Today we’d like to introduce you to Mr. Ms. Adrien.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Back in high school, I was given the opportunity to direct and star in a production of “The Rocky Horror Show”. It was my first time in fishnets and heels and I absolutely fell in love with the freedom and absurdity of it all. After graduating from high school, I went on to study theater in college with hopes of becoming a “serious actor”. What I ended up becoming was seriously depressed, as for the first time in my life, theater was not fulfilling me. I thought I was smarter than all my professors, I felt unseen, I felt unheard, and I needed an escape. When I heard about the sign ups for the drag competition at a club called Pulse, I figured one drag show would be a fun excuse to slip the Rocky Horror heels on one more time and just what I needed to shake off my depression. I had the time of my life that night, met friends that would become family, got second place in the competition, and swore I’d be back the next week for first place. I went every Tuesday for two years. Pulse became my home, my family, and the first club I’d work at as an official cast member. I fell in love with the endless possibility of drag, and after much thought, decided to drop out of college to build a career for myself and never looked back! That’s a lie, I look back constantly and think “that sounds terrifying, how did you do that?” but I did, and ten years later, I look back with great pride, deep gratitude, and overwhelming optimism for the future.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not even a little bit, but as I get older I’m learning that’s sort of part of the deal, isn’t it? There’s the financial stuff: drag queens don’t get paid enough, ESPECIALLY when we’re starting out. A majority of opportunities for newcomers are exploitative: competitions that involve bringing the most friends or buying the most drinks to secure a win or gigs where the artists are “compensated” with drink tickets or tip splits. There’s the personal stuff: not enough sleep, too much to drink, identity struggle, dating people who are only interested in you because you’re a drag queen, dating people who are only interested in you because they want to do drag themselves, the occasional backstabbings, the frequent degradations, the infamous bachelorette parties. Then, of course, the community struggles: Trump, COVID, losing the Parliament House, losing Pulse… the road has been far from smooth. One day I’ll write a book. But I’m proud to say that at this time, I can look back with relief that I survived, that *we* survived, so very much adversity to get here, and now that I’m here and can look back with some clarity, I can honestly the biggest struggle was learning to love myself from a very true, very real, and very deep place, and that has been the most recent struggle I’ve overcome over the past two years. I put down the booze, picked up therapy, and started taking myself as seriously as I’ve taken my career for the past decade. It’s been life-changing, I’m happy, I’ve fallen in love with drag again, and I’m happy to report that the road ahead is looking much smoother because of it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The projects that make me happiest are the ones that blur the lines between theater and drag. I explored this concept first while writing and directing a series of stage shows I called Dragsicals: drag show/musical hybrids that retold cult classic queer films using popular music. I used early 2000’s girl power icons like Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne to dragsicalize Mean Girls and campy fashion anthems like “Vogue” and “Supermodel” to bring Devil Wears Prada to life on stage.
Simultaneously, I developed a new kind of drag concert style show called “The Gaga Ball”, along Lady Gaga tribute that is designed to make the audience feel like they are front row at a live Gaga concert. The show has been rewritten and revived six times, most recently and most notably at the Lake Eola amphitheater for Come Out with Pride 2021.
And, of course, one of the greatest joys of my career has been being cast as the iconic Sophia Petrillo and many other classic characters in the TV Land Live series. TV Land Live was created by the incomparable Ginger Minj and Gidget Galore back in 2018, and along with the hilarious and incredible Divine Grace and Doug Bowser, we’ve been bringing these classic shows and characters to life on stage with an overwhelmingly positive response from the community and one sold-out show after another. I’m working with and learning from the best in the biz, and every show I do with this crew is a pinch me moment.
Lastly, I put out an album in 2018 called “MR MS” that includes the first songs I’ve ever written, and it’s on all the streaming services. It hasn’t aged particularly well as it was recorded in a bedroom on a laptop, but the bones of a great record are there and I look back on that project fondly. I was also too insecure and afraid to perform my own music back in 2018, so I couldn’t even promote the thing! I think my next project is to find a producer in this city who wants to make some new music with me. I have a new album written and ready to go, and I’m ready to tackle that beast again!
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Work hard, be kind to others, be kind to yourself, and breathe, because it’s all gonna be fine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/mrmsadrien/dFsE
- Instagram: @MrMsADRIEN
- Facebook: @MrMsADRIEN
- Twitter: @MrMsADRIEN
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXP1PyRh6aM&t=575s
Image Credits
Gabriel Marino, photographer and edits
