The Evolution of an Emo Act by Atlanta Burlesque's Eva Mae Sway

Eva Mae Sway

Equal parts sparkle and smolder, Eva is a rising burlesque performer whose passion for the art form shines both onstage and off. A dedicated student and fearless performer, she brings curiosity, commitment, and a growing sense of self to every act she creates. Whether she's rhinestoning a new costume or drilling choreography in rehearsals, Eva is steadily carving out a name for herself one sultry reveal at a time.

When I saw the IG call for the inaugural Emolesque Fest at Coney Island USA, I immediately had an act in mind to apply with.

"Miss Murder" by AFI has been blasting on my playlists since I was an angsty, “wish I had red streaks, but my mom won’t let me,” emo kid, using Fall Out Boy lyrics in my email signature. Burlesquers say to "know your music" and I KNOW and love that song.

Every time I get on stage with it, I hear from audience members that they can tell I love it too. But my first performance of this act was far from love at first shimmy!

My Miss Murder/Mistress Death act to AFI’s Miss Murder was one of the first acts I made as a brand new burlesque-er. From crafting a zip-tie headpiece with skulls and spray painting flowers in my aunt’s yard, to making a harness and frantically rhinestoning late into the night—it all felt out of my depth and certainly out of my comfort zone . . . but also right.

As most first iterations go, I loved performing the act but had a lot of doubts after watching the video playback. The beginning didn’t have the slow, deliberate energy I wanted, my movements didn’t feel intentional, and, like many new performers, I was moving too much and letting the impact of my reveals get lost. That's a bummer when you work so hard on the costume pieces (especially when my 3D skull pasties have been an absolute crowd-pleaser)!

Between a move to a new state and waves of self-doubt, I shelved the act and wasn’t sure I’d ever return to it.

Fast forward to 2023—I returned to burlesque with Metropolitan Studios as my de facto home. I performed this act again for a themed show and even brought out the costume to a different song at a goth night, but I still wasn’t sold on keeping it in rotation.

Then I was cast as a backup for The Atlanta School of Burlesque's Virtue and Vice Burlesque Show in A Weekend With Lou Lou la Duchesse de Rière, and I needed a quick turnaround that fit the theme. Miss Murder was the act that felt right. I had the most familiarity with it, and it could be stage-ready in the shortest amount of time.

Unsurprisingly—but to my continuous chagrin—having a deadline to make improvements and force myself into the studio was exactly what I needed.

Practicing and performing again gave me the space to see what I LIKED about my past performance. And with the grace of time, I infused the act with new movement and the confidence that came from dance classes, feedback (thank you to my Candybox Revue troupe members!), and, quite frankly, the fun mistakes and unintentional changes that happen when you put something on stage, give it your all, and roll with it.

The act itself isn’t all that different from the original, but it looks and feels far more intentional. And I’m learning that I can command attention—even on a larger stage—with a powerful enough presence to receive affirming feedback from audience members.

Watching the video of my performance from the festival, I still had critiques of myself—but I’m also able to enjoy it, because I know how much better the act has become. And I was proud as hell to bring it to the festival and to share alongside other amazingly talented, emo-obsessed performers.<3