Showing posts with label Drag Queens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drag Queens. Show all posts

Monday, December 27, 2021

“Cross-Stitch Like a Queen” Author Donating Book Profits to The Trevor Project

Get stitching with this first-of-its-kind collection of creative and colorful patterns inspired by drag queens, pride, and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Introducing Cross-Stitch Like a Queen: 25 Fun and Fabulous Patterns Celebrating Drag and the LGBTQIA+ Community by David Hastings, a new full-color book with step-by-step instructions to craft 25 fierce and feisty cross-stitching creations.

Inspired to give back and support the community, Hastings will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the book to The Trevor Project. Hastings, who moonlights as drag queen Dottie Salami in Brooklyn, also provides a list of organizations supporting the LGBTQIA+ community on a resources page at the end of the book.

The patterns range from easy to difficult—“difficult” categorized as such because the patterns include backstitching. “Once you get the hang of backstitches, you’ll be able to make any of these patterns easily,” Hastings said.

Perfect for fans of drag and drag queens, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and allies, Cross-Stitch Like a Queen is a celebration of the mantra “love is love.” Go forth and stitch!

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

The Christmas Queens of RuPaul's Drag Race Come to Denver

The Christmas Queens from RuPaul's Drag Race come to Denver on December 28 at The Paramount. Hosted by Willam Belli with Alaska, Katya, Ginger Minj, Jinkx Monsoon and Sharon Needles, the girls will be singing songs from their new Holiday CD available now on iTunes.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Mona Lott: Drag Empress of Denver Talks Upcoming Projects, RuPaul's Drag Race, and the History of Drag

By Drew Wilson

Westword says she's "less of a Drag Queen than a Drag Empress" and Out Front named her 2014's Outstanding Drag Queen. Now, Mona Lott is gearing up for her biggest year ever as she launches a new show, works on a web series, and revs up her engine for a possible run on RuPaul's Drag Race.

Drew: Mona, you're everywhere. You must be the hardest working drag queen in Denver!
Mona: I love being busy. I always say I’m not happy until I’m so busy I’m miserable. Basically right now I have three shows – bingo, Stripped Down Stand Up, and now the game show. I’m also working on trying to get booked on some cruise ships. Oh, and I just started working on a web series

Wow. Tell me about the new show.
Mona Lott's Big Fat Dirty Game Show is gonna be a ton of fun. It's the game show for the socially unacceptable!

With my bingo show we used to play little side games like strip-bingo or swing-that-thing where we tied strap-on dildos to people who would have to use them to knock over bowling pins while blindfolded. It was so much fun I just thought, why not put together a game show without the bingo? 

Have you always been such a go-getter?
I’ve been pursuing acting since I was in junior high school. The best advice I ever got was when I read a book by someone who basically said "don’t wait around for someone to cast you in a show, don’t wait to be discovered by a director, get out there and put on your own showcase'. I realized that for me to sit around and wait for somebody to book me is a waste so I just started putting my own shows together. 


It started in Vegas. I was living in Vegas and working as a singing gondolier at The Venetian. We got laid off for six weeks and I read a book on how to be a stand up comic. Then I saw a casting notice that came out for stand up comics and I thought what the hell I’ve got six weeks to come up with something so wrote a set and put together Mona Lott. I went and auditioned and ended up doing the show for two years.

From there I went into LA and did The Comedy Store and The Improv. I also did The Gong Show on Comedy Central, 1 Versus 100 with Carrie Ann Inaba and some other things


You make me want to be a more productive person. So tell me more about Mona Lott.
She’s pretty raunchy but not actually dirty. It’s mostly innuendo and wink-wink. She just says and does anything she wants to do. I had a guy tell me once that he thought a lot of drag queens were scary but there's something about Mona that's charming and not scary. I think that's perfect.

How long have you been in Denver?

I grew up in Denver. It’s my hometown. Then my partner and I lived in Vegas for six years and we’ve been back now for about three years. We had a big debate because I wanted to go to Los Angeles and he wanted to come back to Denver. Of course, in my heart, I wanted to come home to Denver, too. But I wanted to go to LA because everything was popping and my career was taking off. 

