Turning a queen’s art into a business
New talent agency aims to properly represent Canada’s drag performers
For over 20 years, drag performer Farra N. Hyte has been flipping her wig on the bar circuit. A typical “marathon drag” gig at Toronto’s Crews & Tangos will last hours as she chitchats with the audience, lipsynchs pop songs and lands splits while clutching a beer.
In the ’00s she did background work on a few Torontoshot projects such as TV series “Queer As Folk,” and in 2013 she won the Chicago-based drag pageant Miss Continental Plus. But Farra has felt at times like her showgirl career is stuck in a rut, even as her legendary drag daughter Brooke Lynn Hytes has become Canada’s most famous drag queen, thanks to her appearance on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and judging gig on “Canada’s Drag Race.”
“Being a bar queen for so long, and a pageant queen, I always end up in the same environment,” Farra says. “You don’t hear a lot in those environments about film roles or TV roles, or modelling or corporate gigs.”
She’s hoping that will soon change with the arrival of Vision Drag Artists. Farra N. Hyte is part of the inaugural roster of the talent agency that specializes in drag performers.
Daniel Birnbaum, an agent who represents actors including Melissa O’Neil (“The Rookie”), Nicole Power (“Kim’s Convenience”) and Jason Diaz (“The 100”), launched Vision Drag last month in partnership with Toronto’s the Talent House, where he has worked for nine years.
The 20 artists on the roster include “Canada’s Drag Race” stars Lemon, BOA and Kyne; seasoned veterans such as Farra N. Hyte and Nicolette Brown; drag king ZacKey Lime; and ingenues such as the popular brunch host Erin Brockobic. The idea came to Birnbaum one night in June: he wrote a business proposal that evening and presented it to Bruce Dean, owner of The Talent House, the next day.
Birnbaum says potential clients have been receptive. “It’s been almost like, ‘Finally,’” he says. “I was pleasantly surprised. It indicated that it was the right time to push this forward.” He has yet to announce a deal but notes that he is in talks for social-media campaigns, personal appearances and onscreen work.
Many of the performers say that having someone on their team who knows the business is part of the appeal. “I think artists get taken advantage of,” says Lemon, a Pickering drag queen who’s been a standout on “Canada’s Drag Race.”
“Artists are asked to do so many things for exposure, or you’ll get a gift bag when you walk out. I think having an agency or a manager takes the love of art and turns it into business as well,” Lemon said. “It’s just nice to have someone who’s got your back and will send the hard email that you don’t want your name attached to.”
Over the years, drag queens have gone in and out of vogue.
Dean Odorico, manager of the Church Street gay bar Woody’s, remembers a time in the late ’90s and early ’00s when every talent agency had a drag performer on its roster to satisfy a fad for celebrity impersonators on the bar mitzvah circuit.
As the reality competition “RuPaul’s Drag Race” became a cultural phenomenon — spawning an industry of drag tours, albums and merch — agencies dedicated to drag began proliferating in the U.S., such as Varran Media, which represents “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” winner Alaska, and King’s Queens Entertainment, which represents Brooke Lynn
Hytes among other “Ru” girls.
In Canada, drag-focused talent agencies have been attempted. For 15 years, drag queen and actor Amanda Roberts ran Lady Like Productions, which booked drag talent for film, TV and corporate appearances. But it’s much more common for drag performers to work alone or be managed by a friend.
It’s possible that these informal relationships have limited drag performers from landing more lucrative work. Odorico says he receives a few dozen calls a year from people who don’t know where to look to hire a drag queen for an event. “How many drag brunches were happening before COVID started?” he says. “You couldn’t have brunch without having drag.”
Although a pizza chain or a wedding planner might not know how to hire the perfect queen or king, the performers are also vulnerable when the client isn’t familiar with drag culture. Transportation, for example, is not just a perk but a safety requirement. “Now we have someone who knows the industry, who knows fair value for pay, who knows the proper contracts, and what needs to be included to make us feel safe and comfortable,” Farra N. Hyte says.
The fact that Birnbaum holds a senior position at the Talent House and sits on the board of directors for the Talent Agents and Managers Association of Canada also gave her confidence that she wasn’t just a sparkly gimmick for the agency to trot out during Pride month. “I’m not going to be treated like a freak,” she says.
“I have created Farra from nothing and I’ve run Farra on my own for 20 plus years, on my own sweat and glitter and eyelashes and miles on my tires. It’s hard to give up but, to look at the other perspective, he has opportunities at his fingertips that would never come to my attention. Those people would never know where to look to find someone like me.”
“It’s just nice to have someone who’s got your back and will send the hard email that you don’t want your name attached to.”
LEMON
PICKERING DRAG QUEEN, ABOVE