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Scotty the Blue Bunny
Harestory
To the uninitiated, he
appears to be a humorous hallucination. But those in the know are never
surprised when they catch a glimpse of a tall, blue, sparkling
apparition. Towering, with dizzying stilettos and erect ears, at over 7
feet, Scotty the Blue Bunny
is one of those Manhattan nightlife characters that makes you happy you
live here. He’s even been known to travel for special appearances. One
part performance art, one part costume curiosity and many parts whimsy,
Scotty is one rabbit who is all man. ErosZine had a few words with him
recently about how he got so big—and so blue!
ErosZine: How did you arrive at your Blue Bunny alter ego?
Scotty the Blue Bunny: The real question is not why am I a blue bunny,
but why did the Blue Bunny choose me? I'm just a vessel for a greater,
gayer power; it's a gift from the universe for me to share with the
people. Furthermore, the bunny is not an alter ego. It's not a double
life. The suit doesn't make me different from who I am, it makes me
more of who I am. I consider it my hyper-identity, like an exponential
self.
EZ: How did you develop the bunny drag? When did the Blue Bunny debut?
StBB: Well, I have the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus
[http://www.bindlestiff.org] experience to thank for that. Before them,
I was experimenting with classic female-impersonation drag. Joining the
Cirkus opened me up to all kinds of fantasy character stuff. I was
surrounded by fire-eaters, magicians, snake charmers, trapeze artists
and the like. It was excellent fodder for faggotry, and I didn't have
to shave every part of my body. I kind of slowly faded out the drag,
did more cirkus stuff, came back from tour, had a photo shoot, made my
website, and the rest is harestory.
EZ: Do you make all your costumes yourself?
StBB: Half of what I do is sewing. Again, I was surrounded by people
who were making their own costumes—costumes that were integral to
character—so if I wanted a bunny suit, I had to make it. And I'm
constantly in rotation; I think the most I ever had up and running at
one time was about seven [bunny suits]. I'm pretty much into having one
and an alternate these days. Sewing is lonely. I like to get out.
EZ: Did you ever crossdress? Plain ol' dresses like a lady? Or have you always been a bunny?
StBB: I consider myself and inter-species performer. I have done my
time with my dick between my ass cheeks, but I've been a solid bunny
for years now. There are special occasions where I will pull out a
fantasy character here and there, but of late the only other thing I've
been playing around with is a Banana costume. Don't make me explain. .
. Please.
EZ: It seems that there are more bunnies in the pop culture. Or it could be just me. Why do you suppose that is?
StBB: Rabbits have a classical appeal, from ancient times. We can't
really handle duality in a normal adult, so why not dress up our fluid
human nature in a bunny? I'm certainly making a career out of it.
EZ: Does the world need more cute and cuddly-ness?
StBB: What the world needs is the truth. Nothing is more attractive
than the truth. What the world needs less of is marketing. If the truth
is cute and cuddly, bring it on, but don't put ears and a tail on lies.
EZ: You're a writer and performer. Tell us a little bit about what you do.
StBB: Well, what I really like to do is make shows, so the violin
playing, writing, juggling and reciting will usually add up to some
large gesture. I really enjoy being with an audience for a long time,
not just three-minute numbers.
EZ: And what is your creative/artistic background?
StBB: None! I'm completely self-taught, or as I like to call myself, an
"independent artist." I do have a BA from Baruch College, but who cares
about that? Look at me now.
EZ: Tell us a bit about where or how you grew up. Any hilarious teen/coming of age stories? Coming out “tails?
StBB: I would have to say I had the classic loud, suburban Jewish
upbringing. I come from a long line of belly-laughers, loose cannons
and large appetites, which prepared me for a career in Schtikery! My
favorite coming out story is of when I told my brother, who is 7 years
younger than me and in the Air-Force. He was like, "This is
great, it makes the family very exciting. I can't wait to go on Geraldo
for the show on Gay Men and Their Brothers"! My brother thought my
being gay was his ticket to get on TV; now that's a dream response.
