I never drop character when I'm in that character, I'm in that character. And they feel special because this thing is so kind and talking to them, and not trying to eat their face off and piss in their front yard. When I'm on stage, or in that character, people really feel beautiful around Christeene. I feel really sexy when I wear that outfit. It's like, when I put Christeene on - as a man, an artist, someone in between - I feel beautiful. But I'm never, ever doing it to gross you out or shock you. What happens with Christeene is that she actually makes you feel beautiful she's the real deal, the raw deal. But is Christeene approachable in a different way? Pretty seems to mean, on some level, approachable. When we talk about this idea of traditional drag, much of it is wrapped up in being pretty. Something striking about Christeene's appearance to me is, well, she's kind of gross. I can push it out through this Christeene character. Someone understanding my environment and my own social realms. It allows me to try to process and understand me, Paul - as a queer, a Southern boy. There's a lot of political and social commentary going on. I would never call it a drag show.īoth characters speak honestly from within me, but Christeene addresses issues that Rebecca does not. It harkens back to more of a punk thing, like you're watching a punk show. It's just that when it's on stage, you see the flip side of Christeene - it's very aggressive and very raw. The character is a very kind and approachable and that's when people start to listen. Here's the thing: What kind of blows people's tops is that there is nothing angry or asshole-ish or negative about Christeene. I found the wig and went to town.Ĭhristine lets you sort of be more truthful in your expression, maybe outside of - if you could say - the "traditional" confines of drag. When everything aligned properly, Christine kind of just appeared. Something strong enough to channel things inside of me that needed to come out - more aggressive things. When Christeene came out of me, I was searching for something that had the action of a switchblade in my pocket - a character I could really put on quickly, but effect people in a much stronger way. Her name is Rebecca Havemeyer and it's all makeup, wig and heels. I do another character that you could call more of a "traditional" character, in the lineage of a Dame Edna persona - like an "everyone's favorite grandma" type. It was just a really nice alignment of a lot of different things going on inside me and in my environment. Westword: How was the alter ego Christeene Vale born, so to speak? Breeality Bites: What a wonderful, genderqueer world! Over the weekend: Amanda Lepore's Drag Nation show at Tracks It ain't easy being queen: Luke List on the "anti-masculinity" stigma of drag We caught up with Soileau while he was brunching with friends to talk about the birth of Christeene and her music. edition of The Watching Hour to a screening of Chistine's video collaborations with cinematographer PJ Ravel, as well as a performance with her music man, DJ JJ Booya. But Soileau desired more for himself and the stage, and after scratching just below his own performance surface, he found Christeene Vale - a sweaty, squeamish-looking but lovable character who invites you to spend the night with her this Friday, July 20 at the Denver FilmCenter.Īs part of this weekend's Cinema Q Festival, the theater is devoting its 10 p.m. Austin, Texas weirdo Paul Soileau has done the drag thing: Within the confines of heels and pearls, the performer has seen plenty of success under the Rebecca Havemeyer moniker.
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