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“The racism was just the cherry on top for me.
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After that, Phoenix and the girls met to decide collectively how to respond. For Fantasy Girls, that was a step too far. “Once I hire you, we become family very quickly,” Phoenix said.īut that changed with word of Marsh’s post. Drag culture can have a reputation for petty rivalry, but for Phoenix, her girls mean a lot. However, she felt compelled to stay with the bar out of responsibility for the Fantasy Girls. “Not to overstate things, but we basically closed them down,” Phoenix said.ĭue to this hostility, Phoenix had considered quitting Burkharts for some time. In retrospect, Phoenix wonders if they brought so much money in, why didn’t that garner them more respect? It was, after all, without Fantasy Girls that Burkharts was forced to close. The bar filled more seats and sold more drinks when the girls were on. The shows were made so long because her show, Fantasy Girls, was such a draw for business.
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She said the relationship struck her as ironic. “They wanted shows to last three hours,” Phoenix said.
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Burkharts demanded shows at lengths that far exceeded the industry norm. Phoenix claims the entertainers didn’t receive the respect they deserved. It wasn’t just artistic differences that led to her dissatisfaction. “Other clubs, there’s more trust, I felt some resistance.” “I work best when left on my own,” Phoenix said. She felt stifled artistically, believing that the owner’s insistence made Burkharts’ shows less than they could have been. Phoenix’s choices as producer and director were given more scrutiny than at other venues. To her, Burkharts was different, and not in a good way. Doubling as a producer and an entertainer can be stressful but according to her, almost always rewarding. Atlanta drag performer Phoenix was the entertainment director of Burkharts and Jungle, and has 15 years of experience performing and producing drag in venues all over Atlanta. The closing of Burkharts underscores a demand for better treatment on the part of the entertainers. Some say that change will be for the better. This, coupled with the closing of the gay nightclub Jungle, a frequent venue for drag performance, has the potential to change the face of drag in Atlanta. A famous Atlanta drag bar, Burkharts, has closed after an organized resignation by the entertainers following an allegedly racist Facebook post by the owner, Palmer Marsh.