Drama Libre Presents Saturday Themed Dances, Ever-Changing Venues

Tags

Drama Libre, Second Life, Virtual Venue

Roaring Twenties Party

Love the style of this couple’s 1920s clothing. She clearly illustrates the bold attitude of women determined to break out of what society demanded women should wear. She’s set herself free, in terms of individual expression. 

Xerxes Sismondi dancing with his partner, Peachy Sassoon. Peachy is from Pittsburg, PA and Xerxes is from Jacksonville, Florida.

THE SATURDAY EVENTS LISTING read ROARING TWENTIES PARTY. How could I resist going to Drama Libre (114, 226, 22)?

What I didn’t know was there was this great group in existence for ten years under the direction of Peachy Sassoon and Xerxes Sismondi. Their venue and group is called DRAMA LIBRE. And here I am always seeking fun themed parties on Second Life on a Saturday night. I decided to attend the Roaring Twenties Party and slipped on my SFD Martine black cocktail dress, flapper-style with layers of fringe. I clicked the landmark and landed at the DRAMA LIBRE’s teleport site and walked the short distance to a small building with another teleport. This one took me to a sky build, built by a team working toward a common goal. After rezzing, I was in front of the Algonquin Hotel. Loving the work of Dorothy Parker and the Algonquin Roundtable, I felt that Dorothy wasn’t far off, sitting at a table with poets and authors, drinking whatever they could afford and critiquing each others work.

Inside, the decor featured rich wood tones with an Art Deco creme and beige rug. As expected, the roundtable was in the center of the room. To start dancing, you just clicked the emblem on the table for the HUD. This is where most of the tinies danced throughout the night, but I did catch Winnie hovering not far from the owners.

With the theme focusing on the 1920s, the women wore their hair mostly in Bobs and chose sassy flapper dresses in bold reds, turquoise, maroon, plum or beige. Some of the men wore snazzy tuxedos with black tailcoats, ties, a cummerbund and top hats.

Great examples of rich in color and style flapper dresses.

Alex and I dancing to a number of 1920 tunes.

This flapper has the Bob hairstyle with a headband that matches her long dress.

Simply beautiful. A sleek, body-fitting purple gown with a long strand of pearls behind her.

Love this flapper’s style. The color is sexy and feminine. Her jewelry not only compliments the dress, it’s vintage and I can easily imagine it being worn in the past. Puffs of smoke rose from the cigarette folder. I was actually able to capture that.

The Algonquin Roundtable. Told you.

Putting on the ritz here. Love the colors and pattern of this dancer’s dress, and the wings or cape behind her. He’s wearing a suit that states he’s a wealthy businessman.

Love this shot. A red flapper cocktail dress, sexy gloves, black pearls and a feather headband.

At the end of the party, I asked the owners if they would take a little time out of their busy schedule to let me interview them. They agreed. A few days later we spoke in a western outdoor scene that they had used in the past. It was so realistic that I was just waiting for the stage coach passengers to shoot the ambushers on the hill. They joked that it was a good thing they didn’t script firing bullets. We really were on the same wave length. I found Peachy and Xerxes to be very down-to-earth and easy to talk to. They truly care about their venue’s regulars, as well as their building team and DJs. It’s only natural to begin the interview with how long has Drama Libre been in existence.

Peachy: We’ll be celebrating our 10th Anniversary in November.

Netera: You must really know how to entertain.

Xerxes: I guess we stuck with a simple formula and got good people to help us.

Netera: Are you the original owners?

Peachy: Yes, he stuck with me (she joked)

Netera: Who selected the name of the venue and what does it mean?

Xerxes: Peachy and I were dating and we both enjoyed dancing and clubbing, but there was a lot of drama at every venue we enjoyed. We wanted a place without drama, so we decided to make one when we didn’t find it out there. Drama Libre came about because of that..it means Drama Free and we partnered it after a revolutionary message of Cuba Libre, because we just wanted to rebel…lol.

Peachy: Honestly, no (about the rebelling part). Word got around and we have been drama free.

(Peachy stated there had been negative situations, which they had to handle promptly).

Xerxes: We have had folks who tried to distract our DJs, things like that. That’s why Peachy and I are a hosting team..so no single host gets distracted.

Netera: Have you had experience in running a venue before?

Peachy: It does take two or three people to handle a large group. I was a host before at another venue. I worked at Soulmates. I was their lead hostess so I knew how to get a crowd going.

Xerxes: Well…there was a lot we didn’t expect. Unruly DJs, too.

Peachy: At one time, I use to dance around the room next to other people and mention their name. I would do my best to make people feel good.

Netera: What did you want for your club from the get go?

Peachy: No drama, lol..

Xerxes: Yes, that was our ONLY goal, lol. (In the beginning) we didn’t know how to build. We also wanted to change the themes because we felt the “Best in RED” was boring and folks deserved more.

Netera: Excellent idea, but a lot of work.

Peachy: One thing back then…all the clubs, all they offered was pole dancers and escorts. We wanted to be different.

Xerxes: We wanted to make the theme the event, not that other stuff.

Peachy: I’ve made a lot of friends, from all walks of life.

Xerxes: Peachy is very good at that. She taught me right away that was very important. She showed me how to greet people and how to make the experience fun.

Peachy: Yes, fun was at the top of the list.

Netera: People love to know they’re noticed.

Peachy: That’s why I do the snapshots and I use to say that if you’re new to Drama Libre, this is our little way of saying thanks for being with us.

