Who is this Zora Phoenix?
THE BIO:
Honored as one of Willamette Week's "Best of Portland", Zora Phoenix has kept fans entranced and laughing in venues and events across Portland and the nation for over a decade with her gender illusionist character’s live vocal performances, parody & comedy acts.
In addition to performing/emceeing (for which she was voted "Best Emcee in Portland” in 2011), she has two monthly and regularly scheduled burlesque & boylesque productions (including Portland’s Longest Running Burlesque Show) with a goal of bringing incredible burlesque to Bridgetown since 2009 with an emphasis of the diversity and variety in the art of striptease. In addition, she is the Executive Director of the Rose City School of Burlesque, Portland's First and Foremost School for the Art Form of Burlesque & Striptease; as well as founder and webmistress of BurlesquePDX.com, the Online Portal for All Things Burlesque in the Portland Metro Area and Beyond.
When Zora isn’t producing or performing in a show, her alter-ego, Chris, acts as Event & Booking Manager for Crush Bar in SE Portland, booking and supporting queer and queer-friendly events in their all-inclusive space. In addition, as founder of PrinterActiveMedia.com, she provides graphic design and marketing consultation specifically geared to performing artists and small businesses.
Honored as one of Willamette Week's "Best of Portland", Zora Phoenix has kept fans entranced and laughing in venues and events across Portland and the nation for over a decade with her gender illusionist character’s live vocal performances, parody & comedy acts.
In addition to performing/emceeing (for which she was voted "Best Emcee in Portland” in 2011), she has two monthly and regularly scheduled burlesque & boylesque productions (including Portland’s Longest Running Burlesque Show) with a goal of bringing incredible burlesque to Bridgetown since 2009 with an emphasis of the diversity and variety in the art of striptease. In addition, she is the Executive Director of the Rose City School of Burlesque, Portland's First and Foremost School for the Art Form of Burlesque & Striptease; as well as founder and webmistress of BurlesquePDX.com, the Online Portal for All Things Burlesque in the Portland Metro Area and Beyond.
When Zora isn’t producing or performing in a show, her alter-ego, Chris, acts as Event & Booking Manager for Crush Bar in SE Portland, booking and supporting queer and queer-friendly events in their all-inclusive space. In addition, as founder of PrinterActiveMedia.com, she provides graphic design and marketing consultation specifically geared to performing artists and small businesses.
Read the Willamette Week Best of Portland article
Read the The Examiner interview
Herstory
Zora Phoenix is originally from Louisville, Kentucky. She moved to Long Beach, California in September of 2004. Within 2 weeks, she began performing at the Paradise Bar & Grill on Broadway in Long Beach. Every Tuesday she honed her talents as a performer, singer and choreographer. She worked with Bitsy Beamer, Lola LaShowgirl and RuPaul's Drag Reason Season 1 Contestant, Tammie Brown on a weekly basis and with a cast of other entertainers intermittently, including Sheeya Mann, Brown Sugar, Sabreena, Jewels, Big D and others. The Bitsy Beamer Game Show was a huge success and the show began to evolve from being primarily an evening of bingo to a show with bingo interspersed throughout.
In April of 2005, the Bitsy Beamer Game Show took a hiatus on the cue of the organizer, Ms. Bitsy Beamer, to return in the fall of 2005 for a short period.
In April of 2006, the hit show The Phoenix Variety Revue was created as an alternative to the standard drag show format of lipsyncing performers. Based on live singing and entertainment, the show was performed at the Que Sera in Long Beach monthly and gained critical acclaim and new followers with every performance during its year-long run. Viewers enjoyed a rotating cast of guest star complement, and Zora’s unique combination of live singing, comedy skits and musical number, dance and her innate ability to command the microphone.
May of 2007 found Zora relocating to Portland, OR; beginning by performing at CC Slaughter's and eventually finding The Lipz Cabaret drag revue at The Northbank in Vancouver, WA. In September of 2008, she was asked to emcee her first burlesque variety show (BOOBS: Best of Our Burlesque Show) and fell in love with the artform - and through an odd set of coincidences, was asked to emcee the debut of a new monthly burlesque show, Big Top Bottoms Up in December of 2008. After several months, Zora took over production of the show in March of 2009, continuing the show format through May of 2009. The initial show title and concept were shuttered and July of 2009 brought the rebirth of Zora's successful variety show format seen in The Phoenix Variety Revue in Long Beach, which ran through December of 2014.
In March of 2010, Zora launched her second monthly burlesque show, Burlesque S'il Vous Plait, which has been growing and celebrating success for over eight years now at Crush Bar in Southeast Portland, celebrating success as Portland's Longest Running Burlesque Show.
February of 2011 brought the start of my tenure as Comedy & Drama Instructor at the Rose City School of Burlesque, teaching and helping students gain confidence and performance articulation through the artform of burlesque.
In March of 2011, Burlescape! debuted as a monthly boylesque/burlesque formatted show, first at Hamburger Mary's in Old Town and then moving to Crush Bar in SE in August of 2011, where it has had its home ever since.
In June of 2012, Zora took the helm of the Rose City School of Burlesque in the role of Executive Director, as its founder dissolved the business license and turned over management and execution to Zora. The school has received critical acclaim and renewed growth & support; graduating 180+ students under new direction in 2013.
January 2014 brought the debut of Improvlesque, a new burlesque show game show concept - providing a creative exercise positioned as a fun competition... audiences loved the format and contestants had a great time!
