Drag: The Art of Transformation

What exactly is drag? Can you explain this term for everyone?

Ruby: Drag is first and foremost an art form that covers all walks of life and all genres – from theatre to family entertainment to sexy performances in clubs. But drag is also a political standpoint as this art form is very much about self-determination and transcending social conventions. We want to use drag show that everyone can be who they really are. This upsets some people, as many don’t reflect on social roles and whether they fit into them. Others may want to break out of these norms but don’t dare. Drag is actually a disguise. In a nutshell, every day is carnival for us.

So transformation is the essence of Drag. How did you get into drag?

Bridge: Dressing up has always played an important role in my life. My birthday is at carnival time and I always insisted that people come to my parties in fancy dress. Now, I’m no longer bothered about carnival, since I do it for a living. I had my first pinstripe suit when I was 17. I’ve been performing professionally since 1985 and have been doing drag since 1990. In 2002, I organised the first big drag festival in Berlin and the second in 2022. And go drag! munich is the third go drag! festival.

Ruby: I come from the burlesque scene, have a degree in design and work as a freelance photographer. I started performing 13 years ago. I knew about transvestism and drag queens, but drag kings were new to me: There were neither role models nor a media presence for them. I was itching to perform as a man, but had no role models; until, that is, I saw bridge for the first time in 2013 while working on a photo book about the burlesque scene. That’s when I realised it even existed. Before Corona, I was working solo as a drag king in Munich. In 2021, I gave the first drag king workshop, and by now there’s plenty happening in the scene.

What does drag do with your un-costumed selves? Has it changed you?

Bridge: Everyone has many aspects to their personality. It always depends on situations, people and even hormones. I’m probably not binary, but, like many older people, I don’t really care about pronouns. But since it’s incredibly important for young people, I’m happy to go along with it and use their preferred pronouns. Fluidity in play has always been important to me, which is probably why I chose my name, Bridge. My real name is Brigitte, but with English pronunciation it has become Bridge over time.

Ruby: I bring different aspects of myself to the stage, where I can fully express myself. In my drag performances, I am completely in the moment, in an exchange of energy with the audience. These are wonderful moments, for which I gladly take all the trouble of transforming for them.

How do you develop your characters?

Ruby: I’d call it a performance rather than a character that someone has made up. Depending on how extensive an act is, it can take weeks or even years to develop, and preparing before a show can take up to four hours. I have around 20 different performances that go to make up a picture of myself on stage. My aim is not to appear as a beautiful woman or a macho guy, but rather to convey a feeling, a message or a joke in motifs and stories.

Bridge: For my part, I do embody roles. There are so many of them that I’ve lost count. Since 2005, in my “classic in the box” series, I have been performing mostly classic German stage plays in the form of a drag show. Each show is made up of many different elements. In “nathan in the box”, for example, I play nine different roles in quick succession: I have puppets with me as antagonists and do a playback of the whole piece. When I change from one character into the next, I do this on stage, right in front of the audience.

There will also be a family reading at the festival. Only last year, a drag reading in a Munich city library caused an uproar. What’s your opinion about that?

Ruby: Drag is for all ages and social strata. We cannot and will not be intimidated by the fact that right-wingers and other groups have a problem with it, because we live diversity. That’s why it was clear to us that a reading for all the family had to be included in the festival programme.

Bridge: Children have a very natural approach to drag: they love to dress up and do so in a very playful way. For them, it’s simply part of life. That’s why I think that drag and children go incredibly well together.

What are your hopes for go drag! munich?

Bridge: We want to show that there are many forms of drag, performed by all sorts of people. It doesn’t matter what a person’s initial gender is, whether I’m binary or not, or how one identifies. At our festival, the focus is above all on people who are not as well represented in the public eye. Currently, that’s mostly trans* and non-binary people and women, although we have a few men in the line-up as well.

Ruby: We want to create greater awareness that drag is not just for young, slim cis men, but that everyone is welcome at drag shows. At the same time, we want to create more opportunities and openness for female, trans* and non-binary people in society. As well as local drag artists, our programme includes artists from a wide range of backgrounds and nationalities, such as Majic Dyke from Kenya and Vujo from Poland. And we have a wheelchair-bound drag queen, accompanied by her daughter, who is also in a wheelchair. It’s important to include people with disabilities – not just for the audience, but also for drag artists.