Lockdown Cabaret: Crayola
London’s living rainbow and QX Cabaret award nominee Crayola has been one of the artists at the forefront of the virtual cabaret surge in the weeks since the UK wide lockdown was imposed. QX caught up with them to find out how they’re adapting…
Hey Crayola, we are loving your lockdown cabarets. How are you feeling doing them? It’s a big shift from what’s you’re used to, plus everyone’s dealing with a lot right now.
Aww thank you so much! It’s definitely been a huge shift, not just as a professional drag queen, event entertainer and show producer, but, like, on an existential level. Pandemic, innit. There are good days and bad days, but all in all I’m just trying to maintain my livelihood and stay ahead of the curve. Truth be told, I didn’t wait for the venues to close – I cancelled all my own gigs and began my live solo shows on March 13th, ten days before the official lockdown. Since then, I’ve shifted my focus towards different formats – namely Madhouse Live, a queer cabaret every Friday at 8PM, and Gobby, a new queer chat show on Sundays at 8PM. I run both on my Instagram @CrayolaTheQueen for now. I’m also very excited to be launching Mx Madhouse: A Digital Drag Competition this Monday April 20th 9PM on twitch.tv/CrayolaTheQueen
What’s the general premise of Crayola’s Madhouse and how is it cast?
Madhouse is a platform for drag kings, queens, things and in-betweens to all be lifted up onto the same level, regardless of gender, race, or performance style – from burlesque to singing trad-drag, death-dropping fierce drag, to the alternative and avant-garde; we aim to celebrate the entire spectrum of drag art. When planning a lineup, I try to build a mini-rainbow that is a diverse and honest expression of the queer community that I see around me – which means including women, trans* people and people of colour. How this is so hard for some producers out there is beyond me; my mission is to lead by example until this ethos is normalised.
What advice would you give to artists who are considering doing a virtual show?
If working live, audience engagement and responding to the comment feed regularly is key. People are starved of meaningful and direct human connection, so games and formats that get them interacting definitely helps feed that need and creates repeat business. And whether live or posted as stand-alone content, think cleverly about this new medium and make the most of it – green screen, framing, backdrops, visual story-telling, screen gags, cinematography, editing. You don’t need to master all of these things, but digital drag is a very different medium to cabaret performance – to ignore these elements is a huge missed opportunity.
Do you wanna give any shoutouts to anyone?
Yes! Biqtch Puddin’s weekly show on Twitch was a treat to help launch, and she’s done a fab job since of programming diverse lineups, including talent from the UK. Dragpunk, Queeriosity and Mother’s Meeting are other shows worth checking out, as well as Tito Bone’s and Dolly Trolley’s drag workouts. Oh and Soroya Marchelle’s music videos are incredible.
What are you most looking forward to doing once the lockdown is relaxed?
Venturing beyond a 15 minute radius of my house, hugging everyone who consents to it, and performing to more than just my iPhone.
You can find full details of Crayola’s virtual shows on their Instagram @CrayolaTheQueen
