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| House of Laureen onstage at Cafe Cleopatra (Photo by Kinga Michalska) |
Montreal is one of the great drag capitals of the world, alongside New York, London, Vegas and Sydney. But the city hasn’t been home to a bonafide “house” since the House of Pride dominated the annual World Ball For Unity produced by Divers/Cité, the now-defunct queer Pride and arts festival that put Montreal on the international gay map in the 1990s.
The House of Laureen – named for Laureen Harper, wife of
former Canadian PM Stephen Harper – first wowed audiences with their 2015
Montreal Fringe Festival debut Laureen: Queen of the Tundra. The
production was so popular, the troup regrouped for their 2016 Fringe
sequel, House
of Laureen: Backdoor Queens – starring Anaconda LaSabrosa, Connie
Lingua, Dot Dot Dot, Uma Gahd and host Noah in a riveting backstage look at the
reality of drag, performance and politics – a show they will reprise as
part of the 20th annual Wildside Theatre
Festival which runs from Jan. 5 to 15 at the venerable Centaur Theatre in Old
Montreal.
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| House of Laureen: Backdoor Queens (Photo by Kinga Michalska) |
You can also see the House of Laureen
headline Montreal’s iconic Café Cleopatra on January 14 at 10 pm
(after their early evening performance at the Centaur).
In August 2016,
House of Laureen established their monthly residency at Café
Cleopatra, last remnant of Montreal’s fabled red-light district. There are
plenty of ghosts in this great old building – the Queen of the Main – which has
been a showbar since 1895, and where the House of Laureen follows in the footsteps
of such Montreal drag legends as Vicki Lane, Lady Brenda, Vicki Richard,
Twilight, Farrah, Black Emmanuel, Gerry Cyr, Michel Dorion and Cantelli.
On the eve of their Centaur Theatre debut, Three Dollar Bill
sat down with the girls from the House of Laureen for a brief Q&A about drag (their answers have been edited for brevity and clarity).
Three Dollar Bill: Why do you love drag?
Uma Gahd I love drag because it is a time when I get to
be onstage, living out the fantasies so many of us have: being famous, being
fabulous, being a star! I get to explore makeup artistry, costume design,
dance, and theatre. Stand-up comedy, pop culture, music editing and lighting
design. Drag encompasses so many disciplines and demands so much from us as
artists that it really is challenging. Every performance that gets a reaction
from the crowd is an accomplishment that required hours and hours of thought
and work. It is so creatively fulfilling!
Anaconda LaSabrosa I love drag because it allows me to
explore my artistic side. I use it as a coping mechanism, in a way. Drag helps
me go through all of these different things I have discovered and learned to
love, and has helped me find new talents that I didn’t know I had. I
love drag as it connects me with different people: I make them laugh and feel
different emotions – which is fun – and I love getting people’s reactions
afterwards.
Connie Lingua I love drag because I can express
whatever side of my personality I want and because of the validation from
audience – laughter, applause and shock feels so good!
Dot Dot Dot I love drag because it allows me to bring
so many of my passions together: fashion, make-up, dance, theatre and gender.
It is incredibly versatile, allows you to bring a wide range of talents,
energies and styles to the stage. And because of this, allows you to
continually be challenged and to grow. I love drag because it allows me to take
my femininity and channel it through an art form that is beneficial to me and
to others because it breaks down gender stereotypes. And I love drag because of
the community that is built around it.
Why is drag important?
Anaconda LaSabrosa Drag queens have this power to share
opinions, protest injustices, make the audience feel different emotions through
our performances, our looks.
Dot Dot Dot Drag is important because it celebrates
unapologetically bold, queer gender and sexualities. Drag is important because
it is a longstanding queer art form that deserves to continue, which brings
together our community, allowing us to discuss, explore, fundraise and take
care of each other. Drag is also important because it is a fabulous, fun,
glittery good time!
Uma Gahd I think that drag is so incredibly important
because it is a celebrated expression of a part of my identity that is usually
shunned. I was a sissy boy growing up in a tiny town; my limp wrist and my love
for pop culture divas got me into a lot of trouble. Now, I take all of those
things and wrap them up in sequins and glitter, shine a stage light on them,
and I wow people with my talent. Parts of myself that people tried to convince
me were detestable are now my biggest assets. Through drag we get to explore
gender, identity and socialization. We get to think big thoughts and feel big
feelings about ourselves that we are otherwise good not to. We reclaim our
femininity, we understand our masculinity, and we know about all the things
inside and outside that binary.
Connie Lingua Drag is more important now than ever
because it laughs in the face of ignorance, dances to the joyful tune of
freedom and wraps you in the glittering light of the in-between.
Visit the official House of Laureen website at houseoflaureen.com.
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