Drag King
Crash Course
Read below for a quick survival guide for becoming a Drag King
Questions? Hit Oliver
up on Social Media!
Drag King Crash Course
Oliver Dixon
I didn’t mean to, but I accidentally wrote a whole novel because I hyper focused.
Binding
First off, we’ll start with binding because if you choose to do it, I want you to do it safely.
I don’t recommend duct tape or ace bandages, because that can permanently hurt your body. I recommend gc2b if you DO choose to bind, I have several drag king friends who bought binders from there (I even bought one, but it was too small so I never used it lol). But also keep in mind, that you DON’T have to bind if you don’t want to. Some Kings, like Devon Ayers, embrace their body and incorporate it into their performances. But, he IS more of a Burlesque performer, but you can choose whichever path you want. Personally, I do not bind because I have a small chest and I just wear a sports bra under my drag so people usually cannot tell.
There’s also KT tape that can help with binding too,
however, I never used it.
Now, for the fun part.
A Name.
How I picked my name was going through lists of popular boy names on the internet. I knew I wanted an X in my name, because that would be cool, so I picked “Dixon” as my last name (I also had a childhood friend with that last name and it was sort of a tribute to them). My first name, I was stuck between Alexander (I was obsessed with Hamilton at the time) and Oliver. I picked Oliver because it was easier to say, and also because it sounded cute. It was just by coincidence that together it sounded like “All-Of-Her Dicks-In”. You can also pick a stage name that is “Normal”, but puns are really fun as well.
Personas/Performance Type
When I first started, I did more boyband/poppy music. I was basically a little beepoppin’ Bieber. I still kind of am, but I learned to define my performance style a little more by picking fun, quirky songs. I’m also a big fan of musicals, so I try to whip out big productions of those too (Wicked, Greatest Showman, Hamilton, Newsies, Something Rotten). At Masque, there is also an opportunity to use the screens if you have the video editing skills, so I make my own video backgrounds/mixes and it helps me stand out from the crowd.
Makeup
Makeup
Makeup wise, I am still really rusty. BUT I can tell you what you will need (the minimum).
Primer (Trust me, your skin will thank you)
Base foundation (Recommended 2 shades lighter or darker than your skin tone so you do not get washed out on stage. I use a liquid foundation, but the Ben Nye one I got is also really good, but kind of hard to apply in my opinion.)
Makeup sponge (For blending and applying foundation. Knockoff beauty blenders at 5Below work great, or a bag of sponges from there in the clearance section too)
Contour and highlight palette (or a contour and highlight stick, or even contour/highlight cremes. I recommend Ben Nye because it blends really well.)
Eyebrow pencil or eyebrow kit (to fill in/make eyebrows bigger)
Translucent setting powder and/or a setting spray
Makeup wipes/makeup remover
Concealer and color corrector can be things you invest in later once you get the basics.
Brushes:
Contour brush (if you’re using powder/creme)
Highlight brush (if you’re using powder/creme)
Blending brush (A Kabuki brush works nice for this)
Powder brush (for setting your face if you get the translucent setting powder)
Don’t worry, you can find a great starter brush pack at 5Below for $5, sometimes even 3. They aren’t the BEST quality, but they will help get you started!
This is the minimum, but you don’t HAVE to. It took me a long time to build my makeup collection up to what it is now, and I’m not going to lie, most of it is from 5Below. Wetn’Wild and E.l.f. both have really cheap but good products to use when you are first starting out.
Facial Hair
If you want to do a beard, I recommend using either an eyeshadow palette or eyeliner that doesn't smudge. Getting small, fine brushes will help with precision, or a stipple brush (bigger) will help give a fuller look as well.
Another way to get a beard is to take a cheap makeup brush that matches your hair color, cut it up into bits, and put some on your finger, hair spray it, then stick it to your face. Hair spray once you’re done, and you’ve got a natural-ish looking beard.
Johnny Justice taught me that one.
If you are interested in the Ben Nye products, message John Sparaco on Facebook
(or visit Midnight Diva Makeup’s Facebook/website)
Costumes:
What makes you stand out on stage is having custom looks that fit well and are clean. So pro-tip: Wash your drag. You don’t want to go up smelling like a funeral home (Personal experience, pick out your outfit at least the night before so you don’t grab an old shirt you haven’t washed in a few months because you just found it).
Another pro-tip: Thrift shops are your best friends! The best ones around the Dayton area are the ones that others would describe as “Ghetto”. Valley Thrift is my ultimate fave (Mondays are their 15% off customer appreciation day), and Village Discount Outlet’s main sale day is Tuesday, but they have other sales randomly throughout the week where certain tags will be 50 cents as well. Goodwill’s sale days are Sundays.
