Drag is an art form at the center of our LGBTQIA+ community and throughout our queer history drag queens hold a special place as the driving force of our liberation movement. Now that our community is facing new attacks that try to vilify drag in all its forms, the onePULSE Foundation is responding with a unique collaboration with Angelica Sanchez, Blue Star and Divas in Dialogue.
“Drag Saved My Life” is a dynamic one-woman show written by Sanchez and Star that will tell the story of Sanchez’s personal journey of self-discovery. The show will highlight drag’s power to liberate and empower a person as they find their true self.
Sanchez is one of the most prominent entertainers in Orlando’s LGBTQIA+ community and her journey speaks volumes about the need for drag to be protected and defended in our culture.
“I wanted to create this show to tell my story, as well as make people realize how important it is to use the gifts that God has given you. Your gift will always make way for you” says Sanchez. “The rhetoric that is out there is putting drag performers at risk of being attacked and we have to be able to show we are just as human as everyone else. As a Black trans woman who is a drag performer, I want to be able to continue to have an honest way of making a living.”
Star is the other driving force behind the show and for her, it felt like it was the right time to uplift the message to get the audience to understand the life-saving power of drag as an art form.
For the onePULSE Foundation, it is important to uplift this message as a part of its Social Visionary Series, which uses performing arts as a way to engage the community around social issues such as racism and transphobia.
“We are seeing a marginalization and vilification of a harmless community,” says Vice President of Education at onePULSE, Dr. Earl Mowatt. “For me, drag is an art and we should not see this kind of censorship of an art form that is meant for self-expression.”
“Drag Saved My Life” is the first show of the Social Visionary Series for 2023 and will also be a collaboration with Divas In Dialogue.
Divas in Dialogue is a local trans-led grassroots organization founded by Mulan Williams. For Williams, it was important to participate in this conversation and she will be leading the introduction to the show to give the audience a glimpse into the work the trans community is doing in Central Florida to better our society. Following the show, one of the graduates of Divas in Dialogue and emerging community leader Marlo Brown will sit down with Sanchez to have an intimate interview about the performance and ask the audience to participate in a chat back session.
“Drag Saved My Life” will premiere Saturday, April 1. Doors open at 7 p.m. and food will be provided for attendees. The event will be hosted at the Orlando Repertory Theater in the Black Box venue and it’s made possible by our sponsors JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Tickets are free and seating is limited. To register visit Eventbrite.com/Drag-Saved-My-Life-Tickets.
