Bessie Snow on Burlesque, Community, and Owning Volstead’s EmporiumHost Lala welcomes burlesque performer, producer, and new Volstead’s Emporium owner Bessie Snow to Snack Size to discuss art, reinvention, and building spaces where people feel seen. Bessie shares how she stumbled into burlesque in 2018 while living in the Bay Area, how the art form helped her through a difficult divorce, and what she’s learning about receiving feedback and staying in play. She addresses misconceptions that burlesque automatically provides community, emphasizing consent alongside the potential for harm and the need for trust built beyond shows. Bessie recounts living full-time in a van for a year after the 2020 lockdown and the lesson of not judging places by assumptions. She explains creating her show Appetite to curate classic bump-and-grind burlesque with high standards and representation, describes asking to buy Volstead’s, and previews plans for an immersive vaudeville-inspired dinner theater show. She shares quick personal answers, her name’s connection to her grandmothers, and her perspective on fulfillment through self-honesty and candid people.
00:00 Sponsor Message
00:24 Welcome to Snack Size
01:05 Meet Bessie Snow
02:42 Finding Burlesque
03:25 Wearing Many Hats
04:26 Feeling Seen After Divorce
05:32 Receiving Praise and Feedback
07:02 Burlesque as Play
08:02 Misconceptions and Harm
09:14 Building Real Community
09:51 Van Life Leap
11:26 Lessons From the Road
12:46 Creating Appetite Show
13:46 Curating With Standards
14:21 Who Gets Platformed
15:13 Defining Real Talent
16:15 Buying The Venue
17:41 Mystery Vs Marketing
19:08 Immersive Vaudeville Plans
19:58 Fire Round Favorites
20:29 Name And Ritual Origins
21:26 Joy Beyond Nightlife
21:59 Secrets To Fulfillment
23:02 Where To Follow And Shows
23:24 Podcast Farewell