'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Drag Act Research and Auditions

To get an idea of what to look for in a drag queen, I decided to do some research into the area.

As the most prominent Drag Queen of the time, I looked into RuPaul.

RuPaul is host of the show RuPaul's Drag Race - a reality competition show.

According to RuPaul, "Drag is a performance and that performance is still a threat to the ego because the ego is all about established identity." [1] Drag is expression, art and liberation.

When asked whether drag could become mainstream, RuPaul replied with "It will never be mainstream. It's the antithesis of mainstream. And listen, what you're witnessing with drag is the most mainstream it will get. But it will never be mainstream, because it is completely opposed to fitting in."[2] This supports the idea of having a drag performance in our show - our show is about going against the mainstream and as drag is about opposing fitting into the mainstream it is the perfect match. This has also informed our search for our Drag Queen, we need to find someone who embodies this idea of opposing the mainstream and fitting in. When describing the art of drag further, RuPaul explains that "it's poking fun at gender. It's mocking gender is what it's doing." [2] Furthermore, when describing the kind of outfits he wears he shared "I'll wear a suit or I'll wear a sailor's outfit. I'll dress femme. I'll dress butch queen" [2] displaying that the fashion in drag culture has no boundaries and that there is a sense of freedom and expression. In another interview, RuPaul states that "we are wearing clothes that are hyperfeminine, that represent our culture’s synthetic idea of femininity". [3] This suggests that drag isn't simply 'dressing like a woman' as many people like to believe, drag takes it further to portray an exaggerated version of femininity.

During my research, I attempted to find a definition of drag culture but ended up discovering that this is virtually impossible as drag means something different to each individual Drag Queen. However, a common theme amongst Drag Queens was that drag gives them the creativity and freedom to express themselves. Drag Queen Kennedy Davenport says "drag means freedom of expression and liberation." [4]. 

As well as looking into a Drag Queen and drag as a culture, I wanted to look into some examples of performances as we have given our drag act 1 minute to perform. I decided to look at the most popular 'Lip Sync for you Life' battles from RuPaul's drag race.

A common theme amongst these performances was the level of energy. All the performances featured very exaggerated dance moves and lip syncing - this shows the level of confidence these Drag Queens must have. Their dance moves are exuberant and flamboyant. Before selecting our Drag Queen we should look at their previous work to ensure they would be comfortable performing in a similar manner for our show.

Doing this research has helped inform me on the subject before auditioning the Drag Queens. 

- We need to ensure that they are a confident and comfortable performer as we have given them 1 minute for this performance before their interview. 

- We need to find someone who can talk about their Drag Queen personality and can express what being a Drag Queen means to them. 

- Our idea is to find someone who makes their own costumes as this can be the subject matter of the interview. 

- We need to ensure we find a Drag Queen who is into the fashion side of the drag culture as well as the performance side as our show does revolve around fashion and this needs to remain the centre of this segment whilst still exploring the other elements of drag.

Drag Act Auditions

Initially we had two drag acts to choose between - an 18 year old who does drag alongside his a-levels and a 30 year old who does drag full time.

Gavin interviewed the drag queens via Skype and recorded them so that the whole production management team (producers, directors and assistant producers) could discuss the two acts and choose together. 

All of us were very impressed with the 18 year old drag queen as there was the unique selling point of them being young but also quite experienced in drag having started at such a young age. We thought this would give us a lot to talk about in the interview as we could talk about how / why they got into drag so young, how they balance this with school and other questions in this area before moving on to more specific questions about the fashion in their drag act. He makes a lot of his own outfits which would work perfectly after our DIY section. After discussions with the production management group we decided to choose this drag act - however, they have now had to pull out due to school commitments.

Our 30 year old drag queen doesn't make his own clothes but reuses / recycles old materials to make his outfits. They got into doing drag through a competition where they came runner up - after this they became a full time drag queen. They merge drag with theatre and performance art. Their style is a mix of many subcultures - ego, rock and roll, goth, boohoo, gothic, disco, alternative. We contacted him after our drag queen pulled out but unfortunately they were no longer available. 

This left us with no drag act so we had to begin our search again. Laura found Sapphire Stonee who ended up being the perfect fit for our show. 

- 19 years old - has the unique trait of being a young drag queen so can talk about this in the interview. Although drag itself is very anti-mainstream, the idea that they are so young and already so experienced in the field is even further from the mainstream which is perfect for the tone of the show.

- Watched RuPaul for years and has taken inspiration from the various drag queens who have appeared on the show throughout the years. This provides another talking point for the interview, Sapphire can talk about her main inspirations for her outfits and style.

- She works as a hairdresser so can talk about how this has influenced her journey with her drag act.

- Likes different eras and different styles - likes to mix fashion from different eras so may have an outfit inspired by the 1960's but hair inspired by the 1920's.

- Her performances usually consist of lip syncing to songs and doing stunts - can do the splits. This is similar to the types of performances on RuPaul's drag race so we are sure her performance will be perfect for our show.

Although we initially had difficulty finding our drag queen, we have ended up with the best possible option - Sapphire has all the qualities we were looking for in our drag queen. Once we have the music that is being composed for her performance, we will send it on to her so she can learn the words and begin to put together her routine. We will also brief her on the style of questions that will be asked in the interview. 

[1] http://www.papermag.com/rupaul-cover-story-pride-drag-race-2438273547.html

[2] http://www.vulture.com/2016/03/rupaul-drag-race-interview.html

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/mar/03/rupaul-drag-race-big-f-you-to-male-dominated-culture

[4] https://www.buzzfeed.com/christianzamora/famous-drag-queens-explain-what-drag-means-to-them?utm_term=.tlvE6k76NL#.ebZQ7d27k8