Drag Season - Doing Too Much?

 Hello!

When I last left y'all, I mentioned a phone call.  My phone did ring, I answered and now I am currently a little busier than I ever thought I could be, especially in the drag arena.  I may be considering changing this blog to DRAG Alone With Me.com...

Here's the deal, I wanted to be more involved with BEST IN DRAG SHOW and now I am more involved than I'd ever thought I would be.  I am now entered in the BEST OF BEST IN DRAG SHOW!  I will be competing in the show in October as a former winner. Remember that time I won?

2018

I was so excited and fell in love with the show and have been very happily excited to take part in any way, ever since.  Now, I'm back.  This time, I guess, for a second chance to lose! When I got the call to compete again, I was torn.  I know how much work it is, how much there is to worry about and how much it might hurt to not win, again.  Of course, my ego wasn't going to win this battle.  I know exactly right now is when this charity, and many more all over the country, needs the help and contributions. With the current administration gutting all of our programs to fund turning DC into a swamp with a ballroom, I can't sit back and just 'like' all the Anti-Trump posts on the socials.  Besides, I have my strategy for doing this kind of thing in place: Put on the best, most entertaining show you can and that'll be the reward.  Who knows, maybe in this show I play the girl who comes in last.  I mean, Drew Barrymore DID play the first one to die in SCREAM, right?   I'm proud that I agreed to do it, I'm just not so excited about the timing, right now.  I have plenty to do this far in advance of October and that includes; planning my show, sketching out ideas & costumes, finding someone to build those crazy costume ideas on a limited budget, figuring out my talent portion & recruiting someone to be involved in that, sorting out logistics like load in of props & costumes and promoting the show. 

It's a lot, so wish this little(?) Yellow Rose of Texas, Reba Areba

MISS TEXAS 2026

lots of luck while I go back to the drawing board and come up with an entirely new show

My first sketch from the 2018 show

as I go up against these other girls for whom this isn't their first time at the rodeo, either!

Please get your tickets, now at BEST IN DRAG SHOW.COM

I need to do all that while in the midst of this 4 week run of CHICO'S ANGELS 2: LOVE BOAT CHICAS!

At this point we're two weeks in and I am exhausted!  We're running Wednesday - Sunday with 2 shows on Saturdays & Sundays. Look, at 58 years old this is not a breeze.  Also, I have to deal with things like my shoes breaking...

You can bet the replacement heels were 2 inches shorter!

and fending off, what feels like a forever threatening summer cold. We first did this show in March of 2004 and have done it a couple of times over the years, so it didn't take long to rememorize the lines and such.  What hasn't come back so quickly is the ability to run, fight and roll on the floor so easily.  We're very active putting on this non-stop drag extravaganza with drama, action, singing and dancing, but it's getting harder to keep up with high pace.  We still do, it's just not so easy.  As a matter of fact, this is our farewell performance to this episode.  I don't know how many of the 7 episodes we've done the past couple of years were the farewell performances to those!  To make things harder (poor me, right?) I had to get up at 4am to get ready to appear on the local morning news in hopes of selling tickets for our last two weeks of shows.      Check  it out HERE

Thank you KABC 7 & Tony Cabrera

"If it's so hard, why do you even do it?" you might not ask, so I ask it myself...
I'll tell you, doing the show is a blast!  It's all the producing and prep and aging that's starting to be a challenge.  Aside from the complete laughfest we have performing & rehearsing, there are a few perks.  For example, I love when the celebs drop by! (I'm a starfucker, so sue me!) I especially love when some of the people I count as inspirations and influnces drop in, Like Julie Brown, whom I laughed with and quoted from her MTV show JUST SAY JULIE!

Julie with the cast and director Sam Irvin

and 80's Pop star Debbie Gibson, whom I sang along with and of whose songs I made up parodies like "I Get Lost in My House" and "Shake My Butt" ...

