So, you wanna be a Lasher?

Posted by Lashings of Ginger Beer Time

Now you can! Lashings is currently looking to recruit new members, for roles both on and off the stage. We'll be holding taster sessions for people thinking of getting involved in the next few weeks:

Oxford taster session

Saturday 27 October, 2.15pm

West Oxford Community Centre

London taster session

Monday 29 October, evening
Exact time & location TBC

Cambridge taster session

Saturday 3 November, daytime
Exact time & location TBC

What will be in these taster sessions? That's partly up to you! They'll include a 'Lashings 101' – who we are, how we work, why we do what we do – some drama games for those so inclined, and some 'getting to know you' group discussions. Taster sessions will be run according to Lashings' general safe space policy.

Who we're looking for:

You! There's no one type of person who can be a Lasher, although you will need a certain amount of free time & commitment. Lashings is not a profit-making organisation, although we can usually cover our costs, but really we all do it for the love. Maybe you could be a:

Performer - any level of skill and stage experience

Writer - writers of acts and bloggers equally welcome

Musician - especially accompanists

Techie - particularly people familiar with backstage tech such as lighting and sound mixing, but if you're a sound recorder, camera operator or some other kind of tech wizard, we'd still like to meet you!

Facilitator/organiser - as Lashings grows, there's more and more "producer" type admin that's needed to make rehearsals and gigs run smoothly

Costume/make-up artist

Graphic designer/artist

Photographer

Web designer

Or an awesome person of any other kind! If none of these roles sound like you but you'd like to participate in Lashings some other way, please do come along - we'd love to meet you and there are lots and lots of ways to get involved.

It's really important to us that we are as representative as we can be of all the different types of feminists out there, because of our focus on intersectionality. As it stands, Lashings is primarily (but not entirely) composed of white people, and people with academic backgrounds. We would really like to address both of these things, and as such, would particularly welcome hearing from people of colour and people who have followed life paths other than going straight from school to university. (We don't expect you to do our work for us, but as an intersectional feminist group, we really want to be able to speak to/from a diversity of experiences and oppressions.)

Who we're not looking for:

Potential new Lashers must be 18 or over. (Sorry, awesome teenaged Lashfans. We hope we're still around when you're old enough to join!)

Lashings is a feminist, left-wing group, and we're not looking to change our political leanings. We're pro-queer and trans* inclusive. If any of this makes it sound like Lashings is not your scene, it probably isn't.

What you should do if you want to come:

Pick the taster session most convenient for you.

Write a short bio of yourself, including a little bit on why you might want to be a Lasher. (Nothing scary - this isn't about us judging you, it's about us getting to know each other. There's no right or wrong way to do it!) If you're able to, please email your bio to feministburlesque@gmail.com with the subject line 'Proto-Lasher bio', mentioning which taster session you're planning to attend - otherwise, please just bring it with you on the day.

If ranting is your thing, please bring a ~2 minute rant on the subject of your choice. Rants are great icebreakers - from 'why I became a feminist' to 'what's annoying me in pop culture this week', we want to hear it all! (This isn't a performance test, so don't worry about being polished - we're just looking to learn about the things that get you animated.)

Turn up and have fun – we hope lots of you will!

(If you can't make any of these sessions, but are still interested in getting involved - email us a bio anyway, especially if you're thinking of a writing-type role.)