Grindhouse Tease logo
Grindhouse Tease is a variety show that incorporates burlesque, drag, sideshow and live music into a body liberation-focused entertainment experience. Started and produced by Katie Kadaver, the show utilizes themes of horror and punk to coincide with their showcase of alternative performances, serving as a safe space for all to express themselves.
Kadaver explains that Grindhouse Tease began in 2017 when she wasn’t seeing anything quite like it in Milwaukee. “I wanted it to be a space safe for people in marginalized bodies who maybe weren't getting opportunities in more mainstream spaces,” she said. “As a fat performer, I’m not always going to be welcomed everywhere, and certain shows or certain producers are going to be looking for a particular look. There’s no status quo you have to abide by in order to be on our stage. The weirder, the better.”
Grindhouse Tease
With her own production, Kadaver was able to expand upon the horror-themed burlesque she does, which typically she didn’t have much opportunity prior for outside of Halloween events. She named it Grindhouse Tease as an homage to the grindhouse era of cinema. “In those sleazy 42nd Street movie houses, anything goes,” Kadaver said. “I think of traditional burlesque as very polished and flashy with all the fans and the rhinestones. All of that is awesome and great, but it wasn’t really what I wanted to create with this space. I wanted it to be more gritty and grimy in the best way possible.”
“When I’m thinking about who to cast for my shows, I think about how to change peoples’ visual diet. If they’re only seeing the images that the media gives them then they’ll see the same things over and over again. So, I like to have many different things up there to see while keeping conventional stuff to a minimum. We try to really encourage people to lean into who they are and away from societal expectations. It isn’t going to appeal to every audience but in the space that we create, it’s celebrated. ”
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Heavy Metal Burlesque
Grindhouse Tease
The first official Grindhouse Tease event was in early 2018 and paired heavy metal with burlesque at Frank’s Power Plant. They have since had shows at venues around town such as the now-closed Walker’s Point Music Hall and Puddlers Hall as well as a couple shows out of town in Rockford and Delavan.
The most recent Grindhouse Tease show was Shock-O-Rama at the end of July at Last Rites MKE. It was their first show since COVID hit and featured a dance party with a DJ, a lap dance raffle, and a 50/50 raffle. Kadaver recalled how refreshing it was, saying, “It was a free show which was great for getting people in the door, and we ended up packing it to the gills. We had a really cool drive-in theme that featured a lot of acts modeled after classic movies and film characters. I brought back my “Leatherface” routine which I haven’t performed since 2019. We also had our first American Sign Language interpreter there too, opening up access to our deaf and hard-of-hearing audience members. It was a great show all-around.”
Teaming Up
This season, Katie Kadaver is teaming up with Liz Bee Honest of Brew City Bombshells and Hue Revue for Grindhouse Tease events. She said about Liz, “We’ve been friends and fellow performers for years and we have a really similar vision of bringing in different styles and marrying them all together.”
Grindhouse Tease’s next appearance will be on the first night of the Twisted Dreams Film Festival on Oct. 14, where they’ll be doing a Troma-inspired burlesque show at the Avalon Theater. To follow what they do, visit their Facebook page here.
