Fake Mustache twist expectations with performance

Unless you live beneath a rock you’ve probably heard of drag queens. But how about drag kings? If you haven’t you’re probably not alone.

There is only one permanent drag king troupe in Alberta which also happens to be the largest drag king troupe in western Canada — Calgary’s own Fake Mustache

The group began in 2004 with an amateur competition to raise money for charity. Nine years later it boasts 33 members and has developed a regular following.

“Eighty per cent of the troupe is female identified. Ten per cent are trans men and trans identified and ten per cent would identify as ‘butch’” says Fake Mustache artistic director James Demers.

Demers has been with Fake Mustache since the very beginning. He was only 15 — and living as a female — when he joined.

“Drag was the best thing that ever happened to me” he says adding that he also started off as the group’s emcee a gig that changed the trajectory of his career.

Today in addition to performing with Fake Mustache Demers is the program and outreach coordinator with the Fairy Tales Presentation Society and speaks regularly to the broad community about transgender issues.

Demers explains what makes a drag king show a drag king show is that performers “focus on masculine gender presentations and often make fun of the hyperboles of those masculine presentations.”

There are close connections between the drag and burlesque art forms Demers adds. One of Fake Mustache’s choreographers for example works with local burlesque troupe The Garter Girls.

Demers says variety is the name of the game when it comes to what you’ll see in a drag king show.

“In two hours you can get 12 different genres of music and five different gender presentations. The show can move from a comedy act to a very serious dance piece to some Tim McGraw to rap” Demers says admitting you rarely see live singing on stage. Instead performers lip–synch the various numbers.

Demers describes drag king shows as “more subversive” than your typical drag queen show.

“Drag kings will strive to pass as men in full light whereas drag queens would never pass for real women” he says.

That’s not to say that Fake Mustache performers don’t have fun with their costumes. In his role as emcee for example Demers usually changes outfits six times going from cowboy to a full tuxedo to leather gear. He points to a recent number where Fake Mustache performers did a male rendition of Chicago ’s “Cell Block Tango” garbed in bowties suspenders and white shirts.

Perhaps not surprisingly there are plenty of sexual undertones in Fake Mustache’s shows including a recent male stripper number from the movie Magic Mike .

While the definition of drag is of one gender dressing and acting as members of the other gender Demers still describes the art form as offering “a gender flexible space.”

“It allows transgendered people to get on stage and play with it. And it’s not confrontational. It’s a lot of fun. Because I’ve lived for 19 years as a female I really enjoy playing up masculine presentations. It also makes for some great jokes. I make jokes about spending nine years in Girl Guides for example. The shows open people up to other life experiences. I see them as valuable public service announcements” Demers says.

Fake Mustache is also unique in Canada because it’s the only drag king troupe that operates exclusively for fundraising purposes. The troupe’s charity of choice is the Miscellaneous Youth Network a non-profit organization originally founded by Fake Mustache members. (The two organizations are now separate.)

Demers says this close connection to charity is actually a drag tradition.

“Drag is often tied to charity. In the ’80s and ’90s people in the queer community often didn’t have the support of their families. Often the queer community came to your rescue. They became your family. We realized that unless we supported our own aid organizations they wouldn’t happen” Demers says.

He estimates that Fake Mustache donates between $10 000 and $12 000 to charity each year.

For more information on Fake Mustache and its upcoming shows check out fakemoustache.ca or the group’s Facebook page .

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