EZ: I've seen you everywhere for years! You're now totally in demand everywhere! Tell us about a few of your bigger gigs.
StBB: I would have to say of all my gigs, this year's favorite was
going up to Providence, Rhode Island. Brown and RISD [Rhode Island
School of Design] join forces for a gay pride festival every April,
which culminates in the Brown/RISD student drag show. I got to go up
and be a presence on campus, promote the show, have workshops with the
kids, and then host a fabulous show. I even got to do a
spontaneous Q&A in a lecture hall. I really loved being poked and
prodded by all those young minds. . . who just want to know
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?! Like this little 20-year-old girl came up to
me and told me my bunny suit scared her. I told her "Darling, a real
fear is eating hamburger all week and never shitting once. If you stop
shitting, that is a real fear. But a grown man in a bunny suit? You
need to relax." I mean, who's teaching these kids?
Of course there have been brushes with celebrities and big payers, but
I'm drooling for more opportunities in academia. That's where the
discussion is going on about identity, art and social values. I love
that discussion, because they are talking about me. Could you imagine,
the bunny, a fellow at Brown?! That would be something.
EZ: How about the most ridiculous?
StBB: There are just these times when I am hiding in some strange
location, putting on my bunny suit, loading a cake with candles, and
waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting guest-of-honor that really feels
like my finest hour. I got hired to do a few this year, but the best
was coming up through the floor at Lucky 13 Saloon in Brooklyn with a
flaming birthday cake. Quite a delightfully hellish scene, but not one
I would bring about myself. Then I got to hang out with all these
skunks and raccoons, you know, hard metal types with those lovely dark
eyes, and drink tequila shots. I mean, who is gonna entertain a bunch
of pierced, tattooed, raven haired horn-throwing rockers? A big queen!
(Not to mention a big queen that has performing at two New York Tattoo
Conventions under his belt). I just love it when people appreciate a
good site gag. I've done it in all kinds of spaces, where no homo has
gone before: offices, stores, pool halls, etc. I just can't get enough
of that slack-jawed whuthufuk look on peoples’ faces. Then we eat cake!
EZ: You seem to really enjoy interacting with the really straight/vanilla folks.
StBB: It's like their latency is intoxicating to me. The simplest
uncomplicated thing is wild. It's the closest thing to vampirism
I could experience, just to whip out my little psychic drinking straw
and take a sip of someone's aura of innocence. These normal people work
hard at being normal—they work hard at convincing themselves they are
normal—and then I just show up and tap into their inner monster! I'm
license to transgress beyond drinking and driving. When I work a
straight event, there's this delicious "thing" I have to work against.
I'm coming from such a different life-experience than my audience, and
to me, that's what NYC was all about: going to clubs and meeting all
different kinds of creatures. Gays are used to looking at drag and
costumes, but the run of the mill Bridge & Tunnel straight crowd
does not have access to performers like that. In some strange way it
energizes me and the audience picks up on that vibe. It's my strange
way of suspending homophobia. Of course there are times when it gets
strange; women can be rudely aggressive, especially when they travel in
bachelorette party wolf packs. And there is the occasional troublesome
bull male. But I'd have to say that some of the most wonderful
nightlife pals of mine are often on the last bus back to the Jersey.
EZ: Is being a bunny a great way to meet prospective dates?
StBB: The bunny suit is actually a birth control device and I highly
recommend wearing one if you are interested in the safest-sex: none!
However, not one to disappoint, there have been times when I've had
that bunny suit around my ankles while someone . . . well, appreciates
me. I prefer to be caught off guard in my civvies.
EZ: So what are you working on now? Any big shows coming up or projects in the works?
StBB: I don't really have anything to promote other than that my web site [www.scottybunny.com] is updated all the time, so check there for shows. I do have a ton of stuff coming up with the HOWL Festival and the Dixon Place Hot Festival. So log on, send me an e-mail and I'll notify you of all wonderful rabbit related things.
[Written July 2005]
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