Thursday, September 26, 2013

Filming with Sable of LWS: Variety is the Spice

This past weekend I had the pleasure of meeting and filming with the first wave of this season's British invasion.

The vanguard here was composed of Honey and Sable, both from the London Wrestling Studio (LWS).  And the fabulous Indra served as liaison and facilitator, having originally come from LWS herself before setting up long-term camp here in NYC.

Honey I knew as the lady who runs LWS, and I had heard of her before from Indra and other British colleagues, but I hadn't heard much about Sable prior to her visit.  I knew that VeVe was excited for her match against Sable, though VeVe herself wasn't entirely sure what to expect.  Hanz was definitely excited for his match with Sable.  VeVe was eager to get her ropes into the Brits' hands and around their bodies.  And above all, Indra was very excited for all of us to meet each other.

So!  We got ourselves all booked at the studio for filming on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and the meet-up / marathon filming weekend began!

Saturday: Competitive Wrestling with Sable and some Ropes

VeVe, Hanz, Sable, and I arrived at the studio early on Saturday evening for the first 3 videos on the slate.  We were trying to allow time for Honey to arrive to see VeVe vs Sable, so we scheduled that match for last in the line-up.  And so, we opened the evening of filming with a mixed competitive match between Sable and Hanz.

That match was grueling.  The two opponents were only 15 lbs apart in weight, and both came on to fight with a style I will call "Old School with an Edge."  Neither wrestler was excessively technical, though they both had good body-smarts and "mat sense."  Both were used to hard tussle-style wrestling... and I'm not sure either knew exactly what to expect from the other.  Sable brought a lot of raw strength into the game, particularly with her legs, which left Hanz quite impressed.  A very even and egalitarian battle.

Hanz has that match up now in his studio called "Hanz Vanderkill's Mixed Battle Theatre."  He also wrote a full account of his match in his personal wrestling blog: A Dance in Grapples - Sable (LWS).

We then gave Sable a chance to rest by teaming her up with VeVe in a bondage wrestling match against Hanz.

Sable had never tried a formal bondage wrestling match before, though she did have experience in tying people up.  And so, the ladies teamed up to give Sable some trial-by-fire experience...

I'll talk more about this soon in the Bondage Wrestling Blog, but let's just say that neither Hanz nor I really expected just how crazy VeVe and Sable would go with their rope work... and their "and then some."  I'll just say that Sable and VeVe surprised us all with their binding speed and then with their escalating meanness once they fully immobilized their prey.  Poor Hanz.  Sorry, buddy, no one expected they'd be so sadistic.  Maybe. *cough* Bondage Nightmare *cough*

A-hem.  Moving on.

Next up was the big match of the evening: Sable vs VeVe.

Again, we weren't quite sure what to expect from Sable as a wrestler.  Even after watching her match with Hanz, I still wasn't able to form a solid idea of her style.  It seemed like everyone who knew Sable was very interested in seeing her match up against VeVe... and after seeing the match myself, I now know why.

Unorthodoxy, risk-taking, athletic, tumultuous, dynamic.

Both of these ladies wrestle with athletic, creative, and dynamic styles, and pitting them against each other produced a very exciting and suspenseful result.

Sable carries the reputation of being LWS's strongest wrestler, with a strong background in modern and classical dance, as well as contact improvisation.  She's incredibly leggy, meaning that she uses her legs quite extensively while wrestling, though she doesn't use a classic jiujitsu closed guard.  And her legs are impressive.

VeVe found it incredibly exhausting dealing with Sable's legs.  Passing the legs, avoiding them, all a tremendous challenge.  Sable would frequently use her legs to push VeVe away, which VeVe reports was quite draining.

And Sable's movement style was indeed impressive!  She's very fluid and natural on the mats, and she is quite good at staying attached to her opponent.  She reports this is from her work in contact improv.  Sable wrestles smartly and creatively, and this forced VeVe to devise new, untested tactics on the spot.  All while fending off those legs.

Two very competitive scrappers going at it.  A scramble, and tangle of limbs, and emergent dominant position... only then to be escaped, and into another scramble and tangle.  Submissions on both sides, risk-taking, fearlessness, and driving through mounting exhaustion.

Needless to say, I was impressed!

In the interest of space-consumption, let me fast-track this.  I'll talk about my Sunday filming with Honey in a different thread, but continuing with Sable...

