A truly colorful queen filled to the brim with talent, describing herself as a ‘Childish, clown princess’ you know this is one queen everyone loves. A UK queen who has supported many queens on Klub Kid tours as well as starring in Drag productions such as ‘Peter Pansexual.’ We chat about her drag persona and be sure to catch her at Dragworld this summer.
Dragadventures: What inspired you to create a colorful name such as Crayola? Was there a certain drag queen who made you want to work within the drag industry?
Crayola: The name Crayola actually began as a name for someone else. I was working on an acting internship in Cincinnati, OH, and we were doing A Christmas Carol. It was a fun group of us, and I somehow got tasked with giving everyone drag names. I gave Craig Divino the name Crayola DeVil. And the next day, I realised how good it was so I told him he couldn’t keep it. I kept it for my own. Months later, I realised that I am just not villainous enough to carry the Cruella pun, so the DeVil got dropped. We’ve been Crayola ever since. And fun fact – I found out recently that Crayola was Raja Gemini’s previous Club Kid name. Great minds!
There are so many queens I admire, but two, in particular, have had a major impact on my identity as a queen. Meth, the matriarch of the infamous Her Upstairs, was one of the first queens I ever saw, and she has just gotten better and better over the years. She’s always been an inspiration – I blame her for my taste for bright, tight colour schemes and clever, well-constructed lip sync mixes – and during Not Another Drag Competition Season 5, she was literally my mentor. So grateful to her for so much.
The other queen is Brita Filter from NYC. Brita is an absolute superstar. What she’s achieved in New York is incredible, and the fact that she is not (yet) a RuGirl makes it all that much more impressive. However, Brita is my queen of queens because of her heart – her advice on being a queen always centres on making everybody feel welcome and building community. The world needs more people like her.
DA: How long have you been working as a drag queen? What has been the best experience you’ve had whilst working in the drag scene?
C: I have memories of cross-dressing that go back to childhood – makeshift sarees from bed sheets and red lipstick bindis. But in terms of gigging – well Crayola was born almost 1.5 years ago.
Best experience I’ve had was probably The Party Monster Ball for KlubKids UK. It was my first time opening on the MainStage and I was so nervous. The performance was received very well, and I ended up sharing a really touching moment with Sasha Velour backstage, talking about drag and all that it means to us. A really beautiful night
DA: How would you describe the persona of Crayola the queen?
C: She’s a ridiculous, childish, clown princess. A limitless shapeshifter and everybody’s imaginary friend. A super femme muscle queen with many colours in her box.
DA: The local drag scene is slowly being more recognized through social media, what would you say to readers who feel they can’t support local drag as they live in small towns?
C: Now with social media, there is no reason for distance to stop you. I have fans from regional UK cities, even some from the Czech Republic, who live vicariously through us London queens on social media. They make visits when they can for big stuff like KlubKids UK shows and for Drag World UK, but the cheerleading they do from afar truly means the world. The best thing you can do is to tell your local bars who your favourite queens are and ask them to book us! I for one am definitely looking for more opportunities to travel.
DA: You recently starred in a stage summer show of ‘Peter Pansexual’ what was the concept behind the show, and how did it feel to have a long run in a show?
C: I guess the concept was a parody of the Peter Pan tale we all love and adore, but with drag queens, dildos and bumming. And it also had some modern additions, such as my character Tiger Billy identifying as Non-Binary which was really cool. As an actor, I’ve done long runs of shows before, but doing one in heels was a different story. By the end of the week, my feet were destroyed!
DA: Will there be more productions such as ‘Peter Pansexual’ what would be your ideal production to star in be it writing, producing etc?
C: I know for a fact that Her Upstairs has a lot more projects in the same vein as Peter Pansexual in the pipeline. I’m feeling quite inspired after being involved to perhaps start writing and making my own parody shows!
DA: You’ve supported some fab queens with Klub Kids, are there any upcoming tours readers can see you perform in?
C: I often don’t get the call until very close to the gig whether I’m needed or not, but it’s very possible that you might see me at the upcoming Mateo Family Show and the Roast Battle with KlubKids.
DA: Dragworld have announced more UK queens this year which is fantastic, will we get to see you at the convention this year? (We saw a tiny sneak peek/hint on your Instagram)
C: Yes! I’m gonna be at a booth with my ride or die sis and collaborator Ada Zanditon. She’s the genius behind the alien-like PVC harnesses you’ve seen me in lately.
DA: Are you working on any future projects you can tell us about? Where can we find you next?
C: I’m really hoping to start making more YouTube videos and I also want to build up my own show. But until those ideas become reality, there’s a bunch of random places you can catch me – sometimes doing Drag Brunches at Rascal’s in Shoreditch, sometimes hosting at the Karaoke Hole in Dalston, gonna be at The Glory and Cybil’s House next month. Lots of little gigs here and there. The best way to stay up to date is on my Instagram: @CrayolaTheQueen
Follow Crayola on all her social medias to keep up to date:
Instagram: @CrayolaTheQueen
Twitter: @CrayolaTheQueen
Facebook: @crayoladevil
DragAdventures 