In Brooklyn, far from the spotlights of Washington and the invectives of a conservative America, thirteen aspiring drag performers have transformed a bare classroom into an arena of resistance. With eccentric wigs and towering heels, they defy the headwinds hitting the country, bringing to the stage not only themselves but also their manifesto: queer is a political act, and today being part of this world is a form of perseverance that is indispensable.
The course is called “Drag Performance: Between & Beyond Gender”, a program at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX) organized by BAX. The teacher, Kelindah Bee, is a queer artist who performs under the name Theydy Bedbug. Over twelve weeks, Bee, as reported by the American magazine Rolling Stone, has guided her fifth group of students on a journey through identity, creativity, and self-affirmation. The goal was to perform on the stage of the legendary House of Yes club for a final performance that became a true act of artistic rebellion.
The school, which will offer classes every Tuesday starting in the fall, from September 9, is not just an academy of makeup and sequins. It doesn’t simply teach lip-syncing or walking on stilts; it is a safe space where gender is explored, played with, and deconstructed. Some come to rediscover themselves after years of doubt; others to find new confidence, or simply to express themselves beyond normative boundaries.
The “cohort” is composed of transgender, non-binary, queer, and similar individuals: a miniature community that reflects the many facets of contemporary society. The course has become a refuge and a forge, an identity gym and a political laboratory. At every lesson, participants practice not only performance but also courage.
Week after week, as the Republican administration intensifies attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, limiting healthcare for trans people, censoring drag shows in public spaces, pushing schools to misgender students inside these walls, an opposite atmosphere is breathed: ironic, liberating, powerful.
Her approach is radical: participants are not immediately asked for a stage name. They can explore, change pronouns, become creatures, objects, hybrid characters. Everything is valid, as long as it is authentic. The result often translates into poetic, sometimes surreal performances. Like that of Ella Lang, who transformed into a lamp that lit up to the notes of Norah Jones. Or that of Padre Fay, who tore off papal robes while twerking to “Unholy,” revealing altered verses of the poem “I Want a President” by queer poet and activist Zoe Leonard.
The final show, initially canceled due to a Covid outbreak, was rescheduled with a twist at the planned House of Yes club, right during the opening days of Pride Month. In front of a cheering audience, each student brought their truth to the stage: comedic, sexy, raw, and often painfully real.
At the end of the evening, a shower of dollar bills on stage and liberating cheers. But the real reward was collective: the feeling of having resisted–not only against Trump, but against every form of homogenization.