Truly a friend of the show

Then, there's the cast!  All but 2 are original cast members from 2004. I love these people so much because when we laugh together as much as we do, we can't help but form a special bond

Here's most of the cast in a pic by Bill LeBeouf

My favorite members of the cast are our 2 hunks!  There's returning hunk Duke Shoman,

I love this guy

who was not able to cover all of the shows so we got a second hunk, making his Chico's Angels debut, Sebastian Gonzalez. ...or as he's better known on Insta, dino.mml

I love this guy

Casting hunks for a drag comedy play can be trickier than you might think and it was starting to be a special challenge, but we were lucky that Duke agreed to step in where he could and we were especially lucky to find Sebastian, courtesy of muh DAB, Dennis Hensley!  They both bring their own special brand to the role of Dick Hardo and our audiences seem quite delighted to see either of them.  What do you think?

Duke, courtesy of Bill LeBeouf

Sebastian, courtesy of Mike Pingel

Please, believe me that it is a great joy to work with both of these guys.  On a personal level, I love them for their unique and sometimes surprising personalities and what they bring to their shared role.  I'm only disappointed that I have one brief interaction with them throughout the entire 2 hour show!  Also, I would be remiss to in not reminding you that Duke agreed to help me out in 2018 as my hunk Pinata Assassin in BEST IN DRAG SHOW

Duke helped me during my talent portion - being a human pinata

So, I suppose I'll survive the current drag storm and live to see other adventures dressed as a guy, but I'll always be grateful to BEST ON DRAG SHOW and CHICO'S ANGELS for the gift of laughter.  

If you're planning on coming to see Chico's Angels, (please do!), you can get tickets HERE - kaysedia.com 

Keep in mind 

AND

That's right!  Ray Garcia leaves after this week and Jai Rodriguez is coming in for our last week as Chita!  It's all very exciting!!   I hope you'll come on board soon!!!

Gay of A Certain Age - Everybody's Talking About Danny

I just wartched the 

EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE

on the Amazon Prime.

It's a movie version of the West End hit stage musical

of the same name.

First, I enjoyed it very much.

It was interesting to me that,

when I was growing up 

the gay movies were all about the torture of being gay

and finally coming out.

...that and everygay dying of the AIDS.

Now, the kids these days get to see

the gay kids openly gay, but still dealing with the same stuff

or a slightly different version  of it.

In this story,

the openly gay kid

must deal with the trauma of wanting to be a drag queen.

I'm pleased that there is mention of the generations of previous gays

whose struggles make it easier for today's young gays

to be open and out.

As a matter of fact, 

Richard E. Grant, 

was my favorite actor/character in the movie.

Anywho, 

while the main character, 

I think his name is, Jaime,

is having the familiar struggles with his father,

it's refreshing to see him have a very loving and supportive mother,

who accepts her son for who he is 

and encourages him to be who he wants to be.

She even buys him a pair of  glittery red heels to do it in!

This is realistic, 

because it is totally based on a real mother and son.

Lovely!

It's also realistic because I have my own very own

loving and supportive mother.

I'll call her "Patty",

because her name is Patricia.

Of course, because it is a theatrical story 

and there needs to be crisis to overcome,

Jamie has a moment when he gets very angry with his mother

and says some very awful things to her.

...Even though she bought him some lovely shoes!

I think back to my time with my Ma,

and while I'm sure there were many times that 
I took her for granted,

was snotty to her,

or just didn't appreciate

how difficult it must have been to raise four kids on her own,

sometimes working two jobs

and not having much time for herself,

I NEVER said anything intentionally hurtful to her!

It was at this point

that I decided I hated Jamie.

Of course, as they do,

things worked out and Jamie

finally appreciated how lucky he was to have the mother that he does

and they share a wonderful moment

when he finally gets to be a drag queen,

The End!

This reminded me of my mom and me.
Even though it wasn't my life long dream to be a drag queen,

I have always known I wanted to be a performer

and be on stage.

I am fortunate to have performed

on stage

in front of an audience

every year, since I was in high school.

(For 18 years, it's happen to be mostly in drag)

There are many times when my mother could not make it to my performances

in high school & college.

I am happy to say that she has been to L.A.

and seen me in CHICO'S ANGELS

a few times,

but the moment the Jamie movie reminded me of most

was at the 

Best In Drag Show 2018!

