Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gavin Calais. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Gavin, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
For me personally it’s just getting the opportunity to perform. Keeping creativity alive is one of the hardest things an artist deals with. Art is energy and energy is expendable. Creating expels energy and we all know that energy runs out. Energy transfers happen when art is received. I’m a drag queen. I receive energy primarily from audiences in bars and clubs. Their energy, applause and cheering fills me up which inspires me for the next project. In other words, applause to a drag queen is like Bella to Edward. We need that sh**.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My life has taken a few good twists and turns so far, but what has remained constant is my love for performing. I have been doing musicals since I was seven and stuck with musical theatre until after college. I got my BFA and moved to New York City. In March 2020, after seven months in the city, COVID-19 struck the earth and my plans took a twist! I had been extremely intrigued and interested in the drag scene for about 2 years at this point, but never had the time to go to a show or begin to experiment with makeup. I would watch RuPauls Drag Race and say “Oh, THAT’S what I wanna do” but was too invested into theatre that it wouldn’t quite work out. Now that I was home and quarantining, the experimenting began.. we won’t include those photos.. but everyone starts somewhere! I started doing amateur drag shows in Houston a couple months later and now almost three years in I’m a full blown drag queen with shows, a drag family, and a name.
It wasn’t all Swarovski crystals and butterflies however, I did have to work to fund my drag. IT AIN’T CHEAP. After serving for a couple of months (in a restaurant, but she was still serving..) I decided to use my degree and become a theatre teacher. I had the idea in May 2022, by July I was fully certified and ready to be hired. This process takes years sometimes and I crammed it all into a quick summer. She needed funds… I taught at a middle school for one year and produced/directed two full length productions with twenty middle schoolers each. 6th-8th grade. That should tell you enough, I shouldn’t have to go into much detail. During this past summer the head theatre position opened up at a high school and I took it. While I enjoyed the students here, after one semester, I knew I had to resign.
My generation (mostly) is great when it comes to things like knowing boundaries and not settling for things that aren’t meant for you. I know I signed a contract. I know I made a commitment for the year. But when you feel yourself going down a dark hole, sometimes instinct kicks in and saves you. Like I said about energy earlier, it is expendable. This job was an energy sucker with no source of energy in sight. Trying to get the kids out of their chairs was hard enough, and I had those kids up and working. Energy was leaving my body eight to eleven hours per day without being replenished in any way shape or form. I was afraid that if I stayed, even just one more semester, that I would have gotten very lost in the mix. I was also working in a district that is making tons of changes and requiring A LOT from teachers. I felt trapped with no options and realized.. I can leave. After much thought, I decided to pull the plug.
I will now be pursuing art full time. Drag IS my passion, and I know that now because I kept up with a career in it while teaching full time. I never wanted to stop and don’t plan on it! I am also a photographer and dancer and will be utilizing those skills to help make my dreams come true. I have always been a dreamer and won’t stop until the day my little tap dancing heart stops beating!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Honesty, self-confidence, humility. You have to be honest with yourself! Growing up, I only did musicals. I was not in training. I didn’t take dance, voice, or acting classes. I knew by high school my chances of making it to Broadway were very slim competing with people who have been training their entire lives. Did I let that stop me, hell no! I spent 4 years training in college and by the time I left, I was a member of Actors Equity Association and signed with one of Broadway and Television’s top agencies in NYC. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? If I have dreams I have to be the sole one to make those happen. It is equally important to stay humble, check your ego at the door, and have gratitude towards your journey. Nobody has the same journey as you which is what makes you so special.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
This past year has been wild. Great times, horrible times, tears of laughter, pain, and sometimes my eyes just be watering. Balancing my full-time job with my passion job was very difficult. Keeping the two separate was truly giving Hannah Montana. I would sometimes have to leave school and immediately get into drag for a night show, and then go to school the next day with hopefully no makeup or glitter leftover on my face. I tried to keep my weeknights blocked for my sanity but sometimes a girl just has to get on stage! In 2023 I’ve learned that I love drag. At first, I was doing it because I wanted to love it. Now girl… I LOVE IT! Now that I can let my hair down and pursue this thing with all of my time, you’ll be seeing a lot more of thee RBF.
Contact Info:
- Instagram:@rachel_bitchface
- Youtube: @rachelbitchface
Image Credits
All images by me, Gavin Calais Photography.
