Today we’d like to introduce you to Ginger Oh Snap.
Hi Ginger, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Ginger Oh Snap, also known as “The Shapeshifting Showgirl”. I am a multifaceted entertainer and creator based in Nashville, Tennessee with an emphasis in burlesque performance, emceeing, acting, and modeling.
I am a born and raised East Nashville native and, aside from a few years spent in Murfreesboro for college and graduate school, has always called Nashville home.
Following a childhood and adolescence filled with competitive dance and musical theatre training, (as well as just generally being a “ham” and “weird kid”), I spent part of my undergraduate education continuing my dance, improv comedy, and theatre training at MTSU. This is also when I joined the modern/contemporary dance company “Blue Moves Modern Dance”, who I spent several years with making beautiful…and delightfully strange…art in unusual spaces. Around this time, I also began appearing in short films and music videos, ranging from the girl next door love interest to a sleep paralysis demon. There was also a brief stint as a juggling faerie at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival.
Throughout all of this ran a deep love for costuming, vintage fashion, and all things nerdy, which quickly became the theme of all of my hobbies (sewing my own costumes and clothes, tabletop role playing games – like Dungeons and Dragons, video games, and attending comic/fandom conventions).
Beginning in 2016, after winning Best In Show/Craftsmanship awards for costuming at a handful of cosplay competitions, I began appearing as a cosplay guest at local fandom and comic conventions, providing programming specifically around costume/prop creation and transitioning to contest judging and emceeing, as well as performing in nerdy themed burlesque shows at these same events.
It was through performing at these regional fandom conventions that I fell in love with the possibilities of burlesque. In this art form, I found the perfect blend of everything I loved – costuming, prop building, dance, acting, singing, and comedy. It was honestly love at first sight and became an obsession I still have today.
In 2017 I graduated from burlesque finishing school, Delinquent Debutantes, under the tutelage of Freya West and Shan de Leers and quickly refocused my career goals toward burlesque. I began shaping who Ginger Oh Snap is on stage, which is a blend of 1950s vintage style, a lot of tongue in cheek humor, some dad jokes, classic burlesque tropes, and a whole bunch of nerdy references.
Since then I have performed at burlesque festivals and on stages all across the globe, was named “Best of Nerdlesque” at the Land of the Sky Burlesque Festival, and became a resident performer at the World Famous Skull’s Rainbow Room, voted one of the best places to see burlesque in the world by Lonely Planet, which I still call my home stage whenever I am in town. I was also a featured burlesque performer in Hulu’s “Reprisal”. In 2021, I began to appear more frequently as an on-mic burlesque personality, emceeing shows across the country – finally putting to good use all those years I spent in my childhood hosting my own versions of HeeHaw and the Carol Burnett show into a karaoke machine in my backyard with stuffed animals as guests. Along the way, I also fell in love with pinup modeling and have since graced the covers of Bachelor Pad, Bombshell, and Retro Lovely magazines.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Goodness – certainly not. I think aside from the personal struggle that is trying to maintain any sort of social/home life when you spend over half the year on the road, the biggest challenge I have had along the way has been battling imposter syndrome.
I have continually had to battle with the voices in my own head that tell me I am undeserving of opportunity or have somehow tricked folks into believing I am qualified for whatever role they’ve hired me for. I have this deep seated fear of seeming conceited or arrogant, regardless of how incredibly opposite of that I feel inside, and that often keeps me from pursuing work – for fear that putting myself out there will appear presumptuous or, to get a little Southern – “too big for my britches.” I am constantly pushing myself to fight against those thoughts, because they can get quite dark and discouraging.
One of the most difficult parts of being a burlesque entertainer (though this isn’t unique to burlesque), is that aside from the parts you see on stage – the performance, the costume, the production – we’re also responsible for our own marketing, management, bookings, etc. And let me tell you, when you struggle with confidence issues, it’s really hard to be a good agent and advocate for yourself.
Since this is something I have struggled with my entire career (and like to think I’ve developed some fairly reliable coping mechanisms and skills along the way), I’ve tried to harness that experience and share with others, in hopes that it may help people struggling with similar issues. I currently offer a workshop called “Fake It Til You Make It: Building Confidence On and Off Stage”, which focuses on imposter syndrome, negativity of social media, and uses foundational tools (largely based in improv comedy) to build the confidence needed to either step on stage in your underoos or go to the DMV and get your REAL ID. I’m super down to meet folks wherever they’re at and share my experiences in the hopes that it will help them move through the world in a more confident way.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
These days, I am primarily a burlesque entertainer, emcee, actor, and model. I split my time between touring the country with fandom conventions and as a resident performer with the Rainbow Room Revue at Skull’s Rainbow Room here in Nashville, as well as various other shows around town with casts of local performers and producers that I love dearly.
I still appear in music videos and short films, when my schedule allows. I truly love acting and will always try to make time for those opportunities.
At this point, I think I am probably best known for my comedic and nerdy acts, including my act as a YipYip Martian from Sesame Street which was named “Best of Nerdlesque” at the Land of the Sky Burlesque Festival. I’m hopefully also known for my costuming in general. I make all my own costumes from scratch and love to integrate elements of quick change magic into my costuming reveals. Costuming continues to be a huge passion of mine and I love the feeling of walking on stage in something that I crafted myself.
One of the first things that I fell in love with about the art of burlesque is how much control I have over what I am putting on stage. Every single inch of it is intentional and birthed from artistic choice. From the costume, to the story, the character, the music, the movement – every bit is an opportunity for creativity. And I am incredibly passionate about the process of storytelling, regardless of the form.
Also – continuing my evolution into a true Queen of Nerds, over the past few years I have transitioned my cosplay appearances into emceeing and hosting as an entertainment guest at fandom/comic events throughout the US, participating in various comedy/gaming programming and serving as an on-stage interviewer for a range celebrity guests, including Weird Al Yankovic, Vincent D’onofrio, Simon Pegg, Patina Miller, and many more. I’m living my best nerdy Oprah Winfrey dreams!
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Hone your existing craft, but always keep expanding. Keep learning. Keep researching. I think the importance of continuing to learn and education yourself cannot be understated. For me, I think it’s really important to not sit too comfortably in “what I do well”. I am certainly more confident in certain styles of performance, but I never want to take that for granted. Rehearse. Train. Diversify your skillset and strengthen the tools you already have.
Take time to understand the history of your art form. Burlesque in particular has such a rich and diverse history, but as a fringe art, runs very real risk of losing (and ultimately forgetting) its roots. I think we owe everyone who came before us the effort of learning about their struggles and successes.
Get ready for no. Show business is the rejection business. You’ll go on more auditions/apply to more shows than you’ll actually land. It will hurt. And that’s okay. I try to give myself one full day to feel my feelings and be sad. But then, the next morning, you have to keep going. Keep applying. Keep trying. It feels so personal, because art is personal, but the longer I am in the entertainment business, the more I realize it’s not about your talent (or lack thereof)- it’s about a million other little things that have nothing to do with you and were never within your control. As long as you keep trying (and keep putting in the effort to do the very best work), you’ve done everything you can. And the right jobs are the ones that say yes.
And please. Please. Please. Be kind. To yourself and others. Art inherently comes with ego, we pour so much of ourselves into what we put on stage or on camera. But this business (and life overall) is tough enough without us tearing each other (and ourselves) down. We truly cannot navigate this industry alone and creating a supportive, encouraging community is the only way we’ll grow and thrive.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gingerohsnap.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thegingerohsnap
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thegingerohsnap