It was a fundraiser for

Alliance For Housing and Healing, as well as for Aid for AIDS.

It was a pageant

that we prepared for for 6 months

had very little rehearsal 

and went up in a huge theatre

(The gorgeous Orpheum)

full of over 2,000 people.

It was very exciting.

Here's a picture of me

for my talent portion 

with my talent partner Duke.

I chose this picture because it is colorful, fun

and Duke is shirtless.


Anyway,

the show went very well

and I had a lot of support from the audience,

so my Ma got to experience some applause and hooting for her son

throughout the night.

Luckily, I won!

It was a grand experience, 

to be sure,

but the best part was seeing how 

happy and proud my Ma was.

I'm pretty sure she wasn't so excited just because I was in drag,

it was because, 
while she was working so hard to support her kids

and I was spending my time in school plays

and drama tournaments,

then, majoring in theatre in college,

instead of something "more practical",

she got to experience the excitement and energy

of a huge theatre full of people

cheering her son on,

and enjoying the silly things he was doing on stage

in a dress
(6 dresses actually).

And to top it off,

her son helped to raise over half a million dollars

for worthy causes.

That's something to be proud of!

So, as if winning the pageant

wasn't enough of a spiritual boost,

seeing that smile on my Ma's face

showed me I hadn't wasted my time 

in high school & college.

(I'm taking this very moment to apologize to my Ma,

who for some reason, made it to see me in 

the worst production, high school or otherwise,

of  MAN OF LA MANCHA.  
It was just AWFUL and I cry when I think she spent all day at work,

then, probably skipped dinner,

to get to the high school auditorium in time.
I only hope she slept through it.)

So, congratulations to the real life Jamie!

As a Gay of A Certain Age, I know how important

and fortunate it is to have a wonderful,

loving and supportive mother!

My Ma came to visit recently,

and we shared a wonderful drag moment

by having a fabulous impromptu Kaftan fashion shoot

by the pool.

"It's Called Fashion Look It Up"

Apparently the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree!

If you want to know more about my 
BEST IN DRAG SHOW journey,

you can read about it
HERE

Too Busy For Love - Year of the Crown Part 2: The Show

The deadline was nearing, I only had a few days to make sure everything was ready.  I had spent a good portion of my time getting my talent together.  I did that  with the help of my fellow Chico's Angel, Ray Garcia, who graciously  helped me with choreography, and one of my favorite hunks, Duke Shoman, who agreed to be my shirtless pinata hitter.

In the final weekend, there was the big, all day, full cast rehearsals, which despite my inability to absorb choreography quickly, were an absolute blast in the capable and helpful hands of Jeffrey Drew!

Finally, it was time to get to the Orpheum Theatre and put on the show!!

First I had to load-in and get all my crap sorted out...

Then, make-up magician, Glen Alen, made me up to be pageant gorgeous!

While I was getting ready downstairs, my friends, Mike Pingel and Kevin Alpert, were handing out postcards and Reba Areba pins to audience members as they came in..

Before I knew it, it was time to hit the stage for our intro/opening number

Perhaps you can see my two danglies in the pic below... During my intro I said, "I am wearing a blue bonnet on my head because that is the state flower.  The state bird is the mocking bird, and the state tree is the Pecan Tree, known for its nuts!" At which point, two large pecans drop from under my dress.

Next, I quickly ran down stairs to get into my swimsuit attire!

For my swim suit, I entered stage in my Nacho Poncho

Made my way to center stage

Where I took a dip in a pool of guacamole

And stepped out to reveal my Jalapeno Bikini

 

John Coulter really took my original idea to the next level, he knows everyone loves a reveal!

After the swimsuit final looks, I rushed downstairs again to get into my Talent get-up!

As I was rushing, I took a moment to note that it REALLY helped to have my dressing room  mate, Miss Louisiana's talent partners in the room for inspiration

Once in my costume, I took another moment to appreciate them

It REALLY helped.  

Not that  my talent partner was any slouch!!  You remember Duke Shoman, don't you??

