The Party – A Knee, a Teapot & a Leap: Meet Laurie Hagen

Q: Can you share how your journey in performance began and how it eventually led you to Spiegelworld?

Laurie Hagen:
I started off as Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast. That was my humble beginning. I was a napkin and a plate in the original Disney production in the West End in London. I sang, I danced, and I did that for almost a year.

Then I injured my knee and decided to go to drama school. I thought, “Well, if my body is already falling apart, I might as well discover what else I can do.” That opened up a whole new set of skills for me.

After drama school, I did some TV and film work, but I really missed being on stage. I had not done many plays, and I felt that absence deeply. That is when I fell into the burlesque and cabaret scene in London, right when it was resurging. I completely fell in love with it.

What I loved was the creative freedom. You chose what you wanted to say, how it looked, the music, and the writing. You owned the whole thing. And it happened in these underground drag bars with so much passion and, frankly, very sticky floors. It was an incredible world to enter.

Eventually, a friend of mine, Angie Sylvia, a fire performer, was scouted by Ross (Ross Mollison, Spiegelworld’s Impresario Extraordinaire) while performing in Miami about twelve years ago. When Ross came to London to meet with her, he casually mentioned he was still looking for performers. She immediately called me and said, “You better be performing somewhere tonight because I am sending a big-time producer to watch you.”

By sheer luck, I was hosting a random 1920s-themed night in London, something I had never done before, so I was already nervous. Ross came, I did the show, and afterward he introduced himself and gave me his card. I genuinely thought, “This is never going to happen.”

My boyfriend and I even had a drawer in our apartment where we kept business cards from all the possibilities, the ones that never amounted to anything. I assumed Ross’s card would live there forever.

Then, a week later, I got an email asking me to fly to Vegas for a clowning workshop, and the rest is history.

Q: You interact with guests so closely during THE PARTY. How do you manage to remember everyone’s names?

Laurie Hagen:
I do not remember everyone’s name, though I am getting close. I actually surprised myself because I was dreadful at first.

Our Director, Lorenzo Pisoni, turned it into a game for me. He encouraged me to learn as many names as possible when guests enter the Reliquary and I serve them a drink. It is about creating that immediate connection and making THE PARTY feel intimate, as if everyone is mingling and wants to hang out afterward.

I do not really have a technique, I just try. Sometimes I have to ask people to repeat their names. I also get very excited when I meet people, which does not help. I will feel this great connection and then realize I have completely forgotten their name.

So yes, it is challenging. Thank you, Lorenzo. Hopefully, it is keeping the dementia at bay for a few more years. Win-win.

Q: Do you have a pre-show ritual or superstition that helps you get into performance mode?

Laurie Hagen:
I am definitely a creature of habit. Before I come to work, I do my yoga stretches, which get more elaborate as I get older. Then I do my vocal warm-ups in the car, because no one wants to hear that, and I actually like the people I work with.

At THE PARTY, we all share one dressing room, which I love. We relax, catch up, laugh, but there is also a lot of silence. Not awkward silence, just comfortable silence. We are calm. We save the chaos for the show. It really is the calm before the storm.

There is one ritual I cannot do without now. Alec, Moonaysha, started saying “merde” to me before shows. In France and Belgium, that is how you say good luck. I am not superstitious at all. I will walk under ladders without blinking, but now I cannot imagine doing a show without holding Alec’s hands and saying “merde.”

And then, of course, there is the cool-down afterward, which I take very seriously. It is called a large glass of champagne.

Q: How do you feed off the energy of the crowd, especially on high-energy nights?

Laurie Hagen:
Those are the best nights. When the audience gives you so much, it fuels you completely.

What is also really satisfying is when a crowd starts off shy. When you manage to bring them from that place to full-on chaos by the end, you know you have worked your backside off, and that is incredibly rewarding.

THE PARTY is especially powerful because it is so intimate. The Blue Room only holds about fifty people, and we are not just on stage. We are among them. We are everywhere. It is almost impossible not to exchange energy in that space. That is what makes it so special.

Q: If you had to describe THE PARTY in Vegas using just three words, what would they be, and why?

Laurie Hagen:
I would say senses, feast, and now.

Senses because it is the full package. You get food, booze, entertainment, and interaction. You are mingling, tasting, watching, and feeling everything.

Feast because it is a party. All the good things in life. Great food, drinks, laughter, and shared moments.

And now, because live entertainment only exists in the present. Every single show is different. Every audience is different. In a room that small, you feel that difference every night.

That is why live performance is so important. It pulls you out of everything else. And honestly, I wish people would put their phones down more. It is not about proving you had a good time. Just be there. Enjoy it. That is my two cents.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring performers just starting their journey?

Laurie Hagen:
Turn up on time. Do your homework. Come prepared.

Put as much of yourself into your work as possible, because no one else has your perspective. No one can do what you do the way you do it.

And if you fuck it up, enjoy it. People love it when things go wrong. If you fall flat on your ass, acknowledge it. Chances are, you will end up keeping it in your routine forever.

As my husband always says, “You are doing a show. You are not saving lives.”

Q: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received or something you still hold onto as a performer?

Laurie Hagen:
Do not be too hard on yourself.

Most performers are perfectionists. You can have a thousand wins, but if there is one person who seems unengaged, that is the one you will fixate on afterward.

So I remind myself to be kinder to myself and to recognize the bigger picture.

Make A Reservation