Meet Genesis, the 25-year-old making history as Vancouver’s Next Drag Superstar 2023

The drag performer known as Genesis has been crowned Vancouver's Next Drag Superstar 2023. (Timothy Nguyen)

Genesis has tried on many titles over the years—musical theatre performer, dancer, burlesque artist and, most recently, the gender-bending persona who's been crowned Vancouver’s Next Drag Superstar 2023.

Genesis, who is gender fluid, spoke with CTV News in the days following their victory in the city’s annual competition—a four-week marathon that the company TFD Presents has hosted annually each February since 2012.

“It was really intense,” said Genesis, who beat 23 other performers for the title, and is the first person to be crowned who was assigned female at birth.

“I think that me winning Vancouver’s Next Drag Superstar is a really great step in the right direction in appreciating that any people of any gender can be successful in doing drag,” they said.

Their performances last month earned the top prize of $2,000, a custom outfit by the designer Evan Clayton, a six-month contract with TFD, as well as a variety of hair and makeup products.

“As a working artist, that’s huge,” said Genesis, who quit their restaurant job in 2021 to pursue performing full-time. Today, they work as a singer with a band called Dimes, dance with the group Zynth & Co., and teach “Drag 101” lessons at Passion and Performance Studio.

“Connecting with your music, loving what you’re doing and then making sure you’re connecting with the audience as well,” Genesis said when asked for their top tips for students of drag.

Genesis has been dancing and training in musical theatre since age 9. Their first foray into playing a role that was not traditionally feminine was in a production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when they played Frank-N-Furter, a cross-dressing mad scientist.

That inspired them to start burlesque, and Genesis the drag performer debuted once before the pandemic shut performances down.

“I loved feeling empowered by the burlesque world, but I still felt like I had this different kind of masculine energy that I wanted to find somewhere to channel that into,” they said. 

The name Genesis, a word that represents new beginnings and transformation, is also a nod to their Catholic upbringing.

Barely two years into the craft, Genesis has been recognized as a star in a city brimming with drag talent.

“When you look at the 24 people that started in the competition, there are so many different types of art,” they said. “We’re all doing completely different things, and I think we all had an understanding of that, and that makes it easier to be supportive of each other—we all truly love each other’s art and want to see each other succeed in doing the thing we love.”

The timing of the victory coincides with an anti-drag movement gaining momentum mostly among conservatives in the U.S., although Genesis says they experienced targeted hate during a challenge in last month’s competition.

The challenge involved creating advertisements for a company that provides care for people living with HIV, which Genesis says triggered a flood of negative comments after videos were shared on social media.

“Sometimes it’s easy to exist in this safe little bubble we have here,” they said. “But to kind of have that in my face…really brought to light the reality of what’s going on, and how much vitriol people have towards queer people and drag performers specifically.”

Genesis says it’s “mind blowing” and “gross” that drag is being vilified, putting the lives and livelihoods of performers at risk.

“I know how much drag means to so many people, and to take that away from them is so cruel,” said Genesis. “At the end of day, we’re clowns! We’re gender non-conforming clowns! There are pop stars that are more inappropriate for children.”

Most of the time, they say drag performers are just living out their childhood fantasies of being someone they idolized—from Beyoncé to Broadway stars.

“It’s such a beautiful thing, and it’s so innocent, truly. Yes, some of it is sexual, but lots of parts of life are sexual and it’s not evil or dirty anymore so just because it’s queer people doing it.”

When looking to the future, Genesis says they plan to continue doing what they do now at the highest possible level.

“In the past year and a half I’ve been performing drag, I’ve been the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, and I want to continue doing that,” they said. “That’s enough, that’s fantastic for me.”

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by GENESIS (@exclusivelygenesis)