BENEATH THE BIKINI Comes To NY Frigid Festival

"Beneath the Bikini," an award-winning storytelling cabaret out of Orlando, FL, will be part of the New York Frigid Festival, with six performances at Under St. Marks between February 24th and March 8th. In the 60-minute cabaret, writer and performer Katie Thayer regales audiences with her story of growing up "not so skinny," her love of food, and finding the confidence to start a bikini advertising business.

Back in 2013, Katie Thayer, better known as "Bikini Katie" in Fringe circles, started a performance art piece called "Bikini Advertising Space," in which she'd walk around in a bikini and sell ad space on her body. This piece has been going strong for seven years. Over the years Thayer has experienced an array of reactions to her art, and, in turn, her body. In "Beneath the Bikini" she shares the different ways she has been perceived, as well as the different ways she perceives her own body.

"It's never an easy time to be a woman in America," Thayer says, "Our bodies are the constant topic of debate for what we should be allowed to control, spanning everything from a woman's right to choose, to not being able to be topless in public like our male counterparts. 'Beneath the Bikini' is my story of being taught to hate my body, and instead finding the courage to love it."

While "Beneath the Bikini" has a strong message and some emotional moments, it's delivered with laugh-out-loud comedy. Thayer's one liners and parody lyrics have been praised in her Orlando, Ottawa, and Kansas City runs. In Orlando, she won the Critic's Choice Award for "Best Solo Show- Cabaret."

Tickets are $18 and can be purchased at: Frigid.nyc/events/BeneathTheBikini, and additional information can be found at Facebook.com/BikiniAdvertisingSpace. Show times: Monday 2/24 at 8:50pm, Wednesday 2/26 at 8:50pm, Saturday 2/29 at 5:30pm, Sunday 3/1 at 6:50pm, Friday 3/6 at 5:30pm, and Sunday 3/8 at 12:10pm. All shows are 60 minutes at Under St. Marks, 94 St. Marks Place.