Since I did it last year, I probably need to do one again this year. If I write it the way I think I should, it's going to sound like I'm sugar coating everything...so I'm going to put everything out there.
2015 has been a busy year. A lot has happened, both good and bad. I lost focus for a while, then changed my focus slightly. I learned a lot about drag this year. I learned a lot about myself this year. And, I'm both looking forward to, and apprehensive about what 2016 has to bring.
The year started off with Shaunna Rai, Asia, Miss E,on and Dee Lish doing a show at Fran's Place in Massachusetts. A lesbian couple got engaged that night. I sold cds of my pictures from that night, for the first time. I was asked later if I would consider taking pictures at their wedding. It appears that the wedding never took place, and the couple are no longer together.
At the end of January, we went to see Jujubee at Seacoast Rep. I met Rainbow Frite and Lili Whiteass for the first time that night. (Never suspecting that I would get to hang our with them all later in the year.
February brought about my interview with Chad Sell. I was so excited about it that I couldn't stand it. Having one of your artistic inspirations actually talk to you about what they do, was such a cool experience. I just wish that I had thought of more interesting questions to ask.
March brought the RuPaul’s Drag Race BOTS Tour to Portland. In one fell swoop, I met Alaska Thunderfuck, Darienne Lake, Pandora Boxx, Ivy Winters, Jinkx Monsoon, Jiggly Caliente, BenDeLaCreme and Michelle Visage. It remains one of my highest points for the year. March also brought about the March Dragness Show in Bangor. It was a great show, but as a photographer, and bag boy for Shaunna Rai, I hated the fact that while there were indeed reserved seats, none were reserved for me...so I got to stand in the back, with all the other people, and try to get some good pictures...
April brought about the major revelation that Bruce Jenner was going to be transitioning. The all important interview with Dianne Sawyer, and then, basically disappearing for two months. Not much else happened in April...
May brought about the busiest time of the year. The HIV/AIDS Walk Weekend in Ogunquit, which was spent with Shaunna, Miss E,on, Porcia, Scarrlett and their friend Jen. That was probably the most interesting week of the year. I learned a lot about a lot during that week. May also brought Dragapalooza at Bates College in Lewiston. While I stand firmly behind the cause, and love the show, I had to say, after three of them, I was least impressed with this one, only because of the sheer number of performers. I love that so many people wanted to be a part of it, but as an audience member, I got bored, because I was sitting so long. May is also the Zumba weekend...aka Moosestock, at Point Sebago. This was an important weekend for me, because it took a lobster to "crack my shell." I made a friend, in trying to smuggle out a lobster for the drag queens (Shaunna, Prodigy Diamond and E,on. She has proved to be someone who has bettered my year, in that she is super creative herself, and has been pushing me to expand my horizons and push my limits, and be who I should be, not who I think I should be...because I've come to the conclusion that I think that I deserve less than other people. At the end of the month, we were invited to see a preview of the Portland Players' version of Hairspray...a play that has moved toward the top of my list of favorites.
June brought about the revelation of Caitlyn Jenner's name and new look. It showed me how many people on my Facebook page are transphobic, and how many people are just jerks. And, it showed me that I for once, could start using myself, and my blog/like page as a soapbox to try to spread acceptance, and destroy ignorance. June also brought Pride...one of my regrets for the year, was choosing to work during the Pride festival Saturday and during the Tea Dance on Peak's Island that Sunday.
July brought about a fundraiser for Ariel Gibbs, a friend of Shaunna's who was dying from Cancer. Drag Divas Give Back was an amazing show, and Jujubee ended up being a surprise guest performer for the night. July also brought about our move from Portland, to Lewiston. It was supposed to be a good thing, in that we would be saving money on rent, we'd be saving money on laundry (because we have a washer/dryer), and we wouldn't be spending money on city trash bags. Unfortunately, in our planning, we didn't exactly figure in the amount of gas that we would be spending money on. And, our move has brought about problems that neither of us had really expected. July brought the first job that I have ever been asked to resign from, by management. It was the biggest slap in the face, because it was a job that I more or less loved, and the bits and pieces that I've heard since I left about what is being said about me, pisses me off. But, if being real with clients about what real life is like, and letting gay kids know that it's okay for them to be gay, makes me a bad influence, then, I guess I'm going to lay claim to my status as a bad influence.
