as part of the group.

Schepp says he would have been "so overrun with the business if I didn't have (Otto) around ... probably so overwhelmed that I would have had to sideline my magic career almost to the point of retirement. The show keeps me active and forces me to keep it going."

Otto says she has no trouble brainstorming what's next for Carnivale Revolver.

"In my sleep, I'm coming up with new ideas," she said.

Follow Kate Kompas on Twitter @copygirlkate, or call her at 259-3620.

If you go ...

What: Carnivale Revolver.

When: 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Doors open at 10 p.m.

Where: Pioneer Place on Fifth, 22 Fifth Ave. S.

Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 at the door. VIP tickets are $20 and advance only (VIP ticket holders entered in drawing for a Carnivale Revolver prize package). Buy tickets at the box office or at www.ppfive.com.

More online

Visit www.carnivalerevolver.com.