Peer Reviews - BurlyCon

Peer Reviews are a priceless opportunity for selected individuals to exhibit their art and receive thoughtful feedback in a supportive and inspiring format.

Every performance is an artistic risk. We expose ourselves to the eyes and opinions of our audience every time we step foot on stage. Through Peer Reviews, BurlyCon endeavors to create a space where those risks can be managed. To that end, we have selected thoughtful and encouraging artists to serve as moderators for these sessions, and a professional stage manager will support each presentation. In addition we have invited a number of artists to serve as Invited Peers. These Peers will sit panel-style and provide expert feedback and critique to our Presenters.

Time permitting, our event Moderators will open the floor to BurlyCon attendees to share their own insights. All BurlyCon attendees who desire can provide written notes of encouragement, questions, and insights to Presenters. These notes will be gathered and made available to Presenters at the end of the weekend.

Aspiring Presenters are encouraged to treat submissions to BurlyCon Peer Reviews as they would standard festival submissions. Participants of Peer Reviews will be given 10 minutes to perform, recover, and receive feedback. Acts should be four minutes or fewer. You will not be disqualified from being chosen by submitting a longer act, but we have limited time, and to get the most of your experience we encourage you to adhere to the suggested time limits.

Acts submitted for consideration to do not need to be “performance ready,” but the more prepared you are, the more effective the feedback of our Invited Peers and BurlyCon attendees will be.

Selections will be made by lottery with submitted acts sorted first into specific categories, such as classic burlesque, nerdlesque, and boylesque, with further considerations made for performers of color, assorted experience levels, and manifold body types and gender identities. This will help us ensure a diverse program and see that as much of the wondrous makeup of our Burlesque Community as possible is represented.

Along with the feedback from our panel, you will receive written feedback from the audience (your peers!).

Peer Reviews are Back!

Peer Reviews are a hallmark experience of BurlyCon! They are a priceless opportunity for thoughtful feedback in a supportive and inspiring format.

Participants of Peer Reviews will be given 10 minutes to perform, recover, and receive feedback. We encourage participants to limit their act length to 4 minutes, as to provide ample time for feedback. You will not be disqualified for having a longer act, but you will not receive extra time for feedback if you do.

Event Information & Safer Space Audience Guidelines

Peer Reviews are an educational process at BurlyCon, designed to further the Burlesque art form by providing an opportunity to participate in performance critique in a professional format. Peer Reviews are intended to inspire growth, ingenuity, creativity, and excellence, while encouraging keen observation and honest critique within the burlesque community.

We encourage all BurlyCon attendees to come out, watch the performers, and provide feedback!

As the BurlyCon Peer Review audience member, you are an integral part of the educational process for the performers. You are sharing in their vulnerability of presenting work to one’s peers, while providing constructive feedback.

Please join in for BurlyCon Peer Reviews at the convention!

Here’s what you need to know:

• Friday, November 8, 2024 – 8:00-11:00pm
• Crystal Ballroom A/B/C
• Wear whatever you feel comfortable in
• Feel free to come and go during the event, please remain seated during the performances
• Read the guidelines below

The following guidelines have been developed to help create a safer space for the learning of all attendees.

By participating in BurlyCon Peer Reviews you agree to adhere to the following:

To create a safer space for performers presenting acts and the audience, we require that you agree to follow these guidelines:

• Anonymous feedback will not be accepted. All peers in the audience who wish to provide written feedback must include:
- Your PERFORMER NAME – LEGIBLY! in the Upper Right- corner of each card
- Presenter’s # and Name in the Upper Left corner
• What is good feedback:
- Constructive, thoughtful, helps to develop the performer’s vision
  - Feedback questions:
    - What worked? (I like)
    - What would you like to see more of? (I wish)
    - I am still wondering…? (I wonder)
  - Suggestions for specific feedback:
    - Concept
    - Costume & Makeup
    - Props
    - Choreo and movement aesthetics
    - Character
    - Music
    - Length
  - Ensure feedback is actionable
  - Generic feedback is not helpful, and can be exclusionary. For example:
    - ‘Needs more polish’ is vague, and “polish” has been used as a fill in for ‘does not want to hire BIPOC’ who often have less access to supplies, money, rehearsal time/space.
• If you observe content in an act that is triggering, offensive or problematic, provide this feedback (written/verbal) as part of the learning experience for the performer.
- A BurlyCon Community Committee Member is present at Peer Reviews, and is available to provide support if needed and can help ensure that feedback is provided to the performer.
- Following the event, a member of the BurlyCon Community Team, will connect with the performer to check in and discuss the feedback, and will bring in a member of the Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression Team, if appropriate.
- Because Peer Reviews and BurlyCon have an education focus, we require that you do not discuss the act outside of BurlyCon, provide additional feedback, or follow up with the performer directly unless specifically asked to by BurlyCon or the performer. This is to allow the performer time and space to learn from the feedback and look at options for modifying the act and actions they can take to repair the harm that has been caused.

If you have any questions, please email champagne@burlycon.org.