The End of an Era: Lost Spirits
On November 29th, 2021 I went on my first interview for a job in Las Vegas. I did not realize how life-changing this was going to be for me at the time. Hired for my snake puppetry burlesque act, I joined the amazing cast and crew at Lost Spirits Distillery…the circus part of the moniker got added later.
Our stage did not go up and down. All of our aerial was static. We had one main stage, and as cliche as it may sound…a whole lot of dreams. Anything was possible in that space. It was and is a dreamland.
Dubbed the “Willy Wonka of Booze”, Lost Spirits Distillery and Circus has been my home for almost my entire Las Vegas existence. This is where I became “The Everlasting Jaw-Dropper”. Nicknamed “the tank” at first because of my ability to perform up to 11 times in a day and waiting for more. “Put Ginger in…she’s the tank”. She’s everlasting.
My love for the circus was completely satisfied there, and I do not know where I will ever find anything that can match it. The artwork was phenomenal. The vibes were immaculate. The people were EVERYTHING! In its heyday, Lost Spirits decided to throw in 4 main burlesque performers with a full cast of Cirque du Soleil level artists, magicians, snakes, and a beautiful bellydancer named Sabrina. The variety truly made us into a modern Vaudeville show.
Taking a chance on the amount of burlesque that we did in that space was unheard of. At the maximum amount, we had 6 performers. Bettina May, Cervena Fox, Frankie Fictitious, Ginger Watson, Michelle L’amour, and Sgt. Die Wies. We had full dressing rooms with lights around our mirror. Beautiful, deep green walls. Momentos plastered to the walls. Racks to hang our costumes. We had an entire room dedicated to warm drinks and snacks for everyone. They provided dinner every single day and occasionally extra treats. We had privacy. We had places dedicated to stretching. We had stage hands who became our kittens…never dropping a piece on the ground. They would escort us back to our dressing rooms after performances. We got to do OUR ACTS! Sure they were tweaked here and there…but sometimes we needed it for the space. I was personally able to have 4 of my very own acts thrown into the show rotation with even more to come. It was wild to say the least.
Lost Spirits will take its final bow on April 29th, 2024. The news came as a shock to all of us. Nothing lasts for ever, but according to the tech team rumor has it that future time travelers may find me covered in dust as the last one standing on the original stage, waiting for you to “let me entertain you” in years to come.
I will never forget the wonderful times or the challenging times within those walls. My literal blood, sweat, and tears are all over that place. Our entertainment manager, Andre Escamilla could be found tweezing chunks of wood from my kneecaps in the early days. “Ginger…you’re bleeding!” I never felt it…I just felt thankful to be chosen amongst the top performers in my peers. Learning how to toughen up with brutal honesty while being gently adored and supported was exactly what I needed in my life. They pushed me for better or for worse and inspired me to really find my way in the burlesque world.
Please come see us before we are all gone. I currently do not know how to function other than living out my MGM backlot musical lifestyle. I will be needing some time to get back to reality after being “lost” since 2021.