Typical Slut: The Legacy Of Viva Las Vegas

It was a rainy Wednesday evening in November and Clinton Street Theatre felt electric. The anticipatory crowd was composed of press and sex workers—a tough, yet tender audience.

We gathered to witness a premiere private screening of Blacktop Film’s documentary, Thank You For Supporting The Arts, a film about the life of Portland icon, Viva Las Vegas.

Viva Las Vegas is a two-decade veteran of stilettos and stages, as well as a breast cancer survivor, celebrated writer, actor, single mom and musician. She is a prolific, intelligent and talented artist. Viva is famous in Portland for her well-loved columns, "The Gospel According To Viva Las Vegas" and "I Love Las Vegas," which appeared in Exotic between 1998 and 2005.

In addition to writing these columns, Viva was behind-the-scenes, as well. From 1998-2005, she served as the music editor for Exotic and was the main editor from 2002-2005. In 2009, she published a memoir, Magic Gardens: The Memoirs Of Viva Las Vegas and, in 2010, her selected columns were compiled in The Gospel According to Viva Las Vegas: Best Of The Exotic Years. In addition, her writing has been published in New York Times, Portland Monthly and The Village Voice.

Viva Las Vegas is a Portland muse—she inspired film director Gus Van Sant and countless artists. She performed in rock and punk bands. She sings country and chamber music. Her whole life has been dedicated to art—the ethics, the dance and the sensuality of her body.

While there are countless strippers in Portland with personality, skill and grace in their art, Viva is one of the most celebrated personas. Vulnerability and strength are integral to her charm, and her intelligence and insistence on a personal connection is her highest virtue.

Quite the artist, Viva has always maintained that stripping is an art— that women’s bodies are beautiful and that the act of removing one’s clothes on a dimly lit stage can be a tale of metamorphosis. Ideas like this may seem normalized in 2017, but, when Viva Las Vegas debuted on Portland’s stages in 1996, this was was a revelatory stance.

In 1996, stripping and other forms of sex work were just becoming an "acceptable" thing for a feminist to engage in, as sexually-repressive and anti-porn second-wave ideals began to give way to sexempowered, third-wave feminist ethics. Viva Las Vegas’ journey, as examined in the film, Thank You For Supporting The Arts, has a sense of urgency that is universally relatable—yet, her story is all her own.

In many ways—like most sex workers—Viva is an unlikely stripper.

Conventionally attractive, college-educated and the only daughter of a preacher man’s daughter, Viva has a great deal of privilege. She could have had the white-picket fence and nuclear family but, instead, is a badass single mom, with a city full of admirers. Being emotionally available has its costs, though, and the film explores the toll of emotional labor that sex work carries.

Maintaining romantic relationships is a challenge for many strippers, as the stage is our heart and we proudly wear our nudity like a love poem. Through the use of interviews, the film explores Viva’s interpersonal relationships, as well as her journey towards finding the stage as the ultimate platform for her art-making.

Viva discovered the thrill of the red-lit stage first at the infamous (and, now-closed) Magic Gardens and, later, at Mary’s Club (still open!). In those smudged mirrors and in the dilated eyes of her unlikely consort, her body on stage became a place of worship— veneration. Her audience desired her and, in turn, she gave them back what they needed: attention, love, devotion...true glamour.

And, gathered at the screening, the devotion of the crowd was palatable. Though it was rainy and wet outside, the theatre was cast in glamour. Watching the audience buy popcorn and take their seats was breathtaking— never before have I seen so many gorgeous women wearing furry coats in a movie theatre. Strippers know how to make an entrance, on the stage or the street. This was femme glamour, Northwest-style. The dancers came out, layers and all—heels and coiffed hair, fake eyelashes...glitter for the goddess.

On the celluloid screen, Viva Las Vegas’ legacy came to life before our eyes. At many points throughout the film, the audience broke social norms and cheered aloud. Gasps and laughter—the crowd was moved.

Tears streamed down cheeks during segments of the film. Viva is open about being a breast cancer survivor, yet the audience was still held captive during the emotionally vulnerable narrative of Viva’s terrifying battle with the illness. The portion of the film that addressed her recovery was especially poignant and Viva’s resiliency felt tangible. Audible sighs and mued cries tangled in the frentic energy of the theatre.

Every stripper understands the importance of physical health. A stripper’s body is her income. Cancer left Viva’s left breast forever altered—cancer could have ended her stripping career—except Viva did not allow it.

Not only did Viva survive, but she danced again. It is a joyous moment in Thank You For Supporting The Arts when it is revealed that Viva ascends back onstage to dance after her recovery.

And, she still dances...for you.

More happens in the film, but spoils are for the predictable. In Thank You For Supporting The Arts, there are more real-life plot twists than what’s overheard in the gossip of a cramped strip club dressing room. The drama is real; emotions are tangible, especially in a recurring scene where Viva wears a fabulous shaggy fur coat and boyish cap. She is alone as she drives a battered and loved car through the streets of the city. Her solitude is all-knowing.

And, in this scene, I see all the dancers of Portland. We move our bodies onstage, we dish out the smiles (or the sneers) for those deserving validation...but?

At the end of the day, we are just us. Bodies. Beautiful bodies—all shades, shapes and sizes. Often decked-out in furry coats. Almost always in heels (or sneakers). Sometimes, we are in sweatpants. But, no matter the disguise, we are artists—clothed or unclothed.

And, part of being an artist is isolation. Having something to give does not come easy. Creating is a harsh task. Viva Las Vegas has made a career of sharing her heart and sharing her art.

Thank You For Supporting The Arts captures the strain and challenge of the inner-struggle of what is like to be alone and yet belong to everybody.

While there are many dancers in this city, Viva Las Vegas has given her body over to the decadence of the stage. There are countless shows at galleries in the Pearl and rotating exhibits at the Portland Art Museum that will expand your mind. Yet, they are not alive and real in the same way that she is. Body moving, muscles toned. Aware of her shapeshifting. Musically-alert. Stoic and a spokesperson for our city’s nude history.

Experience the legend yourself...Viva Las Vegas performs at Mary’s Club in downtown Portland on Thursdays from 4:30pm-9pm and on Fridays from 11:30am-4:30pm.

There is not much of "Old Portland" left in this city, but in the rose-tinted lights of Mary’s Club, Viva Las Vegas, Portland’s most famous nude artist-philosopher still comes alive onstage. Pay your respect. Tip the dancers. And, as Viva famously says after each stageset, "Thank you for supporting the arts."

To stay up-to-date for ocial theatrical release information for Thank You For Supporting The Arts, visit ThankYouForSupportingTheArts. com