M.I.S.T. – Made In Southeast Texas
A conversation with local drag performer Sparkle Motion
by James Allen King
Meet Miss Sparkle Motion. If you have been around SETX for a while there is a good chance you had the pleasure of seeing her perform at a cancer fundraiser, maybe drag brunch, or hosting a dance contest at the PFLAG Pride Fest. I wanted to know more about what motivated Sparkle to get into drag, keeps her going, and inspires her to entertain us.
photographed by Laura Oglesbee
How did you get started as a drag performer?
We all start drag from birth darlin! LOL! Yes, that might be a joke, but I fully believe when everyone grows and becomes who they are as a person and finds themselves, THAT is drag. Getting up in the morning and going to work, you decide what you put on and how you present yourself and THAT is drag. Now, as a drag PERFORMER I officially got started in 2016 at the ripe, young age of 32. Most drag performers begin when they are a bit younger, so I was a late bloomer. Being a theatre kid and an actor and going to school for theatre I have always loved performing and drag is something I have really always wanted to do. However, being a drag performer is no easy task. It takes time and money to get to a certain level and no drag queen out there is perfect right out the gate, so I waited a bit to start.
I started off small in 2016 when I entered a talent night at the local gay bar here in Beaumont (The Publicity). I had a drag queen friend of mine do my make-up and borrowed an outfit from another drag queen friend and won talent night that night, even though my heels were too big and I kept stumbling on them so I tossed them mid-performance. It was a great night and I had a lot of fun, but I also realized just how much work and money it was gonna take to get me there. I didn’t have those resources to help me at that time, so I gave it up with a promise to come back to it. Just a year later, in 2017 I started up again and began working on my own character and started learning make-up and collecting clothes and jewelry, etc and that’s all she wrote.
Who are your influences?
Most definitely RuPaul because she was the first to really make it successful as a career worldwide and at a time where that wasn’t the norm. She’s also managed to build this empire in the past 10-15 years with her television show RuPaul’s Drag Race, and has built drag to the phenomenon it is today. That HAS to be celebrated and it is truly inspiring. Local legend Olivia Gardner has inspired me. I remember seeing her perform when I was 17/18/19 and her style of drag was exactly how I wanted my style of drag to be; it’s very showy and beautiful and you could tell she was always having a great time while making the audience beg for more. The fact that she still performs to this day is very inspiring.
Also, women inspire me in general. I’m such a fan of theirs. They have to put up with so much to get half as far as white men and it is awe-inspiring to see happen. Famous women, local women, all women are amazing and I love emulating that onstage and I hope I do them proud. Also, the biggest inspiration for me is the drag queen and actor Divine AKA Glen Milstead. She is an OG drag performer who didn’t a F*@! about social norms and really pushed the envelope when it came to gender and sexuality. She was a true actor and dealt with being Divine vs. Glen which is a struggle I relate to as well. I love Sparkle and she is an extension of Donny as a person and actor, but I also love Donny and I try to meld the two when I can because that’s always 100% me but not everyone gets that and it can be hard to deal with. Divine was becoming more well known as Glen the actor up until his untimely death in 1988. I wished I could have seen what he did next, and I hope I can help carry that torch into the future he was denied.
What does drag mean to you?
Drag is an extension of me. Sparkle is Donny in several ways. Sparkle is who Donny had to hide from a lot of people for many years for fears of being “too feminine” or “too girly.” While I have been gay my entire life and out of the closet since I was 18, there still can be a stigma within the gay community about being “too much” or “fem” or “sissy” and to a young queer person, that can be scary because if this group of people doesn’t accept – what’s gonna happen? Where am I gonna go now? The answers to a lot of those questions come with growth. I feel the times are better with people being who they really are, but stigmas aren’t completely gone within the gay community. Sparkle has made me so much more comfortable to be the real Donny and I love her for that.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about becoming a drag performer?
Strap in cause it’s gonna be a bumpy ride! LOL! Seriously though, just be yourself and do what YOU want to do. Try different things – not everything is going to work and eventually you will find your groove. If you really REALLY want to do it – never give up. Oh my gosh, if I quit drag after the first time I did my own make-up (because it was NOT good) then I would have never learned how to do it better. It takes time -sometimes years – to get better at it and that is totally okay. Have fun and go at your own pace and you’ll get there. I promise.
What would you want someone who has never been to a live drag show to know?
Respect the performers please. Just because we are at a same walking and eye-level with you, that does not give you permission to put your hands on us. Would you do that to an actor onstage in a play or musical or at a sporting event? Nope. It happens though and it is very rude. Go to a show and have fun and watch the performers and tip them if you can. Take lots of pictures to share with friends and family and on social media. Hoot and holler and clap for these hard-working performers. We want that and we LOVE it! We want to make sure you have a good time just don’t be disrespectful. Also, please know that drag performers can be comedians and everything is said in jest. If you are easily offended just be prepared that you might get picked on a little bit. We love you and we wanna have fun with you – don’t let it get to your head.
Do you ever get into creative slumps and if so how do you get out of them?
Yes, most definitely. Like any creative profession or hobby, there can be a time where your mind goes blank and you have no idea what to do – in particular, those career drag performers who are working 5-7 nights a week. It can be a lot. My advice is just to try and get a lot of rest and meditate and be calm when you can. Don’t overdo it. Give some time to yourself and take care of yourself. It can work wonders!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Just keep supporting your local drag queens. There are many of us out there now, especially with the popularity of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” which is seriously a worldwide phenomenon. We might not all be on the show or as big as some of those careers but ya never know, your local drag performer could be there one day, and you can say to yourself, “I loved seeing her perform back in the day. She’s awesome and I am happy she’s doing well.” We LOVE our fans. Without them, nothing would be possible. So, support, support, SUPPORT!