Stripper Energy (video‪)‬ KPBS

How dare a stripper, a fringe woman, not stay silent and compliant as vice officers sexually harassed her ... and worse. And how dare Kata Pierce-Morgan challenge stereotypes and fight back? But Les Girls Theater had a history of fighting back starting with its owner James Morgan who spoke up against police abuse to a county Grand Jury in the hopes that the California Attorney General would crack down on the San Diego Police Department's Rat Pack. Kata was a midwestern Catholic girl who believed, like her late husband Jim, in not being a silent bystander. Even if you were a dancer at Les Girls. After all, Jim had won a groundbreaking victory over censorship in the late 1960s. But as the 60s became the 70s, Kata and her fellow dancers faced an onslaught of police raids, nude interrogations and coerced encounters.
In this chapter:
Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater
John Barriage, lawyer who represented James Morgan and Les Girls in 1980s
Kate Yavenditti, lawyer and co-founder of the County's Task Force on Domestic Violence, also involved with WomenOccupySan Diego and the National Lawyers Guild.

J.W. August, journalist
Pepper, former dancer and cashier at Les Girls Theater
Mel, current manager of Les Girls Theater
Credits:
Beth Accomando, Producer/Host
Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer
Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer
Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator
Sanns Dixon, Videographer
Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants
David Washburn, Editor
More information at kpbs.org/stripperenergy
#strippers #adultentertainment #lesgirlstheater #sandiegohistory #1980s #vice #policeabuse
Explicit content.

Les Girls Theater scored a victory in the censorship battle but that only intensified an escalating war with the police who found new ways to harass the Les Girls dancers. They routinely endured a climate of fear as vice cops would arrest them but not file charges.
In this chapter:
Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater
Pepper, former dancer and cashier at Les Girls Theater in the 1980s
Sid Kassouf, former employee at Show Place
James Morgan, original owner of Les Girls Theater, late husband of Kata
John Barriage, lawyer who represented James Morgan and Les Girls in 1980s
Kate Yavenditti, lawyer and co-founder of the County's Task Force on Domestic Violence
J.W. August, journalist
Credits:
Beth Accomando, Producer/Host
Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer
Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer
Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator
Sanns Dixon, Videographer
Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants
David Washburn, Editor
Explicit content.

Kata Pierce’s life changed when she met James Morgan, a Texas Baptist Republican who challenged censorship and police abuse of power. Both Kata and Jim refused to be silent bystanders and that had consequences. Find out how a raid on Jim’s Left Bank establishment led to him opening Les Girls Theater and staging what was referred to as “The Censorship Play.”
In this chapter:
Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater
Bobbi Rogers, former dancer at Les Girls Theater and performer in “Let in All Hang Out”
Pepper, former dancer and cashier at Les Girls Theater in the 1980s
Sid Kassouf, former employee at Show Place
James Morgan, original owner of Les Girls Theater, late husband of Kata
Credits:
Beth Accomando, Producer/Host
Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer
Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer
Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator
Sanns Dixon, Videographer
Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants
David Washburn, Editor
Explicit content.

Do you know what stripper energy is? Let three women who worked as dancers at Les Girls Theater in San Diego expose you to the naked truth about what being a dancer was like in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. While dancers today may bristle at the term stripper, Kata Pierce-Morgan embraced it in the 1970s and fought against the stereotypes with what she calls “stripper energy.”
In this chapter:
Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater
Bobbi Rogers, former dancer at Les Girls Theater and performer in “Let in All Hang Out”
Pepper, former dancer and cashier at Les Girls Theater in the 1980s
Andromeda Breeze Bradley, featured dancer from “No Regrets”
Credits:
Beth Accomando, Producer/Host
Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer
Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer
Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator
Sanns Dixon, Videographer
Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants
David Washburn, Editor
Explicit content.

Join me under the neon glow of the historic Les Girls Theater for “Stripper Energy: Fighting Back from the Fringes.” Former dancer and current owner of Les Girls Theater, Kata Pierce-Morgan, provides unlimited access to a half century of archival material that uncovers a dark chapter of San Diego history from the 1970s and 80s.
Kata has been turning chapters from her life and the history of Les Girls into politically charged performance art for San Diego International Fringe Festival. Her consistent theme has been, never be a silent bystander. This year she premieres “No Regrets,” a music and burlesque show set in the late 1960s when vice raided the Left Bank Nightclub, which was the precursor to Les Girls Theater.
Prepare for sassy strippers, corrupt cops, and a fierce activism launched from the unlikely stage of a strip club.
Explicit content.

Links (not sure if you need links but I need them for KPBS web):
San Diego International Fringe
https://sdfringe.org/
No Regrets
https://sdfringe.org/events/golden-corpse-presents-no-regrets/
Les Girls Theater
https://www.lesgirlstheater.com/