We’ve known each other since we were teenagers.
We first met when she was on the floor of an after-hours, wearing nothing but a cherry-red wig and her own vomit. She’s cleaned up a bit since then. We did a bunch of shows together in the early aughts. She dumped buckets of fake blood on me and nailed me to a cardboard cross. I threw a glass of milk in her face and pushed her down a flight of stairs. Très avant-garde. One time we’re getting ready for a show at Woody’s and she casually drops the fact that the manager is giving her a free ticket to Madonna. But only one. I can barely draw my eyebrows straight I’m so pissed, especially since it happens to be my birthday. Anyway, we finish the show and the manager drops by the dressing room with an envelope. “Oh, girl!” she says. “Wanna see my Madonna ticket?” I politely decline, still livid. She whips it out of the envelope and shoves it in my face. “See! Isn’t it beautiful.” Then, suddenly, she slides her fingers apart and a second ticket appears behind the first one. “Oh look!” she says. “There’s two! Happy Birthday, Cunt!” I’ll always love her for that. – NYC’s Bitter Lydia to MGT about Donnarama
If you know Donnarama, then you know her name is synonymous with outrageously imaginative costumes. Every outfit is hand made only to be recycled after every show into entirely new concepts, or as she explains, “I keep very few things, I donate them to wherever I can, I’ll drop them off to a place like Value Village. In fact, before Halloween, I dropped off at least 50 things, an entire rack of my stuff just and then on the night of, I see all of these people walking around in my outfits! I just can’t keep them, there is such a mass quantity of stuff and because I’m always making something new, I just can’t. I give them to anyone who needs them, especially young queens.”
For a photoshoot with MGT publisher and photographer Sean Leber, Donnarama ventured to a grimly lit parking garage in downtown Toronto to collaborate on a series of photos. After four hours, the two emerged with a collection (shown here) of images that are beautiful, divergent and sexy as hell!
Donnarama’s work is often wrapped in a political, satirical, or personal messaging which she unapologetically brings to life on stage through her boundary-pushing performances. After her first drag show at 17, the girl has literally been everywhere. She’s ruled the stage at Pride Toronto events, been invited by Keith Cole to speak at the Art Gallery of Ontario, been the star of numerous short films and videos, not to mention she has literally performed in every single venue in Toronto, with the exception of Bad Dog Theatre which she says is next on her list, “The one place I haven’t done is Bad Dog Theatre, otherwise I’ve performed in every single venue in this city. I’m not kidding. That was always my goal, I wanted to do every single venue there is!” In my recent interview with the crafty subversive genius, Donnarama and I spoke about her recent photoshoot, making art and her upcoming mixed media collaboration.
Raymond Helkio: The photoshoot with Sean looks amazing, what was it like working together with Sean? Donnarama: It was so much fun, I loved it. He said “Let’s go down here and see what we can do”, and so I said, “Yeah let’s go!” I loved the happy coincidences that we came up with. Most of it he had sent me location pictures ahead of time so we just scouted it out a bit more on the day of and then he was, “See what you can do with what you have, or what do you want to create. I just happened to bring this pink sheet with me, thinking it might be a nice backdrop for something. There’s one particular picture where a car is covered up, just like the drag queen, I just loved it because it’s the opposite of how everything should be, which makes it perfect. I also loved this shoot because it was underground, and there is less and less raw art and things like that happening now. Everything is much more stylized, plotted and planned so I love that he said let’s just go underground and do something.
What performers inspire you? Donnarama: Well, longevity-wise when I look a someone who’s still kicking it, it’s Ms Conception. We kinda came from the same school, literally actually. She went to the art school across from my school, so we grew up at the same time, in the same place all to end up in the same place. I love her. Also, Andrew Harwood was a major inspiration when I started. This guy doesn’t give a shit about anything. He was wearing a green wig and silver lashes and that was very freeing for people, we’re all very used to that Woody’s glam look and the hot divas. And then you have Andrew, a wonderful alternative to all of the seriousness and he was pushing artistic envelopes. I really like him, he’s a big weirdo!
What about in the international circuit? Donnarama: Yeah, there’s always Madonna, she’s always the first answer. She easily turns people off by testing their limitations. You don’t want to get too serious as an artist, but I do think that’s she pissed about something, and so I really like that. In a way, it’s not really entertainment then, it’s about politics.
You’ve been exploring a lot of movie themes through your costumes, why the sudden shift? Donnarama: In all honesty, it came to a point where I had done everything. When I was putting in all the effort it was always in trying to make sure that people were happy, but my own interests were always getting buried. I feel strange to say it, but I really like even Garbage from back in the day, stuff that isn’t commercial or accessible. I like that kind of stuff. So I started to get into the movies. I’m a huge cult horror movie fan and initially, when I began getting into art I went to school as a visual artist because I wanted to get into special makeup effects. That’s why I incorporate so many props and things into my work now. Next, I really want to do an indie horror project, I really want to make a movie. I’ve already written it, but it’s so crazy I don’t even know where to begin.
Of all the drag shows you’ve done in over your career, which performance was the most rewarding, and why? Donnarama: It was when I pulled a piece of chicken out of my bra, that was in 2007 at Shane Percy’s Grapefruit. We did "Give Me More" by Britney. It was two days later after she went on stage and she had her nervous breakdown but then kinda got herself together again for her new album. But she wasn’t quite together, she had a publicly bad week and was a bit pudgy. So one day Shane said, “I really want you to do this,” so I came up with some clever plans to stuff myself with food, where I was eating the entire time I was on stage. I was choking and screwing up my lipstick but I loved that one. I grew up, SCTV and SNL, those kinds of skits of celebrities, so it was rewarding to be able to eat AND do a show.
What aspect of the drag or entertainment industry would you like to see changed? Donnarama: I think there should be less control exerted over artists and journalists. If you’re an artist or journalist, and you have what I consider to be your God-given-right to experiment, especially if you’re in a “community” where we should be embracing and supporting one another, but it’s not always like that. I would probably take the edge off the vanity and the angst in our culture, make things less superficial, that’s what I would change in my field.
Looking back on your career, what’s been one of the most memorable moments? Donnarama: I’ve always ended up in a lucky spot. Like this film festival where they hired me to go cover it. It was for She Does The City and they wanted to incorporate more drag into the life of the girls because of its fun, and so I went dressed like Madonna in an outrageous crazy outfit. It was exaggerated and funny like everything has to be. When we got inside and were sitting in the theatre, there was Madonna right there! We were all on a Jumbotron together, I love when things come full circle, it’s very rewarding for me.
What are you working on right now? Donnarama: I’m really excited about a project I’m working with an artist named Lorette Lutzajic. She collected a lot of my selfies and pictures over the past year or two and turned them into a mixed media art on canvas, it’s an incredible project, and it’s so so good, they look like tarot cards and I’m really into it right now.
When can the public see it? Donnarama: Oh, definitely by the end of the year. She’s put so much work putting it together and we’re looking for the perfect place to do it. And when we do it, it will be an event, and you’re all invited!
RELATED ARTICLES / ARCHIVE: