Trying to be is not easy but having great friends and family around makes it alot easier. Amanda and the talented members of Drags Aloud are having a well earned Christmas break. I am travelling with my family so just now I'm taking a quiet moment in a hectic Christmas day that began at 4.30 am (thanks Santa) and updating the blog.


Let me tell you a little about my experience of Amanda Monroe and Drags Aloud. In March 2008 my dear friend Anthony, an old friend from my secondary school days took me along to see his then beloved, a talented Drag Performer known as Linda Lamont. The Melbourne Comedy festival was in its last weeks of a gruelling 4 week season and Drags Aloud were in fine form creating a storm every night with the Greased Lightn' Drag Show. Amongst comic performers from all around the world Melbourne's only Drag Queens to ever be accepted into this internationally famous comedy festival were in the midst of their second season.



The previous year a gruelling season at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (where they won the coveted Best New talent award) set them up for a 2nd season in Australia where the fun of Grease started in Adelaide. The appreciating crowds of Adelaide loved the show and sent Drags Aloud off with echoes of cheering and wolf whistles in their ears. So when I first met them they had come home to Melbourne for the 2nd season and Drags Aloud were fired up to give their all to Melbourne's comedy loving crowds. In the big circus tent on the main Federation square river frontage area, Drags Aloud had the crowd (including me a Grease fan from way back) singing and laughing throughout the fantastic performance. The satirical and bawdy humour had us all clapping, cheering and highly energised.


After the music died down, the applause ended and the crowds left I spent the next couple of hours talking to everyone, but in particular I spent a lot of time talking to Amanda. Her story fasinated me and intrigued me. The initial thoughts I had were how fantasticly she had used costume, character and performance to more fully express herself and to live the fullest life she could create for herself. With this idea in mind as a base I went back to my own very domestic and conservative life thinking there was no idea I could fit in making a documenatry about this amazing travelling Drag Performance troup. But, I could not stop thinking about Amanda's journey and what she and the talented members of Drags Aloud namely, Jess, Linda and Kris had achieve for themselves, for Drag Queens and for Australian Performance artists over the previous few years. Until next time I'll leave it there. Merry Christmas and live it up!