Do you have any recommendations for baby drag kings? I've been thinking of getting into it as of recently but I have no idea where to start
i’m a baby drag king myself! so idk how much help i can be but i’ll try!
I’ve only been officially doing it since like late May.
But if I could offer any advice:
-Come up with a name that sells your drag and is cool to you. It’s literally whatever the fuck you want. If you want your name to be Xerox Copy, Gas Station Bathroom, Salsa Picante, Red Rover, Phlegm, you can do that. There’s no limit here. My name is Andro Gin cause I knew I wanted some masculine liquor in there but I also wanted to showcase like “hey, this will be a meddling of gender and not ‘male impresonation’ ” hence the play on Androgyne. As an androgynous woman, I knew my alter ego would be androgynous aswell to some degree. So yeah, put thought.
-There are a ton of good makeup dupes on amazon that way you’re not spending an arm and a leg. search “flash palette” and the one that’s like appx $15 is the dupe to the $100 makeup forever version. it’s actually amazing. it comes in different colors for you to mix and play with for foundations and shit. I also bought this mass glitter pack on amazon that has literally advanced my drag. glitter, man.
-brushes are important but buying some arts and crafts cheapy ones i never realized would be as helpful as they are cause a lot of the time they come in weird shapes you didn’t realize you needed until you’re putting on makeup.
-If you’re gonna use makeup tutorials that’s fine, but don’t rely on it. i used a couple at first to understand how i would be contouring my face for drag but from then on i kind of just do my own thing. also don’t be pressured to do what it seems like everyone else is doing - there’s no one right way to do drag. it’s intimidating at first but it’s really cool to solidify your own look. i look at photos for inspiration but everything comes out of my own head. figure out what kind of king you are aesthetically and run with it. it’ll take a while for you to figure it out and even then you’re always gonna evolve so enjoy the ride.
-i’d suggest also to learn basic sewing. i’m fortune enough to have gone to theater school where classes like that were mandatory so i have a good foundation on how to construct pieces but only reason i say this is because $$$ and because sometimes let’s say you’re thrifting and there’s a perfect piece but it’s too big, you’d know how to alter it or let’s say your outfit gets fucked up while performing, you’d know how to fix it. etc. get thrifty get crafty
-if you’re gonna be an instagram king and not performing, make sure your looks are that strong. if you are going to be performing, idk how old you are - im assuming of age, go out to the scenes. this is so important. you need to make connections and you need to network otherwise you won’t get booked - especially if you’re new. maybe even go out in drag and have people actually see you, go on instagram and find the people running the party of the night and message them complimenting their work and expressing interest in performing
-Drag is mainstream now but remember, you’re essentially a glorified gogo dancer. you’re performing for tip money. this can be rough cause people get drunk, not everyone is respectful, your gigs will end at 4am so it’s dangerous being in drag outside of the venue at that time - bring people to take you to your car, have weapons etc. you NEED to have a tough skin to do this. I got punched my second time in drag. shit like this happens to every drag queen/king I know. queer people, especially gender bending queer people, are still largely hated by cishet society so you need to protect yourself.
-Also, don’t be afraid to ask about payment. Queens/Kings get paid to perform. Find out how much that usually is depending on the venue so you don’t get swindled etc.
-respect your art, but also know how to entertain a crowd.
-not everyone is gonna like you or get what you do, that’s fine. people will though, and that’s what’s worth it.
-MAKE FRIENDS with other drag queens/kings. they will guide you esp if they see that you have potential. believe me idk where i’d be if it wasn’t for queens I met that are now really good friends of mine that held my hand while i was starting out. These are wonderful people and will be your loudest cheerleaders.
annaxmalina
jacobvanloon
discoholicmusic
dailybridgerton
kaledo-art
