You may have noticed about five or so months ago the world shut down. A lot has happened since then, but one thing that hasn’t happened is live performances. Well, at least not in New York City. This includes Broadway, concerts, circuses, and the tons of amazing smaller creative shows that makes NYC the magical place it can be. Instead, we are all stuck in our homes trying our best to keep the world safe. But artists wouldn’t be artists if they didn’t find a way to still bring magic into the world!

Let me tell you about Let Them Eat Cake (LTEC)! LTEC is a super fun aerial/circus/pole/burlesque show, and they were one of the first shows to quickly transport their show to the internet. While the rest of us were still shell shocked, Ina Du and Brenna Bradbury were planning on how they could keep us sane in the midsts of all this. Basically, within two weeks of the NYC lockdown, LTEC had their first online show, Homemade Edition, and they have been having a show every Thursday since (although, we believe they will be moving to every other Thursday now).

With so much amazing talent at home, it has been easy for them to highlight creatives from all over the world with their fun themed shows, and what is even better — a portion of their proceeds goes to a different charity every month! This amazing group is keeping us sane, with incredible live performances, and using our money to better the world! I don’t think I can ask for more... well, except that I’m in their show tonight! So, please read our exclusive interview with the amazing Let Them Eat Cake team, and please check out their show later tonight (more information below)!

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Foreword by Kira Bucca, Editor in Chief of Jejune Magazine.

Where are you based?
Let Them Eat Cake! An Aerial Extravaganza is based in NYC. Our in-person aerial and pole shows were hosted at the Slipper Room in the Lower East Side, but now that we are a virtual quarantine show, anyone, anywhere can enjoy the show!

What is the story behind the creation of LTEC?
Ina Du and Brenna Bradbury met in 2015 at NYC’s Body & Pole where Brenna teaches aerial arts, and Ina, then a beginner lyra student, took classes. We bonded over a deep love for frosé, excessive glitter and aerial drama. It’s been non-stop shenanigans for us ever since.

Fast forward to the fall of 2017. Combining Ina’s interests as an advanced lyra student and Brenna’s talents as an aerial instructor, LTEC was created to be a pre-professional focused aerial/circus/pole/burlesque show dedicated to providing space for aspiring performers and advanced level students to showcase their work. We worked with each new performer to develop high caliber acts and give them an opportunity to perform in front of an enthusiastic audience in a professional setting. Our cast members came from different backgrounds and studios, creating buzz about circus arts and providing exposure for all the wonderful studios of NYC.

Starting from the first show, Sam Doblick became our fabulous host, embodying everything we wanted LTEC to be — an extravagant aerial and pole spectacle inspired by elements of comedy, burlesque, drag, circus and pop culture.

What made you decide to name the show Let Them Eat Cake?
Opulence! Sparkles! Desserts! Ina, Brenna and Sam deeply adore all three, so it was the perfect name for our show.

LTEC has distinct aspects of aerial, pole, and circus themed acrobatics. For those who don’t know, can you all talk about what you do?
Aerial arts uses different apparatuses (i.e. lyra/aerial hoop, silks/aerial fabrics, trapeze, hammock, rope, etc.) hung from a rigging point, to display acrobatics and dance feats. Pole dance uses a vertical pole to exhibit dance and acrobatics. There are many styles of movement for both arts, and we embrace them all. We also showcase ground-based acts such as contortion, partner acrobatics, burlesque and variety acts (juggling, sideshow, magic, etc.). All of these arts take a lot of dedication and training, so we love providing space to show off these talents!

LTEC was super on top of moving to a digital platform for your shows, being one of the first performances we know of to do this. Can you tell us a little bit about what went into thinking this out and making the decision so early?
Almost overnight, our lives came to a screeching halt. Not just our lives, but that of our communities – performers, instructors, and dedicated aerial and dance students. Where there was cheering at shows before, there was now silence. Where there were packed classes, seeing your friends and training together, there was now loneliness. Where there was income for performers and instructors before, there was nothing except the anxiety of paying for groceries and rent. It was shocking, devastating and left a huge hole in our lives. We wanted to create a space to come together, celebrate what we love, and help create some revenue! Ina, Brenna and Sam are all terrible at sitting still, so we decided to throw all our considerable energy and passion into this project.

Has anything changed about LTEC since you went virtual?
Yes! Whereas pre-quarantine, we featured mostly pre-professional/advanced level student performers with only occasional guest appearances by community rock stars, our casts now feature more professional performers. We want to offer out-of-work performers paid gigs. Staying true to our roots, we always make space for anyone that wants to perform, no matter what stage they are at in their performance journey. Everyone can use a creative, emotional and physical outlet now.

Ina Du and Brenna by Allison Stock Photography

COVID’s effect on the live entertainment industry is unlike anything we've seen before. What changes do you think we will see moving out of this? Do you plan to keep your performances online for a while?
Unfortunately, the live entertainment industry will be impacted for years to come. With Broadway going dark until 2021, Cirque Du Soleil filing for bankruptcy, and smaller theaters like the Slipper Room held in limbo unable to open, the effects of Covid-19 on performance spaces will be devastating. It’s hard to imagine what the future will hold – everything that is exciting about live shows (the crowds, the cheering, the energy) are the very things that put everyone at risk. We hope that with modifications, the industry can continue, but without making money, performance businesses will go bust, and performers may be forced to move on. Hopefully, out of this bleak picture will emerge new opportunities. I mean, just look at the rich variety of virtual shows available now!

