The MothBall

Midway to Mothie's work on "Moth's Magical Variety Hour", she wanted to book the coolest and most talented Chamberpunk darling on the planet, Louise Page.

After the show ended, Louise and I found that we were artistic sisters and have been having fun together ever since.

BAD!!! Was created to give young weird Queer artists in the community a space to shave their legs on stage and wear codpieces and eat flowers and reveal in the soup of queerness that drag can create.

It was an experience that will never be lost on me.

The Haus of Phantosea was our little drag haus that operated from 2016-2018 or so.

It was a collection of drag kids that I scooped up and haphazardly threw on stage and PHANTOSEA was our show.

They were all totally brilliant. This show was often a chance to work on our stage craft without the hustle of a midnight show. We performed at 5pm every Sunday night.

The first show I got to direct all by myself. I wanted to create a space with queer artists of all different kinds perform on the same stage together.

These shows made me the friends that led to the rest of my career.

It was an honor to have an opportunity like that.

It was a woozy experience with awful lighting, questionable company, and sometimes a demonic real estate agent named Monica.

Pictured: Desdemona, Silhouette, Holly Walnuts, Moth Moth Moth, and Brenda Newport.

Mothie began the night with a small lecture followed by a warm-up performance.

Instead og tips that night, people were supplied with flowers to hand to us.

Femme superstar and Trans drag Icons graced the night with their talent, wit, wisdom, and warmth.

It was a night of true beauty and one forever etched into my heart.

And only 1 kid cried. But he came in the room overwhelmed, bless his heart.

But that is okay, I always read with a carrying teacher's voice, so that even the child hiding behind his very sweet parents in the corner may hear the story.

Mothie invited her wild and hilarious Drag Auntie Imagine Azengraber to transform herself live for the thrills of the audience!!!

Mothie lectured about the importance of setting drag into a historical context while also considering the effects of privilege and economic inclusion.

From Kenya to Tennessee, there are drag queens everywhere, you see?

During the show a collection of garments made by, belonging to, and curated by Mothie and the Haus of Phantosea were displayed for several months in the art gallery.

At the end of the event it was wonderful to spend extra time with the students who'd come to support.

Joy belongs everywhere.

Lisa loved Mothie on the mic. And she belived in Mothie until Mothie believed in herself.

Lisa's dream was to turn Memphis into a destination for Queer performers across the south.

And she made that dream a reality with every heart that she touched.

She changed everything around Memphis, simply by walking around and being herself.

Lisa Micheals made Memphis history with every footfall.

Drag is not simply men in dresses, nor is it simply women in collared shirts. There are drag people and creatures of all kinds.

There is also drag that goes by different names in different cultures.

The point is that drag represents many kinds of freedom. The freedom to celebrate Queer history and identities of all kinds across the LGBTQIA+ diaspora. The freedom to express with full range.

Freedom is rooted in the physical history of drag, there is a shared experience.

The joy of adorning oneself and dancing for the stars. As long as there have been leaves and flowers, there has been drag.

Drag in its current form, which is rapidly evolving, remains to be both an act of artisthood and an act of politics.

In a world where in one place a man in a dress will be given hard labor, another man in a dress somewhere else is being handed a crown and flowers.

Drag forces people to think about our community. To think about how far we have climbed, and the brutalization that is still faced today.

Drag also has a power to disarm people. When embodying a higher self people lay down their sorrows and triumphs before a queen with a good listening ear.

We are an invitation to be free. We are an invitation to breath in your own body. And at our best, we are an invitation to goodness and light.

Over the ages, drag has used the world of commodity as its paintbrush.

There are many who feel barred from even trying to engage with the artform due to an inability to purchase fine garments.

Fine garments do not make you a good artist.

It is the way that you choose to wear those adornments that will make you an artist.

Let things fall into your hands. Break the components of the world apart, its what we are here for.

Anything that you find; be it an old blazer or a prom dress, breathe yourself into that shell. Your spirit makes it powerful.

Do not allow other people to equate your power, success, or talent based on an arbitrary classist rubric.

You make your drag one moment of strength at a time.

We are people in dresses with paint on our faces.

We are true soldiers of joy.

Shade can be cute.

Drag is about art and connection.

Not about crowns, or contests, or money.

When you have a mean heart, it will show through your mug.

So....mind your company.

And be your sister's keeper.

Remember, every one of us was just a weird nervous kid once upon a time. Caterpillars look pretty weird too. And they turn out fine.