1. What was your inspiration to start doing drag?
My inspiration to do drag was to do something different than everyone else while expressing myself. I’ve always loved to dress up and play with makeup, it has really boosted my confidence, so I figured, why not take it over the top and do drag! I also saw other women performing and I wanted to perform too, but in drag.
2. How was your experince working on “Entertainer Of The Year?”
Entertainer of the Year was definitely an experience… Shortly after I started entertaining, I knew that was a pageant that I wanted to participate in, so I put it on my “bucket list” of things to do as an entertainer. It was both good and bad. The good part was that I proved to myself that I could put together an entire pageant package on my own, without anyone’s help. It also helped me realize that you never know how brave you are until you do something on a national scale and actually follow through with it. There were some negative points to it- I definitely learned about the politics and favoritism in the pageant world. Would I ever do it again? Absolutly not. But did I learn from it? Yes!
3. What’s your favourite thing about your local drag scene?
Honestly, I dont care much for my local drag scene. A LOT needs to change. Many bars do not acknowledge my art form- as I am a “faux queen” (a biological women who performs as a drag queen) so it is hard for me to get booked. Also there are alot of cliques at bats who only book their friends and dont give anyone else an opportunity. It’s kind of sad, but I’m hoping that one day it will change
4. You recently combatted negativity by turning it into a T-Shirt, how did you make something great out of something negative?
I always try to make something great out of something negative. I enjoy bringing humor and sarcasm into negative situations for two reasons- to shed a different light on the situation and also to make people possibly view things differently. I’m hoping if I’m able to come at things from a different angle, maybe others will do so as well- it coincides with my style as well
5. What personality traits does your drag character have that you wish you had out of drag?
My drag character is very confident in her looks, decisions, and actions and I wish I could feel that way out of drag. Mirage is all about “go big or go home” whereas my out of drag self tends to be indecisive and a people pleaser. Definitely a huge divide between the two personalities!
6. How do you get yourself “into character?”
To get into character I listen to music while I do my makeup. I listen to empowering and upbeat music and sometimes I also post “live” videos on Facebook as I paint my face- I feel that helps ease me into my “Mirage” transformation
7. You were part of a red ribbon pagent as a Fundraiser, what were the highpoints of that?
Red Ribbon is definitely a great cause to fundraise for. It goes to help those suffering from HIV/AIDS, and I also like it helps educate people on those sicknesses as well. I was proud to have raised the most money in my division, all though I lost due to issues in the scoring. I was also proud that I shined a light on the inaccurate scoring practices of that pageant system so that future contestants arent robbed of a win as I was.
8. How would you make drag more accessible to those who are new to it or hadn’t heard about it?
I would make drag more accessible to people by focusing on people who most likely haven’t heard of it or have never been to a drag show. Most likely I would focus on the straight community and try to set up events at straight venues so I could bring the artform to them. I feel like if you introduce something new to people in a place that they are comfortable they will respond better to it.
9. What’s one piece of advice you wish you could give to yourself in the past?
A piece of advice I’d give my past self is to always be true to myself and not to water my style down for anyone. I feel like I’m at my best when and truly expressing myself, and when I change my style to please others, I’m not really being true to myself. I’ve learned over the years that a lot of drag is very political and requires entertainers to change. Unfortunately I’ve tried to change and it still wasnt good enough for people, so being true to myself would have been the right choice to make
10. What’s next for you?
Currently I am not performing at any bars, because I need a change. I’m actually taking circus based classes to expand my horizons and take my art in a different direction. Currently I’m learning pole dancing, flexibility, and hand balance. I’m hoping to eventually combine my drag art with my circus skills to create a new form of performance art! I’m pretty excited for what the future holds!
Drag It Up 