The Alchemy Of Drag
How drag artists cross the threshold into their stage persona
Story and Photos by Aidan Hadley
Jester Stone finishes the last of their makeup, adding a pop of red to their inner eye.
Stepping into the makeshift green room on the third floor of Western Washington University’s Viking Union, it’s apparent that art is being created. The time is 5:47 p.m., 43 minutes before Royal Gambit Drag Club, Western’s on-campus drag club, steps on stage for their Valentine’s Day show.
To the left, a performer focuses on a handheld mirror, adding some last-minute contour to their painted face, imitating Kermit the Frog. To the right, two performers twirl with a plastic bouquet of flowers, basking in the glamour of their freshly finished makeup.
The room’s cacophony of voices is quickly silenced as Royal Gambit co-president Leven Gehlhausen, otherwise known as Jesper Stone, claps twice before going over last-minute performance details with the room.
Gehlhausen’s drag style, which they describe as “gender-fuckery at its finest,” allows them to transform into an elevated version of themself that wouldn’t normally make an appearance.
“I myself am very reserved. I don't really go out on a limb as much as Jesper does,” Gehlhausen said. “Jesper is all of my emotion and expression and power and queerness all in a sparkly little package.”
Gehlhausen first started performing as Jesper Stone two years ago, when they discovered Royal Gambit at Western’s club fair, and have been honing their craft and further developing Jesper ever since.
Gehlhausen performs under a persona, but doesn’t feel a stark divide between themself and Jesper. Instead, they feel that Jesper is an exaggerated form of themself.
“When I first started, I really thought about what I wanted to present on stage and how I wanted him to be different than me,” Gehlhausen said. “I just started with the most Jesper parts of Leven, and I just kind of let him grow from there. Just letting my confidence speak for myself and letting expectations just kind of roll off of me is how Jesper was created.”
The severity of that divide differs from artist to artist, though. Nick Hansen, who performs with Royal Gambit under the name Cinderfella, perceives the line between themself and their persona as something that fluctuates.
Morningstar poses for a picture as they watch the rest of the room finish their makeup
“I feel it’s like a very dynamic thing. In some ways, the differences are very distinct and clear, but in other ways, I feel like it's something that can't be divided,” Hansen said. “It's less of a divide and more of a threshold. Different but not apart.”
For drag artists like Gehlhausen and Hansen, their onstage persona is something that takes a lot of time and effort to develop. While some drag artists simply follow what feels right, others have a strict idea of who they want to embody. When describing Cinderfella, Hansen said they could boil the persona down to one word: champagne.
“I want to present myself like champagne, but not in the ‘it's New Year's and we're celebrating with fancy champagne’ way,” Hansen said. “The kind of champagne that you give your lover in a hotel. You know, very classy, very sexual, very fun.”
Morningstar, a newer addition to Royal Gambit’s roster of artists, enjoys finding ways to incorporate their real-life interests into their drag persona.
“My drag name is Morningstar and my real name is Venus. There's a lot of themes of the mythological Lucifer, the fall of the Morningstar, Venus as a planet and Aphrodite,” they said. “I resonate with that a lot as both a story and a persona.”
By incorporating those elements into their drag, Morningstar has been able to find parallels between mythology and the queer experience.
“I’m really drawn to Lucifer’s aversion to the norm,” they said. “I see queerness as an aversion to society's straight, strict, rigid rules. That's kind of the idea of Morningstar.”
Every artist’s drag aesthetic differs from their peers in a multitude of ways. Some focus more on their onstage personality, while others prioritize looks. Hansen said the Cinderfella drag persona hinges on their makeup, and that the transformation isn’t complete without a fully-beat face.
“Once you do the brows and the foundation, there's a sort of medium space. I look like beef jerky. I look old and withered,” Hansen said. “But when I put on the rest, it's like, okay, here we are. Looking less like myself and more like Cinderfella is very good for getting into the headspace.”
For many drag artists, the face they craft with their makeup is the cornerstone of their drag. Whether that means blocking their brows with glue, using face tape to tighten their skin or
over-painting their lips for the back of the room to see, the parts that make up a fully-realized drag face vary. Day Zerbst, otherwise known as Daisy Gaze, found that, as their makeup skills developed, their persona did too.
