The Pole Shebang with Andrea James Lui 

(Personalised Interview + Review combination) 

“The arc of the show is actually my creative process”

In a delightful chat with pole dancer + theatre performer, Andrea James Lui, we celebrate her passion for travel, the importance of finding community in her creative process + how to strike the balance of making personal yet professional performance.

The Pole Shebang’s Adelaide Fringe season is the last leg of a triple-city tour, including Midsumma Festival in Melbourne + Fringe World in Perth. We spoke as Andrea had just arrived into Adelaide - considering she’s been on the road touring for the last month, she was full of beans + gratitude - living her dream life! Andrea expressed that the tour had been a financial risk with fringe festivals being far more pricey in Australia than her home country, Canada - but the risk has paid off - plus she managed to snap herself up a bonus season, featuring a last minute flying pole act in Head First Acrobats’ show, Lash Out in Perth.

“It goes chronologically through my career as my style started to evolve and change, and I made discoveries”

The Pole Shebang is a mostly true story about Andrea navigating her pole dancing career - carving out her own place + unique style within the vast pole community. She started pole when she first moved to Australia in 2014 as a hobby, which quickly became an obsession! She is now a pole dance teacher working on the Gold coast alongside performing + travelling regularly. Her partner is highly supportive of her nomadic, creative lifestyle + I can see clearly that Andrea has a true creative spirit that needs to run free. She mentioned that the structure of her show has taken much inspiration from storytelling + the more autobiographical solo shows that she has loved on the Fringe circuit. Plus, her collection of skills from her double major, in Creative Ensemble & Theatre Production from York University in Toronto, has given her the freedom to pave an interdisciplinary way of presenting pole dance to the world. A stirring of much innovation + excitement in both the theatre + pole dance industries.

“In so many instances, it was the people I didn’t expect who just showed up and were so enthusiastic + supportive”

Andrea’s creative process is full of community + support. She shared that the best thing she ever did was make call outs for people to help her in the making of The Pole Shebang, rather than cherry-picking a closed team. That being said, Charlie Love (Pole Dancer) + Clara Cupcake (Burlesque Clown) were among the key contributors she sought out early in The Pole Shebang’s journey. With the show having lots of audience interaction, she hosted many open rehearsals with small audiences to trial + test different aspects, initially in Melbourne, followed by Brisbane + Toronto, with artists from stage combat, sketch comedy clown + pole dance attending + offering generous feedback. She mentioned fellow artists’ support really helped the show to grow into something meaningful + in sharing her work in progress, she would always receive clarity in which direction the show needed to go next.

On top of this, Andrea has a social media savvy friend, who regularly floods her DMs with reels, including the best ways to get sponsorship from organisations. With a few taps of the keyboard, she managed to land a sponsorship from Pole X in the USA + in Australia - who both generously sent over a pole worth $1500 that features in her show. Andrea really lives the ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’ mentality which makes such a difference to what an independent artist can achieve.

“The point of this show is not to be worth my while. It has to be worth the audience’s while.”

Whilst the show is autobiographical in nature, Andrea makes a point that this show has been made for her audience, she is not performing it for herself. She shares that there’s a lot to bring people down these days + it feels like an important task as a performer to lift people up. She highlights that the difference between an amateur + a professional performer is that professionals prioritize the audience journey over their own. This is a value Andrea stays true to within her work. This is a value Andrea stays true to within her work.

   
My Review

The Pole Shebang does what it says on the tin + more: an up-beat, inviting + truly generous performance for all to enjoy. Andrea has found the perfect trifecta of personal storytelling, hearty audience interaction + impressive choreography.

Andrea had the audience in the palm of her hand from the get go - even if she said she was, ‘dressed like a 12-year-old boy’. You can expect a pole dance masterclass - we were all stood up doing a warm up with her in the first 5 minutes. She made pole feel accessible + achievable to all before getting into the nitty gritty of her story. A highlight was asking audience members up on stage to try pole themselves. It takes real experience + probably a good risk assessment to have tipsy middle-aged folks fumbling about on stage with you. The audience interaction immediately disarmed everyone with laughter. She interwove all of her skills, from teaching, choreographing + competing into her performance seamlessly. She didn’t talk about her creative process, she showed us + we became part of it. It was highly educational - I believe audiences are often spoilt by the final product + leave shows without any understanding of how performers live + how shows come into fruition - Andrea’s show delivers excellent insight into what being a performer looks like offstage.

Andrea mentioned in her media release that she is gender-rebellious + neurodivergent. This was felt through her movement - especially in the opening act. It was so refreshing to see a pole routine that fiercely challenged commercial expectation. What I really appreciated about her exploration of neurodivergence + gender in the show, is that she didn’t use explicit labels or buzzwords + expect older audience members to know what she was talking about. Without holding anything back, she managed to focus on relatable experiences so that everyone could understand. It felt like a beginners class in progressive culture for boomers. It is impressive how well she knows herself + I was also impressed by how she knows exactly what to share about herself to get audience onside. There was no pretence + no sense of her trying to be different or unusual - she was purely herself and invited the audience into her world with grace + open arms.

As someone who often doesn’t enjoy shows that include many physical skills like ‘the splits’ with no dramaturgical ‘why’, I was pleasantly surprised by the theatrical sustenance that flowed through and around all of her pole acts. We were immersed into Andrea’s subconscious, imagination + memory. The transitions tricked, teased + made us wait - making the next scenes unpredictable + even more satisfying. My favourite parts were the slower everyday moments - like witnessing her do her make-up or choreographing a routine in her sleep - it’s always a joy to see a performer comfortable enough to really take her time onstage. It’s in these moments that we build a relationship with Andrea. Her wildly fun choices of costume + defiance of traditional notions of femininity were well received + encouraged by her audience. Again it felt like she challenged the norm without malice or an attempt to change the world by force - but by being candid about who she is.

The Pole Shebang was an unapologetic + surprisingly heartfelt show - we were reminded of the endless possibilities of being a human + a performer. We were graced by Andrea’s infectious talent, warm presence + self-assurance. If you’re looking for a fun night out, this show certainly won’t disappoint.