I thought if we came to Denver my career would be over. But we came back to Denver and I’ve actually gotten more work and more money than ever before. Denver’s really a hotbed for comedy right now. It’s competitive with New York and LA. So much comedy and so many comedians. There are at least one or two open mic nights every night of the week and different comedy shows every night of the week. It’s really amazing.  

What are your shows like?
I play to a lot of straight audiences, particularly straight women. And I’ve been heckled but you can turn them around if you can make them laugh and show them, like, I’m not a threat to you and you’re not a threat to me. You make them laugh about universal things and the things that make them think they're against you and you can turn it around. I’m a 300-pound man in a dress. Let’s joke about it. We're all people just trying to get along. You can accomplish so much with humor. I got out of so many fights in junior high by being funny.

Casting for season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race was recently announced. Do you follow the show?
Follow it? I live for it! The first season I actually had a casting agent contact me and ask me to submit. So I submitted a video and didn’t hear anything for like eight months. Then I got an email that they were considering me but they wanted more information. So I answered some questions and sent them back but never heard anything. 


Then the next year they sent me another email and said they wanted me to submit again. Submitted another video. Didn’t hear anything.
When I finally saw some of the submission videos from the queens who were actually on the show I was like 'Oh, that’s why I’m not on the show'. My submission videos sucked. They were so bad. 

So now we’ve really been working toward getting on the show but now the submission and video requirements are just crazy. She wants to see 10 different looks; walk the runway; lip synch to two of her songs; perform another talent; she wants to see your match game celebrity. It’s crazy involved. That’s kind of how my web series came about. I was just looking to do some music videos for my songs and I thought I could use them for my submission tape and put them on YouTube but once I started getting the crew and everything together I thought, why stop with just a music video? Why not do a sketch comedy show with music videos as a segment?
 
Sharon Needles and Jinkx Monsoon

Who are your all time favorite contestants?
I really liked Sharon Needles when she was on the show. Since then I’m not that big of a fan but when she was on the show I really liked what she was doing. The fact that she was showing up the others who were giving her such a hard time ... like that Phi-Phi whatshername. Oh, I hated her. Little miss Phi Phi. 
Phi Phi O'Hara


And I really liked that one that won the next season - Jinkx. I didn’t understand all the girls on her season who got so mad at her. They kept talking about, 'oh, these girls with all these tricks keep winning' and I was like, you mean those tricks like talent? Tricks like singing and acting and comedy? Why are you mad about that? She’s winning because she’s more talented. The ones you should be mad at are yourselves for not being able to sing or act or whatever!

Right? If there’s anything I hate it’s being in a competition with people who are better than I am!
 
Jinx showed them what real talent is! Drag isn’t just about putting on a pretty dress and flouncing around. 

What would you say drag is about?
I actually wrote a long letter to Liz Cheney when she made her remarks about drag being offensive

The fact of the matter is that drag came about because there was a time in the country when you couldn’t be gay and you couldn’t be out. That’s when we first started talking about each other as 'she' and 'her' and talking about our boyfriend as our girlfriend because we had to hide it from people who weren’t in the know. 

That way you could talk openly by saying 'oh, I’m going with my girlfriend tonight' and your friends knew what you were talking about but the bigot next to you didn’t. And I think that’s where drag kind of came about. And that's how Stonewall came about. You weren’t allowed to have two men dancing so if one of them could do drag and pass as a women you were ok to dance with them. 

I get so mad when I hear people every year during Pride talking about 'why does the media focus on drag queens? That’s not who we are. They don’t represent us'. You girls better get on your frickin’ knees and thank these drag queens for what they’ve done. They do represent our community. You wouldn’t have this parade if not for those drag queens back in 1968!

Amen. 100 percent.
Drag queens are on the front lines of every fight there is - look at the Imperial Court here in Denver. These queens are doing shows all the time to raise money for gay students, AIDS, Project Angel Heart, you name it! And I don’t know how many thousands of dollars I’ve helped raise. Since January I’ve done two charity shows to raise money for MS. I get so mad when I hear people talking down about drag queens. 


Preach, sister. Is there anything else you'd like to say?
Yes, I’m jealous of you and all your twitter followers. You must have a big dick.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Stripped Down Stand Up With Mona Lott Tonight!



