"She's not a very pretty queen..."
That was me, last episode of RuPaul's Drag Race: The Lost Season, of Tammie Brown.
"She isn't supposed to be. She's not like a lot of the queens that have been on the more recent seasons. She sings live, and does stand up. And, she's herself."
That was Dan.
This of course, launched a conversation about characters. And a realization that doing drag, you actually have to know yourself quite well. Because, all of it, is about who you are. You take the parts of you that are the best, mush them all up together, and put on the costume, and you're most of the way there. This of course, is a condensed version of what really happens. Because, let's face it. You can't just throw on a pair of heels, a wig, and a dress, and have a ready made drag queen. It just doesn't work that way. And, even if it did, from what I've seen, a drag queen is a constantly shifting work of art.
There is no cookie cutter mold to form a drag queen. What makes this person amazing may not make the next person as amazing. Do drag queens have to be beautiful? No. Do they have to be ugly? No. Do they have to shave all their body hair off? No. Some do, but others, proudly display the fact that they're a man in a dress, complete with a beard. It's all part of a persona that they're creating.
This persona, in my mind, is the most important piece of the whole process. Like anything, it can be a work in progress, for the entire length of the alter ego's life. But, it's the piece that takes the most work. The reason for doing drag in the first place may or may not be a part of the character building. (Shaunna Rai, for example, was originally brought to life as a way to get into bars, because drag performers weren't asked to show ID's.) Over time, she has made a name for herself, throughout the state of Maine, and into New Hampshire and Massachusetts. She has developed a reputation as being, "a bitch," a title which she sometimes will display proudly, like in her last show, titled: "The Bitch is Back". She doesn't mind taking the mic, but she won't sing live. From time to time, she may say bitchy things, but, generally, it's all said in fun. Shaunna Rai is known for her drinking. Hell, she even has a drink named after her at Blackstone's, and whatever name Mama's Cabaret is going by these days...I think it's Rumorz(?)
As I have previously established here, the outfits, the wigs, and the shoes are important as well. And, a lot of thought goes into the outfits that get worn. I can't even begin to tell you how many times that I've gone into a place like Hot Topic, or Spencer's, and Dan has been at work, thinking about, "I could buy two pairs of these stretchy pants, and make them into a body suit." Or, walking through Marden's, looking at fringe, hearing him say, "I think I want a dress made out of that." This is not always, but sometimes a daily occurrence.
Now that the outfit's picked out, it's time for the hair. Which hair goes best with this outfit? (This is the hardest for me to understand...because I think any hair looks good with anything. But, that's why I'm not the one doing drag.) And, so, the part of the dressing process that every "husband" (drag or otherwise) dreads: "How does this look?" "Would I look better if I wore this other hair with this?" Sometimes my opinion is taken into consideration. Sometimes, it's not. Occasionally, the part where I have to give an opinion is skipped altogether. (I.e.: the outfit was chosen around the hair, instead of the other way around.)
And, finally, which shoes look better? The question I hate the most. My stock answer, is "Those look fine." But, then again, there's question among my gay friends if I'm really gay, because (although I have about 10 pair of shoes), I'm not very good at matching boy shoes with what I'm wearing. Hell, until last year, I didn't know that it was wrong to wear white socks with dress shoes...although, I found that out in a hurry.
Anyway.
My point here, is that while it may look to an outsider like drag is just throwing on a dress, makeup, a wig and those killer heels,it's not as easy as that. Dan/Shaunna Rai have been asked on occasion to contribute drag wisdom to a "Drag Boot Camp" program that someone Dan knows has been trying to put in place. While the idea is great, it relies too heavily on the idea that you can pick a queen out of a box, and every queen is going to be the same.
A question that Dan told me about what, "What 5 items should every queen have in their purse?" Well, it depends on the queen. I know a queen, who would carry around a rubber chicken, probably, because she uses it on stage in her act. Shaunna Rai, on the other hand, wouldn't be caught dead with a rubber chicken...she would more than likely have a bottle of Jaegermeister, a bottle of Vodka, and some Red Bull, or have it all pre-mixed in a flask. (Actually, more likely, she would have a pair of flip flops, a tank top and a pair of shorts, for after the show.) Sure, hairspray, and makeup would show up in MOST purses, but not every drag queen is going to carry the same things.
