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- I can't believe people will pay money
to get video messages from "RuPaul's Drag Race" contestants.
It's like they think we're celebrities or something.
I'm just down here doing this in my basement in Rochester.
36th birthday, big fan.
- Two count after the beep.
[camera beeps]
- Hi, darling! It's me, Mrs. Kasha Davis.
Oh, my God on a wheel!
Dirty 36!
I can't even believe it, you barely look 35.
Tony, darling, can you even believe that it's me,
Mrs. Kasha Davis,
who had the balls to retweet your photo
with you in your lovely blouse?
Thank you so much for wearing my blouse
to the grocery store,
to the restroom at TJ Maxx,
or wherever you may travel.
Happy, happy birthday!
Message number two.
[soft string music]
[ripping sound]
[plastic rustles] - So we got...
a black background for some of the photo shoots.
We got a white background for photo shoots,
which we're gonna use this weekend.
[upbeat music]
This is our makeshift studio.
We've been filming all weekend long
for Kasha's audition video for "RuPaul's Drag Race."
- Hello!
I'm Kasha Davis.
Welcome to suburbia.
Well, hello, my fabulous fans and friends
and friends and fans,
and people who are voting for me, Mrs. Kasha Davis,
for "RuPaul's Drag Race" season five.
Now, remember, you can vote every 24 hours.
But, before I beg for another vote,
I've gotta show you a little bit
about my frantic, frantic day here in suburbia.
It's very, very difficult.
I was out pounding the pavement,
delivering my Avon orders
to those desperate bitches around the cul-de-sac
who are trying to look as fabulous as me.
Try, try, ladies,
I'll keep selling you that firming cream,
but, nothing works as well as duct tape.
All I know is I'm ready for a cocktail,
because, you know why?
There's always time for a cocktail.
Cheers, darlings!
Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm!
My name is Ed Popil.
I'm 47 years old.
I live in Rochester, New York.
I have a husband of 14 years
and I perform as a drag queen named Mrs. Kasha Davis.
♪ RuPaul's Drag Race ♪
♪ Start your engines ♪
Season 1 of "RuPaul's Drag Race" aired in 2009.
The whole drag community became excited
for this opportunity to be seen on mainstream television.
People can see not just a fabulous drag queen,
but see the real life struggles
that these people are going through.
That's something that I had to be a part of.
I auditioned every single season
and Steve and I worked on all of those audition videos.
[upbeat music]
Did you see my audition tape
for "RuPaul's Drag Race" season three?
I've got gobs and gobs of sequins, and beads, and feathers,
and they're just waiting to be on national television!
We can't even get on "RuPaul's Drag Race" season four.
I have so much passion and love for you RuPaul,
so that I can be on your television show.
Because you know,
I have nothing else to do except for sit here
and talk to my computer.
By the way, don't forget to vote for me.
Go to kashadavis.com and vote, vote, vote.
Oh, we're gonna have a good time.
Vote for me.
I started doing drag in 2004.
[Kasha screams]
I thought,
first I would create this character similar to who I was.
I was working in a career that I didn't wanna be in,
and I was longing to do something else.
[dog food patters]
[Kasha exhales loudly]
I am going to work.
It's time to make the donuts.
I was the director of a call center called DialAmerica.
I had been working at this job for 18 years.
I never really had that chance to go out
and fulfill the creative energies
that I had building up inside of me.
It was getting to the point where I'd sit at my desk
and I'd stare across the room thinking,
"Oh, my gosh, this is it?
I am a performer.
I need to be on stage.
I'm not alive if I'm not creating."
The inspiration really came to fruition
in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Provincetown is sort of like Oz for gay people.
You know, you're gonna see drag queens
walking down the street
and you're gonna see families with their children,
and no one's looking as if it's odd.
P-town is where I first saw Miss Richfield 1981 perform.
[upbeat music]
She would just, like, fly around the streets
on her little, you know, buggy and stuff like that.
And we were like, "Gosh, she's funny."
I realized that you could be a drag queen
who doesn't just focus on being pretty.
You can have comedy and music.
And that is something that's very entertaining for people.
♪ La, la, la, la, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la ♪
Oh, welcome!
I'm so excited for our first ever Kasha Davis cooking show.
I thought maybe, just maybe,
you'd enjoy Kasha's balls of love.
That's right, it's time for Kasha's balls.
Put them right into the blender, or food processor,
or mixer, whatever you have.
And then you take your cream cheese
and you put that in there and you're all set.
And, as you get all those ingredients put in together,
you just close it on tight
and then you start up the process here with the mixer
and you just, you blend it all up is what you do.
The biggest inspiration for me, creating Mrs. Kasha Davis,
is emulating my mom.
[melancholic music]
She was an Italian diva.
Strong,
stunning,
emotional.
When I was little,
I remember sitting on the side of the tub
and watching her, you know, put on her face
and that artwork.
And, over time,
performing as Mrs. Kasha Davis
became a way to keep her spirit alive.
I like to get gas on a Sunday
because it's a good day to wear a gown
and wave at a neighbor.
Hi darling!
Hi, darling, I love your blouse.
And, you know, Sunday's a good day
to get all of your chores done.
I like to try to get to Wegmans.
Ooh, the grocery store.
I like to try to get to the liquor store.
You know, milk, bread, vodka.
I just gravitated to my mom.
When I was a kid in the seventies and eighties,
in Scranton, Pennsylvania,
there were no gay people that I knew of
I was light in the loafers.
I gravitated to dolls.
And I wanted to play theater and dress up.
And I was a little sassy.
And so I was, there were lessons about speaking lower
and acting more like a man.
I got myself involved in theater and I found my tribe.
So it was a place where I just found so much passion
and joy.
For me, it was clear,
I was gonna be an entertainer some way, somehow.
But every time I brought it up to my family,
it was discouraged.
It wasn't realistic.
You can't, can't, can't.
I was always trying to be what my dad wanted.
So, I ran away from theater
and then I made the decision
to marry the first girl that would say yes,
and I cried the entire day at the wedding.
And I kept telling everyone
it was because I was so much in love.
But I knew that it was the final straw
that you cannot be yourself.
[audience laughs]
Yes, but my mother will.
Growing up,
and when I came out to her, I said, "Mom, I'm gay."
And she said, "Oh, honey,
you don't wanna touch somebody's pickle."
[audience laughs]
"Or put your pickle in somebody's dupa."
It was what you call
only the medical terms in our household.
When I did come out to my parents,
at that point, I was in the process of divorce.
Mom, of course, was dramatic and cried.
And dad just spit in my face
and told me to get out.
And I did
because it was time for me to be myself.
[melancholic music]
I moved to Rochester and that's when my life started.
And I'm very excited because I'm doing a show at Rain Lounge
for the Christmas holiday.
