“I love portraying a glamorous bimbo” - Guest Feature: Vita DeVoid
Los Angeles-based burlesque performer, Vita DeVoid is performed in our 2022 Scream-Tacular (formally Spooktacular) and is teaching a pop-up class with us on May 13th called Get Booked & Stay Busy with Vita DeVoid!
In this interview, you’ll learn all about Vita as a performer, from how she got her name and her first performance, to what she’s known for, and what she’s working on now!
Vita DeVoid hugs her black, feather boa dripped in diamond jewelry in black lingerie set and stockings in front of a red curtain. Self portrait
Vita DeVoid, The Walking OSHA Violation - Early Burlesque Career
Who doesn’t love an origin story? Learn how Vita became the walking OSHA violation we’ve all come to know and love…
How did you come up with your name?
It was actually a gift- it means Death! An old friend made it for me.
How did you come up with your tagline?
I was on stage hosting a show and blurted it out in a moment of panic after realizing I was next in the set. A+ for improvisation!
What originally drew you to burlesque?
Honestly, it found me. I was bartending for a bikini bar and had a very Bettie Page look at the time, and my bar manager offered to set me up with a burlesque night at a local drag bar that his boyfriend operated. Let's just say it worked, and I kept at it!
What was your first-ever burlesque act?
A very cringe school sex ed teacher act set to Prince "Darling Nikki".
Vita DeVoid as Papa Emaritus kneels in a black suit with cross broach on stage in red light.
Vita’s work and Inspirations
How would you describe your aesthetic and the concepts/stories you explore in your performances?
I love portraying a glamorous bimbo, it's the most fun and well-received. But I'm absolutely dedicated to being a character performer- usually blending cosplay and character tributes, drag, and comedy into every performance.
Who and What are Your Biggest Inspirations?
The Band Ghost, basically for everything. Theatrics, camp, cheeky comedy, and plenty of Satan.
What Inspires Your Acts? Walk Us Through Your Burlesque Act Creation Process
I hear a song and my brain immediately catches fire thinking "oh damn this would be great for a ([whatever goofy character I'm fixating on] act, I better get to work! Then I start thinking of things in my closet that would work as base prices for an act, and fill in the blanks with fabric and hot glue!
What 3 Burlesque Acts are You Best Known For?
Lucille Ball/Vitameatavegamin: This act began in 2006 as a tribute to my biggest inspiration in showbiz, Lucille Ball. It's very drag and uses audio pulled from I Love Lucy: Vitameatavegamin. It's by far my least glamorous act, has no dancing or music, and is still the most toured, most requested, and most viewed act I have in my 20 year career. It's taken me all over the world and will be featured in this year's Edinburgh Fringe!
Papa Burlesque: I am obsessed with the band Ghost, and even run a fan party for them. Over about a year span of time, I was being sent items that would have made a great costume as one of their front men, Papa Emeritus the Third. The band features extravagant costumes and theatrics, which of course are very close to my heart - it took months to create the costume and many performances to get the fine-tuning down for the act itself, which has been featured in the Metalesque Fest 2023. It's one of my favorites to bring to the stage, it's just camp and ridiculous, and so very deliciously weird.
Angle Grinder: This tool has taken me all over. It's an unexpected element to bring to a show, and it's become a trademark of mine for my productions to get a little wild with. It's just so utterly ridiculous so of course I obsessively bring this thing everywhere. Huge sparks are my favorite thing!
Vita DeVoid drinks a bottle of soda, pigeon-toed and cross-eyed, cosplaying as Lucile Ball in I Love Lucy.
What do you hope to add to the art of burlesque and that audiences take away from your work?
I just want people to have fun. I want people to laugh or find some kind of silly nostalgia with what I do.
What I hope to get out of it- well, I enjoy paying rent and eating food, so I'm hoping I can continue with this as my job.
What’s something you’re working on now that you’re excited about?
I'm working on a stand up comedy character, still writing for that one but once it launches it'll be hilarious- and I'm working on a Queen Cobra act with the entirety of costuming made by other entertainers- something I never do. I want to see what other creative minds can build with it, like one giant art collaboration.
Where can readers learn more about you and keep up with your work?
Instagram is best! @vitadevoid
What current performers are inspiring you now?
Emma Vauxdevil! Love her to pieces @vauxdevil
She's not only incredibly gorgeous, she is a multi-faceted variety performer who swallows swords, cracks bullwhips, and more. She is incredibly kind and funny, welcoming and warm. She's an absolute gem of a gal, and I'm lucky to have worked with her.
I also love Bella Sin, @bellasincle
A burlesque historian focusing on latinx histories with the realm of our industry and influencing much of the entertainment universe. They also produce a brilliant burlesque festival - the Ohio Burlesque Fest. They also create amazing stage makeup under the brand Haus of Sin Cosmetics, which I wear on stage all the time - amazing lashes, great long-wear and wildly pigmented lip products, brilliant highlighters, and glitter eye pigments.
And I absolutely adore our queen Lou Lou La Duchesse! @loulouladuchesse
For not only being a figurehead in the indigenous community, but this powerhouse has just been absolutely SLAYING in the burlesque world and has been a pillar in the world of burlesque for quite some time now. Aside from that, she's hilarious and so fun to be around.
Vita DeVoid creates sparks with some tools and a belt wearing a red hat, blonde wig, and big smile in front of a drumkit under stage lights.
Vita DeVoid’s Burlesque Bio
A longtime show producer, master of ceremonies, sideshow entertainer, and burlesque headliner as well as a mentor in the industry.