Mona Lott (pictured left) does drag queen bingo differently. Her Stripped-Down Stand-Up show pits strippers against comedians and the audience wins either way. If the comedian gets a laugh, the stripper strips, but if the comedian bombs, the comedian must take something off. Sounds like my kind of show!

Check out the Halloween edition of the show tonight at the Denver Improv. There will be a Sexiest Costume Contest so wear your most revealing costume and you could win a fabulous prize.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

From RuPaul's Drag Race to the Top of the Charts?

Buzzfeed ranks six of the most successful chanteuses to come out of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' and my girl Pandora Boxx comes in at number four.

What do you think, does the list hit all the right notes?

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Deep Inside Pandora Boxx

By Drew Wilson

Pandora Boxx is the drag queen superstar who rocketed to fame as the Susan Lucci of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' season two. Since then, she's gone on to become one of the most popular cast members of all time and a full-time entertainer doing shows, making music and starring - alongside a bevy of bulging boy bodybuilders - in the most recent Andrew Christian video, 'After School Special' (NSFW). 


I caught up with her as she was packing for the Drag Stars At Sea Carnival Cruise (you know, the one that scandalized us all a few days ago by banning passengers from wearing drag and threatening to disembark any gay folks who offended the tender sensibilities of their more valuable customers, families with children) and we had a nice chat about her experiences with 'RuPaul's Drag Race', channeling Jessica Lange for her role as a glue-sniffing nun, and how she prefers her cars and penises.


Drew: Nothing like kicking off an interview with an awkward question so let's just get this out of the way. WTF is up with that whole bizarre Carnival Cruise situation?
Pandora: Well, I mean, I got the same email that everybody going on the cruise got at the same time they all got it and I think that the timing was really horrible, because it’s only five days before the cruise, and I’m not sure what they were thinking when they booked a drag cruise to then say that no one can go in drag to the events except for the performers.

There are a lot of drag queens who are signed up to go on this cruise and of course they are planning to do drag. When we do shows anywhere there’s always people who are dressed up coming to the shows. It’s a form of expression and I don’t know if they were thinking much worse things were going to happen or something but, I mean, I just don’t know.


But I will say that the choice of wording was extremely poor. Honestly, I was more offended by that wording; to tell people that they would be "disembarked" if they dressed in drag? I’ve been on cruises before and I've seen people dressed more offensively than any drag queens. I’ve seen heterosexuals doing all sorts of disgusting things … 

And nobody threatens them with having to walk the plank!
Exactly. So it’s disheartening to say the least. But at least they did come through with an almost-complete apology within a 24 hour period and that, for a big corporation is saying something. Whatever. I’m just focusing on the fact that they did come back and say it would be OK to do drag. But it was shocking to me. Drag queens are offensive to children? Anytime I’ve seen a kid who asked anything about it I just tell them it’s like celebrating Halloween every day and they’re totally fine with it.They get it.

Exactly. So with that out of the way, reason I wanted to talk to you in the first place was because I saw you in the new Andrew Christian/White Party Palm Springs video. Despite all of the eye-candy and antics going on in that video, my eye was immediately drawn to you. How'd you get involved in that project and what was filming like? 
Well, I know Brad Hammer over at Andrew Christian and we've been acquaintances and online friends for a long time and that’s how the dialogue started between us. I'm like, if someone promotes me, I promote them! I think their videos are genius because essentially you are watching a commercial but because they’re so good and so hot and just basically the best marketing ever, you never realize that that’s what it is, a commercial. Well, and sometimes soft-core porn. But they do a great job with them and I love them and was excited to do it.

And you play a glue-sniffing nun. How did you prepare for your role?
Well, I’m a huge fan of American Horror Story. Jessica Lange is the most amazing nun ever and I thought of her and said, "Oh, yeah, I can be a nun." It was a lot of fun. Everybody who works there is so nice and it was so fun and I got to molest the really hot gym coach a little bit.

Just a little bit?
A tiny bit.

Well, that's better than no molestation at all.
Yes, it is.

Do you personally own any Andrew Christian panties?
I do. And then they actually loaned me some underwear and models for my new video. I did a cover of Samantha Fox’s "I Wanna Have Some Fun" and it should be out very soon.