Debuting in February of 2014 was the Starlet Showcase, a welcoming format for new performers and established performers with new acts.
In the interim Zora has planned, stage-managed and emceed many other burlesque shows or events that have included burlesque performers.
Zora's background is in dance, music and choreography. She square-danced for 8 years and clogged for 11 years, 4 of which were competing professionally in the Southeast/Ohio Valley area. She taught high-school marching band for 2 seasons as a color guard/auxiliary coach.
Her musical background is primarily in vocal talent with some piano playing, along with a familiarity in playing a variety of instruments. She marched in the band in high school and performed at various GLBT functions for several years in Louisville, KY as part of a professional performance color guard group, the Flags of Pride.
Philosophy "Entertainment should be more than just lip service"
She has always believed that any boy can put on a dress and mouth the words to a song (after all, most gay men have done it at one point or another), but it takes someone special with something special to make that act entertaining. She also believes that deep down, people want to be entertained, but often settle for something they know over a new form of entertainment. Lip-syncing, or record-miming, as it has been called has been around longer than the art of drag itself. That’s why Zora’s goal is to take her ability to sing and give people entertainment by bringing music to the people with her brand of humour and style.
Read the The Examiner interview
Herstory
Zora Phoenix is originally from Louisville, Kentucky. She moved to Long Beach, California in September of 2004. Within 2 weeks, she began performing at the Paradise Bar & Grill on Broadway in Long Beach. Every Tuesday she honed her talents as a performer, singer and choreographer. She worked with Bitsy Beamer, Lola LaShowgirl and RuPaul's Drag Reason Season 1 Contestant, Tammie Brown on a weekly basis and with a cast of other entertainers intermittently, including Sheeya Mann, Brown Sugar, Sabreena, Jewels, Big D and others. The Bitsy Beamer Game Show was a huge success and the show began to evolve from being primarily an evening of bingo to a show with bingo interspersed throughout.
In April of 2005, the Bitsy Beamer Game Show took a hiatus on the cue of the organizer, Ms. Bitsy Beamer, to return in the fall of 2005 for a short period.
In April of 2006, the hit show The Phoenix Variety Revue was created as an alternative to the standard drag show format of lipsyncing performers. Based on live singing and entertainment, the show was performed at the Que Sera in Long Beach monthly and gained critical acclaim and new followers with every performance during its year-long run. Viewers enjoyed a rotating cast of guest star complement, and Zora’s unique combination of live singing, comedy skits and musical number, dance and her innate ability to command the microphone.
May of 2007 found Zora relocating to Portland, OR; beginning by performing at CC Slaughter's and eventually finding The Lipz Cabaret drag revue at The Northbank in Vancouver, WA. In September of 2008, she was asked to emcee her first burlesque variety show (BOOBS: Best of Our Burlesque Show) and fell in love with the artform - and through an odd set of coincidences, was asked to emcee the debut of a new monthly burlesque show, Big Top Bottoms Up in December of 2008. After several months, Zora took over production of the show in March of 2009, continuing the show format through May of 2009. The initial show title and concept were shuttered and July of 2009 brought the rebirth of Zora's successful variety show format seen in The Phoenix Variety Revue in Long Beach, which ran through December of 2014.
In March of 2010, Zora launched her second monthly burlesque show, Burlesque S'il Vous Plait, which has been growing and celebrating success for over eight years now at Crush Bar in Southeast Portland, celebrating success as Portland's Longest Running Burlesque Show.
February of 2011 brought the start of my tenure as Comedy & Drama Instructor at the Rose City School of Burlesque, teaching and helping students gain confidence and performance articulation through the artform of burlesque.
In March of 2011, Burlescape! debuted as a monthly boylesque/burlesque formatted show, first at Hamburger Mary's in Old Town and then moving to Crush Bar in SE in August of 2011, where it has had its home ever since.
In June of 2012, Zora took the helm of the Rose City School of Burlesque in the role of Executive Director, as its founder dissolved the business license and turned over management and execution to Zora. The school has received critical acclaim and renewed growth & support; graduating 180+ students under new direction in 2013.
January 2014 brought the debut of Improvlesque, a new burlesque show game show concept - providing a creative exercise positioned as a fun competition... audiences loved the format and contestants had a great time!
Debuting in February of 2014 was the Starlet Showcase, a welcoming format for new performers and established performers with new acts.
In the interim Zora has planned, stage-managed and emceed many other burlesque shows or events that have included burlesque performers.
Zora's background is in dance, music and choreography. She square-danced for 8 years and clogged for 11 years, 4 of which were competing professionally in the Southeast/Ohio Valley area. She taught high-school marching band for 2 seasons as a color guard/auxiliary coach.
Her musical background is primarily in vocal talent with some piano playing, along with a familiarity in playing a variety of instruments. She marched in the band in high school and performed at various GLBT functions for several years in Louisville, KY as part of a professional performance color guard group, the Flags of Pride.
Philosophy "Entertainment should be more than just lip service"
She has always believed that any boy can put on a dress and mouth the words to a song (after all, most gay men have done it at one point or another), but it takes someone special with something special to make that act entertaining. She also believes that deep down, people want to be entertained, but often settle for something they know over a new form of entertainment. Lip-syncing, or record-miming, as it has been called has been around longer than the art of drag itself. That’s why Zora’s goal is to take her ability to sing and give people entertainment by bringing music to the people with her brand of humour and style.