We recently connected with Chartruice M and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Chartruice, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I earned it along my journey. Things have never been easy for me. I was born into southern white trash riddled with untreated psychological problems therefore I was heavily tortured, beaten, and starved. I’ve been poor my whole life, and I’ve been trying to undo all of the physical and mental damage that has been done to me throughout it. I stay strong and persist for little me. Because they had no hope, and if they could see themselves now, they’d be proud and in awe.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a performance artist, specializing in burlesque and drag. I have always been in the arts, drawing/painting/writing/embroidery, but started exploring the art of theater in high school. In college is where I discovered my affinity for drag and burlesque. Nine years later, I’m still doing it. My performance art explores various personal and global experiences, they can range from political to sexy to thought provoking. It’s been hard lately, and the gigs are running dry. I’ve been performing full time for about 5 years now, but may have to find a regular part time job because it’s not the same in the city right now. So in the meantime I am taking commissions and making costumes/headpieces for people because not only am I performer, I can also craft many things, including costumes.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three qualities that were most impactful on my journey would have to be self confidence, self perseverance, and sobriety. These are the top three things that made me the performer I am today. And I think would benefit anyone greatly. My advice is not to listen to anyone. People told me I was ugly, too fat, “didn’t fit the aesthetic”, I was doing it wrong it “not traditional enough”, or ignored me altogether. So thanks to pettiness and stubbornness, I continued just to prove them wrong. You are your own worst critic, but you can be your best support system, too.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
Myself. I taught myself everything. How to make the costumes, how to choreograph, how to hold myself on stage, everything. I learned through trial and error and watching. Doing it this way ensured that my performance art is specifically mine and special to me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @chartruiceee
- Youtube: @chartruice
Image Credits
Flaminia Fanale Amanda Mustard Sam Urdang
