The Candy Gram: Susie Caboose

In our ongoing Q&A series --"The Candy Gram"-- we ask the same quirky questions of burlesque's various performers. If you want to be added to the mix, drop Tanya Cheex a line at t.cheex AT gmail DOT come. Today, say hello to Susie Caboose.

What is your hometown?
The Rose City! Which is a nicer way of saying I'm from Welland, On.

How long have you been interested in burlesque/performing?
Since I was three. That’s when I started dance lessons and I idolized Shirley Temple. I later performed on the Beauty and the Beast stage in Disney World when I was eight and fourteen. Within the last year burlesque was a natural segway from the cabaret style I was trained in and the physical comedy I was using in plays. It combines all my loves for acting, singing, dancing, fashion, perversion (and sometimes food!).

How many pairs of pasties do you own?
I’m a newbie, so I’m resting at seven. I’m really lucky because my best friend is amazing and makes them to custom fit my unique bits. She’s beautiful and so are all her delightful creations.

What are your three favourite songs to perform to?
The Girl From Ipanema, Whatever Lola Wants and Paint It Black. I love anything Spanish or Afro-Cuban as well though; so sexy!

What three items could you not live without as a performer?
Leather, velvet and silk. However, I also dig the use of unnecessary band-aids and tightie-whities.

Who had the biggest influence on your career?
Marilyn Monroe, Fassbinder’s female characters, The Barrison Sisters and Mick Jagger.

Who is your favorite burly queen?
Bettie Page! But in terms of contemporary local artists in Toronto (which I am all about supporting) I love all the cancan belles from The Saucy Tarts.

What is your favorite item of clothing?
My red, leather vintage high heels, “Seville” by RE-MIX.

What’s the last movie you saw?
W. I’ve been disappointed in Oliver Stone though lately. I’m really looking forward to seeing Wolverine. I hope it’s as good as the origins comic series.

What’s on your must-see-TV list?
I need to finish watching the second seasons of Pushing Daisies and The Riches. Two AMAZING series right now. I’m also stoked for the fourth season of Dexter. On a surprisingly new note, I just watched the pilot for Kings and I’m already loving it because of the main character, Ian McShane who played Al Swearengen in Deadwood. I have such a crush on him!

What book is on your nightstand?
Fierce by Hannah Holborn and Apathy and Other Small Victories by Paul Neilan, which is painstakingly funny right now, in a tasteless sort of way.

If you could go anywhere for vacation, where would you go?
Havana

If you could have any superpower, which one would you want? Why?
I’m attracted to the dark side. I’d be a super-villainess, like Mystique or the Phoenix.
I’d like to have teleporting capabilities, or be some sort of half-human/half-machine cyborg. You could go anywhere you damn-well please or have crazy ninja skills, built-in weaponry with a computer enhanced brain. Picture Iron-Man if he never left his suit. What? Nerds do burlesque too...

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