We were actually thinking of winding down virtual LTECs starting in July (it’s exhausting producing a weekly show each with an all-new cast), but given the sad future of live entertainment, we decided it was our responsibility to do what we can to keep shows going. As long as people are watching and performers are getting paid, we will continue!

Ok, how weird is it to do a show over Zoom?
It was a huge learning curve, but it’s really neat to explore a new platform. We can connect with performers and audience members all over the US and the world! We’ve met a lot of cool new people we wouldn’t have otherwise. Also, Ina is a control freak who loves running things behind the curtain, so she’s thriving on Zoom! But yes, there’s a lot of learning, work and practice that goes into running a smooth show on Zoom. And Zoom keeps changing things with every new version! Mutter.

Were there any unexpected hurdles you encountered when moving to the digital world? Any positive surprises?
A ton of hurdles! Everything from Wifi problems to Zoom outages, from music/sound quality issues to teaching people to use Zoom. To combat these, we always have a dress rehearsal to ensure that we can get the most out of Zoom and that the performers are comfortable. We also always sign on early just in case any audience member needs help setting up. At the end of the day, it’s a way to connect with people so we try to maximize the experience for everyone.

In addition to meeting new performers outside of our direct community, it’s brought our community closer together. It’s nice seeing everyone’s faces once a week, getting a peek into their lives. Zoom also allows for out-of-the-box creativity in acts. We’ve seen people come up with amazing tiny space acts – bathtub contortion, doorway pull-up bar aerial, bathroom dance, and rooftop pole acts. It’s cool seeing people utilize and rocking what they have! We’ve had performers get fancy with multi-room acts, clever filming angles, and changing camera mid-act for a dramatic angle change. Performers are using very cool locations too – we had one performer based in Las Vegas who drove to the desert to perform her hippie hoola hoop act! We never would have discovered all this without being forced into it.

We love how each of your shows are themed! What helps you decide the theme and the artists to go with it?
In all honesty, Ina and Brenna have a couple of drinks together on a Zoom call and magic happens! We consider the time of year, current events and holidays on that day (our Divas/DivaCups Show was on National Menstrual Health Day), and anything else that tickles our sense of humor. Our last few shows’ themes involved elements of activism for more marginalized groups – Black Lives Matter, sex workers, the LGBTQIA+ community, the disability community. It’s a richer experience to do ally work and to amplify those missions. We also feature different hosts depending upon the theme. Roz the Diva, Elena Delgado and Sam Doblick are all return hosts, and we now love working with Jacq the Stripper as well. For casting, we reach out to artists who we think would rock the theme, or we ask our friends for recommendations for performers new to us. Sam has been instrumental in helping us connect to new friends.

Jejune especially loves that you give back a percentage of your proceeds to a different non-profit for every show. How do you decide who you want to donate to? Do you choose the organization before the theme or visa versa? Are they always interconnected?
We always choose the organization after we decide the theme so that they are connected. For example, for our show Spring Break, we wanted to donate to an organization that assists the hospitality industry since so many restaurant, bar and hotel employees are out of work. Thus, we decided to donate to ROAR NY, Covid-19 relief for all restaurant employees. We started with the first show benefitting the CDC Foundation, but since then, we’ve realized that perhaps our donations would go further with smaller or more local organizations and businesses who aren’t as well funded. We sometimes ask people in our community for leads (thanks, Melissa Tanis), do our research and learn. It’s great finding organizations that have ties in our community.

When your show was in person, did you also give back every show? If not, when you go back will you continue to do this?
We did not before! But we’d love to be able to incorporate giving into our future shows. We’ve learned and grown a lot throughout this show-in-quarantine process, and that inspires us to always push to do better.

Artists have been hit especially hard during COVID. What made you decide to give back now, even though you probably need the money more than ever?
We are ok right now (not great, but able to survive somewhat comfortably). Not everyone is lucky or privileged enough to have savings and help, so it’s important to us to spread the wealth. It’s only a win for us if everyone wins.

Let Them Eat Chocolate Cake, a collaboration with Black Girls Pole by Brynne Levy Photography

How do you, and your performers, stay in top performance shape while sheltering in place?
Does clicking tons of buttons on Zoom count as cardio? Ina will deflect this question to Brenna since she only took one Zoom exercise class in all of quarantine and fell off the wagon on week two of Couch to 5K. She is doing a ton of physical therapy post shoulder surgery, though, and is looking forward to training again when studios open.

Brenna here! I sincerely doubt that anyone without a full sized rig or pole is in “top performance shape” during this time, but we’re all doing our best! I teach weekly IG Live classes, and I have a lot of students who try their best to take classes several times a week, if not daily. Connecting through virtual fitness is just one way that we can all stay motivated and keep morale up during these trying times.

How are you staying positive during these times?
LTEC has been our source of light. Not only does it give us purpose and income, it reinforces our social bonds. We love seeing our friends, fellow students and performers each week. Being able to connect to our community is a huge source of positivity. We’d like to thank everyone for supporting us, cheering us on, and always being an inspiration. We love you all!

What is your motto in life?
This too shall pass.
The show must go on.
One last frosé.

Please list any websites and/or social media that you would like Jejune to promote. When do you normally have your shows?
Our shows are now every other Thursday 9-11pm EST on Zoom. Check us out at @ltecakenyc on Instagram for announcements and show info. Sign up for our mailing list in our LinkTree to get show links and passwords delivered right to your inbox!

Our next show is LTEC Hunks & Punks on Thursday, 7/23 9-11pm, and JeJune Magazine founder Kira Bucca will be performing!

Let Them Eat Cake (LTEC) - The Show Must Go On!