There are also some good costume stores in Columbus, but I do not remember their names. Just remember to put your items/clothes you buy directly in the dryer once you get home to kill off any bugs that may be on them (you never know). Plato’s closet is also a really good place to shop for performer’s clothes. I usually find cool leather jackets, snapbacks, t-shirts and jeans there.
Stones
A costuming tip to stand out is to stone your clothes. You can get stones from Walmart last minute in the jewelry section. I recommend the rainbow ones in 20ss size. The crystal are ok, but they don’t shine as much as the rainbow ones do.
To glue them on, I use e6000. However, I must warn you that it is cancer causing, so use it in a well-ventilated room and try not to get it on your skin (latex/nitril gloves from the Dollar Tree will work best to protect you). I also recommend getting a syringe to fill with the e6000 to use because it is a cleaner line and you don’t get the glue on your clothes as bad, or just get a toothpick/pin to clean up the clue edges around the stones.
An alternative to e6000 is either hot glue or gem tack, however that doesn’t hold up the best. BUT, you can get a cheap hot glue gun at Michaels.
Speaking of Michaels, if you don’t know about their coupons or the fact that they accept competitor coupons, then BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELT.
Here’s the link to Michael’s coupons: https://www.michaels.com/coupons
There’s usually always a 40% off one regular item, so just make sure your item isn’t on sale, clearance, or an everyday value item, and you can get a guaranteed 40% off one item. Sometimes they also have a 20% off the entire purchase including sale items coupon as well, so sign up for the Michaels Rewards and you’ll get an email letting you know the sales (I used to work at Michael’s, so I know how to play them).
For competitor coupons, if you have a dumb young college kid like me, just show them a 60% off one regular item coupon from Jo-Anns with the date cropped out. They don’t scan that one, they just enter it manually, so you get the best of both worlds. Same for Jo-Anns, just show them a Michael’s coupon with the date cropped out to get their competitor coupon deal as well. Just don’t try it at Hobby Lobby, because they don’t take competitor coupons.
Sparkly trim at Jo-Anns, Michaels, and Walmart will also add a cool effect to your clothes. I recommend looking up DJ / Club clothes on AlliExpress or Amazon for design inspiration.
Going back to Music.
Drag Kings stand out by making mixes. Now, these mixes don’t just have to be Sexy Songs to Bone Someone to. They can be ANYTHING. The mix I use for pageants/my talent is Inappropriate Songs for a Funeral. It’s a fun comedic mix that takes a dark twist at the end, with “Time of My Life” playing as I lift a life-sized skeleton over my head.
I recommend using Audacity to edit your music together if you are a beginner. Audacity is free and pretty easy to use, there are LOTS of tutorials out there. But honestly, once you figure out how to import .mp3’s, slice the parts of each song you want, move the tracks, and find the cross fade effect, you’re pretty much good. If you want to get REAL techy with it, download DJ transition sounds and use those for transitioning from song to song in your mix. When editing, try to make sure your audio levels aren’t blown out (like one song being louder than the other) because this will blow speakers out. Make sure the green bar that bounces/moves when you play your music doesn’t go into the red, because it’ll sound bad live.
Practicing your mixes/performances is important to making sure you don’t look like a hot mess on stage. We have ALL had our fair share of “oh shit, they look like a DOOFUS” but, it really does help to practice in front of a mirror lip-syncing & dancing. If you don’t have a mirror, I recommend playing your music and video recording your performances, then watch them back later. I do this a lot for my big numbers I practice to make sure I don’t do a move that I think looks cool in my head, but actually looks super dorky.
Performance Nerves
When I first started drag, before I would go up for every number, I would almost poop my pants. I kid you not. This may be TMI, but, I literally felt like I was about to die. After my first performance of the night, I was always fine, but for some reason my anxiety was amplified by 1000%. If you’re nervous, I recommend listening to your music again while in the DJ booth with either headphones or off to the side with it up to your ear. This gives you something else to focus on, and going over your performance in your head again is never a bad idea.
While performing, it may be easy to get caught up in your act (especially if it is audience participation driven) but you have to keep an eye out for people who do NOT feel comfortable with participating. I see this mostly in strippers, but if you don’t know the person, maybe don’t grab them/grind on them. Things can get messy really quickly, and other audience members may be turned off by you suddenly getting in someone else’s personal space.
I think I hit everything, but if you have any questions,
don’t be afraid to ask!
Also, here are some other really cool Kings to checkout:
Santana Romero
Riley Poppyseed
Johnny Justice
Damien D’Luxe
V Master Chad
Mick Douch
Spikey Van Dykey
Landon Cider
I also recommend joining Drag Kings Unite on Facebook and searching through posts for drag help and advice.
Landon Cider
Spikey Van Dykey
Here’s my “Death of a Bachelor” Performance
(Scroll down to view videos as well)
I hope this helps! Contact me if you have any questions.
oxox,
Oliver Dixon