Kata Pierce-Morgan has always spoken out.

In the 1970s she raised her voice against the police abuse she suffered as a dancer at Les Girls Theater. In the 1980s, she advocated for dancers rights in the media and overturned a city ordinance. By the 1990s, she had firmly established Les Girls as a safe space for dancers.

But along with those victories came a lot of trauma. In the 2000s, Kata turned to art to heal herself.

"No Regrets" at San Diego Fringe 2024

In 2013, she became part of the San Diego International Fringe Festival. The annual event takes its cue from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which began as a creative act of rebellion against the artistic establishment.

Kata now stands in solidarity with sex worker/artists Lady Grew from Ireland and Rachel Atlas from New Zealand. All three are using Fringe to confront stigmas and stereotypes.

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In this chapter:

Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater

Kate McGrew/Lady Grew, singer, activist, sex worker, Fringe artist

Rachel Atlas, Fringe artist, activist, sex worker

Kit Marsh, Fringe artist, sex worker

Cherida Fraser, Fringe artist

Credits:

Beth Accomando, Producer/Host/Video editor

Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer

Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer

Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator

Sanns Dixon, Videographer

Roland Lizarondo, Videographer

Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants

David Washburn, Editor

Kata Pierce’s life changed when she met James Morgan in the early 1970s. For decades, the two of them challenged censorship and police abuse of power by refusing to be silent bystanders. But their actions 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.”

Some of the attractions Jim created.

1969 Let it all hang out ad scane.jpg (2536x3269, AR: 0.7757724074640563)Nudie Cutie framed copy.jpg (2179x1569, AR: 1.3887826641172722)Floating castle photo.jpg (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)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

Marc Biagi, Actor reading James Morgan

David Washburn, Editor

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 first chapter, meet a trio of dancers who worked at Les Girls Theater across three decades starting in 1968. Surprisingly, the stereotypes and stigmatization they encountered decades ago persist today. They will share what their jobs were really like and how Les Girls was a unique environment that would eventually become entirely run by women.

As a former dancer and the current owner of Les Girls Theater, 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. It was at Fringe that I met Kata and began to be exposed to her story. As I interviewed her over the years in my coverage of Fringe, I realized that she had an amazing story about a marginalized community, and I wanted to share it with more people. A consistent theme in her plays has been: never be a silent bystander.

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© Kori Suzuki 2024

This year she presents “No Regrets,” a music and burlesque show set in 1968 when vice raided the Left Bank Nightclub, which was the precursor to Les Girls Theater. The show premiered last Saturday to a packed house and will have final performances this Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Prepare for sassy strippers, corrupt cops, and a fierce activism launched from the unlikely stage of a strip club.

"Chapter 2: Let it all hang out, or how a Texas Baptist went all-nude to shock San Diego" drops June 5 with additional episodes dropping one per week in the following four weeks.

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.