Thanks to our event which took place in April, “The Originals,” we met Hélène Edouard who manages BoxPlanet, an event planning agency. Seduced by our universe and our know-how, she recently called on us to host a private party.
When one of her clients asked her to create a big circus-themed event to celebrate the 75th anniversary of a construction company, Hélène Edouard immediately thought of us and our universe “The Amazing Traveling Imaginarium.” A few quotes later and it was done! Eat The Cake Studio began its collaboration with BoxPlanet which we hope will be long and prosperous.
Our part of the event consisted in providing the entertainment, the show, the “wow” factor of the evening, while BoxPlanet took care of everything else (logistics, decor, caterer, DJ…). Maddy and I first visited the place with Hélène to be able to better visualize how to install our artists and the possible course of the evening. There were three spaces: the barnum tent in which the caterer and the DJ/musician would be located; the showroom-bathroom where there would be a small bar and a VR experience; and another showroom boutique next to the Barnum. The client wanted a lot of interaction and especially that the guests go and admire the new bathroom showroom.
We got to work! I called the artists we wanted to hire for this event and they were all available, yay! Frances, Maddy and I had several virtual meetings to decide on the course of the evening and many exchanges with Hélène to validate everything. Then we organized a meeting with the artists to give them all the information and explain to them what was expected of them.
Manon David, who plays Clémentine Delait, our bearded woman with clairvoyant powers, would be installed in the bathroom showroom to perform a burlesque number and continuous tarot card readings. Christie Chery, our strongest woman in the world, Lady Hercules, would be in the showroom boutique to host strength competitions with the macho dudes who were expected to be there in large numbers and also do a sexy solo act. Lila Chupahoops, who plays the lion tamer Priscilla Kayes, would teach people to hula hoop and use a bullwhip in the Barnum tent and do one of her signature solo numbers. Kirby Marzelle, the extraordinary acrobat, would do 3 numbers on her Lyra, a hoop on a rod resembling a giant lollipop. Elena would be our Madame Loyal, Kitty Stark, and would also perform a clown burlesque act.
As for Frances and Maddy, in addition to managing the running of the entertainment, Frances would get the crowd going with her endless enthusiasm and energy, and Maddy would add a touch of childhood nostalgia by running a hot buttered popcorn stand with unlimited toppings that we were sure would tempt even the most serious of guests.
Behind the scenes, Nawal Mrabet, a costume designer with whom we worked during our Burlesque Moulin years, helped us find missing costume elements and promised to be at the event with her sewing machine to make any last minute adjustments.
Before the big day, we discussed with the DJ, Régis Suez, and the brass band "Les Enjoliveurs" so that everyone's performances would be coordinated and the evening had an overall coherence; the marching band accepted to play for the grand entrance of the artists, which was sure to add a touch of authenticity to the evening. Finally, we prepared detailed lists of everything to bring, buy and find. Everything was ready !
The big day arrived, October 14th. It was raining, which would make the event a little more complicated, but we had more than one trick up our sleeve! Frances and I loaded up my little car and I thought (erroneously) that I had enough gas to pick up Christie with her heavy accessories (the strongest woman in the world obliges), to go to the place of the event in Clamart and make the return trip. (With the strike gasoline is difficult to find).
We arrived on the scene. Manon had transport problems. We couldn't set up Kirby's Lyra on the stage like we had thought. The cement on which the barnum tent was set was soaked and it continued to rain. We were missing a piece of costume that did not arrive in time.
As almost always with this kind of event, there were ten thousand solutions to find for unforeseen, unfortunate surprises.
But as always, we found solutions with the energy of necessity, resourcefulness, and guardian angels, like the employee who cut up a plywood board to create a base on which to place the lyra.
Despite a hectic pre-event, our artists were fantastic, everything went great and the guests and customers were very satisfied. Clémentine Delait surprised more than one with her predictions - they did not expect to meet a real clairvoyant! And Lady Hercules was courted by one of the guests who was blown away by her strength!
Solutions were found. The event was successful. With some rearranging we got home despite the lack of gasoline. We slept well, exhausted but happy to have done a good job!