"What the Funk?!"

Join us for "WHAT THE FUNK?!" A Burlesque Film Event, directed by Adriana Guiman; 2022; USA; 99 min. Sponsored by OCA & SOU's Multicultural Resource Center. April 28th at the Meese Auditorium in the SOU Art Building. Doors open at 7:00pm film begins at 7:30pm.

Tickets available online at https://sou.universitytickets.com or at the door. $10 general admission;$5 students. Audience is invited to participate in the Q&A following the film. Special Guests and Co-Producers Rebecca M. Davis and Kia Puckett will attend. WHAT THE FUNK?! is the story of the first inaugural What the Funk?! BIPOC Burlesque Festival, held in Seattle Washington, August 2019. Follow producer and founder Kia Puckett in this labor of love as they explore what it means to rewrite the rules of burlesque to build a supportive community of performers for personal and professional development. The film will also include excerpts of live festival performances as well as intimate behind the scenes footage, and performer cameos about the inspiration that drives them, and lingering challenges to inclusivity and accessibility.

Explore what it means to question cultural norms, utilize the body as an artistic medium, and live life on one’s own terms. About the Artists: Co-Producers Rebecca Mmm Davis and Mx. Pucks A'Plenty (Kia Puckett). Mx. Pucks A’Plenty is #17 on the 21st Century Burlesque Magazine TOP 50 – Most Influential Burlesque Industry Figures of 2021, as voted for by thousands of burlesque fans and peers worldwide. They are the founder and co-producer of What the Funk?! An All BIPOC Burlesque Festival.

Since its inception, this incredible festival made history with three sold out nights! Mx. Pucks is featured in the documentary, “What the Funk?! A Love Letter to the POC Community,” which premiered at the 27th Seattle Queer Film Festival Octover 2022. The film documents the inaugural Seattle burlesque festival of the same name and how it seeks to make the burlesque scene into something more inclusive and accessible for performers and audience members alike. As a plus size queer femme of color and a vocal member of the kink scene, Mx. Pucks knows their politics, body, and sex are always potent and radical. They have an illustrious burlesque career as an international headliner in Canada and appearing in the burlesque festival circut at Buxom Blaze Burlesque Festival - Austin, Texas 2018, FIERCE! Queer Performign Arts Festival 2019, Panama Burlesque Festival 2022, and many, many more. A producer as well as performer, they are known for their solo Puckduction productions. In addition to being voted #17 on the 21st Century Burlesque Magazine’s TOP 50 Most Influential Burlesque Industry Figures of 2021, Mx. Pucks is also a 2021 Artist Trust Grants for Artists’ Progress (GAP) Recipient, Seattle Pride Magazine Fall 2021 Influencer, Savannah Burlesque Festival 2019’s Mx. Congeniality, and #15 on the 16 Plus and Curvy Burlesque Dancers list of 2017.

As an active member of the kink and BDSM scene, Pucks weaves their sex appeal and their lifestyle into every performance as the Femme Daddy your mother didn’t know to warned you about. Pucks is a sex educator and co-host of the podcast, SexualiTEA SEA. Rebecca Mmm Davis - Producer/Actor/Emcee is an international Emcee, hosting shows in the United Kingdom, Canada, and across the United States. Davis is co-producer of What the Funk?! An All BIPOC Burlesque Festival. Since its inception, this incredible festival made history with three sold out nights! Davis is featured in the documentary, “What the Funk?! A Love Letter to the POC Community,” which premiered at the 27th Seattle Queer Film Festival Octover 2022. The film documents the inaugural Seattle burlesque festival of the same name and how it seeks to make the burlesque scene into something more inclusive and accessible for performers and audience members alike. She is sole proprietor and producer of her own production company, The Stay Up Late Show! The Stay Up Late Show (SULS) is a theatrical producing body, focused on stimulating seasoned artists to make new work, and exposing new artists to established audiences. Davis is an accomplished stage and film actor.