The costumes, the make-up, the wigs, the shoes… all this glamor has a price. Despite the growing popularity of drag in popular culture, it is still very difficult to make it a full-time career: to the many expenses is added a salary that is often not up to par. When an evening brings in between $25 and $125, drag becomes a hobby expensive.
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“Trial and error is expensive”
Alex Verville got into drag in 2021 under the name Jessie Précieuse. He finances his drag with the full-time job he has in the media world. Even if he is new to the profession, he recognizes that drag is an expensive art: “It’s sure that at the beginning, you don’t have custom-made costumes made for $500. But, for someone who starts, I put more money than the average. My last name is still “Precious”! »
To avoid breaking the bank, you have to be resourceful and know how to make your own costumes, according to him. “I go to second-hand stores a lot to find pieces that I like and improve on. It still costs me $150 every 2-3 months, but that’s because I buy a lot rhinestones [faux diamants]! »
However, it is the wigs and the shoes that take up most of his budget. “If I put a wig out of the bag on my head, I’ll look like a wet dog,” he explains. I have to take it to a wig maker, so it goes up to $100 for each wig. Same thing for shoes, when you wear size 12, you won’t find high heels in your size anywhere other than in specialized stores. »
Courtesy
Alex Verville aka Jessie Precious.
For a Drag Queen just starting out, it can be expensive to define her persona and aesthetic. “I have clothes that I bought two years ago that I will never wear, because it no longer works with my character. Trial and error is expensive,” admits Alex Verville.
With the popularity of drag and social media, the standards are higher for drag performers. It’s not insurmountable if you’re attentive to the little details, as Jessie Précieuse likes to be: cost $10! »
Alex Verville would like to be able to do drag full time, but it’s not easy, especially in Montreal. “It would be incredible, but I would have to have income other than the evenings in the bars. It does not pay enough to live in Montreal. »
“If I have to wear a $1,000 suit, don’t pay me $100”
Photo Joël Lemay, QMI Agency
André Pham alias Suki Doll.
Remuneration for drags is lacking in Montreal too, according to Suki Doll, Drag Queen for 10 years now. After appearing on the show Canada’s Drag Race in 2021, André Pham quit his job in fashion to take up drag full-time. To do this, he also decided to leave Montreal. “I’m booked everywhere except Montreal, because we can’t pay the Drag Queens properly here,” he laments.
Drag culture has taken a long time to be recognized in Quebec compared to the rest of North America, hence the considerable pay gap. “Before the popularity of broadcast as Rupaul’s Drag Race, it was considered only as a hobby recalls Suki Doll.
The popularity of drag being still recent in Quebec, the pool of party regulars is still too small to support drag artists, according to him. “There isn’t a big enough audience that comes back night after night. People who aren’t used to it don’t know that you have to tip. An acceptable tip starts at $5, according to André Pham. “It’s the price of a coffee, it’s not much,” he recalls.
The fact of having participated in a drag competition as Canada’s Drag Race changed the standards of beauty and elegance now expected of Suki Doll. He confesses to having invested a large amount of money just for the show. “I put $50,000 in drag race, because who needs a house?, quips André Pham. The others invested less money, but I opted for extravagance. It was custom-made clothes for the competition, wigs that were worth $1,000. »
Joel Lemay / QMI Agency
André Pham alias Suki Doll.
After the competition, André Pham feels the need to maintain this same level of quality in his drag. “We expect you to wear designer clothes when you’re on TV. With Instagram, it’s now unthinkable to wear the same outfit twice, because people will notice. »
It was this pressure that also motivated her choice to perform outside of Montreal. “If I have to wear a $1,000 suit, don’t pay me $100. »
Armed with his experience in the world of fashion, André Pham builds a good part of his costumes and creates some for other drags, for a price between 200 and 7000 $ depending on the set. Her advice for people who want to get into drag is to learn to do as much as possible on your own.
“Being independent and versatile is in drag culture. You have to know how to do hairdressing, clothes, make-up, comedy, animation, lipsync. Young drag girls are lazy and want to have all their costumes made. Of course it is expensive. »
“We need a drag union”
Photo Joël Lemay, QMI Agency
Drag artist Yikes Macaroni.
For drag performers who aren’t Drag Queens, like Drag Kings and Drag Queers, it’s even harder to make a living from their art. If the average remuneration remains roughly the same, between $25 and $125 depending on the drag night and the number of acts, we see these drag artists on stage less often during these nights.
For Yikes Macaroni, who has been doing drag since 2019 on the stages of up-and-coming parties and more alternative shows, drag is expensive in money, but also in time. “It’s expensive when you start, you have to make yourself a wardrobe and a good set of makeup. But above all it takes time, time to prepare your costumes, to prepare your acts, to practice. It’s time when you can’t work or sleep. »
Joel Lemay / QMI Agency
If they could make a full-time living from art, Yikes Macaroni certainly would. In the meantime, they admit they don’t have the time and energy to do as many acts as they would like. “Working 40 hours a week to survive and doing two shows a week, I don’t have time for my 10 hours of sleep. »
Usually paid $100 for two numbers at a party, Yikes Macaroni hopes that compensation will one day be better regulated: “It’s hard to ask for the pay you deserve. If you find that an event is poorly paid, there will always be someone newer who will agree to do it for less. We need a drag union. »