Cassidy Queerface Shares on Make-up, Drag and Burlesque

One of the many faces of Cassidy Queerface

 Oklahoma's Cassidy Queerface stands out as an icon in GLBT performance art. In 2010, Queerface organized the Bang Bang Variety Show in Norman. While Bang Bang shows continue to express a new perspective on  "punk rock gender f*ckery" in Bible belt, Queerface has expanded into performing with Oklahoma burlesque troupes, including Dust Bowl Dolls, 7 Deadly Sins and TnT Burlesque.

Oh, also, she's hilarious and an f-ing sweetheart, so I asked her a few questions.

Cassidy Queerface as male persona, Dick Tater

Queerface performs in many roles, including Misty Snatch and Dick Tater, and you never know what to expect from any of her characters. Fake blood, leather harnesses or strap-ons may be on stage, but Queerface's genuine smile brings unexpected sweetness to her performances.

Ruff Life: You are such an outrageous figure on stage. What is the day-to-day life consists of?

Cassidy Queerface: Day to day life for me is actually probably more normal than most people realize, but maybe I just have bizarre friends so it seems more normal. Usually I have a day job that takes up most of my time. I was a pharmacy tech for 11 years, ha. Right now I don’t, though, so my “work” is just planning, organizing, promoting shows, developing my own numbers, and creating costumes. I end up spending a lot of time cuddling with my cats and watching Netflix and sneaking off to go have fun with friends, though.

RL: How did you begin performing?

CQ:  I had performed in some church dramas when I was religious (your laugh here,) but I began performing as an adult as Magenta in a Rocky Horror troupe my friends had put together. Fast forward to the next year and I went through a really rough patch in my personal life and needed a creative outlet. I had always wanted to be a drag queen but figured having been born a woman disqualified me from that. Then I saw Fauxnique had won the Trannyshack competition in San Francisco. I figured if a bio female could win a drag queen contest, then surely I could perform as one. So I started picking out songs I wanted to do and building my costume collection and learning how to do drag makeup. Then Madame D, the queen running the Hilo drag show at the time, let me have my debut and stay on the show with them for a bit. My original performances were still full of weird and quirky concepts. I didn’t dance as much cause I still felt super awkward with the way my body moved. I still do a few of those original numbers, though, they’re just more polished now.

RL: What were your original performances like?

CQ: My very first number was as the Queen of Hearts with a fake battle axe to the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Heads Will Roll.” And I think “Bleeding Love,” the one where I pull bloody intestines out of my dress to a sappy love song, was within my first month of performing.

 

RL: You didn’t originally begin doing burlesque as a female, right? What prompted the decision to move into that?

CQ: I didn’t start out doing burlesque at all. I started as a faux queen and I was so covered it was hilarious. I’ve always enjoyed nudity in art, but hadn’t really been a huge fan of strip clubs, ever, then I saw the Suicide Girls burlesque tour. Suddenly there were these girls stripping to music I loved and having actual theatrical concepts to it. I didn’t see any burlesque live until many years later and then performers just kept popping into my view. I loved it. It was like subversive sexiness. Or like drag and stripping had a baby. I loved the art form but thought I could never do it cause I hated my body and I’ve never been a great dancer. Eventually I got a little more bold after seeing some burlesque girls that were thick like I was and worked my way towards naked. First performance I refused to not wear slimming tights and my waist cincher for the entire number, though.

RL: Okay, I've got to ask about your incredible make-up. It's always so over-the-top but flawless. How did you learn to do your make-up?

CQ: I have been playing around with makeup since I was young, but I started being more serious about it when I was 20. I started reading detailed tutorials, collecting pictures of looks I wanted to try, and experimenting with color and blending. I met the gay soulmates, Austin Tatious and Chase Vegas, a year later and I learned a lot from them as well. Austin actually gave me my first live drag makeup tutorial to give me an illustration of some of the stuff I couldn’t seem to get down. It helped a ton.

RL: Favorite make-up tool or item?

CQ:  I couldn’t live without my makeup brushes. I can do without a lot of things and make drug store makeup work a lot of times, but brushes are essential. I’m also a huge fan of fake eyelashes.

RL: Any drag secrets women could learn from?

CQ: Drag secrets for women. Let’s see. I think just knowing your body is your canvas helps a lot. You can paint it up or dress it up however you’d like. Women are scared of doing anything “unnatural” most of the time, and I like that drag celebrates the illusion you can create with things. As far as makeup, blending is essential and be careful when wearing vivid lip colors. You need lip liner to contain it, and if you put gloss on it will smear quickly. I had to learn how to do makeup that would last 4 or 5 hours without budging, so longwear formulas are a savior, as well as primers for your foundation and eyelids. As far as attitude, paint up and dress in a way that you feel gorgeous and you’ll probably gain quite a bit of confidence.

RL: You recently shaved your head, and somehow make bald look glamorous. Anything prompt the shaving?

QF:  I shaved my head the first time a few years ago cause I had a pink Mohawk and the edges were shaved so far down that I didn’t think it would be good for job interviews I had to go on. But I loved it so much I kept it for a while. Then grew it out, hated it, and shaved it again. I have very low tolerance for hair I can’t take off whenever I want to. I’ve been spoiled by wigs for 4 years. Plus, I get to be “edgy” and “daring” with my hair without doing a damn thing. I’ve always enjoyed androgyny, and now I kind of like wearing mine on the outside.

RL: Running out of questions, but I have always wondered who your style or performance icons are?

QF: I have a lot of icons. Amanda Palmer is probably the biggest one, for her style, business model, artistic integrity, bizarreness, etc. I also really love Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Karen O, Nina Hagen, and Emilie Autumn. They all share the fact that they just are flamboyant and dressed so abnormally, but also were perfectly gorgeous and comfortable in their weirdness and with androgyny.

If you'd like to see Cassidy Queerface in action, she performs every last Thursday at the Drunken Fry at 10 pm with the Dust Bowl Dolls, every first Thursday at the 51st St. Speakeasy with the Dust Bowl Dolls, every second Friday at the Hilo with Bang Bang, AND Friday, Saturday and Sunday September 27 - 29th at the Boom with TnT Burlesque.

Whew, that's a busy badass lady!