He graciously agreed to be my HIT MAN.  you see, for my talent I was a human Pinata

...except that my hanging cable snaps and I'm left on stage to avoid being beaten by the blindfolded shirtless hunk man

while I sing my HIT ME MEDLEY live.  And every time Duke hit me, a piece of my pinata costume came off.

Then, with the final hit, we reveal my candy dress!

Then, back down stairs, which is really challenging by the way, to get ready for Evening Gown/Interview!

For my Evening gown, I enter dressed as the Virgin de Guadalupe, carrying my lit-up sunburst of holy rays background with me (This you do not get to rehearse, so I almost fell over when one of the background's feet hit a step as I made my way down to the stage.  I teetered, but recovered- knowing full well, everyone watches intently for a spill!)

Once down center stage, (Crown falling forward from the near-spill) 

I pose

Then turn my background around to reveal a message

A subtle message about Trump's wall, 

then I step out to reveal my Yellow Rose of Texas dress

I had a little trouble with my cherub shoe, but that didn't seem to bother anyone, much.

Next was the interview portion...

My question was, "What is your greatest fear?"

I replied, that after heights, my donkey losing his way home, and looking Bruce Willis in the eye, my biggest fear is becoming ill and losing my home.  For example, many people living with HIV are homeless and have nowhere to turn for shelter or medication.  Then I mention Alliance for Housing & Healing and Aid for AIDS.  I did this in character, most contestants break character to get the seriousness of the subject across, I decided to try to find a balance and stay Reba Areba.  Finally, I added that I am also afraid of cucumbers.

The competition was over, all that was left was to crown a winner!
Honestly folks, I knew going in that I couldn't spend half a year prepping for this beauty pageant all just to win.  I went in with the goal of putting on a great show and if I didn't win, I could look at it like any other show I've done in the past and played my role well.  Then, at that moment I FUCKING WANTED TO WIN!  No, I just thought it would be super neato, right?

I was in the final three with Miss Colorado and Miss Washington...

Then I was in the top two with Miss Washington!!

I thought, could there be a bucket of pig's blood right above me?

Then, they announced the winner,

IT WAS ME!!

This is me, BEST IN DRAG SHOW 2018

But wait, there's more!!

After the initial hoopla & Pics

 We got to meet the judges,

Kathy Kinney, Arden Myrin, Patrick Rush, Lance Bass and Dot Marie Jones

It was a bit surreal.

I love me some Dot Marie Jones!  She is such a kind and gracious woman!

Lance Bass didn't call the police on me, this time!

Then, the most fabulous part was going out and seeing my wonderful friends and family!

John Coulter, whose work with Robin Chartier, really took my ideas, expanded them and made dream come true costumes for me!  CONFESSION: Going into this I knew John as a talented friend, artist and supermodel; it wasn't until I was looking up information to include in my program bio, that I found out, John actually designs costumes!  Shut Up! I know! THAT'S why he always had rockin' Halloween costumes! Check out all of his super neato work HERE

Here's Mike & Kevin, who helped cheer me on in the lobby!

The Chico's Angels kidz in some form or another...

Muh DAB, Dennis Hensley was there...

Muh DAB, Glenn Gaylord was there...

My family: Brother in law, Charlie, my Ma, sister Julie and Charlie's sister, Melissa came all the way from El Paso!

It's always nice to have family there for you, but the best moment of the night, for me, was seeing my Mom so happy!

I guess even in a dress & slap, I'll always be my mama's boy!

Certainly, there were more of my close friends who were in the audience cheering me on, but didn't make it to the secret back alley for pics and I thank them all for coming, but special thanks goes to Ted and Eduardo who, also, came all the way from El Paso a few days early and helped me in my many hours of need!

So, there you have it, my story about half a year spent prepping for a one night show, keeping me very busy.

So, while I'd love to go have some of that pumpkin spiced hooha with you, I can't!  I'm too busy helping raise over half a million dollars for Alliance for Housing & Healing and Aid for AIDS!

Disclaimer & Thanks: My blog is usually all illustrated with my own photography, but these past posts couldn't be made with out photos stolen from Mike Pingel, John Paschal  and Geoffrey P Vitrano (and maybe a few stolen from Facebook...)

P.S.

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