culture
Tough Fluff
The women of Bedlam pillow fighting intend to pick up where the Pillow Fight League left off.
Kitty Barnum and Candy Dish prepare for Fluffed, the Bedlam All Girl Pillow Fight Revue's first event. Photo courtesy of the organizers.
Bedlam: All Girl Pillow Fight Revue
El Mocambo (464 Spadina Avenue)
September 16, doors at 9 p.m.
Tickets $15 in advance (at the Silver Snail and Soundscapes), $20 at the door
The pillow giveth and the pillow taketh away.
Toronto’s once-glorious Pillow Fight League—which first brought the bedroom-inspired sport to the world in 2004—has been on indefinite hiatus since March. But a phoenix has risen from the league’s feathery ashes, and the newly formed Bedlam All-Girl Pillow Fight Revue will take its first jab at greatness tonight.
Featuring many of the PFL’s former fighters, but with new names and characters, Bedlam purports to take pillow-fighting to the next level, something that won’t be easy considering the success of its predecessor. Known for over-the-top characters, real fights, and high production values, the PFL was the brainchild of local screen printer/musician/B-movie purveyor Stacey P. Case, who stopped throwing his twice-monthly events after burning out from all the work involved.
Commissioner Case says he suffered a “complete breakdown” following the league’s final show, something he attributes largely to the stress he felt from half a decade of overseeing all details of the sport he created. He was in the hospital for two weeks and came out ready to take a break from the pillow-fighting racket. He realized it was time to hand the reins over to the fighters—especially after seeing the growth of organizations like Toronto Roller Derby, where each participant is an equal shareholder and takes on some organizational work. He just didn’t want to hand over the names, rights, and branding as well.
“There wasn’t an easy way for them to just take it over,” he told us. “I own the trademark; the bank account’s in my name. The production company’s involved, television rights, live footage rights… They chose to just start a new organization because that would be easier.”
Case says there’s no bad blood between the two pillow-fighting factions, and that he’s met with Bedlam’s organizers and hopes to divert aspiring pillow fighters from his website to theirs.
“I don’t have a problem with what they’re doing. I’m really honoured and flattered that they think pillow-fighting is worthy enough to continue in the city of Toronto.”
Crystal Clear, a Bedlam founder who asked us not to publish her real name, was one of the PFL girls who took matters into her own hands. Joined by fighters formerly known as Apocalipstick and Eva Dead, she’s been hard at work on the new venture, which includes stand-up comedy and other performances in addition to the fights.
“At its base, it’s still chicks fighting, for sure,” she says. “But we want to build it into something that has ongoing storylines, more of a cohesive event.”
For those in the know, Clear explains that her group’s rules differ somewhat from those laid down by the PFL’s Commish. Fighters no longer have to make all contact using the pillow but must still have the pillow in play in some way.
For those less experienced, she explains the basic rules.
“A pillow fight is a fight sport that involves females fighting, executing moves that involve a pillow,” she says, explaining that many of the participants have previous fighting experience. “There are a lot of (Mixed Martial Arts) and amateur wrestling techniques. Our girls are learning take-downs and throws […] It’s becoming a well-rounded fight sport.”
When asked how she feels when people suggest the sport is merely an opportunity to exploit female sexuality, she notes that while some fighters choose to wear sexy costumes, it’s their choice and not a requirement.
“Bedlam is not predicated on being a sexual event,” Clear said. “Our target audience is not men who go to strip clubs, although we certainly welcome them to attend. All the girls love what they’re doing. It’s about female empowerment […] This is not about having your tits out. it’s about having an attitude and being a force on the mat.”
While Clear has retired from fighting, she says she’s looking forward to some of the new characters that Bedlam is fielding in Friday’s revue. Highlights include Cara Bomb, styled as a feisty, Irish scrapper, and Elle Cappitan, a pirate.
She says fans can expect to see a show that’s both fun to watch and fun to execute, something she describes as a bit of a departure from her days in the Pillow Fight League.
“With PFL it was more about the product; it wasn’t about the love of what we’re doing,” she said.
But that product kept fans packing houses for more than five years, something Case is quick to point out when discussing his hopes for the new group.
“I hope their live events are going to as good as the PFL’s,” he said. “That why we lasted so long, our live events killed. Just remember that there was one person behind it all.”
CORRECTION: September 16, 2011, 11:36 AM This article originally contained a misspelling of Eva Dead’s name and referred to “Fluffed” as “Fluff.” These have been corrected.