FILMMAKER Nicole Miyahara IS THE LADY BEHIND THE KINGS

If you’re reading this article it’s a safe bet you know about drag queens, you might even be one. What you might not know much about is the world of drag kings. Yes, kings. Biological women performing dressed up as men. The art of the drag king has quietly been around for a while, but filmmaker Nicole Miyahara is helping to bring it to center stage.

Nicole was just out for a night on the town with her fellow anthropology students when she saw her first drag king show at Hamburger Mary’s in Long Beach, CA. That show not only hooked her but also lead her to becoming a filmmaker. First produced as a 30-minute short but now being transformed into a full-length feature film, THE MAKING OF A KING is a documentary about the experience and challenges of drag kings in Los Angeles. Exploring what it means to be a drag king in the landscape where the stages are dominated by drag queens the film spotlights Landon Cider, Lucky Johnson, Havok Von Doom, and others.

Tell me about your first drag king show.

NM: I had never heard of kings before. The producer of the film–we’re all students together– took us to Hamburger Mary’s to see a show and we just happened to go to the one drag king show they had.  We saw these amazing performers, and we couldn’t believe they were biological females. “There’s no way!”  Their illusion of a man and masculinity was so convincing. It was really fascinating. We became big fans of the show.

What turned you from being a fan to making a film, especially being an anthropology student not a filmmaker?

NM: I was taking an anthropology film class. Anthropologists use film as a medium to record and transcribe our interviews and as a research tool. I just learned that you could get your master’s thesis in visual anthropology and make a short film as a thesis project. I thought what a better way to showcase drag kings.

Why make your short film into a feature film?
NM: I really just wanted to make it bigger. I feel there is a bigger story I wanted to tell. In 30 minutes I follow four kings and the story of Bent, which is a drag burlesque variety show, but you can only tell so much. The people that I showed the short to were, “this is amazing but I wish it was longer.”

I am definitely going to build upon it. I sort of went crazy and never put the camera down. I went to a lot of shows, did a lot of interviews, and really hung out with these guys and learned what it was to be a drag king. Not just in a professional sense, but what they are like in their personal lives. Drag is like a second full time job – a lot of time, money and dedication goes into it. I was wondering what the motivation is and what they’re getting out of it.

One thing you really see from the short film is how much work goes into a drag king performance. It really is so much more similar to a drag queen performance than people would tend to think.
NM: Yes – its theater; its pageantry; it’s costuming; it’s storytelling.  I am amazed how much time goes into the mixes. The talent to not just do your costuming and your storytelling, but also learning how to cut music together, creating flyers and promoting yourself. It’s really a whole package promoting yourself. It’s a lot of work.
What’s next for THE MAKING OF A KING?

NM: Now we are doing a 30-day Kickstarter campaign to raise $10,000 to finish the feature. We’re also doing a Hamburger Mary’s fundraiser on November 16th. Mary’s is where it all started, and it just grew by leaps and bounds. When I started filming they had one show a month and now they have three shows all over LA. I think that really speaks to the popularity of drag kings and that people are seeing it as something exciting and fun. This is a very exciting time. I am very lucky to just be part of it right now.  Visit the Kickstarter page and donate HERE!

More info about THE MAKING OF A KING, their Kickstarter campaign, and the Hamburger Mary’s Long Beach fundraiser on Nov. 16^th is at facebook.com/themakingofaking and nicolemiyahara.com