Darienne Lake, season six superstar on "RuPaul's Drag Race"
is gonna be there.
And, my fabulous gal pal Aggy Dune!
See you in a bit.
Well, here we are at Rain Lounge,
and, you know, just a subtle poster for Darienne Lake.
You know, it's the size of the building.
- Mrs. Kasha Davis came to the scene, probably like,
was it like, right around the turn of the century?
She was sort of a fan, newly out of the closet.
So everything was a complete candyland.
We just had a great time.
- Mrs. Kasha Davis.
She is a married lady.
She is a housewife.
She likes lime Jell-o and marshmallows.
She is a little crazy.
I love that he had an idea of who Mrs. Kasha Davis was
from the very first time he was on stage.
- She is a true foundation of Rochester now.
And by that, I mean, foundation.
She's a brick.
- But I think the first time that I met you two,
I was backstage at Muther's
and getting ready in the mirror,
and they turned to me and said,
"Don't be afraid to try and look pretty!
Just try, Kasha!"
[pop music]
Rochester is a small enough town
where people really know each other.
When I moved there, I was like
What! Gay acceptance!
Gay pride.
I saw rainbow flags, I didn't know what they were.
I started going out to the gay clubs
and I went to a place called Muther's
and I saw all of these amazing performers.
There was Darienne Lake,
Pandora Boxx,
Ambrosia Salad,
Aggy Dune,
and then when I mentioned to Ambrosia Salad
that I wanted to do drag,
the whole group really encouraged me
and helped me to develop Mrs. Kasha Davis.
Really, it was a family.
- My drag persona name is Ambrosia Salad.
And I've been doing drag here for,
I think maybe 25 years, around there.
Oh God, that's a quarter of a century. [laughs]
You know, I'm six foot, three.
Size 12 foot.
I just was like, "Where do I get stuff?"
There was a store here in Rochester called La Belle Grande.
And that was the only place you could go
to get the larger size shoe.
And I just thought that was the funniest name in the world,
the big woman. [giggles]
And you paid a lot of money for crappy shoes.
- Aggy Dune has been around for about 35 years.
She's the grande dame of Rochester,
so she's kind of like the head supreme
where all the other ones were kind of,
they sprouted off like gremlins
when they threw a drink on her after midnight.
Kind of like Kasha Davis, Darienne Lake, and Pandora Boxx.
- Good evening, Chicago stud puppets.
[audience cheers]
I'm your giver goddess from the Empire State.
I'm the reigning Miss Continental New York State.
[audience cheers]
- The Rochester drag community
has always been really fantastic.
Even 30 years ago when I started.
When you talk to other big queens
that travel the country all the time, they come here,
they're always like,
"You guys have some seriously good drag here.
What's in the water?"
I'm like, "Mostly chemicals from Kodak."
But, you know, we live a Technicolor life,
and that really helps us out here.
- Through the years, we've had great bar owners
who will stay up until 4:00 am
smoking cigarettes in their trailers, sewing you a dress.
The winters are really fucking long in Upstate New York.
And so you're like trapped inside your house
and you have cabin fever,
and you're like, "What can I do today that's creative?"
You know, something.
- Doing drag with these queens on nights and weekends
completely changed my life.
And it was the first time when I was 100% me.
And look at that, push a button.
[beeping sound]
- Like a Transformer.
Drag queen in the sky.
- This is my best friend and fabulous entertainer,
Miss Aggy Dune, Tom Smalley.
- Well, hello, hello.
- And, my God, I've been doing drag
as long as I've known you.
I probably met you in the like,
second or third time I did drag.
So that's, at this point, I figured it out,
it is 13 years.
- [Aggy] Oh, my God.
How long were you married to your wife?
[laughing]
- From '93 to '98.
- [Aggy] So our relationship has lasted-
- It's lasted longer.
- Hi, it's Liza Minnelli and-
- Hello, I'm back from the dead for a moment.
- Well, here we are on our way to this benefit.
Whereupon, we're going to be modeling
and being around for pictures and all that jazz.
- [Kasha] And it was so early on, like, for me with like,
'cause all I knew was theater
and I really hadn't done much drag.
And so, I thought, what's the script?
And Aggy was like, "Nope, there's no script."
So you really taught me like a crash course
in developing Mrs. Kasha Davis,
as well as us developing what we originally thought was like
Lucy-Ethel impersonation. - Yeah.
Sonny, Cher. - Yeah.
It was a matter of elevating drag
from a place of,
you know, just the hole in the wall bar scene.
And we were able to take it into party houses.
- Yeah, we elevated out of the bar into the-
- Golden Ponds! - Into the Polden ponds.
The Italian buffet. - Yeah, you know, high class.
- Italian restaurant in a strip mall in the suburbs.
- Right. - So we have made it.
[upbeat dance music]
- We sound like two cats in heat.
[hissing sounds]
We're actually Betty and Wilma from "The Flintstones."
- This is from the yabba dabba don't collection.
- Exactly.
- So when I started out performing and doing drag,
we didn't have the internet to reference
or learn how to do makeup,
or I could just go and click to go to dragqueensgalore.com
and buy everything in one shopping cart.
You had to go out and find everything yourself.
I remember the day you had to find out where to buy boobs.
You had to build your own things and figure out all of it,
which was for me, the fun part of it.
And now it's just click a button and there it is,
instant drag queen, just add vodka.
These are some of the impersonation wigs that I use a lot.
So, well, let's see, who do we have in here?
Oh, this one.
She's always a favorite.
Don't fall.
So she's always a favorite.
It's...
Bette Davis.
Because everyone loves a nice sensible short wig.
So, we like Bette Davis.
We have Liza, Celine, Peggy Lee,
Baby Jane.
Everyone loves her.
Elsa for the kids.
Barbra, Tina, Reba.
Cher, Cher, Cher, Cher, Cher.
'Cause she makes the most money.
[audience laughs]
- Now, I will give you a lesson from Mrs. Kasha Davis.
The best thing that you can do when picking a fella
is to make sure that he has a penis, a pulse,
and good credit. [audience laughs]
Welcome to Mr. Davis in the corner.
[audience laughs]
It was check mark on all three
and I said, "Let's get married."
- [Steven] I'm Steven Levins and I'm 54 years old.
Ed and I have been together for 14 years.
When we got legally married,
that just automatically made me Mr. Davis.
- Oh! [laughs loudly]
- I think one of the most important things
is to help your partner in their endeavors.
I mean, right from the beginning, we made the decision.
If he was gonna do drag,
that I was gonna support him in any way I can.
I often help out Mrs. Kasha Davis
by filming and running the lights and sound.
Behind the scenes stuff that Kasha cares nothing about.
- [Kasha] You're cute.
- I like being on the other side of the camera.
