Research
Idea Development
In September 2021 we were given a brief in class for our Professional practice, this was to cover the period of the academic year. Previously I had watched a program on tv about a young man who wanted to be a drag queen, it captivated me on his journey from beginning to end. This program had both high and low points which I consider to be something I may be able to achieve in a photographic project of this nature.
Photographing drag queens would incorporate real life, unpredictability and fun.
The same evening I began searching for drag queens that were both local and nationwide on Facebook and using a Google search. After making an extensive list I emailed and messaged both drag queens and their managers. I hoped to recruit a few to do some comparative work however over the next I received hardly any response.
During the same time I contacted a theatre in Blackpool where the young man I mentioned previously had worked with another professional drag queen, for him to fulfil his dream of being a drag queen. They gave me the email address for the professional drag queen however again I had no reply.
Following the disappointment of little success, I considered quitting this project. The Covid-19 regulations were making it difficult for me to accomplish it but I focused on giving the project another try I thought of another way of doing it. I spoke to friends to see if they may have known any contacts in the entertainment industry. This time I believed if I could find one drag queen from the theatre, one in a pub and one in a club, comparing these different contexts could be an interesting project.
By chance, in October 2021 I came across and viewed a video clip of a drag queen on Facebook who I then went on to contact. Cheri Treiffel, whose real name was Mark happily replied to me by messenger. We arranged a suitable time for a telephone call a week later and it went from there. During the telephone conversation, he told me about himself, and how he made everything he wore on stage after achieving a Fashion Design Degree. We discussed the project and what I was hoping to achieve as an end result.
Over the next few weeks there were more telephone conversations and chats on messenger to discuss how this project would progress. This would include performance venues and the location of each. Mark was happy to be part of this and confirmed to me which performances he would allow me to attend with his client’s permission. These visits included photographing the transitions to and from drag and creating a video.
Mark was initially reluctant to have an interview filmed however once I explained to him that it would be beneficial to my project and it would not be put on social media he was happy for this video to go ahead. I felt that the interview was important because it showed his (human side) personality in comparison with his performance characteristics of Cheri and would also assist me in my research.
I left Scotlandenjoying my time there and was looking forward to seeing Mark again to continue following his journey as a drag artist. Unfortunately due to Covid-19, my project took a change of direction which meant I could not travel to Scotland and I was left to go back on Social Media and the internet to find some more drag artists and nightclubs more local to myself.
I made more phone calls and sent messages by messenger over the next few weeks . Suddenly one Sunday I received a telephone call from a man called Twm, also known as Polly Amorous. After a brief conversation, he asked me if I was still looking for drag artists to which I replied yes, honestly at that point I felt a weight had lifted off my shoulders.
From that point, I began to continue my project in South Wales. Twm and I communicated by telephone, messenger and email over the next two weeks going through formalities and answering questions I had. The emails would include a list of venues, dates and times I was to be there. During this time The Welsh Government decided to lift the restrictions of Covid-19 on nightclubs a week later. As Twm performed mainly in Mary’s Nightclub in Cardiff, the lifting of restrictions was very helpful. After meeting Twm he also introduced me to Ren, Justin Drag, a Drag King amongst other drag artists in a short period of time. My project then evolved to include all different types of drag artists.
After meeting Mark, capturing images as well as doing a video prior to Twm, I felt I wanted to include not just the performance side but to delve a little deeper into the emotional side getting to know who they really were. Over the next few months, I would spend my time in Mary’s Nightclub photographing Twm and other drag artists learning about who they were.