Burning Questions With Betty Bang

It was a Tuesday night in downtown Minneapolis, the streets eerily quiet. At The Saloon, the crowd was buzzing with anticipation. The lights went dim, the room went quiet… the show began…

So, how long have you been doing drag? When did you start? 

Betty Bang: I’ve been doing drag for about, gosh, almost nine years. My whole drag career started off of a dare. 

Really?

BB: Yeah. At the time, I was younger and I was kind of a know-it-all, and my friend was like, “if you know so much why don’t you go and do it?” So, I went and did an amateur contest, and I was busted. It was like, that’s not emulating any sort of lady.

Where do you perform regularly? Any other places you sometimes make appearances? 

BB:  I’m here a lot (Saloon), I’m at the Black Hart a lot. I do a couple out of town bookings randomly. I do a lot of Bingo gigs. I would say I’m here the most.  

What would you say is your “drag persona” and how did you come up with it?

BB: I’m obsessed with pinup girls. Betty Page, and all these beautiful pinups like Dita Von Teese. I’m also a super nerd so I love comic books, so the old, “Pow! Zap! Zip! Bang!” Betty. Bang. Now I would say I’ve gone more into a, almost sexy androgenous, not super androgenous, but just modern woman look. 

With a flash, she is on the stage, starting off with an intense and acrobatic performance of Bishop Briggs’ “Like a River.” The energy is incredible, and I must say I’m beyond impressed that someone is pulling off cartwheels and backbends in heels. She stayed true to her name on this one…

What kind of preparation goes into your performances? Costume design, choreography, etc. 

BB: I can do the tiniest bit of sewing. During COVID my drag mom and I would get together all the time and she would try and teach me how to sew. She taught me how to do a few things like seams and I can make a dress and, somewhat a pair of pants. I can clean a wig as far as brushing it out and re-setting it to make it look nice. Makeup is my favorite though, I love makeup. I’m so inspired by the things around me. I love fashion magazines, I love the ‘80s, I love big graphic eyes, but I also love the idea of something so smoky and sultry and pretty, you look at that and it’s like, “wow… ” 

How have your performances changed or evolved since you first started? 

BB: I feel like when I first started out I just wanted so badly to be seen that I was doing whatever everybody was listening to and whatever was the hit thing to do and what the look was, whether it be this style or this cut. It’s just more for me now. It’s my art more than it was before. I’m doing songs I’m feeling, I’m doing performances I’m feeling, and I’m able to put the heart and emotion behind the things I’m portraying. That’s the most important thing. 

Beth McCarthy’s “She Gets the Flowers” is next, the one Betty calls the “mood killer” but a testament to her emotional and artistic honesty nonetheless. Her beautiful floral dress was passed down from another queen, she told me, as often happens in “drag families.” She was classic and sultry and, come on, who doesn’t love a sad girl? 

How do you balance your personal life with your public persona? Are Shane and Betty very similar people or are they different?

BB: They are absolutely different, they are so different. Honestly, Betty is boisterous and outgoing and she wants to talk to everybody in the room. She’s gonna flirt with everybody, even if they are not my type. Shane, I’m in the corner, drinking a Heineken Zero and talking to my little group of friends and the people who I trust most in the world. I’m very reserved, I’m quiet, I don’t put myself out there like I should when I’m Shane. 

It’s difficult, with working a full-time job and doing pretty much full-time drag within the city, it can take a toll on your personal life. I’m not currently dating anybody but I have gone on dates and it’s difficult to manage. Having time to give somebody while still being like, but I got a gig at this time and I got a gig at this time and I’ve got a little bit of time here is tough. I have to sleep at some point. There is some sleep that has to happen (laughs), and it just doesn’t. I’m getting better at that though. I’m taking some time, just being zen and in my own space with my dog. We just chill. 

What do you love about drag performance? It takes a lot of willpower to have the crazy schedule that you do. Why do it? 

BB: I just love the emotional release that comes with it. I love the emotional release and I love the artistry that goes into it because nobody is the same in our community. We’re very fortunate in Minneapolis to have so many different types of drag entertainers. There are just different facets I find very, very entertaining, like, I love The Boulet Brothers but I also love Miss Continental. I love watching local competitions, I love watching local pageants. I’ve competed in local pageants, I’ve won titles in this city, it’s just fun. It’s a healthy release of all of the emotions that I’m usually feeling. And also it’s just a really good chance to get to see some of my best friends in this community. 

The diverse cast of queens on the stage tonight dazzled us with a variety of performances, including (my personal favorite) Cortana LaReese’s spot-on rendition of Selena’s “Como La Flor” live from the Astrodome, sparkly red jumpsuit and all. 

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about drag performance? 

BB: I think there’s this misconception that everybody who does drag is very femme. People think we all have this very femme personality, very girly, when a lot of the entertainers I know, we take it off. It’s not like “what’s up, bro?” but it’s like, “woah, you were just that lady in the cocktail dress like five minutes ago? Woah…” That’s the thing, though. Some are very femme, and some are very artistic, but it’s not an across-the-board thing. There’s nothing wrong with being feminine, it’s okay to be soft and it’s okay to have emotions, but I would not say that I’m a very soft person. I definitely come with a wall of sorts.