- I know, but you're really cute on this side of the camera.
[Steven laughs lightly]
There would be no Mrs. Davis without Mr. Davis.
We are a team in every way, shape, and form.
- In the process of Kasha Davis becoming who she is today,
we thought, "Hey, let's start doing some YouTube videos."
[comedic music]
- [Woman] Making sure it's the good stuff?
- It is the good stuff. - Oh!
[woman laughs]
- Now, what do you have, darling?
- Oh, I don't drink the good stuff.
- You drink the Black Velvet?
Oh, my God.
That's fabulous!
- Why is that fabulous?
- Because, look at you.
- I don't drink that much.
It's just I have it in the house.
- Well that's the way I think of it.
- Where are you going now?
- Oh, to the Wegmans.
Just to the grocery store. - Don't put me on that!
[Kasha and Steven laugh]
Oh, my God, what's this all about?
- [Steven] What are you doing?
- I'm weeding and in case of snakes,
I have my protective gear on.
- [Steven] What kind of socks are those?
- [Kasha] Beige. -[Steven snorts]
- [Steven] Do snakes hate beige?
- They hate beige.
Snakes are like, "Ugh, beige!"
And they go [hisses]
So we have had two weddings.
One was just, you know,
because we thought that Jesus
and the rest of all of the Holy Spirits would just bless us
because the government wouldn't.
- The fake one.
- That was, but it was the real one.
- It was real in our... Well, that's the one we count.
- Yeah and then we had another one that we can put on paper.
- Yeah, we followed up with the paperwork six years later.
- Yeah. - And that was four years ago.
- Four years.
Married bliss!
And I say, when people ask me,
"How do you keep the marriage alive?"
And I answer, quite frankly, "Blow jobs."
And I'm also very proud of the fact that I'm married.
And back when Mrs. Kasha Davis was created,
I mean, gay marriage wasn't legal.
And so we were talking about something that was taboo.
A lot of people say, "You two love each other so much."
We talk about it on videos and everything else,
but, the things that I think is important is that,
we have very similar situation.
We were both married to women.
- For me, after I came out, it was really difficult
because a lot of people didn't wanna date someone with kids.
- It was so funny because I was like,
crying, crying, "I'm never gonna have children.
It's never gonna happen.
This is why I, you know,
I don't wanna be gay because I wanna have a family."
- It was really cool because he not only accepted the kids,
he really wanted to meet them
and wanted to have a relationship with them.
- Early on, I remember thinking to myself,
"Wow, if I ever had kids,
they'd be just like Melissa and Jessica."
And then I was like... [gasps]
And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.
I was like, "I do have kids.
And they are Melissa and Jessica."
And so, it was perfect.
Rushing after work to go to Darienne Lake's
viewing party at the Forum,
the Bachelor Forum here in Rochester, New York.
"RuPaul's Drag Race," season six.
Hopefully, they'll do the same for me for season seven
when I'm cast.
I'm Mrs. Kasha Davis.
That's right, Mrs.
Oh, and I am so proud to be auditioning for season seven
of "RuPaul's Drag Race."
Oh, I've been here a couple of times.
You know that, Ru.
But this is it.
I am America's next drag superstar.
And you know why?
Because you've seen me for seven years in a row.
And I know you know me.
I know in my heart.
I know you watched the videos.
I know that you do take a look at all of us gals out there,
and I wanna represent what you've built for us.
I am so proud of what you have done for our community.
And I would love to be a part of it.
And I would love to lead it with those winning queens,
as a matter of fact.
- Well guess what? What?
- You've got a chance
because you've been officially selected
for season seven of "Drag Race."
- Oh, my God on a wheel! [laughs loudly]
Holy shit balls!
Jesus Christ, you put me through the frickin' wringer!
I have this towel here to dry myself off.
I think I peed a little.
I mean... [exhales loudly]
You know, a woman of my age, I've gotta have poise.
I've got, I'm wearing Depends now.
You made me wahhh...
- Hey, everybody.
It's been about three weeks since we got the call
and it is 5:30 in the morning on July 12th.
[Kasha grunts]
- I can't take it. [Steven laughs]
- Don't look, just squish.
- I could, basically, projectile vomit right now.
But, I will not do that 'cause it's on television
or YouTube.
We don't do that.
- That would be disgusting. - Disgusting.
- But, you're flying to New York.
- New York and then L.A.
I can't believe it. - Then straight to HOLLYWOOD!
- I'm so grateful and honored.
I can't wait to...
I'm gonna do my best, whatever that is.
It was an absolute dream come true.
And, of course, I didn't wanna fuck it up.
Hi, my honeys!
I'm home! [laughs joyously]
[queens laugh]
- Are there any other queens here?
Oh, just me, I guess. [laughs lightly]
My name is Mrs. Kasha Davis. [laughs joyously]
And I'm an international celebrity housewife
because of that one time I performed in Canada.
Being on a reality show, it just, it changes your life.
You are under a microscope.
[upbeat music]
The entire time that I was there,
you are locked in a hotel room
where they duct tape the door closed.
I had no telephone.
You're working 12, 15 hours,
and the only people you can talk to in the world
is this little group.
You'd look up and there's the Hollywood sign.
And you felt like this is gonna be a whole new adventure,
a whole new life.
Hi, everybody!
I'm here to tell you to put up your tray tables.
[scat singing]
♪ Put up your tray ♪
♪ Put up your tray tables ♪
♪ Aah ♪
♪ Put up your, put up your ♪
♪ Put up your, put up your tray ♪
♪ Please, put it up now ♪
♪ Put up yours ♪
- Wasn't she just great, ladies and gentlemen?
- When I got cast on "RuPaul's Drag Race,"
I was grateful and excited, but, it's a competition.
And, they were kind of cutthroat,
you know, as queens can be.
And I'm used to a family atmosphere
where we support one another.
- Next up, Pearl and Max.
- And last, but certainly not youngest, Mrs. Kasha Davis!
- Did you hear that, dear?
[RuPaul laughs]
- I get frustrated with our community saying,
"You're too old, roll over and die."
And, "Everybody should be young and thin."
Why?
- Honey, when they picked that group,
I know there's a lot of buffoonery because
they all look alike.
They're all the same height.
They all weigh two pounds.
- This may sound like old lady bullshit or whatever,
but, after trying for this for seven years
and somebody's like, "Ugh, fuck this."
That pisses me off. - Yeah.
- You know, it's like,
sometimes you have that pop of attitude.
- It's your shtick. You know that.
What was the first thing you said to me
when we stood at the table
when we first walked in the workroom?
- Something about your man arms?
- Yeah, man arms and then we'll see if you have any talent.
I was so anxious, you know?
It was the sole thing I wanted in my life.
[drum rolls]
- And now, our hostesses with the mostesses,
Mrs. Kasha Davis and Katya!