August brought Ariel's death, and funeral. It was awkward for me, because I was attending a memorial for a woman who I had never met. The memorial service was beautiful, and the wake following the service was a who's who of Drag. That was the first time I met Kamden Rage, who would later on go on to win the title of Miss AIDS Awareness. It brought out a few revelations about relationships between queens and trans friends. It brought out an HIV status disclosure, from someone I didn't expect it from. August brought about my 35th birthday, which involved picking up a grill in Old Orchard, from the GFB owners, who had been trying to convince Shaunna that she and E,on and another queen or two needed to come back again for a show. (I'm sad that it didn't happen.) It was the first time since high school that I went to Boston with my Parents...and sadly, it's a trip that I probably won't allow to happen again. It stressed everyone out. August was the return of the Red Light Series at the Seacoast Rep, which had Shaunna, Bunny Wonderland and Cherry Lemonade, and (Boston Girls) Lili Whiteass and Rainbow Frite working with Jujubee, Joslyn Fox and BenDeLaCreme. This was the other main highlight of the year. This was the period of time, when I became aware of just how much of a voice I have, and have become over the last two years. During the final nigh, with BenDeLaCreme, there was a burst pipe in the Rep, and so over the course of the afternoon, I had to help get the word out to everyone who I knew, who might possibly be coming to the show, that the venue and time was changing. And, it was the first time that someone who actually follows me on Facebook (who I didn't know at the time) called me by name, and talked to me, like I actually knew what was going on. It was the first time that I was given the information by Cherry Lemonade that I was just as important to the shows as the queens, because with the photos I take, and the blogs about the shows themselves, I give them something to look back on, and give a different take on their experiences than their own.
September brought the Remembering The Underground show at Styxx. It was a fun night, that reminded me of going to my first gay bar in Philly, during an 18+ night, because the music was all from the 90's. It also brought the announcement of the Grand Majesty Ball, the same evening as the Trans Day of Remembrance, and a ton of controversy about it. It was the first time that I had experienced anything like the rumors that I had heard previously about how the trans community feels about drag and the gay community. It was the first time that I went from being part of a minority myself, to being a "privileged, cis-gendered, white, gay man," who doesn't get to have an opinion about whether or not it's okay to have a show on a night when we are remembering fallen trans people. It was the first time that I got really pissed off and fought on Facebook, to the point, where I actually had to turn off my phone, and stop looking at it, so that I didn't say something that I wouldn't be able to take back. We had a night out at The Breezeway Pub in Manchester, NH. Shaunna had been asked to perform at Drag Roulette with Porcia and Scarrlett. And, I had one of my (most likely stress induced) seizures (if it can be called a seizure.) It was one of the times that I should have said I didn't want any part of it, because I had spent the whole afternoon running around for Shaunna, making cupcakes for the follow night's show, and then spent the whole ride to Manchester being chided for how I drive. (I was so over it, that night, that I almost pulled over and told Shaunna to get out.) The whole ride home, I felt stupid, and got berated for not taking care of myself, and I just wanted to curl up and die. The following night, was Cancer, Schmancer, a benefit to help raise money for two women who had cancer, and needed help with medical bills. It was also Leanna Love's birthday, and so I felt that I needed to go. Since I'd collapsed the night before, and hit myself on a counter on my way to the floor, I was sore. My chin hurt, my left side hurt, since I was bruised. And, I accidentally caused all kinds of controversy with my review of the show.
I did the Lewiston/Auburn Art Walk, which was a great experience for me. It allowed me a chance, to totally separate from Shaunna and Dan, get myself out there. I spent two or three hours talking with people who were coming to look at my stuff, and I got to explain why it was important to me. (Kinda the whole goal of the blog...lol)
October brought the Halloween shows. Drag Me to Hell at the Lewiston Elk's Club was fun. I did a last minute costume, that was supposed to be Archie (as in the love triangle of Archie, Betty and Veronica.) It didn't go over that well, but it gave me a bit of confidence that I was going to need for the next show, which would be the costume party that was being thrown by Equality Maine: The Great Pumpkin Ball. The Pumpkin Ball, was the highest point in my personal growth for the year. With the start of American Horror Story: Hotel, and the character Liz Taylor, I had someone to portray, that I would be able to do with ease. I hinted about what I was doing for it, but nobody except Shaunna and Miss E,on knew what I was actually planning...and E,on only knew, because I needed something made for the costume. I knew that I had done something right, when people kept coming up to me, asking for pictures, and complimenting me on how good my costume was.
