Cosmopolitan UK spoke to Ruby Winchester, who worked in a strip club in the US for four years. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram.
1. How did you come to work in a strip club?
'I’ve been a dancer forever but when I was 18, I blew my right knee out which pretty much ended any professional career I'd ever have. Later on, I had my own dance studio but closed it down to move back home. There was no dance studio that would hire me, because they thought I was going to take their students. My best friend was like, 'Hey come on, we’re going to go to the pole studio,’ and I was like, ‘no we’re not’. We went and from day one I was hooked. Then my husband and I got into a position where we needed extra money and the pole studio was in the exact same parking lot as the strip club, so we thought 'why not?'
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2. What are the hours like?
'Brutal. The club I worked at had a day shift and a night shift. For the night shift, I would get there between 6.30pm and 7pm and work until 3am. We had to work at least four days a week. If you didn’t, you had to pay a fee to come back and dance.'
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3. What is a normal shift like?
'I would try and have my hair done so when I got there, all I had to do was put my make up on – you want to look nice when you’re on the floor. I'd change out of my regular street clothes... you don’t want to walk into the club in a thong, get my heels on and then check in with the DJ.
'There were two poles on the main stage, and it would start off with one girl on each – you’d go from pole one to pole two, then go into this little tiny area where the bar was and you’d do your third set there. The girls were on rotation.'
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4. How does the whole private dance / lap dance thing work?
'Lap dances are where the big money is. They’re not cheap (around £20 per song), so you’d come down off the stage and walk around, I called it doing the rounds. I'd walk around the club, talk to a guy, flirt, initiate conversation so he'd want a private dance.
'Your stripper personality is not the same as your regular personality, and you'd always have to have that turned on. You’re flirty, it doesn’t matter if you’re married, you appear single otherwise you’re not going to get anything. You are their fantasy – you can normally get a feel for what they’re into as you’re talking to them. ‘I like women who are more dominant,' they might say, and then you turn it on... you become that.'
5. What does a private dance involve?
'I always got my money upfront and I would do one lap dance for £20 or three lap dances for £45. We’d take them to the VIP room, it was really nice and kind of dark, there were couches. Mood lighting. You give them the lap dance and no sex is involved. The club I worked at, this was an open area and behind me across the room would be another girl giving a lap dance.
'My signature move was that I’d flip upside down. I would always take my shoes off, walking around in 7 and a half inch platform stilettos for eight hours was horrible. As soon as we got back there, I’d take them off. I would open his legs up, put my hands down on the floor and do a handstand and up onto his lap'.
6. Would you be naked on stage?
'I have a very large chest, like a DD. So I would stay covered so guys would want to see what was beneath. I'd go topless on stage if it was a slower night and there weren’t many people in the club. But that’s how I made most of my money – by not going topless on stage and only during lap dances.
'In America, it depends what state you're in as to whether you can be fully nude.'
7. How much did you make per night?
'They don’t pay you hourly and you only work for tips. The kicker is you’re considered an independent contractor, so you’re renting your time on stage. The club has a fee you have to pay at the end of every night. That can range from £10 to £450 a night. And don’t forget to tip the DJ because if you don’t, you’re going to wind up dancing to an 8 minute song about ham sandwiches.
'I would make more than the other girls, not because I was better than them. I’m curvy and a size 14/16. The other girls were size zero. I would bring in anywhere between £300-£380 a night. Most of it was lap dance money.'
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8. What were the customers like?
'There was always a good mix of guys – the military guys and run of the mill dudes, you know, the guys that work construction. There was always that one creepy guy though, that nobody wanted to deal with. You could literally see us trying to avoid him.
'They’re the ones who always want to be touchy (if they touched us they'd be thrown out), who want your personal number, the ones who ask what you’re doing after work. I am going to McDonalds and getting me a hash brown, that’s what I’m doing.'
9. Did you ever felt uncomfortable or unsafe?
'I never felt unsafe. But there were times where I would get uncomfortable. My first night, I was terrified. I was so scared I was shaking in my platforms. But my release is performing, so when I was up on the stage, I was golden.'
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10. Did the customers ever get physical with you?
'We absolutely had people trying to grab us and overstep the mark. My dad is a retired police officer, so growing up I was taught self defence. Once, this guy tried something, and he wound up on the floor with my heel on his neck. I was daring him to move, and the DJ was calling me to the stage because it was my set. The security officer walked in and was like, ‘are you ok?’ and I was like ‘I’m not the one you need to be asking.’
'The rape culture is nuts. I always am aware I may need to protect myself, because according to most people, women who wear short shorts are asking for it. Strippers are wearing less than that, but we’re not asking for it. All women should have their guard up around men regardless of the situation.'
