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The stories you’re about to read are long overdue.
While managing this year’s Funniest Five, an insiders’ poll of the comedy scene, I asked myself why Willamette Week had never put together an issue like it, or the Best New Bands issue, for the drag world. Then I asked others. When the most definitive answer I heard back was “I don’t know,” we set to work on making it happen.
Portland's Finest Drag Artists
1st Place - Ry BredOpens in new window
Ryan Solan was introduced to drag as a way to reignite his creative passion.
2nd Place (tie) - TomboyOpens in new window
The performer has dressed up as everything from a pastel praying mantis to a glamorous plastic bag.
2nd Place (tie) - Poison WatersOpens in new window
The grand dame of Darcelle’s shares why she’s never leaving Portland.
2nd Place (tie) - Kimberly Michelle WestwoodOpens in new window
Muck used to paint Westwood’s face onto his prom clients when he worked at Ulta and Sephora.
Sure, drag isn’t as popular in the mainstream as music or standup comedy, but the art form’s practitioners have left a lasting impact on Portland. You’ll find the name of the late Darcelle XV on a city plaza. Performers like Jinkx Monsoon, Carla Rossi and Asia Consent followed in the steps of her high heels, representing Portland on global platforms, honoring us through association with the ways they perform their interpretations of pop and high culture.
And even as RuPaul’s Drag Race is now established enough to have a franchise on every continent but Antarctica, there are still plenty of people out there who don’t know the first thing about drag. We think it’s time that changes.
We contend that drag deserves the same critical consideration that movies, concerts and theatrical productions get. What drag lacks in structural support to afford rehearsals or safety nets its artists make up for with self-actualized imaginations bursting with potential. When that potential gets harnessed, anything feels possible.
Over a three week period, we polled over 100 performers, producers, promoters and venue owners and staff who were willing to tell our readers who they think of when they hear the words “Portland’s finest drag artists.” And what does “finest” mean anyway, other than a less sexual synonym for “top”? Respondents were encouraged to consider the stage presence of a drag queen, king, thing and/or being: how they connect with their backing track’s music and make audiences believe a lip sync is a live song (or find humor exposing how it’s not). Voters were asked to consider not only costuming and makeup skills, but the personal soft skills to foster relationships offstage. Tempers and tensions can run high when the hours are late, the pay is low, and the government perennially insists on using you as a scapegoat, so congeniality means even more than it does in pageants.
Few exemplify this as well as this year’s clear winner, Ry Bred, who—along with her partner, fellow Portland’s Finest Drag Artists winner Tomboy—has only been performing in drag for two years. In that short time, they’ve become scene darlings whose passions are prominently displayed. By comparison, plenty has been written about Poison Waters across town, but the grande dame of Darcelle’s nightclub shares why she’s never leaving Portland and what keeps her going. Joining Tomboy and Waters for a three-way tie for second place is Kimberly Michelle Westwood. A fixture as the male strip club Stag’s emcee, Westwood is also known for her commitment to character work. T’Kara Campbell Starr carries on a multigenerational drag family legacy, while Mona Chrome makes a name for herself with cartoon-colored looks and tightly controlled performances. Together, they round out third place, their tie turning what would have been a Finest Five into a sextet. And once you’re done reading about these artists, you won’t want to miss their next shows, which we have rounded up in an events calendar.
Long Live the Queens
I’ve been connected to Portland’s drag world for over a decade (another story for another time), but even I admit I don’t know each and every performer in town. This issue provided all of us here at Willamette Week a valuable opportunity to learn more about the people who make Portland sparkle with the lights off. When the world’s darkness feels too heavy, these people catch light in sequins and rhinestones, reflecting something brighter into the world, and for that, we salute you. —Andrew Jankowski, Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