Monday for the Syndicate

On Monday, I filmed an entirely different sort of video with Sable.  Thrash joined us at the studio to revise his role as a long-suffering prisoner of the ladies in black.  With VeVe on board as director, Sable took up the mantle of agent of the Lethal Leotards Syndicate.

We hadn't filmed a Lethal Leotards episode in some time, so I was very pleased to touch on this series again.  Even before meeting her, VeVe selected Sable as the next Syndicate agent because, VeVe says, Sable "seemed very leggy."  Well, good instinct, VeVe!

Sable showed her diversity as a performer by delivering a splendid display of genteel casual cruelty.  She mentioned that most people she knows cannot imagine her doing domination because she smiles so much in daily life, but they need not imagine it at all; we've got it right here on film.  Really, I think it's great if you smile pleasantly on the one hand and then proceed with callous humiliation on the other.  Or, rather, if you smile brightly outside in public but then smile sadistically at your prey behind closed doors... I think that's a great phenomenon.

But anyway, this is a good topic to expand upon in another entry.  I've actually considered making a Lethal Leotards blog, but... ok.. tangent, fix it.

Sable gave an impressive performance, and Thrash as surprised to hear that this was her first domination style video.  Frankly, I think she should do more filming as her disciplinarian dance mistress domination persona.  I'd be pleased to film another episode with her in the future.


Closing Remarks

Since this entry has gotten very long, and to keep the topic tight, I am going to conclude.

I was impressed by Sable in many ways, actually, throughout my various shoots with her.  She's elegant, eloquent, professional and punctual, artistic and modest, sincere, great at taking and interpreting directions, athletic, dynamic, and a pleasure to work with.

She jumped in for a variety of different video projects, from mixed competitive, to mean bondage double teaming, to tangle-scrappy female competitive, to arm wrestling, and to elegant domination.  I'd definitely work with her again, and I hope she will consider a return trip in the future.

(London invasion vanguard discussion to be continued.  Next entry: Honey's filming on Sunday)

VeVe, Sable, Honey, and Indra after Saturday's filming


Saturday, September 14, 2013

Indra vs Candy Pain? Pro-Style opinions?

I just posted the following to our yahoogroup. I'm reposting here too in order to gather even more opinions:


Hey guys,

I'm setting up for a pro-style match between Indra and Candy Pain for this coming week.  I think these ladies will be great together!  We're open to suggestions about holds you'd like to see with these ladies.  Who does what to whom?  Who wins?  Boots or no boots?!

Reply on-list or send a direct e-mail:  orders@doommaidens.com

Indra

VS

Candy Pain

Meandering, Fashion, Pro-Style, October Update

Finally back to the blogging.  I think the cool near-autumn weekend morning + the espresso may provide good inspiration for this.

As usual, there is a lot going on.  And, as usual, I have to be selective when choosing my discussion topics, lest the entry be too meandering or too much like a bullet point list.  Twitter is good for bullet point lists, but the blog - ah the blog - the blog is for topical expansion.

Anyway!  Not to say meandering blog entries are bad.  Maybe "meandering" was the wrong word to use in that above quasi-paragraph.  But anyway, this weather we're having today makes me think of Canada or northern New York.  But, meandering, what?  Let's meander back to wrestling production discussion and see where that takes us...

Dorian Gray Party with VeVe and Indra

This week was filled with topical wrestling matters, but first let me talk about this one bit of non-wrestling filming.  On Wednesday night, I went to a fashion fetish party with Indra and VeVe on the Lower East Side.  I'd been wondering where all the fashion fetish people and goth/industrial folks had gone... and here they were.

I was there to film the fashion show for Indra.  Yes, there was a fashion show at this party.  It was somewhat part of Fashion Week, though also sort of a rebellion vs Fashion Week: an Alternative Fashion show.  In any case, it was a latex fashion show.  Indra is a huge fan of latex, by the way.  We really must get her on film doing some latex wrestling and domination, I must say.

Of course, neither VeVe nor Indra actually wore latex to this party because it was an incredibly hot night here in NYC.  But VeVe did finally sport her lovely new "heavy metal" leather corset, which she procured at FetCon.  Here she is in that, backstage in the changing room area:


The party was very aesthetically pleasing, the filming was a challenge - but my camera performs admirably in low light - and the place was packed.  And... this story does not involve wrestling!  However, this was my first time seeing Indra since her return to NYC from her month of travelling abroad.  And this story also inspires me to consider outfits for the ladies for future filming to come.

