Behind the Curtain Documentary
A few weeks ago, a film crew from Confederation College came to our house to shoot a documentary about the local drag scene in Thunder Bay. My partner, Logan, is the popular and talented drag queen Shaela Vie, and they wanted him to be the subject of the documentary! I am honored to have been interviewed as well, and I got a chance to talk about behind the scenes in the drag world, the transgender community, and my role as a background support and costume designer for Shaela.
The documentary turned out FANTASTIC!! Please feel free to give it a watch:
A little fun fact about me: I don't just paint and draw – I actually have a looong history of costume design and prop-making! I have created costumes for theater, and cosplay and props for friends. It was a hobby that I had fallen out of until I met Logan and my skills proved to be incredibly valuable for him. We spend a lot of time making costumes for his performances, often beginning with me sketching pattern pieces from scratch and fitting them with him. (He is very patient and will try something on multiple times until I'm satisfied, haha.)
Creating costumes for drag is certainly a test of my abilities, as the silhouettes are much more dramatic than your everyday pants and shirt combination! I am always learning and growing, and a lot of the skills I have learned from art and sculpture come in handy when putting together a costume. There are no materials that are off limits – if it gets the job done, it works!
Some of my future art projects will involve textiles, as I’m thinking of blending these hobbies a little more.
I also love to attend and support drag show. They are a regular feature in Thunder Bay, and it's a fantastic way to keep that positive energy of Pride flowing into your life year-round. I occasionally volunteer to help out back stage, and have gotten to know so many wonderful people in the LGBTQ community this way. If anyone is wanting to make new friends and make a difference in their local community, I highly recommend volunteering for your local Pride events.
I want to give a HUGE thanks to the documentary crew at Confederation College for creating such heartwarming video about Logan & I, and for giving me an opportunity to speak about the things that mean the most to me.