11. What do most people get wrong about strip clubs?
'Most women whose boyfriends go to a strip club freak out because they think they're being cheating on. But nothing is going in an orifice, and for most of the guys, you are essentially their therapist in a thong. They talk about what’s going on in their lives and what’s happening at home.'
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12. Are there any customers that stick in your mind?
'There was a guy who was about 70 who used to come in, he was so cute and we all wondered why he was in an establishment like this. He would get lap dances from us, but we wouldn’t actually dance for him. His wife had passed away so all he wanted was communication. The first time he got me, I wanted to cry but couldn’t because I couldn’t mess up my eyeliner. I just wanted to hug him.'
13. Did you feel good when you were on stage?
'Oh it made me feel sexy and my confidence level went through the roof. Money is flying because you’re confident and you exude that. The more confident you seem, the more money you get. Before, I was very shy.'
14. Were there any downsides to the job?
'The drama. You don’t want to try and get caught up in the drama, because it’s a bunch of girls. There’s always, ‘oh well she’s taking my customer’. I watched one girl drag another through a dressing room. She broke out the pepper spray and we all got sprayed in the face trying to get her off. I had to go out there all swollen.
'You have no idea of the size of the blisters on your feet after being in those heels for so long. The next day you can barely walk.'
15. Does your husband support your work?
'He came in once and he sat there at the bar with a beer. As soon as I was done with the set - obviously no one knew he was my husband - I walked up to him like he was a regular guy and went and gave him a lap dance. He gave me the money and was then like, ‘we’re getting dinner with this when you’re done’.
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'One night, I came home exhausted, changed clothes, and we went and got food. When we got back home I was about to get in the shower and my husband is bursting out laughing. He’s like, ‘honey you’ve got dollar bills stuck to your butt’. He pays the light bill and says ‘I paid the bills with ass money’.'
16. Do some people consider stripping to be sex work?
'Some people do, but we are not sex workers (not that there is anything wrong with sex work). We do not want your man. We might think he’s cute and might flirt with him, but that’s because we want his money.'
17. There’s a misconception that most women are there because they have no choice, was that the case at all?
'I don’t think so... you can always get a retail job. I have a stripper friend and she’s an ex college professor and has a PHD. She does it because she loves it and wants other females to feel that empowerment and embrace their sexuality. Women should really take control of who they are. To me, dancing is a feminist act.'
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Actors make audiences laugh, cry, get angry and become inspired on stage, TV sitcoms, movie screens and internet videos. While the work might seem glamorous and lucrative, only a select few professional actors command the headlines and million-dollar paydays of movie stars. In fact, most actors struggle to make a living. The profession requires dedication, skills and training.
Acting Basics
Actors entertain audiences by interpreting characters defined in a script through dialog and action. They must be able to express authentic emotion and project realistic motive, often at the spur of the moment, or after multiple takes of the same scene. Some roles require physical skills, such as running or choreographed fighting, while others demand musical talent, such as singing or playing a musical instrument. Actors must be able to speak clearly, project their voices great distances when acting on stage, behave in a manner true to their character, and maintain believability to keep audiences involved.
Characteristics of Actors
Because the acting profession requires no set educational background, actors must build on their personal characteristics to find work. Persistence is key because actors might need to go through many auditions before obtaining a job. Actors need stamina and physical conditioning to endure the 12-hour workdays common on TV and movie productions, and for performing up to two or more hours on stage. A good memory is needed to remember lines. Actors must also be creative and imaginative to properly interpret dialog and actions. Finally, physical coordination enables actors to perform complex movements, choreographed with other actors and support technicians.
Acting Classes and Training
Training for actors includes classes that last a few weeks, conservatories that last less than a year and bachelor’s degrees at colleges and universities that last four years. Whatever the educational background, many actors start by assuming roles in high school, college and community productions. This lets them gain the practical experience necessary to audition for larger roles on stage, TV or movies. Actors continue to train most of their lives by learning from each role, enrolling in workshops or training with private teachers.
Careers as an Actor
Actors face intense competition for jobs, with many individuals auditioning for even small roles. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 12 percent growth for acting jobs from 2016 to 2026, primarily due to an increase in demand for movies, television and internet videos. The BLS also sees work for actors as sporadic enough that it cannot calculate an annual income. The top 10 percent in the profession earned more than $100 per hour in 2016.
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About the Author
Aurelio Locsin has been writing professionally since 1982. He published his first book in 1996 and is a frequent contributor to many online publications, specializing in consumer, business and technical topics. Locsin holds a Bachelor of Arts in scientific and technical communications from the University of Washington.
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Locsin, Aurelio. 'What Qualifications Do You Need to Be an Actor?' Work - Chron.com, http://work.chron.com/qualifications-need-actor-15222.html. 29 June 2018.
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