My Commission at the Two O'Clock Club

My Melissa St. John Days

at Lee Burlesk

At the Two O'Clock Club where I danced as a stripper in Boston, Massachusetts, I made quite a lot of money. I got paid for dancing as well as commission on the drinks I hustled. The management would sometimes pay the commission a day or two late which did not bother me because I always received it by Tuesday. But a lot of the dancers had trouble getting their money.

Then one Tuesday arrived, and I still had not got my commission money. I asked the guy that always paid me for it. He said, "Don't worry about it. You'll get it later in the week.” This really made me angry. I decided right then that I was not going to join the ranks of the "whiners" for their money.

I did my stage show as I was required to do and then went to the dressing room and sat down. I was not in there more than fifteen minutes when the big bouncer came back and hollered, "What are you doing in here?" I replied, "Sitting." He said, "Get out there and sell those drinks!" I answered, "I was hired to be a stripper. That's what my contract says. If I hustle the drinks, I want to get paid my commission for it. And I'm not gonna do anything but my shows tonight unless I get my commission money. I'm not doin' it free."

He left. I really did not care if they fired me because I had decided not to work free and not to wonder when I was going to get paid - if at all.

The bouncer was not gone more than five minutes. He came in the dressing room and handed me my commission money. He said, "Here!" I said, "Thanks!" and went out and started hustling drinks.

100 STORIES FROM AN OLD STRIPPER

By Opal Dockery

Sundance 2014 - The Old Stripper, Indiegogo and Crowdfunding

Opal Dockery, THE OLD STRIPPER

This week at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival 

My feature documentary THE OLD STRIPPER is going to be shot this year.

This week we were at the Sundance Film Festival and Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Every time Jack and I are there it is a job. For the last 8 years, either a film of ours has played at Slamdance, or we are there with a project.

This year, it is my passion project.

This week, we partnered with Indiegogo to have a crowdfunding campaign for our inspirational documentary feature film The Old Stripper. Indiegogo was also at Sundance 2014 this week, so we partnered with Indiegogo to launch the new production campaign for The Old Stripper documentary to coincide with Sundance.

The new crowdfunding page is really neat and cool. Jack, my son and director of the film, did a great job putting the trailer of the movie on the Indiegogo Old Stripper site, great old pictures from my old burlesque dancing days, and more:

We have a lot to do. Jack and I spent all week at Sundance and Slamdance in Park City letting the independent film industry know about our new documentary film. Now, we have a lot of work to do before we start shooting the movie this Spring.

I want to make this film to bring to the public a way of life unimagined. 

As my contribution to society, it is my desire to share my memories with others regarding my quite unique past life which is very entertaining and interesting.

An unknown era. 

I was a burlesque stripper for over 20 years in the 1960's and 70's. As a 68 year old senior citizen, it gives me great joy to remember these days. They are quite unique, entertaining and interesting. It is my desire as a contribution to society to share these memories with others.  

This documentary is about a 68 year old woman's memories of her life and her children's lives while being a burlesque stripper for over 20 years as she takes a road trip to the various states she danced in the 1960's and '70's.

In this film, I want to take about 2 to 3 months to travel across the country to several cities I danced in back in the 60's and 70's. I want to go to the burlesque theater locations to see if they are still standing, and if not, what is in their place. I also want to interview people who remember the theater there and possible former customers.

This documentary will be very interesting as it brings to life this lost era.

But equally important and a big theme I want to weave into this film will be the human element of strippers. I want to show where strippers are human too. So many in our society think of us as saturations of sex. Dancing is just a job to strippers. Like any other job. That I know and have known - nothing more.

My son, award winning independent filmmaker Jack Truman, is also the director of the film. He was raised as a child in that environment starting when he was 6 years old. So a big part of the film will be from a viewpoint angle of Jack's as a filmmaker in a Michael Moore style of filmmaking.

There will be interviews with my children as to their views on this type of life, and their feelings of being raised this way.

This film will be shot in a very personal way with the road trip, interviews with family, friends, strippers, celebrities who worked and grew up in that era, and people who remember that time. Everything combined will make for a great story of a unique documentary that only I can make.

Jack - Offs Taking Us Girls Out to Eat

Being a stripper draws you to many men who are after your body. Some people refer to them as "stage-door Johnnys". Most of us strippers back then referred to them as "jack-offs". We would get everything we could out of them without going to bed with them. One thing we could always count on was a free meal out of them anytime. They were always wanting to "take us out to eat".

It got to the point where it was better to be hungry or buy my own food. Most of the time when a "jack-off" would take me out to eat, he would just stare at me. No matter what I talked about, I could see him undressing me with his eyes.

It was good to have these guys around to pick up the tab for a lot of things such as food or clothes or whatever else I could think to use them. But for the most part, the aggravation of their presence was not worth it.

THE OLD STRIPPER

A Feature Documentary Film

Help Make This Film Happen 

on INDIEGOGO:

Rejection: a Story from The Old Stripper

REJECTION:

From Thoughts of a Stripper: A Mother's Story

By Opal Dockery

JANUARY 31, 1974

Yes, all her life she had received rejection. Every place that she searched for love and human affection – she found – only in the long run – rejection – until – One thoughtful moment she realized that she was searching for love, strength, warmth, etc. in the wrong direction. She directed her thoughts to herself – which is her own true, personal Spirit. From that moment on she never searched again for love or worried about rejection. Because she had found love and acceptance in her own self. Once she respected herself enough to value her own personal standards – then she no longer needed to worry about what anyone else thought because she had truly found herself.

The inspirational autobiography

THOUGHTS OF A STRIPPER:

A Mother's Story

By Opal Dockery