At Hubba Hubba Revue, Sheila Addison always went by her stage name -- professor shimmy -- to keep her burlesque-performing life separate from her day job as a college professor.
Now, if you Google Sheila M. Addison, the top hits aren't about her credentials as a college professor or a respected family counselor. Rather, the most popular result is a story that's become much more intriguing than any sexy, irreverent onstage act she might have done.
Last week, SF Weekly reported Addison's unusual predicament; she filed a lawsuit against her former employer John F. Kennedy University for firing her after Addison's creative hobby as a burlesque performer was discovered.
In a letter sent to Addison on June 21, 2010, the university made their position very clear: Addison was being terminated for participating in bawdy burlesque performances at the Hubba Hubba Revue in San Francisco.
"This conduct is in violation of your contract, which states that the core faculty member shall not engage in acts ... that would tend to bring public disrespect, contempt, or ridicule on the university," according to the termination letter.
it's not their cup of tea," said Greg Groeneveld, a San Francisco attorney representing Addison. "But from our perspective, this is
about the right of people to engage in this kind of expression on their
own time -- without mentioning the university."
Addison joined the Hubba Hubba Revue -- a cooperative of performers whose skits are political parodies with risque overtones -- because she firmly believes in creatively challenging sexual and gender stereotypes, according to Hubba Hubba producers.
Yes, her shows include sexual humor and some stripteases. But if the university is going to punish her for what she does in her private life, then why not start examining the extracurricular activities of all the other professors?
In her claim, she points to a male professor who also has participated in plays unrelated to the university -- and he takes the stage partially undressed.
He was never reprimanded or fired, according to Addison's claim.
Hubba Hubba producer Jim Sweeney told SF Weekly he was shocked when he found out that Addison had been canned over her popular art performances.
He said she never told her students about it or mentioned the university in her performances. She was always keeping it "under wraps," Sweeney said, not because she was embarrassed, but because she wanted to keep that part of her life separate from the classroom.
"There is a certain sexual element to burlesque, but this isn't some sleazy, salacious thing," Sweeney said. "It's theater -- an old tradition of body comedy. Messages in plays and theatrical performances are just as important as giving lectures."
Follow us on Twitter at @SFWeekly and @TheSnitchSF