- Oh, my goodness, everyone.
We wanna welcyum-
welcome you to the first annual DESPY Awards.
- That's a hard job opening the show.
That's tough, you know?
To be overshadowed by the people following you.
Here's someone who really has the chops
and didn't bring it tonight.
I find that very frustrating.
- This is like a workhorse queen, you know?
And a workhorse queen has to make us laugh
the minute we see her.
- It didn't happen tonight.
- Ladies, I've made my decision.
[suspenseful music]
Mrs. Kasha Davis, your big opening was a little sloppy.
Call Mr. Davis and tell him, "Mama's coming home."
[Ross laughs lightly]
Sashay away.
- Love you gals! - Love you!
[contestants applaud]
- There's always time for a cocktail.
[melancholic music]
I was really, really disappointed.
I knew I wasn't competing up to my personal expectations
and to what other people expected of me.
I felt like I was disappointing my husband and my kids.
They had these ideas of me winning.
- I got a phone call in the middle of the day
and it was Ed,
and I was disappointed for him
because I knew he wanted to do well.
And I know that it was his passion.
- I was the fifth queen sent home on season seven
of "RuPaul's Drag Race."
It was hard to go home and face everyone.
It was hard to face myself.
My name is Mrs. Kasha Davis.
International celebrity housewife
because of that one gig in Montreal.
[audience laughs]
Now, I don't know if any of you ever have watched
the reality television show, "RuPaul's Drag Race."
[audience cheers]
Thank you.
And if you've watched season seven,
you might remember me from the opening credits.
[audience laughs]
In other words, I did shitty.
[audience laughs]
I have these shoes
and I don't know what to wear with them tonight.
I think something with gold.
- [Steven] Talk about shoes in a pile.
It's like your shoe cupboard threw up.
- I get told that I'm basic a lot.
And there's a degree of that that I own.
And sometimes it is an insecurity on my age.
I mean, look at this forehead, right?
Well, hello. It's Mrs. Kasha Davis.
How are you?
- Pretty good, how are you? [indistinct voice on phone]
I'm good! Who's calling?
[indistinct voice on phone]
Hi!
[indistinct voice on phone]
I'm doing fine.
I can't believe...
How goofy am I that I decided to
put my phone number accidentally on Twitter?
And I tweeted my phone number
to get in contact about performance.
And when it said, "Reply," I did tweet.
'Cause I don't understand technology.
So I wasn't realizing what I was doing.
I tweeted the number and then got all these phone calls.
Hi there, darling.
It's Mrs. Kasha Davis.
- Hi Kasha! [indistinct voice on phone]
Hi!
- Oh my goodness! [indistinct voice on phone]
- I actually got through! [indistinct voice on phone]
Oh, my gosh.
What's your name?
I realized this was my opportunity
because even if I got kicked off early,
believe it or not,
"RuPaul's Drag Race" girls are considered celebrities.
[upbeat music]
Season seven of "RuPaul's Drag Race" aired in 2015.
[upbeat music]
- TV definitely changed the game.
I never thought I would do the show.
I never thought I'd be interested in it.
I never thought drag would be a career.
I just didn't.
But I'm extremely grateful for what it's opened up
and what I've been able to get to do.
- You know, you hear a lot of people say,
"Oh, they are an Instagram queen.
They're a YouTube queen. They have tutorials.
They have this, they have that." Great!
That's what we're working towards,
so that they can have that freedom.
"RuPaul's Drag Race,"
allowed people to see that they're a part of something.
And I know that's what Ru really wants.
- With every season,
I feel like there's more and more variety
of new types of queens.
You know, you can do whatever you want to.
"RuPaul's Drag Race" has this wonderful platform
where we bring these people in,
but there aren't that many spots on the show.
And there are a bazillion more talented queens
who have not been cast yet.
[audience murmur]
- This next gal and the fabulous Wednesday Westwood,
need your positive energy
'cause they are auditioning for "RuPaul's Drag Race."
[audience cheers]
She's my sister and gal pal.
I know you'll love her, Miss Aggy Dune!
[audience cheers]
♪ One, two, three, one, two, three, drink ♪
♪ Throw 'em back 'til I lose count ♪
♪ I'm gonna swing ♪
♪ from the chandelier ♪
- I wanna be on "Drag Race" to have that recognition,
to say to all the people who supported me
for the last 35 years that say,
"You should really be on there."
I just kinda wanna,
I wanna do it for them as much as for myself.
Now with "Drag Race,"
the crowd doesn't wanna come out
unless there's a celebrity there
so they can take a selfie and post it on their Instagram.
It's always fun.
It's like, "We're gonna do a meet and greet. Great!
No, one's here to stand next to me."
So many of the people here in town,
that have made it onto the show
that I've mentored and helped
and been a part of their drag growth in their career,
have gotten onto the show, and I'm so excited for them.
I know how much I want it,
so I know how much it means to them to get on there.
And I am truly excited for 'em.
It kills me that I have not gotten on there.
I'm sorry, I can't go on with the scene.
I'm too happy.
Mr. RuPaul, do you mind if I say a few words?
Thank you.
I just wanna tell you all how happy I am
to be back in the studio, making an audition tape again.
You don't know how much I've missed all of you.
And I promise you, I'll never desert you again
because after season 10,
I'll make another audition tape,
and another audition tape.
You see, this is my life.
It always will be.
There's nothing else, just us.
It changes your friends structure of what you have
because you can't share something that they're doing.
So, they're hesitant to talk about their success
and some of the things they're having,
'cause they know how much you're not part of it,
which makes it more difficult to continue
to have that close friendship,
because there's now things that you can't talk about.
So, I just kinda wanna get on, mainly,
so I can get all my friends back
to the way that things were
before "Drag Race" shifted the entire drag world.
- Are you frustrated at trolling the internet,
looking at drag queens' social media pages,
just to find the same old posts over and over again?
How boring!
Are you overwhelmed at all the audition tapes
just to see the same old death drops again and again?
Oh, yikes!
- I'd say one of the biggest hardships
that I've had doing drag has been, well,
auditioning for "RuPaul's Drag Race"
for eight seasons in a row.
[crowd chatters]
- So when you first come off "Drag Race,"
it was busy, busy, busy.
There were tours lined up.
Promotional things.
I'm gonna go on tour this week.
It's gonna be fabulous.
- Oh, it's gonna be a crazy week.
- I know.
Roscoe's in Chicago with the entire cast of season seven.
So I always wanted to be a full-time performer.
And, finally, I have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
But, you know, financially,
how am I going to support my family?
It's important for Steven and I
to continue to maintain our home.
Looking at the gay world, we didn't necessarily fit in.
It was always a dream of ours to have the home,
the pool, the kids.
You have girl-size feet.