Another question that he told me about was something along the lines of "where did your character/alter ego come from?" Paraphrasing the question, I can get the point across better. How do you know who your character should be?
Let me tell you, the answer that I got when he told me about the question...wooooah....You don't create a character from a box. You don't just get blessed by the drag fairy, and all of a sudden, you're a queen. You have to have some idea, starting out, what you want to be. Choose a genre: Horror, Comedy, Beauty, Musician, whatever. Choose a character type: if you're going for comedy: Are you stand up? Are you sarcastic humor? Are you going to go for singing dirty parodies of pop songs?
Ok, so you're going for Stand up Comedy queen: Who are you? Is your character crazy? Is your character a single drunk woman, who will sleep with anything with a pulse? Are you the old lady full of one liners, like Sophia from the Golden Girls?
These are the things you need to know, in order for your character to develop. Without a backstory for your character, you'll never have the right information for your stand up, for one. And, by the same token, if you don't know the character, how are you going to find the right outfits? If you're going for Mama Sophia, a lady in her 80's, more than likely, you're not going to be wearing prom gowns, or bikinis. You're going to want to camp up the old lady purple hair, and wear the cardigans, and pants pulled up to right under your boobs. By the same token, if you're going for the drunk single woman, you're going to want to play up the part of being drunk, and single, so you're going to dress a lot sluttier.
Anyway, my point being, drag is a learning process, throughout the lifetime of your character. You have to have a bit of creativity, to be able to pick out what you're actually good at, and play to your strengths. Don't try to be RuPaul, or any other queen that you've seen on tv (or in person). Be yourself. Know yourself well enough to know what you'll excel with. And, bring it! Just remember that you're the only one who will be able to bring out your inner drag queen.
That was me, last episode of RuPaul's Drag Race: The Lost Season, of Tammie Brown.
"She isn't supposed to be. She's not like a lot of the queens that have been on the more recent seasons. She sings live, and does stand up. And, she's herself."
That was Dan.
This of course, launched a conversation about characters. And a realization that doing drag, you actually have to know yourself quite well. Because, all of it, is about who you are. You take the parts of you that are the best, mush them all up together, and put on the costume, and you're most of the way there. This of course, is a condensed version of what really happens. Because, let's face it. You can't just throw on a pair of heels, a wig, and a dress, and have a ready made drag queen. It just doesn't work that way. And, even if it did, from what I've seen, a drag queen is a constantly shifting work of art.
There is no cookie cutter mold to form a drag queen. What makes this person amazing may not make the next person as amazing. Do drag queens have to be beautiful? No. Do they have to be ugly? No. Do they have to shave all their body hair off? No. Some do, but others, proudly display the fact that they're a man in a dress, complete with a beard. It's all part of a persona that they're creating.
This persona, in my mind, is the most important piece of the whole process. Like anything, it can be a work in progress, for the entire length of the alter ego's life. But, it's the piece that takes the most work. The reason for doing drag in the first place may or may not be a part of the character building. (Shaunna Rai, for example, was originally brought to life as a way to get into bars, because drag performers weren't asked to show ID's.) Over time, she has made a name for herself, throughout the state of Maine, and into New Hampshire and Massachusetts. She has developed a reputation as being, "a bitch," a title which she sometimes will display proudly, like in her last show, titled: "The Bitch is Back". She doesn't mind taking the mic, but she won't sing live. From time to time, she may say bitchy things, but, generally, it's all said in fun. Shaunna Rai is known for her drinking. Hell, she even has a drink named after her at Blackstone's, and whatever name Mama's Cabaret is going by these days...I think it's Rumorz(?)