Thanks for following me on that little meander.  Now, I attempt to stray back on topic.

Pro-Style on the Rise?

I once again bemoan the fact that getting access to a wrestling ring here in NYC is actually remarkably difficult.  Why bemoan?  Well, because the ladies have all been demonstrating impressive chops when it comes to performing pro-style matches.

I just filmed a pro-style match with VeVe and Orlandoe, as per special request.  This was Orlandoe's first time doing a pro-style video, and I think she did great.  She'd been avoiding this style, I think because she felt so unfamiliar with it.  However, her athleticism and experience with stage performance saw her through, and I think she did a great job.  So, with her natural villainous inclinations, she'd be great to jump in for a few more videos.

That said, we sure have been doing a lot of pro-style lately.  That is, relative to, say, female competitive bouts.  Why's that?  Aside from the fact that patrons have been commissioning matches, there's also the fact that pro-style is so fun, flashy, and creative.  Plus: outfits.  Often shiny outfits.

 

In addition to getting Orlandoe to dip her toe into the pro-style pool, we have also been working on getting Hanz back into tights and on camera.  Hanz last appeared in a "pro-style" capacity as the Red Wrestler in Lucha Spandex Smackdown from 2011.  I look forward to getting him into action in a full pro-style capacity.  For one, we need more diversity of male talent in the pro arena.  And secondly, I need a break!


Coming up soon: I'm trying to set up a pro-style bout between Indra and Candy Pain.  We've also got a pro match in the works for VeVe and Honey (of LWS).  Hopefully we can also get Candy to beat up Hanz as well!

Now I think I only have space to talk about one more topic in this entry, lest it get too long and unwieldy...

Update on October Filming Plans

Development for this large-scale filming event continues at a good pace.  We've got a huge list of guest wrestlers coming in, including some long distance travellers:

Minxy Li, Venom, Skylar Rene, Savannah Fox, Mistress Kara, Julie Squeeze

The local NYC crew: VeVe, Orlandoe, Amazon Annie, Candy Pain, Indra, Crazy Azy
And fellow East Coast denizens: Xeena, Catfight Jenn

After considering this last night, I have come to the conclusion that New York City is actually going to be INVADED by these visitors.  We will find ourselves under siege by the combined forces of Britain and California.  Imagine that!

I think the local ladies may have to fortify themselves against these invaders, who are all coming to claim victories on our local soil.  Granted, they'll also be fighting each other, but whatever.

This will certainly be our largest filming event yet.  I expect some chaos.  Maybe a fair amount of chaos.  I'm trying to get everyone onto a tangible schedule, but that's a toughy when the kitchen has a lot of cooks.  However, lots of wrestlers, long duration room bookings, lots of mats, video cameras.  Yeah, it'll be a sight!  Onward and upward!

.... there's yet so much to talk about, but the talk is blocking all the talk!  Oh well, til next time!










Sunday, September 8, 2013

Julie Squeeze at the October Event? Here's what VeVe says...

VeVe recently posted to her blog (VeVe's Wrestling Blog) about the possibility of Julie Squeeze as a last-minute entrant to our filming event in October.  Rather than just post a link to VeVe's entry, I'm reposting the entry here for ease of access:

------------------------------------------------------
Hey, Everyone!

We've just gotten exciting news here in New York that Julie Squeeze would like to attend our filming event.  

This would open up some awesome possibilities for matches between Julie and the other ladies on the roster - Julie vs. Skylar?  or Kara?  Maybe Orlandoe for a duel between two truly stellar pairs of legs?  And of course I would personally LOVE to get in my long-awaited rematch!

The only catch is that Julie needs sponsorship to cover her flight from LA to New York.  

We're looking for just three sponsors to each give $100 toward her airfare (or one generous guy to give $300).  All sponsors would receive all the matches Julie does with both Femwin and Doom Maidens at the Expo.

Let us know ASAP, if you would like to sponsor Julie and help us add another amazing lady to the Expo line-up.  You can write to me directly at veve.wrestler@gmail.com

Thank you!!

             - VeVe