What size shoe do you wear?
- Correct.
[Kasha laughs]
- Correct.
I can't get this.
- [Pandora] Oh, it's so hard to open a Diet Coke.
Oh, my God. I can't possibly!
Oh, it's so hard, living in the suburbs.
With a pool and a house and children
and the money and a convertible.
[Kasha laughs]
Look! Could somebody open my soda for me?
- Somebody open my Diet Coke.
I can't possibly.
- [Pandora] Oh, I couldn't possibly.
- You see, this is my friend.
- We really needed to make a decision.
Was he gonna stay with his job
or was he gonna jump in full force and try to make a career?
We both agreed that we were gonna give it at least a year.
And, if things weren't working out,
then he would not do it full-time anymore.
- At that time I was 44 years old
and I realized I can do this
and I'm gonna go for it.
[upbeat music]
[audience cheers]
- [Steven] This was just the beginning
of a whole new career phase.
- [Kasha] On my post-season tour,
we traveled to New York City, we were in LA,
we were in Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Miami.
I was so busy. I was able to tour
and meet so many different fans of the show.
It was amazing.
I could not believe these people
that were so obsessed with the queens.
I could not get over this!
When my season first aired,
every time I would get on an airplane, people were like,
"There's always time for a cocktail."
And they would hand me bottles of booze.
I was like, "Wow, this is fantastic."
After the excitement of that tour ended,
the bookings slowed down and then it kind of trickled.
And then there was some interest and then it died.
As time went on, I started to see my calendar looking blank
and I'm looking at my husband
wondering what I've done
with my contribution to our relationship,
by leaving my full-time job for this.
- One of the hardest parts of being a drag husband
is when your drag wife comes home from a gig
and maybe one that she was really excited about
and it wasn't well attended,
or a number didn't go over as well as she thought.
Say, "Goodnight, Gracie."
- Goodnight, Gracie.
I identified with my nine-to-five job.
During that period of time I was productive
and I could abstain from alcohol.
I knew that I was good at lifting people up
and managing people.
And then I was literally a housewife.
[vacuum cleaner whirring]
I was at home all day
and I would look at all the other queens from my season
who were getting tours, and shows, and opportunities.
[lawn mower whirring]
My insecurities took over
and it really began to get out of control.
Well, I'm so very, very proud to say
that just a couple of you were requesting another video.
And I thought, "Well, I have a moment
and a couple of things to share."
And I thought, "Why not sit down on April 20th
and have a glass of wine with my friends on the W W W?"
Mmm hmmm! Mm mm!
I love a good boxed wine.
I mean, it's good for a bargain,
and you can take it with you everywhere.
They go in totes and everything.
Well, everybody likes a cocktail.
There's always time for a cocktail.
- We used to have an expression about Kasha Davis.
"When the Tanqueray turns."
It was sort of like she was fun
and having a great time,
and then that tipping point of the drinking,
as the Tanqueray turns.
And then she would just get nasty. [laughs]
She'd be really mean.
And we're like, "Okay, it's time to call it a night.
You know, we'll see you later, bye!"
- When you're that thick into your addiction,
you're either drinking,
you're thinking about the next time you're gonna drink,
or you're hungover.
You gravitate to the liquor store.
You gravitate to the box of wine.
And then, if you're a comedian like me,
you kinda make fun of it.
When you walk into a club and go to perform,
you think that everybody's as drunk as you.
And now I realized, "Nobody was that drunk."
♪ On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me ♪
♪ Five shots of Tanqueray ♪
♪ Four vodka tonics ♪
♪ Three Tom Collins ♪
♪ Two Kasha's balls ♪
♪ And a stupid tree in [inaudible] ♪
[audience laughs]
And it was after five, six, seven days of traveling
all different places, New York City, Philadelphia,
back to Rochester.
And I was driving and I was drinking.
And it was a really bad weekend of excess.
- [Steven] His drinking had started to escalate.
He was in Scranton to do a show
and we agreed that he would sleep overnight
and then come home in the morning for a gig.
That morning, I could tell that he had been drinking
before I even saw him.
30 minutes later, I got a text that he was arrested.
- When I came to the next day, Steve said to me,
"You know, that it was reported
that you were swerving from children."
- We just had a big blow out.
I told him I couldn't do it anymore, I was done.
And at that point I was ready to end the relationship
because I couldn't take the drinking anymore.
[piano music]
♪ I am a bird girl ♪
- That's when I realized I'm an alcoholic
and I may have to lose everything.
I may have to lose my husband, my children, my career,
but I wasn't gonna lose myself.
I was going to stop.
♪ Here in my hands ♪
I enlisted in outpatient rehab
and that was the foundation for a lifetime of recovery.
- He just took complete responsibility
and started going to AA.
And that really, I think,
I credit that moment to saving our marriage.
And, actually, it's become so much better
because he's now sober and fully present in the marriage.
[Kasha and Steven laugh]
- I'm grateful to be alive.
And I would not be able to do any of this
without my husband.
♪ Into soon the sky ♪
♪ I'm gonna be born ♪
♪ Into soon the sky ♪
With the love and support of Steve,
I was able to continue working as Mrs. Kasha Davis,
going to rehab,
and really addressing this problem head on
one day at a time.
And again, we want you to have those cocktails.
I have a phrase called,
"There's always time for a cocktail."
My mother used to say that every morning, noon, and night.
God rest her NyQuil-chugging soul.
[audience laughs]
At any rate, I digest. [laughs lightly]
Thank you.
You know, I'm almost three years sober now, kids.
Can you believe that shit? [audience applauds]
Yeah, thank you so much.
Through the process of rehabilitation,
one of the things that did, you know, pop up in my mind is,
"Who is Mrs. Kasha Davis
if she doesn't have a glass of wine in her hand?
How is she going to go on by saying,
'There's always time for a cocktail?'
Do I have to change it to,
'There's always time for a mocktail?'
Can I get that level of excitement on stage?"
[audience laughs]
You know, my phrase,
"There's always time for a cocktail," I'm sober.
What had happened was, is that I was drinking so much,
I realized I was allergic to alcohol
because every time I drank, I broke out in handcuffs.
[audience laughs]
It's much safer for the community
at large, small, and medium.
I started to look at how I could potentially begin to repair
the relationship with my family.
I was somebody who took a look in the mirror
in the early forties and said, "I'm not done.
I can't be done."
Let's try lime jell-o-
And I began to put together a one-woman-show.
- Hey, everybody.
We are here at the JCC for "Cocktail."
[crowd chatters]
Wow, looks like we have a full house.
- Grandma was a Vaudeville star in her day.
A whistler!
And, boy, could she blow!
[audience laughs]
I guess I'm a lot like her.
[audience laughs]
Through my one-woman-show,
"There's Always Time for a Cocktail,"
I wanted to share the story of my life.
