Madame Askew and The Grand Arbiter

Friday, June 6th, at 6:30 PM Pacific (Seattle/Tucson)

Once upon a time, the Grand Arbiter and I had the thoroughly queer plan to start a weekly live stream chat show. Those first few years were solo conversations back and forth as we alternated weeks. Sometimes we swapped tall tales, setting up increasingly deranged plots for our friend to navigate the next week. Sometimes we simply hosted a rowdy conversation following whatever topic you, our beloved CommuniTea, proposed in the chat. And sometimes, we waxed poetic about whatever nonsense we were creating and our general views on our time traveling adventures through Steampunklandia.

With the onset of the Covid Pandemic and the year of quarantine, everything changed. We added more streams. I made a commitment those first almost 6 months to provide a positive escape every day with my daily live streams. We changed our format, learned new skills, and navigated new tools that let us finally stream together. The Grand Arbiter endured my insatiable appetite for conversation and whimsy. I learned to watch a clock. And through it all, we connected with you, my darling sparkle glitter unicorns, and whilst things changed, mostly for the better, they certainly did shift away from those early, thoroughly off-the-wall, live streams. Audacity is a tremendous creative force.

Almost a decade later, we’re still here and streaming almost every Friday night of the year. (No one told us in those early years that we could break our show into seasons! So we never did.) I do hope you will join us whenever you are able. I always love to see you and that reciprocity across screens, time, and place is the fuel that keeps my spirits and creativity percolating along. The Grand Arbiter, naturally, is trapped in a terrible Fae Bargain with me and cannot escape, but I suspect he muddles through because of your kindness and adoration.

Friday Tea starts at 6:30 PM Pacific (Seattle/Tucson) and streams live to YouTube, Twitch and Facebook. None of our cheeky nonsense would be possible without the stalwart support of our incredible Patreon CommuniTea. If you love what we do and appreciate that we are here, carrying the torch of whimsy and kindness, please support our Patreon.

Cheers!
~Madame

Photo courtesy of Larry Green Photography out of Louisville, KY