Xerxes: Over time we gathered a bunch of regulars, and it honestly felt like a gathering among family members.

Netera: Did you always change your venues?

Peachy: Yes.

Xerxes: There are folks we know who have been to almost every party from the beginning.

Netera: Very dedicated regulars. You can’t imagine how wonderful that is for people. SL can be like real life. You have to feel comfortable with your setting and the people around you….Tell me about the various themes you’ve chosen over the years.

Xerxes: We just completed our 503rd set. We built it from the ground up.

Peachy: We build tiny sets to huge sets.

Xerxes: We originally thought we’d build a year’s worth of sets, then just run them over and over. But, no, our build team rebelled and wanted to build each set, lol. We wanted to see something different. We didn’t know how to pull it off, but in the end we did. We have so many favorites. We did a Back to the Future one where the set changed up to each of the three years in the movie every 10 minutes. We did Mad Max with a truck rolling down the highway. It made folks sick, lol. We just did a time travel set. Oh, and we did An Underwater City based on 80,000 Leagues under the Sea and folks had to strap into a sub to get to the party. We even had a Survival theme where folks tp’ed into a burning airplane. Then they were instructed to tp onto a deserted island where the plane crashed.

Netera: Have you always had a team of builders?

Xerxes: Not always, in the beginning it was Peachy and I and it took me two days to build a lifeboat, lol.

Netera: Did you invite builders or they volunteered?

Xerxes: Some volunteered, and others were invited. At first, our set was half built and half assembled with things other folks built to save us time. Within a year, we had a couple more folks and we were building everything. We have a team of five now and our current team has been in place for a few years.

Netera: What’s the size of your sim?

Xerxes: Oh, it’s a full sim. We started out on a small 212×512 plot.

Peachy: And then it grew from there. lol. And, finally, we have the full sim.

Netera: How long does it take you to prepare a build?

Xerxes: Well, our current process starts in advance every two or three months or so we gather together to set up a schedule where each member of the build team will take charge of certain sets. Everybody gets a chance to take charge.

Peachy: We call him/her the build manager. On the build team we have: Dagmar Klaar, Cathy Ryder, Rinaldo Debevec, Xerxes and myself.

Xerxes: And they manage every aspect of the build where the rest of us just build. The build manager decides the theme, as long as the idea survives the questions that we builders pose.

Netera: It’s interesting that everyone gets along well and cooperates. For instance, an idea must be able to allow for several types of costumes.

Xerxes: Then the build manager draws up a rebuild notecard describing the theme concept and what to build, down to what WL setting they want. He/she sends that out every Monday of the week prior to the party itself. Then, from there, everyone picks out what they want to focus on, and away we go. We give ourselves until Friday to finish up and pack up the set and then the cycle repeats itself.

Netera: And your party is every Saturday night.

Xerxes: Yes. We’ve added to the process by creating marketing posters for each party. You’ll see them at the teleport island. I also write up the teasers for each theme to be announced by the DJs the Saturday prior.

Netera: That’s a lot of work!

Xerxes: Yes, but it’s a creative outlet for us.

Netera: How many DJs do you have on staff now?

Peachy: 6 DJs. Every week a different one is featured. DJs include Magda Kamenev, Zak Volare, Gregor Kobeshimi, Rinaldo Debevec, John Seattle and Ironman Zeplin. Our dances last four hours or more. Ironman is our newest DJ.

Netera: Besides no drama, what’s your goal?

Peachy: That everyone enjoys themselves and has a good time.

Netera: On average, how many people attend your events?

Peachy: There’s been no less than 25 people at our events and it’s been as high as 40.

Xerxes: In the early days, we would exceed 50 people and would crash the sim. But, it’s calmed down to 20 to 35 folks.

Netera: What makes your venue unforgettable?

Peachy: I think it’s the way we are and that we show that everyone can have a great time without sex…lol.

Xerxes: Also, Peachy and I want to enjoy ourselves at each party. Yes, we’re hosting and get pretty busy, but we want to have fun, too.

Netter: What are your plans for the future?

Xerxes: Build, I guess, lol.

Netera: With new things being developed it will be a challenge.

Xerxes: Well, we evolved to using sculpts, and then mesh.

Peachy: I love mesh, but as far as building goes, I’m all thumbs.

Xerxes: We don’t make the sculpts or mesh, but we’ve learned to use them in our builds. I know SL is migrating at some point to 2.0, and that will be a challenge, but we’ll figure it out, one day at a time.

Ancient Greece Party

 

Peachy Sassoon and Xerxes Sismondi hosting on a historical party.

Ironman Zeplin as a warrior.

A Greek Goddess. Love her wings and crystal rod.

We felt like we were in a movie, with the long boat entering a golden gate to the city.

A statue as an avatar. Great idea.

Birdman of Alcatraz Party

I was amazed at the creativity of the builders for this party. All they told us was it was a Birdman of Alcatraz Party. Right away you think of criminals in the 1930s. I didn’t know about Robert Stroud (Jan. 28, 1890-Nov. 21, 1963) until Sept. 4.

How many people in Second Life can say they danced in a bird cage?

I’ve never seen a bagpipe avi, but this one was adorable. Peachy and Xerxes are the angry birds. By the way, I’m dressed as Bonnie from Bonnie and Clyde.

The full prison cell.

Having attended four or five of their dances now, I’m amazed at all the ideas the dancers come up with in terms of costumes.

Modern day bird woman of Alcatraz.

Bird avatars.

Our hosts and Ironman.

She’s doing time and having a good time.