Could that misconception stem from confusion about drag performance versus gender identity? 

BB: Absolutely, though. You break it down into things further and it’s like no, I’m not sexualizing myself as the opposite gender. I’m enjoying myself and I’m putting on a performance and it’s a piece of something that I’ve thought about and I’ve created for this space, for this number. It’s not me trying to be overtly sexual or overtly inappropriate. I mean there are gigs that call for that, but that’s not my M.O. by any means. 

Where would you like to bring your performing career in the next year? 

BB: I wanna get out of the Midwest. I do so many gigs in the Midwest, I would like to bring it somewhere else. I’d love to go on a national tour of sorts. I don’t know if I’m quite ready for “summer camp” (RuPaul’s Drag Race). I don’t know if I’m quite ready for that, like I’m sure I have the personality but it just seems like not where I want to go. I’d like to be well known for other things. I mean, I did charity all of last year. I was doing charity almost every weekend as Betty, raising money for local nonprofits with the Imperial Court of Minnesota. I wanna see if there’s not something more I can do with that. Not so much with the Imperial Court but just as myself, lending a hand to the people who are in your own community and working to make sure that we are helping others around us. 

(Sighs) I just wanna go on a date with somebody and take the wig off for a couple minutes but, you know… (laughs).

Amidst all the joy and energy, I couldn’t help but get a bit down thinking about some of the negative publicity drag performance has received as of late. Betty shared a little bit of hope. 

How do you think the mainstream popularity of drag has impacted the community? Why should drag continue on as an embraced art form? 

BB: It’s interesting that you say this. So, I posted a photo on my personal Facebook today, and a friend from high school, who I would say is a little bit more right-wing than I am, he liked a photo of mine. He left this comment saying, basically, “I don’t understand what this is and why you do it, but I stand behind you, and I appreciate that you’re doing it. If it makes you happy, it doesn’t bother me…” 

It was a really full-circle moment because I think it’s important that people realize that, drag isn’t a crime. Nobody is out here trying to hurt anybody, we’re just entertainers putting on a show. I think if more people went in with that attitude, like if it’s not affecting me, if it’s not happening in my front yard, if it’s not happening in my home, then it doesn’t bother me, things could be better. It shouldn’t bother anybody. If it’s not affecting you directly, if it’s not hurting your wellbeing, if it’s not causing you to not be able to make money or uplift your own life, it shouldn’t bother you. Life is about taking chances and being aware of the things around you. Not everybody is the same, and that’s okay. 

The fact that he took five minutes out of his day though to type up a message like that and reach out to me… This is what the world could be if we actually took the time to not just seek out the differences in people but seek out the things that we do have in common. 

What do you hope to see for the future of drag? 

BB: I just wanna see it keep growing. We are so fortunate that we have all of these new drag entertainers coming into Minneapolis and they are polished, they are beautiful, and they’re willing to put in the hard work to do these shows. If that’s the attitude that we’re coming into with this new generation of drag, I wanna see what’s next. If that’s the cornerstone of where we’re starting for upcoming drag, what’s next? What are these performances gonna be? What’s the technology we’re gonna have? People are so, just, creative. 

Her last performance of the night was Selena Gomez’ “People You Know,” a catchy, dancy, bittersweet song, performed with glam and gusto, headstand included. In with a bang, out with a bang… 

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in pursuing drag as a career or hobby? 

BB: As a career, make sure you have a backup career until you are actually fully set in your ways, and that you are actually working enough gigs that you can pay for your rent and your car and whatever things you have in your life that come before drag. I don’t wanna say that drag will always be there, because nothing is forever. But, if you’re going to do it, don’t hold back. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do it. If it’s something that you’re actually passionate about, get into it. Come do a competition show. Put yourself out there. The worst thing that could happen is that you don’t get it that night. My first amateur night, I didn’t get it the first night. I came back the next week, and I won. It’s all about putting yourself out there and putting in the effort. If I could talk to the person who did that first amateur night, I would’ve said, “Listen, we’re not ready. That doesn’t mean we can’t do it, but we should just work more on it.” Put the work in, put the effort in. If you’re gonna do it, do it fully.

So, what are you doing this year for pride? 

BB: Currently I’m in talks to host a brunch, and I’m putting together a cast. So, keep a lookout for that. It’s going to be at a local hotel. I can’t give more details until we have the meeting but for now that’s what I have. I’m kinda just trying to take it easy. I burnt myself out last year by just going, going, going, but that’s okay. I had such a good time last year, there’s a lot of fun memories that come along with it. I had a private tent and I was like, “pour moi?” There were snacks and water bottles.

I’m just very appreciative of any opportunity that comes my way, and I look forward to expanding and getting bigger and being remembered for doing all of these things.

Before I knew it, the night was over, and it was time to turn out the lights. Keep on keeping on, Betty, we’ll see you at the next one…