Stage: Trick Or Tryst 

Ever the star of her own show, Woodstock, NY’s, resident burlesque madame, Tryst La Noir, knows how to get your attention. She grew up in Queens and spent her teenage years on Long Island, the sounds of New Order, Depeche Mode, En Vogue and Kate Bush echoing through suburban hallways. 

“I remember being as young as three, dancing in front of my TV,” Tryst says. “MTV was always on, and I was probably wearing someone’s sunglasses. I used to draw on my Barbies and give them lingerie and chokers, eyeliner and lipstick.”

A self-described token goth girl in high school, Tryst moved back to NYC at 22 when she landed her first job as a makeup artist. 

“I couldn’t wait to get out of my sleepy town and meet other vampires like me,” she says. “I was a wild child—a parent’s worst nightmare, really. It’s OK. I survived.”

After exiting a series of relationships with what she says were controlling men, Tryst attended her first burlesque show in Brooklyn. From the moment she set foot inside, she knew she was going to be on stage. She moved Upstate and continued to return to perform at House of Yes. 

“I’d be doing my makeup on the bus,” she says. “It was a wild time…and a good crowd.”

Now, Tryst hosts bimonthly burlesque cabarets at Colony in Woodstock. She’s set off a few smoke alarms, perhaps while pouring blood on herself, half-naked in a giant chalice, or when entrancing audiences with a classically sultry strip tease, shrouded in a bit-too-much fog machine. 

“No one should ever be afraid of burlesque,” she says. “It’s fun. It’s funny. It can be silly, dark, sexy, campy or cheeky. On stage, we’re the most vulnerable but at the same time, it’s very empowering. It’s ancient, in a way. It’s a ritual. It’s therapy. It’s hypnotic. And for those few moments, the crowd is in the palm of your hand.”

Tryst hosts the radio show, “Nighthawks,” every Wednesday from 7 to 9pm on 98.1 FM WKZE. She’s currently working on her third LP of dark, romantic pop music.

“Embrace who you are,” she says. “I’m living proof you can follow your dreams and passions. That’s what my parties are all about. I want the freak parade to come to town and feel the freedom of art and expression.”

Tryst presents “Season’s Shimmies” on December 13 and “Cupid’s Cabaret” on February 14 at Colony with a little help from The Red Foxxx lingerie shop in Woodstock. trystofficial.com