If I hadn't been a woman, I'd be a drag queen for sure. I like all that flair and I'd be dressing up in them high heels and putting on the big hair. I'd be like Ru Paul.
For all of my class projects, I somehow turned it into a commercial parody or put on plays. My whole thing was seeing things from a big picture, from beginning to middle to end: making a costume, doing voices, writing a script, making it all happen.
When I was still a student, I came out of a performing arts high school, and the female students who were doing traditional dance and ballet were so beautiful. They were beautiful, starting from their postures.
I'm a drag queen who is thoughtful and serious about drag in addition to being funny, ambitious, and glamourous.
I don't know how to do anything else and lack any skill that would be applicable on a resume. Drag is what I know. The gigs are my life.
I think the composer and production staff of an opera have a real responsibility to use visual elements of all kinds to make clear to the American audience, at any rate, exactly what is going on.
I think I'm a dancer in terms of what I do onstage.
Being a former theater student, of course, there is a part of me that is fascinated with stage crafts and what you can do with illusions and working within the confines of the studio.
When I first did 'Moby,' I didn't realize how taxing it would be. I was climbing fifty feet up in the air and climbing down. Literally, it's so busy, you feel you're on a ship. You're always moving; you're constantly adding clothes or taking them off, and there are many people on stage all the time!
Before I was a cosplayer, I was a fan artist. I would draw my favorite characters and sell the pieces at art auctions. But once I discovered cosplay, it was like, 'I don't have to draw my favorite characters, I can become my favorite characters.'
I have a lot of great fans. A lot of fans have cosplayed as Sweet Tooth, which I thought was really cool.
There's so many things about Babymetal you cannot just grasp with the sound. The visual has to compliment the sound, the costumes have to compliment the sound.
'Free Agents' was an awesome experience. I never play the glam girl in anything, so that was a new experience. I would walk into one of my trailers and it would be like Spanx, a spray-tan gun, and chicken cutlets. I would have hair extensions. It was hilarious. Every day felt like I was turning into an awesome drag queen.
If I was strictly an artist, I'd have to learn to dance and get a shiny suit and stuff.
Drag isn't always about expensive rhinestone gowns; it's about what's entertaining.
I started out in this business in rock and roll bands and stumbled into drag. Drag just happened to be my vehicle for my creativity. So, you know, it's afforded me the opportunity to create new shows, to make music.
I've always said drag queens are like Swiss Army knives. Most come from having to take $50-a-show pay and doing their own costume, wig, music and jokes.
Tom Hooper did an amazing job in capturing the feel of Victor Hugo's book. I thought some of the performances were incredible. I thought the Bishop would be a nice part to play, and they all made such a fuss of me being there.
One of the beautiful gifts of dance is that you're so in tune with your body so early on. I was very comfortable in my skin at a very early age, performing onstage and wearing interesting costumes. And I give so much credit to my mom - she never made me feel that my costume was wrong, or bad, even when there was not a lot to them!
I can only appreciate the kind of work that goes into being a top drag queen. Ru Paul looks just astonishing as a woman. And he's got this fantastic turn of phrase. I find him hilarious.
Going to the conventions, seeing the incredible amount of love that people put into their clothing, costumes, gadgetry, and art of all kinds, is a huge treat for me.
It's always a challenge to shoot a period film and not have it look like you hit the tea stain button in post.
I totally remove myself from any costumes, wardrobe, any choreography. I could care less about that stuff.
I discovered cosplay because I was going to an anime convention and did some research, and found out people dressed up as characters. I made a very badly put-together costume because I felt this desire to dress up.
Working on 'King Of Texas' was a life experience for me.
