Jojo Lazar’s mission in life is to be herself completely, and in doing so inspire others to break free from the chains of unnecessary judgments. Lazar is a performance artist known as “the burlesque poetess” and is an active tenor ukulele player in the circus band “Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys.”Lazar’s voice is unique and her writing of her young life is inspiring; it offers a reminder to live each day exactly as you are.

Moxy Magazine: What is your definition of what it means to be a woman in 2011?

JojoLazar: I think about gender a lot, as a crazy subversive emissary of the gender world. I pride myself on bizarre performances of femininity for my age and sexuality. We have had to come up with our own terms for gender; [and] I try to be utterly myself. I am totally awkward and I try to exude a generous confidence. The burlesque poetess is entirely me, including the gender performance, so she is capable of laughing at all those things growing up as an awkward queerish lady. I celebrate them and hopefully others feel a little freed too. I’m not a dainty flower when I perform; I feel like a little girl pulling her dress up over her head at church or temple. My priorities lie in hedonism and debauchery.

MM: How have you changed? What were some struggles you faced that, now you look back, empower your burlesque poetess status?

LAZAR: Things that were awkward in high school were being single and bisexual. I learned that you decide what heals you or harms you. I try to be inclusive and encouraging. I felt like how brightly I wanted my life to shine was dimmed in high school, but I wouldn’t be doing art if it weren’t for my family and they have always been my biggest supporters. The town you grow up with always feels like it has a limit. My greater high school experience was oppressive. I ended up at Brandeis and was a triple major and celibate. I cut off my dreadlocks after a decade, and experienced relationships. There were a lot of changes that happened too quickly. I tried to be very adult and then everything ended at once. I was heartbroken, but desperate to lead a beautiful life. I’m convinced that heartbreak leads to beauty.

MM: Did you ever think you’d be a burlesque poetess? How did you get your start?

LAZAR: The year I graduated from college was 2007 and it was totally crazy. At the end of it, I created the burlesque poetess as a way to channel pain I had been through. I dressed like Betty Boop. I did a schtick about sexual frustrations by removing layers of clothes to discover poems.

The whole point of the comedy act was that I never actually did a burlesque routine, it was all about the poetry; and the act has evolved to be whatever people needed. I didn’t know anyone in the vaudeville scene. I took shots in the dark and networked on MySpace initially.

MM: What is your motto?

LAZAR: My motto is “you fake it and then you realize you’ve made it.” If something scares you for the right reasons it will probably be deeply satisfying to you. It scared me to learn ukulele.

MM: Do you see yourself continuing to grow with your art?

Lazar: I’m “jaded” enough now that I know every opportunity I am given is not make or break. I hope that the performing will continue to inspire others to free themselves. All genders, all sizes, all music–you should be expressing yourself. I call it being a “no good art enabler.” I want to mentor on a workshop level. Building a community for all sorts of arts. I dream of building a venue of all performance and art space; and I realize it doesn’t have to be a physical space, maybe vagabond. The only thing I know moving forward is I aim to up my game teaching-wise.

MM: If you were to create a workshop what would it be?

Lazar: I want to lead expansive/inclusive workshops whether virtual (on the internet) or in person. The workshop thing is opposite of the solitary artistic pursuit; it daunts me in that I don’t know which of my many experiences will come out of my mouth. I want to better the workshop. I am mentally growing into my teacher role. The performing is where no one questions you!

MM: Are you only a Boston performer or do you perform in other cities?

Lazar: I do the most traveling with the Army of Broken Toys band; we are mostly east coast but we look into and do national and cross country tours. We are often in Canada, New York, and we have been invited to steam punk conventions in the UK. We are definitely based out of Boston and glad to celebrate with the community of Boston, yet we are also an internet band. Some of our passionate fans have never seen us perform live.

For more information on Jojo Lazar visit jojolazar.com or The ARMYOFTOYS.com.

Article written by Kali Lamparelli for Moxy Magazine, June 2011; Images courtesy of Jojo Lazar, taken by Brandon Jernigan.