It wasn’t all that long ago I thought of myself as a night owl. I’ll admit — after hanging around past midnight for Philadelphia's Burlesque Battle Royale 2019 Week 1 this past Wednesday, then getting up early the next day for work … your boy LCH is one tired photographer.

Whose idea was this “day job” thing anyway?

But it was worth losing a little shuteye to see 11 of Philly’s up-and-coming burlesquers kick off an eight-week elimination-style competition-slash-bootcamp. And yowza, did they bring it. Clowns and mermaids and airline pilots and … whatever fabulous thing Queen Conch was doing … oh my.

I’ll be back every-other-week-ish throughout the competition (more details on this eighth season of PBBR here). As always with burlesque … whether these photos are family-friendly depends on your family, and whether they’re or safe for work depends on how cool your job is.

Performers, download your copies here — just be sure to credit LCHPhoto (Facebook) (Insta) for any use).