“At the beginning, I was just a person who thought that drag looked fun to do once or twice. But ever since I started, my makeup has changed a good amount, which makes me more confident,” Zerbst said. “Now I feel like I've crafted more of an actual persona and a character rather than just me in makeup.”
Max Mantis smiles for the camera, patiently waiting for the show to start.
However, drag isn’t solely based on the performer’s look. The mental transition from their out-of-drag selves to their in-drag personas is the final piece in the puzzle of drag transformation, especially when preparing to perform.
“For me, music is a lot of it. I have a playlist that's just a bunch of drag songs and I just listen through it,” Gehlhausen said. “I'll find an empty hallway, and I'll strut back and forth. Once you get that walk in, you're all there.”
The right setting is also pivotal for a performer when transitioning into their drag persona. For Hansen, being in a space where being queer is not only accepted but celebrated is the necessary final push into the Cinderfella mentality.
“When I’m in drag, I like letting people know that they are beautiful,” Hansen said. “Performances usually are a space where other people become more receptive to compliments like that in a very casual way. There’s a lot of positive energy, and it starts to feel like that space comes with me.”
The transition into their drag selves isn’t where the hard work ends, though; it’s just the beginning. Every aspect of an artist’s performance is carefully crafted to suit the persona they’ve crafted. Whether that means a fast-paced, acrobatic showcase or a slow, emotional ballad, every detail matters.
Zerbst describes a typical Daisy Gaze performance as a sensual mockery of gender, which perfectly encapsulates their drag persona. They strive for their performances to blend sex and comedy, with a few mistakes sprinkled in.
“The way I do drag, I sort of am a woman, but a weird one,” Zerbst said. “It's the least sexy, sexy thing you've seen. It’s just pulling together some comedy and some realism and all the errors and making them a part of whatever I do. That’s Daisy.”
Some drag artists focus their persona to be strictly campy or glamorous, and others blend different elements to find the perfect in-between for them.
“For my first few numbers, I'll come in with, like, a super upbeat, high energy doing flips and kicks and splits and death drops,” Cayden McAllister, also known as Cosmo, said. “For my last number, I like to do a ballad. I just do that, super slow, just milking the song, performance because I like to completely swap it and show versatility.”
Cosmo brushes some last-minute contour onto their face, painted green in preparation for a dramatic “Kermit the Frog” themed number.
McAllister, who was 2023’s Miss Teen Pride of Seattle, said that he wants the work put into his drag to be reflected in his persona. Whether that means spending 16 hours stoning their pageant dress or painting their face green for a campy “Muppets” number, McAllister knows the details will bring Cosmo out in full force.
“I put a lot of work into what I do. I've grown a lot and I pride myself on that,” McAllister said. “So when I’m in drag, I try to embody that. I just remember to keep my back straightened and to keep my chin up.”
Even after performing, a drag artist’s work isn’t done. It might be late and their feet might hurt, but getting out of the drag mindset is a necessary part of the process.
“After the show, you're sitting at home and the adrenaline is still going and you're still in that mode,” McAllister said. “It’s not necessarily depressive, but there's always that come down the next day. It's sometimes hard to come out of that headspace.”
All the work is worth it, though, because drag is these artists’ passion projects. While it may take a lot of time and money, there is a reason drag is what they return to. Some see it as a necessary gender expression or emotional release, but Zerbst sees Daisy Gaze as a canvas to do whatever comes to their mind.
“I just really like being this slightly different person, going out there, fucking around and getting some money,” Zerbst said. “It's a perfect creative outlet for me to express whatever I'm feeling. I can do whatever I want.”
It’s clear that each of their personas, aesthetics and transformations are unique, but there is one common thread that brings these artists together: confidence in themselves and their drag. Whether it comes before or after their makeup, in or out of drag, creating their art helps them express the confidence they feel inside.
“My drag is an expression of this star inside of me that's like, ‘Shine bright right now. This your moment to be seen,’” Morningstar said. “I feel so confident. I'm everything that I feel like I am, all at once.”