Sounds heavenly! You also have another song out right now, "Nice Car (Shame About Your Penis)," which is about you not liking guys with nice cars and small weiners. One of my readers who shall go nameless (Tink) wonders if you do like guys with nice cars and big weiners. Just between you and me, he's got a nice car and a big penis. 
(Laughing) Oh, I very much like those types of guys. But the song isn’t actually just about guys with nice cars and small penises - it’s about douche-bags with nice cars and small penises. I’m not prejudiced against a smaller penis at all. Although, I do like some girth.

Ha! So another big thing you were recently involved in was RuPaul's All Star Drag Race. How do you feel about Chad Michaels snatching the tiara?
Chad’s an amazing entertainer and he's very solid. He rarely messes up and is really consistent and was great all season. I’m happy with it. Actually, everyone in the top four was so good I think they could have gotten it.

Yeah, it's like, whoever you were rooting for, nobody could be mad at Chad for winning. They were all great.
Yeah, and everybody was going to lose except for one person anyway. There were so many fan favorites packed in that little season.

Now, I'm a big Drag Race fan and I was particularly excited to see you come back because you got a little bit of a raw deal on your season …
(Laughs) Just slightly.

Right? So you were looking fabulous and in it to win it but then you got teamed up with Mimi Imfurst and it seemed like you just gave up.

Well, you know I’ve heard that from …

Uh-oh! You've heard that from everybody and their gay uncle? Should I just go ahead and punch myself in the neck for asking?
Oh, goodness no! I just didn’t feel like I was giving up. Well, I guess there was kind of a moment where I was like, “I give up” because I just felt, like no matter what we did, we were never going to go very far. 

Why is that?
I just don’t think they would have allowed her to go very far. She’s campy and goofy and I think she’s hysterical and talented but she just doesn't fit the Drag Race aesthetic at all and she is never going to fit the mold of the things they want and the things they like. 

For me, I was like "Oh, my God." Because I think she was just cast for controversy. I wasn’t mad at her … and by the way, everything I’m telling you now, I told her then. Mimi’s not stupid. She knows why she was brought back and knew it was going to be an uphill battle.

How was All Stars different for you from your first season?
I came in with a lot more confidence this time. I knew I had a better wardrobe because I make more money now. I’m a full-time entertainer and I travel and I have more costumes and stuff. And I’ve played the game before. I felt like I knew what was going to happen and I was ready for it. But then they threw in that twist ...

Ugh! So lame.
Yeah, that look on my face? That stank face? It wasn’t because of Mimi. It was because I knew Jujubee was going to pick Raven. I knew it for a fact. That whole look was because it really felt to me like a punch in the balls. I knew all the hard work I had put in was just … gone. 

But I think what I learned is that I kind of got too in my head and should have just been happier and not made so many stank faces. And there were a lot of times when Mimi and I got along. When we were working on the challenges and after she did my makeup all right we got along fine and worked together but, you know, that doesn’t make for interesting TV.
Yeah. And in addition to that lame twist of having you guys partner up, we only got six effing episodes. I don't get it. Why would you have an all star season with only half the usual number of episodes? Makes no sense.
Yeah, the team idea is pretty much universally hated. Everybody hated it. I think I know of one person who liked it. And I don't know why they only wanted six episodes.

That one person is crazy and if I ever meet him, I will literally kick his ass. It was a terrible decision. Lame. Didn’t let you guys shine, didn't give the fans what they wanted. Ridiculous.
Yeah, I think the viewers really wanted to see everybody be able to compete and do their best. That twist, we weren’t happy about it and the viewers weren’t happy about it. But for whatever reason, they only had the six episodes and they wanted to get as many fan favorite queens on the show as possible. I think they’ve realized that people didn’t like it.

So what's next for you, Ms. Boxx?
You know, I was just asking myself that same question. It’s like, what is next? There’s so much I want to do. I want to work on new projects. I want to stay relevant. I’m working on more music. And I’m putting together a stand up comedy show I want to tour with and I have a short film coming out in January. Hopefully people like it.

Wow, so a little bit of everything.
Yeah, why not? When projects come in, I just say yes!

What would be your dream project?
Oh, my dream would be to have my own TV show but that’s a process and a half. But I’m still holding out for it.