It's my coming out story.
I talk about my battle with addiction.
I talk about the battle with my father.
I talk about my marriage to my ex-wife.
And, of course, the joy of my husband
and Mr. Davis and the children.
Mom was my ultimate queen.
She always smelled like coffee, Avon perfume,
cigarette smoke, and Aqua Net. [audience laughs]
Basically, she smelled flammable.
[audience laughs]
When Dad would come home from work
and dinner wouldn't be ready on the table,
she'd yell, "Eddie, hurry up, hurry up!
Help me set the table!
Your father's gonna kill me if dinner's not ready."
Inevitably, Dad would barge in,
"Ellen, why isn't dinner ready when I come home from work?
You're the wife!"
He'd get so angry sometimes
he'd kick in the side of the television.
As a child, I remember,
always feeling like I had to protect my mother.
And so I would take a large brunt
of my dad's physical anger because I challenged him.
My dad was a retired U.S. Marshal,
and he tried everything to make sure
that I was the man that he wanted to share his name
versus the boy that I was.
And to the point where that he would
try to beat the girl out of me.
Oh, he would say, "Eddie, boys don't like dancing or dolls,
they like sports.
Eddie, let's go outside and play catch.
Well I got kind of excited,
'cause, you know, I thought this was a little bonding time
and I do love balls.
[audience laughs]
We went outside,
"Eddie, stand over there
and put your arms at your side.
And I'm gonna hit you with this ball over and over again.
So you know what it feels like to get hit with it,
maybe then you wouldn't be so afraid of it."
I was definitely a mama's boy.
And, as mom grew older,
we grew apart because I was coming out as gay
and it broke my heart
because we had many years of separation
and then she got sick
and she suffered from an addiction to pain meds.
The damage from the fire burned off all her hair.
And she didn't even have but one eyelash.
And the long story short,
she was smoking while she was on her oxygen tank
and caught herself, her face on fire.
And, she was airlifted to a hospital.
And I just remember walking in
and the queen that I knew and loved
was completely unrecognizable.
Her hair was burnt off.
Her face was essentially melted.
And she turned to me and I was holding her hand
and she just said, you know, "What did I do with my life?"
Well, unfortunately, my mom passed away
due to complications of the same disease that I have,
through addiction.
After that, dad and I started to somehow
seem to have a relationship.
He began to change.
He realized how precious life was.
And it was time for us to find ways
to mend both sides of the street.
Well, "RuPaul's Drag Race" happened.
And, you know, you get all kinds of fancy gigs, right?
Well, I got offered a gig in Scranton, Pennsylvania
at a Toyota dealership.
[audience laughs]
Wow!
I visit Dad, "How's it going?"
"Good, how are you?"
He never saw me in drag.
We never talked about it.
"I see your picture on the paper, you got a show tonight?"
"Yeah."
"Six o'clock?"
"Mm-hmm."
"I'm coming."
Shit my pants! [audience laughs]
47 years old and I'm still like
Ahhhh!
"Uhh, you know, dad, I'm in drag."
"Yeah, I know, I saw the newspaper."
But Dad came backstage,
also known as the sales department.
[audience laughs]
He turned the corner and he just gasped
and said,
"Eddie. Wow. You're beautiful."
Words I never expected to hear
from the man that said I was too much like a girl.
[soft music]
As I've gotten older and gone through my recovery process,
there's a level of forgiveness there that I have to,
no, that I've chosen to give him.
As I performed "There's Always Time for a Cocktail,"
I started on the journey of really accepting
and loving my most genuine self.
It can be very easy for me to get disappointed
and to slip back into comparing, scrolling,
and looking at what other people are doing.
The artist who feels as though they can sit back
and wait for stuff to come, will lose.
I don't care how popular you are.
Your fire will go out and you have to go back at it.
As I'm working on my one-woman-play,
"There's Always Time for a Cocktail,"
"RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 2" airs.
- [Announcer 1] "Drag Race All Stars" returns.
And Thursday, queens are wild.
- Hiyeeeee! - Watch out, girls.
This bitch is back.
- Essentially all the queens that were cast
on "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 2,"
began to gain more popularity and more followers.
I felt like it was necessary for me
to get cast on "All Stars,"
to compete and build upon what I had started.
It is something that, frankly,
I'm chomping at the bit to be a part of.
[upbeat music]
- Hi, Syracuse! [audience cheers]
We're here for one reason, really, aren't we?
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,
here she is, the fabulous and fantastic,
gorgeous and beautiful,
please give her a warm Syracuse welcome,
Miss Tatianna!
[audience cheers]
♪ I want you to take over control ♪
♪ Take over control ♪
♪ Take, take, take, take over control ♪
♪ Oh, oh, oh, I want you to take over control ♪
♪ Plug it in and turn me on ♪
- My name is Tatianna,
and I was on "RuPaul's Drag Race" season two.
And then again on "All Stars" season two.
The last year has been crazy.
I've been to so many different countries.
Like, have you ever seen that Lady Gaga?
It's like club, another club, bus...
It could be that.
So, it's been,
it's taken me a little bit of time to get used to it
just 'cause from season two,
it was not like that,
but I like it.
And I also feel like a fun pop star.
I'm just like,
"I'm just living my life touring." [laughs joyously]
[audience cheers]
- Since I didn't do well on my season,
and I haven't been cast on "All Stars,"
I decided to do whatever I could
to attract the producer's attention.
I have to work that much harder on social media
in order to get the attention to get gigs.
Social media has changed drag so much.
At this point, the fans have expectations
for the queens that have been on the show.
The pressure's on!
Thatchwork Designs! Davy has come through
with some dresses for this weekend's show.
Mr. Davis looks on with...
So at the end of the show, we're all wearing green.
And so this is my gown.
Fabulousness, right?
Look at that.
[dog whines]
Very Grecian.
- Max likes it.
And then...
[dog howls]
Max, one more!
And we have a housewife dress that I'm excited about.
Looks like a tablecloth, but, I love it.
Lookit, Max, it's a housewife dress.
[dog grumbles]
- He's saying, "Not another housewife dress."
[dog howls]
- In this day and age,
something that you wear on social media is done.
It's time to constantly be updating your looks
and finding new things, so, it's a challenge.
How's everybody tonight?
[audience cheers]
Oh, look at you looking all fierce
and fabulous there, Topher?
Put your hand up and wave to everybody.
That's a lady over there. [audience cheers]
Yeah!
Ladies, in 2018, 19, fiscal year,
come in all shapes, sizes, beards, forms, and gloves.
It's fantastic.
You look fantastic, you really do.
You really do.
- Kasha Davis came out with a video.
A music video.
So I wrote her on Facebook and was like,
"Honey, where did you get those bracelets?"
