![]() Photo by Jenny Priceįor a performance art so laden with gender questions, YAYAH suggests audiences let that go. Makeup routinely takes her an hour or two for full drag, and selecting from the more than 100 wigs in her closet isn’t a quick decision, either. “Getting in drag takes me about three hours from start to finish, assuming I don’t pass out on the floor in the middle of getting ready,” says YAYAH. “Show a genuine interest in your community.” Use social media to carve out a space for your persona and compete in local pageants or competitions to get your name out.įinally, be ready for some work. “Leave the ego s*** at the door,” she says. YAYAH has some advice for people who want to do drag: Have a purpose-ask yourself why you want to do it-and play to your strengths, whether that’s singing, dancing, sewing or something else entirely. “I grew up with a mom who was a touring drummer and spent a lot of my early years on the road with her and watching the entertainment industry from behind the scenes.” Photo by Jenny Price “I’ve been performing in bands since I was 12,” she says. While she’s been in the drag space for several years, music came first. With two albums and an EP, she’s a bona fide binary musician using drag to portray a larger-than-life persona. For five years, she’s been hitting the stage, slipping easily into “The 7th Element” by Vitas, “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette and “Cold Hearted” by Paula Abdul. YAYAH’s star power is bolstered by her killer voice. “Especially for me.” She says she sees nothing wrong with that approach to drag-it’s just not the only way to be a drag performer. ![]() “I don’t feel like there is always an innate sexual connotation,” says YAYAH (Camryn Nichols). YAYAH Photo by Tim Engleĭrag performances can be synonymous with sex and shock. WHERE TO SEE: FTLP on Mondays (co-host) and regular appearances at Badlands on various Friday and Sunday nights Maxx Drag Show (host) on Twitch. Advocates within that space who mentor and teach can make transitioning or coming out easier. “I think after performing and feeling the sense of gender euphoria, it can quite frequently lead to someone transitioning.” So, while some are using the drag world to promote their craft, others are finding themselves in those performances and exploring their own identities. ![]() “The drag world and the trans community often see a major overlap,” Clive Maxx says. When he’s not performing his favorite pop club hits and hip-hop and R&B songs a la Dua Lipa, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, he’s focused on trans advocacy and education. “A room of people screaming and cheering when you take your shirt off is the most gender-confirming thing I have ever experienced.” “I decided to wait until I was decently healed from my top surgery before my first performance because I wanted to be able to take my shirt off without having to bind,” he says. A particularly pivotal moment for him was the first time he removed his shirt during a performance. Performing drag as a transgender man has been a liberating experience, he says. He’s also got a full-time job and a 5-year-old to care for. It now takes two hours to finish-three hours from shower to stage. In fact, Clive Maxx spent shelter-in-place downtime perfecting his face makeup, which he says has evolved in the two years he’s been performing. “Even in the realm of the LGBTQ+ community, we aren’t immune to societal misogyny,” he says. That leads to a common misconception that drag kings-primarily female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes-are not as polished. “The culture of drag being put onto the TV and that people outside of the community are seeing is predominately cis men and 99% drag queens,” he says. Clive Maxx Photo by Tim EngleĪs a drag king, Clive Maxx (Miles Sykes) says he has to work harder to earn respect. The culture involves traditions and hierarchies, and underneath the big wigs and incredible makeup are big hearts focused on good deeds, including advocacy for education, health care and LGBTQ+ rights. That means you may see men in long gowns lip-syncing to pop divas’ biggest songs or women in exaggerated makeup and wigs playing roles that poke fun at gender stereotypes.ĭrag is more than dressing up and getting onstage. The performers may be gay, trans, nonbinary, afab, cis-it doesn’t matter-and they play with gender roles as a way to entertain audiences. Traditionally expressed by male-identifying performers wearing women’s clothing, the art of drag is an exaggeration of gender expression. Drag culture carries some preconceptions-and misconceptions. The county is a haven for drag culture, with weekly shows and a deep-rooted scene many may not know exists. In Sacramento, life can be a real drag-but in a positive way.
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