We touched on this topic earlier but I'd like to come back to the topic of the show's aesthetic for a minute. Obviously, that was the judges' issue with you. You were this great, funny, kind of campy queen and they didn't want that so they pretended ...
You know, I was certainly not thrilled to have been portrayed like I had this horrendous wardrobe ... if you go back and watch you will see that I did not even have the worst wardrobe on the show. There were plenty of people in ugly outfits on that stage that never once got called out for them.

I did go back and watch. And yes there were.
And that’s fine. OK, maybe I had some ugly-ass outfits, but that’s what they reduced me to? That's how they portrayed me? Ugly outfits. And I didn’t realize that that’s what I was to them until after I got kicked off and realized, "Oh my god, I was the girl who couldn’t win." The challenge that I got sent home for? I actually for a second there thought I was going to win.

So did I, girl!
The judges had really liked everything I did but when I went out there I realized something else had gone on I wasn't aware of and it was like, OMG! And then when they said it was me and Jujubee on the bottom I knew it was good-bye, Pandora. It didn’t matter what I did, they just loved Jujubee way too much to send her home.

The writing was on the wall and the lipstick was on the mirror.
But Entertainment Weekly said I had the most controversial elimination of the season and that I was their pick for America’s Next DragSuperstar. I honestly think I have a lot of the fanbase that I have because I got kicked off when I did. And I’m kind of happy about that now! Then? No. Absolutely not. I was not happy.

Did you spiral into an all-consuming depression?
You know, I did actually. It’s like, you leave the show you go home, and then there’s so many months before it actually airs. For a long time I was just like OMG, I thought I killed my drag career. I thought I was going to be a total laughingstock. But then when it played, it was like 'Hmm, this is a little bit different'. The audience reacted well to me and people didn’t like the criticisms I was getting so I was like YESSS!!!

They understood the magic and mystery of Pandora Boxx! OK, I know you have to get ready for your cruise but before I let you go, is there anything you'd like to say to readers of MileHighGayGuy?
Just make sure everybody visits my website PandoraBoxx.com! Two exes in 'boxx', because the extra 'x' marks the spot! Womp womp! Such a nasty little joke.


Monday, April 26, 2010

RuPaul's Drag Race finale tonight - who will win?

The final three queens are ready to battle it out for the title (and tiara) as America's next drag superstar. The three-part finale extravaganza starts tonight on Logo.

Who do you think will win?

It's gotta be Jujubee, right?

Catch up on season two of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' at LogoTV.com.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Monday, March 16, 2009

Mondo is fiercer than you


Meet Mondo. She was at the Tracks screening party for the 'RuPaul's Drag Race' finale and she's got my vote to be on season two.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Demented Divas "The Buttcracker!" Show Opens Tonight

Those naughty drag queens are at it again with their new holiday show "The Buttcracker!" opening on Wednesday, November 7 at Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret. This campy show is a twisted look at all that we hold dear and sacred during theholidays. The show features Denver's most famous bearded drag queens: Nuclia Waste, Portia Potty, Iona Trailer and Gabriella Butz'in. Audiences will enjoy hilarious holiday classics like, "Walking Round in Women's Underwear", "I Want A Boob Job For Christmas" and "1-900-XMAS".
For info and tickets, 303-293-0075 or www.lannies.com.
Lannies Clocktower Cabaret
16th Street Mall at Arapahoe
Gorgeously Underground at the D&F Clocktower

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

A real life Cinderella story


A troupe of Denver-based drag queens known as the Demented Divas (formerly the Denver Cycle Sluts) is playing fairy godmother and taking the fight to save a local drive-in theater to the rooftops – the rooftops of the theater’s concession stand, that is.

On September 21 and 22 beginning at 6:30 p.m., the burly belles will perform a version of Cinderella on the roof of the Cinderella Twin Drive-In Movie Theater’s concession stand to raise awareness and protest the demolition of Denver’s last drive-in.

“We are doing this protest because Denver hardly needs another set of luxury apartments,” says green-haired, glitter-mustachioed Nuclia Waste, who will be starring as Cinderella. “It’s ridiculous. Drive-in movie theaters are such an American institution, right up there with apple pie, baseball and Mom. They need to be preserved, not torn down.”

“We are very sad at the eminent destruction of one of the few remaining drive-in movie theaters in the country,” says Jim Goble, manager of the drive-in. “We are happy that the Demented Divas are just as upset about this and want to stage this protest.”