The expert party organizers from Richmond’s Party Liberation Front (PLF) and the Philadephia Experiment (PEX) once again hopped a sleigh to the nation’s capital and joined up with DC’s own Mischief to spread some early holiday cheer. Ever the fans of word play, this year’s theme was “ApocalypSnow.” (Say it three times fast.)
Naughty Snowball moved from its previous location at the Loft Warehouse (which came to a sudden and tragic end in September) to Phase 1’s huge new location in Dupont. While Phase 1 lacked the ample outdoor performance space that made the Loft Warehouse to attractive to this group of fire-spinning “Burners,” it compensated for this loss with two full floors of indoor party space that included five bars and four dj booths/dance floors. The dj lineup reflected the regional diversity of the organizers themselves:
BEATrix – Meso Creso/DC
Big Jawn – PEX/Philly
Discount – PEX/Philly
Dustin – Mischief/DC
Everyday – PEX-Playloop/Philly
EZ Almighty – Disorient/Philly
Kanizzle – Mischief/DC
Lee Mayjahs? – PEX-Playloop/Philly
Lina Luv – PEX-Feet Active/Philly
Meathook – Meso Creso/DC
Michael NightTime – PEX-PLF-Mischief/Philly
Mr. Jennings – PLF/Richmond
MTK – PLF/Richmond
Reinhold – PLF/Richmond
Sequoia – Mischief/DC
Squachek – Mystical Misfits/Los Angeles
Synz- Mischief/DC
Teh Wallace – PEX/Brooklyn
Teknacolor Ninja – Mischief/DC
Whiskey T. Fox – Echo Collective/Philly
You go to a Burner party, for the costumes as much as for the music, and making good on all that time on their hands in that annual lull between pre-Burning Man preparation and post-Burning Man exhaustion, this crowd did not disappoint. There was a maniacal gingerbread man and abominable snow-woman, a macho menorah and sexy dreidal, dancers with bright red leotards and candy-striped stockings rising out of faux-fur leggings, santas of all shapes and colors and reindeer with horns of every imaginable material.
The night was also animated by professional circus arts performers who frequently glided onto the dance floor, spinning, hooping, or contorting themselves for the partygoers amusement. The performers even briefly spun fire at the venue’s entrance early in the night.
One interesting aspect of the event was that all bathrooms were unisex. It was rather remarkable to watch people try to negotiate this unexpected dismantling of social norms. I got the impression that this little oddity actually made the party more fun for people because it made them feel like they were being deviant—like they were doing something… naughty.
While you’ll have to wait a full year for another Naughty Snowball, keep your eyes peeled for the next Intergalactic Speakeasy, which is put on by these same fine folks and is guaranteed to leave you saying “ Mischief managed.”
Round House Theatre Bethesda
The smash hit comedy about romantic errors and bad manners
When Suzanna sets up her best friend Max on a blind date with her husband’s co-worker Becky Shaw, she puts into motion a series of cataclysmic events that forever change all of their lives. Like the Victorian upstart Becky Sharp, this modern Becky is unsure, overdressed and socially ambitious. But she’s no shrinking violet, as the silkily cynical Max soon learns.
A Pulitzer Prize finalist and an Off-Broadway hit, Becky Shaw is a savvy, sharp comedy of romantic errors that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats guessing what will happen next.