And she was like, "What's your address?"
Three days later, I get this box,
and I opened the box and there were the bracelets,
and a CD, and an autographed picture.
I cried.
I cried, I called my mom.
'Cause my mom had watched the show with me
and was just like, "I can't believe this."
So, like, it was very emotional.
And then, like, I have them, like,
in a little shrine in my room.
- Kasha is my inspiration,
really because doing drag in the smaller cities
or areas that they don't generally get drag shows,
I think is extremely important.
I see kids today that struggle with who they are
and while it's not the struggle
that I went through when I was younger,
where kids are a little bit more accepting,
I do see those kids that want to express themself
and have a hard time doing it.
[gentle music]
[loud music drowns out speaker]
- Get over yourself!
You're not a woman!
You're a man!
Alright, people!
Your show is inside, not here.
- Take your show elsewhere. - Your show is inside.
Be nice? I am being very nice.
- No you're not!
High heels do not make you a woman.
[gentle music]
[audience applauds]
- There are some people who do think
that the mainstreaming of drag
is kind of taking the fun out of it,
or is it, you know, it has a flip side, bad side to it.
- I miss- - The underground.
- Underground, seedy, sex underground.
I miss some of that, like, naughty,
feeling like dad would be so horrified if he knew
what I was doing.
- Exactly and Heklina touched on this.
We used to be so subversive.
We were so underground.
We were shocking.
We were rebels.
We were breaking boundaries -Yes, anarchists.
and doing things that people didn't dare do before.
But I think that this normalization, if you wanna say,
of drag is something you can see
in our community in general.
The more that the LGBTQ community fights for equal rights
and recognition, and to be understood,
and to be at the table,
and to have the same sort of experience
that other people have,
the more our community is becoming
more involved with regular outside our communities.
So, it's sort of like,
a homogenization of LGBTQ in general,
which I find a little disheartening.
I wanna be a freak.
- I wanna be a freak. - Yeah!
- Don't call me normal.
Please, no, I don't think I'm in danger of that,
but, don't ever call me normal.
- Yeah, don't assume that I want,
I want you to accept me for who I am,
but I don't want the white picket fence.
I don't want marriange. I don't wanna be in the military.
So all those things that we've been fighting to get-
- It's important for them to love, check it, check it.
- Yeah, but, you know-
- I live in the suburbs.
[audience laughs]
All of the white picket fences and all of that.
And I absolutely love being the queen of the cul-de-sac.
Yes, yes.
And what is wonderful is that
I'm able to walk around that neighborhood, sashay around,
and I've got people who come to my drag story hour
or other people who come to the different shows
that we do in town.
And that normalization for me is comfortable.
So there's room for everybody at that table.
I do like that.
[crowd chatters]
- Juicy Couture? - Juicy.
And I bought it.
I just wanna thank you,
because now I've been wearing it ever since.
Because I haven't been able to find a perfume
that for every day that I like.
- Everyday. - And now I wear it.
- And you can get it at Marshalls,
you can get it at TJ Maxx.
- I have to fix this,
'cause this is making me crazy.
Why do they have these?
Hi, honey! - Hi!
- How are you? - Good.
- What's your name? - Lilith.
- Lilith?
You're just stunning.
Is this your first DragCon?
- No, I've been here since I was six.
- Since you were six?
All that time ago? - Three years ago.
- Three years?
Let's get a picture together.
This is fantastic.
- Thank you so much.
Thank you!
You're welcome. -I love you!
Are you gonna be here tomorrow?
I have Drag Story Hour tomorrow, one o'clock.
It's a panel. So, come join us.
- I'm doing it! - She's doing it!
High five.
Fabulous.
- Thank you! - All right, have fun.
This morning, I was on social media
and what's fabulous today,
texting and everything my youngest daughter,
Jessica, graduated from Brockport today.
She's at graduation.
So, my heart's a little broken that I'm not there,
but it's, you know, it's the way of the world.
She's graduating,
but she's going to get her master's degree.
She's not just stopping there
and she's opening a hair salon.
She's an overachiever like her stepmother, father, Ed.
[woman laughs]
- Do you love it? - Yeah, filter it.
There, good. [laughs]
- Thank you. - Always a filter.
- By the way,
everyone would love to see you on All Stars four.
- Wouldn't that be great?
- Everyone would love it so much.
- From your lips to RuPaul's ears.
Uh-oh, now this is the point of the day
where the foam padding starts to rip the hairs
out of my asshole.
That feels great.
'Cause it's friction, friction, friction, friction.
We won't tell the kids that at Drag Story Hour though.
It's not information they're interested in, I don't think.
Are you gonna come to Drag Story Hour?
Perfect! [woman laughs]
You're going now.
This is what happens when you throw something together
last minute.
- [Announcer] Without further ado,
let's give a warm welcome to the best storyteller in town,
Mrs. Kasha Davis.
[audience applauds]
[Kasha laughs lightly]
Isn't this fantastic?
Oh, my God on a wheel.
I was downstairs,
and I was saying to myself,
"Look at all these fabulous faces."
And every one of the fabulous faces I saw
came up to this panel.
Isn't that lovely?
[audience cheers]
Give yourselves a warm hand.
[audience applauds]
Now, since we're a small group
and we're gonna really get to know each other,
wouldn't it be great if everybody just came down
a little bit further down to these front seats?
The reality is, no matter what age you are,
children of all ages can
and should continue to follow their dreams
because we have to really continue to foster
and be our most genuine selves.
Because when you are, the world celebrates it.
Literally, a dozen people will come to your panel
at RuPaul's DragCon.
When you are yourself.
No, I'm kidding. [audience laughs]
[Kasha sighs]
See, I would love to be able to do that
for a big group of kids,
but they were cute, right? - Yeah.
- In Rochester, the shows that I'm building
will have a sold out house.
It'll be a packed audience.
It's really hard to leave my family behind,
to go to a show that doesn't necessarily have an audience.
And, it's frustrating.
It's embarrassing!
And, frankly, you go back to the hotel room and it hurts.
Is it you?
Can I at least say hello to the queen?
- Yes, of course. - Look at you.
- Is this Dallas, extraordinaire?
- Yes, it is.
- She's so good. You doing all right?
- You look gorgeous. - You're having fun?
- I am about to lay down in this room.
- All right, see you later.
- [Alaska] 'Cause I'm, at that point where I'm, like ughhhh-
- Right.
[gentle music]
[audience cheers]
- My most recent "Drag Race" audition tape was, you know,
11th time was the charm.
Nope.
I had fun putting it together.
And then I was excited about sending it in,
but then I got the, "No, no, no, no, we don't want you."
I wish they would just send an email with like four words
on it that says, "You suck, quit now.
You are too old.
Not this year, queen."