November brought Malice in Wonderland, the current incarnation of the Screaming Queens show. Shaunna portrayed "Malice". I got to know Miss JoAnn's husband a little bit...and learned a lot more about their relationship than I wanted to know. Charlie Sheen came out as being HIV positive, which again brought about a wave of ignorance on my Facebook feed. And, allowed me to start putting myself out there as an educator, to try to deflect some of the ignorance that was being thrown all over the place. It also brought out the benefit show, before the actual Miss AIDS Awareness Pageant. (I was super nervous about this show, because the last time I was there, I'd collapsed...but I was fine. The show was amazing. So many performers. I found out that I have a little more than just bad luck, for the first time, ever, I actually won something...and not just once, but a couple of times. I won the 50/50, the raffle, and later, during Lili Whiteass's Trivia Night, I won a gift bag....I could have taken the whole night, if I had been able to write faster and smaller. (You'd be surprised at how much room it takes to write "Meeko the Raccoon and Flit the Hummingbird," and how hard it is, when you run out of hand, to continue writing on the piece of paper.) Following Thanksgiving, Mimi Imfurst had a show at Styxx. Having decided that she was not the horrible person that she was portrayed as on Drag Race, last Christmas, I decided that I wanted to see this show. For the first time, I think, since the first year that we were together, Dan went to a drag show with me. Shaunna was nowhere to be found. Mimi didn't disappoint me.
December brought the Miss AIDS Awareness Pageant. Scarrlett gave up the title, to Kamden Rage. As with the previous year, the lack of knowledge of the HIV and AIDS was frightening, and reminded me of why I have taken up HIV/AIDS education as one of my causes. There was a brief controversy about whether or not Kamden should have even won, due to the fact that she wasn't a "New England Girl" for very long before she won it. While it was controversial, I feel like it was totally justified. Following Miss AIDS Awareness, was the Holiday Show at Styxx. ClubKid MizzDiveena proved again that her brand of drag is so different than everyone else in Maine, and it's amazing. I left the show, with the image of her Ice Queen look burned in my head, and couldn't wait for photo editing to see it again. Next was the Ho Ho Holiday Show at the Elks Lodge in Lewiston. It was the first appearance of my Glitter Beard. It was a great show, and I got to meet a new queen. Mizs Queery. Mizs Queery was introduced as the protege of Brystal Kreme. They did a group number, and I was surprised by "the new queen." For someone's first time performing, she commanded attention, and I found myself watching her more than Brystal. I look forward to seeing more of Mizs Queery in the new year. The last show of the year, was Mimi Imfurst's Big Gay Christmas Drag Show. This was a surprise show, that was announced only about 2 weeks before the show. And, it ended up being packed. This was the way a RuPaul's Drag Race girl's show should be...not a sparse crowd, like the November show she had done in Portland.
I spent a lot of time driving this year. And, I spent most of that time being criticized about how I drive. It makes it hard to feel happy at a show, when you've spent most of the ride there feeling like you're bad at everything.
I had a lot of time, when Shaunna would come up to me after a show, and ask me what my problem was...because other people thought that I was in a pissy mood, or didn't want to be there. While, occasionally, that is the case, it's the exception, not the rule. What bothers me about people asking Shaunna, is that I feel like I'm a pretty approachable person, and that people should ask me, not her. I'm a pretty open book, so if there's something you want to know, just ask. I'll either tell you, or tell you that it's none of your business.
I'm looking forward to what 2016 has in store for me. Another BOTS tour would be nice, as would another opportunity to work with the Seacoast Rep for Mid-Summer Night Queens. Shaunna has a lot of open invitations to work in Boston, and New Hampshire. I would love to see us get our financial situation under control, so that she can get to those places...because as much as I love the local queens, I enjoy seeing some of the bigger name queens as well...who I don't see on a regular basis, outside of their Facebook walls.
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