As I have previously established here, the outfits, the wigs, and the shoes are important as well. And, a lot of thought goes into the outfits that get worn. I can't even begin to tell you how many times that I've gone into a place like Hot Topic, or Spencer's, and Dan has been at work, thinking about, "I could buy two pairs of these stretchy pants, and make them into a body suit." Or, walking through Marden's, looking at fringe, hearing him say, "I think I want a dress made out of that." This is not always, but sometimes a daily occurrence.
Now that the outfit's picked out, it's time for the hair. Which hair goes best with this outfit? (This is the hardest for me to understand...because I think any hair looks good with anything. But, that's why I'm not the one doing drag.) And, so, the part of the dressing process that every "husband" (drag or otherwise) dreads: "How does this look?" "Would I look better if I wore this other hair with this?" Sometimes my opinion is taken into consideration. Sometimes, it's not. Occasionally, the part where I have to give an opinion is skipped altogether. (I.e.: the outfit was chosen around the hair, instead of the other way around.)
And, finally, which shoes look better? The question I hate the most. My stock answer, is "Those look fine." But, then again, there's question among my gay friends if I'm really gay, because (although I have about 10 pair of shoes), I'm not very good at matching boy shoes with what I'm wearing. Hell, until last year, I didn't know that it was wrong to wear white socks with dress shoes...although, I found that out in a hurry.
Anyway.
My point here, is that while it may look to an outsider like drag is just throwing on a dress, makeup, a wig and those killer heels,it's not as easy as that. Dan/Shaunna Rai have been asked on occasion to contribute drag wisdom to a "Drag Boot Camp" program that someone Dan knows has been trying to put in place. While the idea is great, it relies too heavily on the idea that you can pick a queen out of a box, and every queen is going to be the same.
A question that Dan told me about what, "What 5 items should every queen have in their purse?" Well, it depends on the queen. I know a queen, who would carry around a rubber chicken, probably, because she uses it on stage in her act. Shaunna Rai, on the other hand, wouldn't be caught dead with a rubber chicken...she would more than likely have a bottle of Jaegermeister, a bottle of Vodka, and some Red Bull, or have it all pre-mixed in a flask. (Actually, more likely, she would have a pair of flip flops, a tank top and a pair of shorts, for after the show.) Sure, hairspray, and makeup would show up in MOST purses, but not every drag queen is going to carry the same things.
Another question that he told me about was something along the lines of "where did your character/alter ego come from?" Paraphrasing the question, I can get the point across better. How do you know who your character should be?
Let me tell you, the answer that I got when he told me about the question...wooooah....You don't create a character from a box. You don't just get blessed by the drag fairy, and all of a sudden, you're a queen. You have to have some idea, starting out, what you want to be. Choose a genre: Horror, Comedy, Beauty, Musician, whatever. Choose a character type: if you're going for comedy: Are you stand up? Are you sarcastic humor? Are you going to go for singing dirty parodies of pop songs?
Ok, so you're going for Stand up Comedy queen: Who are you? Is your character crazy? Is your character a single drunk woman, who will sleep with anything with a pulse? Are you the old lady full of one liners, like Sophia from the Golden Girls?
These are the things you need to know, in order for your character to develop. Without a backstory for your character, you'll never have the right information for your stand up, for one. And, by the same token, if you don't know the character, how are you going to find the right outfits? If you're going for Mama Sophia, a lady in her 80's, more than likely, you're not going to be wearing prom gowns, or bikinis. You're going to want to camp up the old lady purple hair, and wear the cardigans, and pants pulled up to right under your boobs. By the same token, if you're going for the drunk single woman, you're going to want to play up the part of being drunk, and single, so you're going to dress a lot sluttier.
Anyway, my point being, drag is a learning process, throughout the lifetime of your character. You have to have a bit of creativity, to be able to pick out what you're actually good at, and play to your strengths. Don't try to be RuPaul, or any other queen that you've seen on tv (or in person). Be yourself. Know yourself well enough to know what you'll excel with. And, bring it! Just remember that you're the only one who will be able to bring out your inner drag queen.
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