Stepping into the Spotlight: How to Boost Confidence in Drag King Performance

So, you think you need confidence as a Drag King? The secret to mastering any new skill is the realisation that confidence is not required. Confidence is gained by doing the thing you’ve set out to master. It’s not necessary beforehand.

So what is needed before being able to transform into a hyper-masculine persona? All while simultaneously captivating an audience?

Courage

Being courageous isn’t the same as being fearless or without fear. Courage is a conscious choice to act, despite the presence of fear. Fear can show up in a lot of forms before a performance. Fear of forgetting the moves or the words on stage or fear of getting in your own way of being your persona. Even the fear of success and not being prepared to handle the flood of success.

Courage starts with the willingness to show up, to walk onto stage and to perform.

Courage trumps confidence every time.

Here’s a hot tip - too much confidence pre-show can leave you cocky, under-prepared and set up to fail. Courage gives you the impetus to do quality work.

Craft your Drag King Persona

When you know who you are, then movement, gestures and words flow naturally from you. Make sure you have done the thinking about who your Drag King is. This includes details that your audience might never find out. What does he do for a living? What’s his living situation? His dating situation? Who are his family members and their names?

There’s nothing worse than that moment on stage where you don’t know what you’re doing. When you know who you are (your persona is you), then you will be self-assured on stage. You will be 100% at home in your own skin. And that’s very attractive to watch.

Crafting your Drag King persona trumps confidence every time.

Confidence is not enough context to keep you going. Your persona is your safety net and will guide you through choppy waters.

Commitment

As the Scottish mountaineer, Willian Hutchison Murry wrote:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness…  the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.”

In other words, committing yourself to a pose gives your audience way more than when you hesitate. The same goes for lip-syncing like your life depends upon it. Or being larger than life and ten times more energised on stage.

Commitment trumps confidence every time.

Commitment means you can show up as yourself. The larger-than-life version of yourself. Whatever you commit to on stage, the audience will lap up.

Communication

Spend the time to figure out exactly what you are communicating. Every lyric and every gesture is an opportunity to express something. Walk through your routine like it's a love letter where every word counts. Look for any gaps where you don’t know what you are saying at that moment. Invent a narrative that gives you focus and expression.

Communication trumps confidence every time.

By itself, confidence will not give you sufficient clarity when you are on stage. Being clear on what you are communicating at any given moment will. And this creates an authentic connection with your audience.

Celebration

Permission to be unleashed and fully self-expressed on stage is an inside job. Only you can give yourself full permission to really go for it. This doesn’t mean you have to be always loud and over the top. Those quiet, secretive moments can also be very seductive.

Consider this a radical act of celebrating yourself as your Drag King persona. Let yourself off-leash for a moment. 

Celebrating the joy of being a Drag King trumps confidence every time.

You don’t need confidence when starting out. Confidence comes later by performing over and over. Celebration is inclusive. The audience comes along on the ride with you and will be left wanting more and more.

Being a Drag King is fun! In fact, it’s as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. So grab some courage, craft your Drag King persona, commit to every moment, be clear on what you are communicating and  grant yourself permission to celebrate!

Enjoy!

Xx

Danica Lani

The King Coach

P.S. Wanna be a Drag King? Learn how to become a Drag King. Click here to join the Kings of Joy community

Hello handsome, 🌈 I'm Danica Lani, also known as The King Coach. I'm here to empower you in your exploration of gender, sexuality, and performance. I have proudly mentored and choreographed 112 first-time Drag Kings since December 2020. Welcome to the joyous community of Kings of Joy, where we uplift and celebrate each other every step of the way! 🎉🤩 Let's embark on this Drag King journey together! 🤗💖 #KingsOfJoy

Photo credit: 📸 Sarah Malone @sierramalevich