Crayola the Queen, known internationally as The Queen of Colour, has made a name for herself in London and beyond as one of the UK's premier drag queens. Her unique brand of campy cute cabaret shows and her successful private event business have entertained many, but what you may not know is that behind the scenes, Crayola has spent many hours doing private coaching and teaching group workshops to help lift up and inspire the next generation of queer performers. This project, Crayola's School of Drag, is the next natural step in this strand of her work!
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS:
SUNDAY FEB 21 / 4-7PM GMT / INTRO TO CABARET
What is cabaret? What makes a great cabaret act? And how will understanding this help you craft memorable drag performances? Crayola, nominated for Best Ongoing Queer Cabaret for her show Crayola's Madhouse (QX Cabaret Awards 2019) and current producer of the long-running Cabaret Roulette, answers all this and more in an interactive and inspiring workshop, with time built in for participants to discuss ideas they may have for creating a new act or refining an existing one.
SUNDAY FEB 28 / 4-7PM GMT / DRAG QUEEN MAKEUP
Serving face is a big part of drag - and Crayola is known for her polished and colourful signature mug. Join her as she paints her face from start to finish, talking you through all her favourite products and techniques, and answers all your questions as she goes along. Those who sign up for this will receive a list of Crayola's preferred tools and makeup products - this is for reference, not a requirement. Students are encouraged to paint along, but sitting back and just taking notes is okay too!
SUNDAY MARCH 7 / 4-7PM GMT / HOSTING 101
If you want to make a professional career in drag, you will probably have to learn how to hold yourself on the mic. Experienced in everything from MCing kids shows to naughty queer cabarets, from solo work to variety, Crayola, who was nominated Best Host (QX Cabaret Awards 2019), teaches you all the cornerstones of hosting an amazing show, including how to make an entrance, audience improv and management, show structure and flow, ending strong, adapting to different demographics and digital landscapes, and more.
SUNDAY MARCH 14 / 4-7PM GMT / THE BUSINESS OF DRAG
Making drag into a full-time profession is not easy, but Crayola has spent the last 3 years doing just that. Covering Branding, Pathways to Getting Booked, How to Make Sure You Get Re-Booked, Fee Expectations and Getting Paid, and more, this workshop will provide insight for any drag artist who is serious about carving a career for themselves in the world of drag.
BOOKING INFO:
- Workshops can be booked a la carte (£10 each) or as a course (all four dates for £30)
- Discounts are available for Crayola’s Patreon Subscribers – 25% for £10/month subs, 50% for £25/month subs, and FREE for £50/month subs. You can join the Craymunity at Patreon.com/CrayolaTheQueen, which will also give you access to instagram.com/CraytreonSubscribers as well as exclusive livestreams, behind the scenes footage, rehearsal videos, and more. Please contact Crayola if you qualify for a discount
- Workshops will take place on Zoom, with links mailed out to you an hour before the event’s start time
- Interaction will be encouraged at points, but is not required. Your comfort is paramount
- When working one on one within a group session, Crayola will endeavour to include everyone possible, but cannot promise that she will get to do so with everybody
- Scholarships are available for 5 AFAB/Trans/Non-Binary/POC/Disabled drag artists. Please contact Crayola with some info about yourself, your drag and your goals
- Crayola's experience is mainly working within London and the U.K., so bear in mind that the workshops will be geared towards the realities of the industry in those places
TESTIMONIALS:
'Working with Crayola in these workshops has been the most positive experience - I have felt the support to ask questions in a safe space that also challenges me to improve my craft. I've definitely started to think about expanding my skillset - going into hosting for example, inspired by the hosting 101 workshop. I would reccommend to any drag artist wanting to learn how to further their career and Crayola is truly such a beacon of joy and wisdom' – Crusty, currently in Crayola’s Mentorship Program
"Crayola's workshops are fantastic, from the content to the hosting. They create a relaxed and safe envrironment for you to learn in, and address topics with experience, so you know that they're speaking with authority. They also created an easy to follow structure, and built in sections for questions, which was really useful. The "intro to cabaret" completed the puzzle in my head about how a successful performance should be, and how the cabaret world is, but also gave me ideas on how to improve my performance. The hosting workshop gave me confidence and a starting point to how I should present myself before different audiences. The "Business of Drag" workshop gave me so much insight to how freelancing works and I left knowing the complexities of the industry, this is a must for people who want to get into the drag world seriously!" – Lusty Lovelace, currently in Crayola’s Mentorship Program
“So I hear that Crayola is offering coaching for perfomers. My advice: DO IT! Crayola is an incredible drag performer, so talented and one of the nicest, most genuine queens I know! She helped me so much when I started out performing...she actually worked with me to create a track for a competition whilst she was on holiday in Spain despite us only having met once! I will also say this to any women out there thinking about doing drag, I know it can be frustrating because there are people out there who don’t accept us as being able to do drag but Crayola actively encourages every individual drag performer no matter of their gender and will give you every opportunity to shine. So whether you are male, female or anything in between go and get all the advice from this incredibly kind, talented and beautiful queen whilst you still can and she’s not too busy flying all over the world performing!“ – Annie Lusion, previous Coaching Client