Meet Gina The Machina

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gina The Machina a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Gina the, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is a topic I have mixed feelings about- It is an inspiring quality to have, but it typically comes from a dark place, many years of endured trauma, and hard work.
I consider myself to be extremely resilient and I believe that mostly comes from my will-power and my strong sense of self.
I find myself connected to the story of the Lotus Flower. The lotus flower has to grow through unideal conditions in order for it to bloom. It must push through thick muck at the bottom of a dark and dank body of water and it needs to be able to do this at it’s youngest and most fragile stages of life. After pushing upwards resiliently through muck, darkness and the weight of water, it can then reach the surface and bloom into a beautiful flower.
The story of the Lotus flower and my story are the same.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My relationship with performance art is a long and winding story of love. I began performing ballet, Jazz and swing when I was 5 years old and it remained a serious part of my life until 7th grade. At this point in my life, I had decided to focus on other things and ultimately lived almost a decade, ignoring an empty space that resided there and festered.
When I was in my early 20’s, I saw a young woman on my college campus hula hooping with her shoulders and the way she had such control of the hoop was graceful and powerful at the same time. I decided I had to teach myself how to do that with my body. I put every ounce of effort I had into this art for the next 7 years. I mastered it after awhile, using multiple hoops, and eventually fire hoops! flow arts really filled a void I had left behind prior when I left dance behind. I used all kinds of props- palm torches, fire fans, mini hoops, fire chainsaws…
And then… I was asked to be a resident fire performer in a series of burlesque shows. At first, I was unsure if I wanted to perform burlesque- pasties and all! I eased my way in by performing in a bra instead and setting things on fire for people’s entertainment. The community was something I needed at that point in my life- they were supportive, and creative and so uplifting when it came to my crazy and outlandish ideas for the stage! Eventually, when I was ready, I tried pasties and decided that this form of art was something I wanted to keep in my life.
I produce shows now @machinaproductions as well as perform burlesque with and without the use of fire. The re-addition of performance art later in my life was something that healed me. It was exactly what I was in need of at the time and now, I never want to be without it.
In the last couple of years, I performance art took a back seat to another dream- I left my job that was making me extremely unhappy, and put myself back into school in my 30’s to pursue something that made a lot more sense for me. I am now a full time winemaker in upstate NY by day, and a performer by night. I have quite literally been working on building the EXACT life I wanted for myself. It was hard, I’m not going to lie and say the whole process was easy and enjoyable.. but it was absolutely WORTH it and if I had to go back and relive my life, I’d do it all over again.
With all of this said, my story is one of persistence, resilience, hard work and creativity! I hope that it inspires others to get out there and do the things they love to do no matter how outlandish it sounds to the status quo.
Let art and creativity guide you and heal you- that’s what it’s there for. It’s there to express yourself, to reach out others and connect, and to create who you are!

my productions include “Gina’s Wine & Tease Pairing” which are shows put together by my two very favorite things- wine and burlesque! These shows pair my favorite communities together, featuring wine from a different local winery at each show, and each wine you taste pairs with a performance by a talented local/regional performer! my shows exist to think outside the box, create immersive and interactive shows, and give artists and our audience alike a safe space to be creative, weird and comfortable. Body positivity is always the theme underneath it all. It’s important to me that all artists are represented in my shows. It’s about loving yourself, making a statement, healing wounds, connecting with people, creating something, supporting artists, and having a great time doing it!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

A basic skill I came into this with was costuming- I already knew my way around a sewing machine. I learned when I was young and my grandfather bought me one for Christmas when i was 16 years old. I loved making costumes long before I knew anything about burlesque. Halloween was my very favorite holiday and I won a lot of costume contests over the years. I was also really into cosplay before I was introduced to burlesque and so I was working on costumes all year round.
An area of knowledge I came to the party with was a background in dance. I learned how to express myself with body movement early on and had discipline in different types of dance. learning how to move your body, your limitations and gaining musicality, grace and strength are all part of the package.
A quality I arrived with was knowing when to take breaks and always reminding myself that I’m a person before I’m a performer.
It’s not professional to cancel when your booked for shows, so when you start feeling exhausted, overworked or loaded with other departments of your life, it’s good to notice this and say “I will fulfill my current commitments, but then I have to stop”

For anyone who may be reading this who’s at the beginning of a journey that sounds similar to mine, I’d tell you to take your time with it. Take the dance classes, learn more about your body, learn hoe to make pasties, learn about burlesque history, and have a costume and choreography complete before you book the show so you’re not rushed. Take your time, don’t overwork yourself and enjoy what you do!

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

When I feel overwhelmed, I remind myself that I am a person before I’m a performer and if needed, I take a step back from booking shows for awhile.
I saw an article recently, where Stevie Nicks had to cancel a concert because of a medical emergency and saw people commenting on how much of an inconvenience it was for them and how they are pledging not to be fans of hers anymore. This left me with a horrible taste in my mouth. Performers are people and nobody should be dying for or suffering for their fans. If you are a fan, you will understand that the person you idolize is a human being just like you are and you will be in favor of their health, safety and good will.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @machinaproductions @ginathe_machina

Image Credits

fire chains shot, show with purple background and grapes, and Ukrainian shot by Lush Light Photography

Fire Fan with mask shot by mhuxleyphoto

The shot of me hugging another performer was taken at one of my Wine and Tease pairings, the performer I’m hugging is Sizzlin Liz – Her and I are both winemakers!