[gentle music] [birds chirping]
I don't know. [crying]
It's never been about me.
[gentle music] [birds chirping]
I've always been taking care of other people
and taking care of other things
and putting everybody else first but
I'm really selfish with drag 'cause that's my one thing.
[gentle music]
[plane zooms]
- Well, hello! [laughs lightly]
I was going to Australia
to perform in the "Drag Queens of the Stone Age" tour.
So, basically, I flew 24 hours to get to Australia.
And, within a few hours of landing, I had to perform.
This morning, I got up and walked down to the beach,
and just went,
I had a moment of,
"Oh, my God, I'm like 10,000 miles from home
in freaking Australia.
Who gets to do that?"
Tempest DuJour was on my season of "RuPaul's Drag Race"
and was the first one to get kicked off.
Charlie said she wasn't thrilled
by the "Stone Age" tour name.
I'm not totally offended by it.
- I love it!
- I mean- - What?
You've gotta use what sets you apart, right?
- Right. - This is what sets us apart.
I love it.
I have no problem with it.
- Well...
- If it had been called "The Old Bitch" tour,
I'd be happy with that.
- The "Drag Queens of the Stone Age" tour
is a tour that we've put together
celebrating some of the most seasoned talent to come out of
"RuPaul's Drag Race."
On the "Drag Queens of the Stone Age" tour,
we've got the winner of "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars"
season one, the iconic, Chad Michaels.
♪ Breaking my heart if you leave me now ♪
♪ I don't wanna wait forever ♪
♪ Who do you think you're fooling ♪
- The night club culture in Australia is not very,
it's not huge, it's still good,
you can still make a living off of it,
but it's not huge.
So, we're pretty lucky to perform
in front of the bigger crowds
when these girls come to town I guess.
- Yeah. I just wish some of the,
I call them race chases. - Yes.
'Cause they're the fans that only come out
to see the "RuPaul's Drag Race" girls.
I just wish if they love drag that much.
Come and see the local girls. - Amen.
[upbeat music]
[loud music drowns out speaker]
- Ladies and gentlemen,
please give it up for our very first special guest.
Remember, there is always time for...
Mrs. Kasha Davis!
[audience cheers]
♪ Anywhere ♪
♪ Come on ♪
♪ Come through ♪
♪ New York ♪
[audience cheers]
- This is the glamorous celebrity life.
We found out from the promoter
that one of the spaces doesn't have mirrors.
Yes, we need a mirror.
Thank you.
And then the other space, we don't have a dressing room.
We have to go back to the hotel
to change for each number.
It's really close by,
but, what if it's raining?
The tour itself was a frustrating tour for the queens.
It's called the "Stone Age" tour.
You know, we're old. [snorts]
I felt insecure showing up and performing
because sometimes the audience turnout was really low.
You know, it's so cool to be here,
thank you to Kweer Touring Events
and the fabulous Pete who's not here right now,
He's home working the books or something.
The promoter for Kweer Touring and Events
had the balls to say,
"Do you mind if I don't pay you for a couple of weeks
because I have to pay Chad?"
He was like, "Look, I have to pay him.
It's Chad Michaels."
He was asking not to pay me
while I was on the other side of the world.
It was hard being in Australia,
being so far away from home.
Sometimes there are opportunities that are presented to me
and I'm paying out of my own pocket to participate.
Other times, I am flown all around the world
and I'm paid very well
to perform with a group of other drag queens
from "RuPaul's Drag Race."
One of the tricky things is I really don't know necessarily
what's gonna be a useful career opportunity.
For example, I flew myself to New York City
for the premiere of
"Hurricane Bianca From Russia with Hate."
As one of the actors,
I was asked to be in a panel at the end.
[gentle music]
We're about to go to the premiere for "Hurricane Bianca,
From Russia with Hate."
First time in a movie.
And I'm so glad that you're here with me, Mr. Davis.
- [Steven] I am excited!
- We got ourselves some matching blouses for the occasion.
But, it's been crazy.
It was, you know, rushing back home,
came home, cleaned, napped, walked Max, cleaned, napped,
Mr. Davis came home, ate food, napped, woke up, here we are.
[gentle music]
[people chatter]
[laughter]
- [Bianca Del Rio] Alright. Oh it's hot.
- So how did you like your first red carpet?
- Fine. [Kasha giggles]
Short? - Yeah, sorry.
I hope you have a seat.
I just wanna say thank you so much for being here.
We have a lot of family, a lot of friends,
our fabulous crew,
and a lot of really, really fun and excited Bianca fans.
We really could not have done any of this without you.
So, thank you so much.
I hope you enjoy it and stick around.
We'll be back after the movie.
[audience applauds]
[exciting music]
- I need you to go in there and come back with a full report
If we're lucky, police will round up the whole fruit basket.
- I'm Vicki Leaks.
I run this joint.
What are you in for, fish stick?
That dress?
[audience applauds]
- I wanna bring out Director Matt Kugelman.
[audience cheers]
Producer, Ash Christian. [audience cheers]
Writer, Derek Hartley. [audience cheers]
Star, Roy Haylock, as Bianca Del Rio.
[audience cheers]
And star, Rachel Dratch. [audience cheers]
[gentle music]
So we're gonna get an Uber and get food.
And go back to the hotel.
Take this off.
I thought I was gonna be a part of the panel,
but I guess I wasn't.
That was surprising.
I was like, "Oh, okay."
You know, I just got excited
'cause I thought Steve would get to see that but...
Whatever.
[gentle music]
[plane zooms]
[wind rustles]
My name is Mrs. Kasha Davis.
[audience cheers]
- My name is Miss Wednesday Westwood. Hello!
- I'm Miss Darienne Lake, right over here.
- And I'm Miss Aggy Dune! Helllooooo!
[audience cheers]
- And it's very important for you to understand
that it's Sunday
and you should be celebrating the Lord with a cocktail.
Raise your glasses!
[audience cheers]
There's always time for cocktail!
- One of the things that I admire most about Ed,
Kasha Davis, is he's also a philanthropist.
He gives back to the community.
He does so much for this community
when asked to do something.
To host something, to emcee something.
And I think a lot of people don't know that about him.
Kasha helped every year
with all of the Rochester pride events,
and he's always been a huge supporter of the community.
So, yeah, I'm probably like 10 to 15 years.
And now, I don't like to think about Kasha as Kasha
I like to say, my friend Ed.
- Yes, our friend, Ed.
[audience laughs]
- Do you know why though Wednesday,
this is another sold out weekend here
at Drag Me To Brunch.
So give yourselves a warm hand.
[audience applauds]
So, we really appreciate you being here.
We've been doing this drag brunch for now seven years.
So please tell your friends.
- I came to perform and work with Kasha,
and she, like, instantly was like super friendly
and super supportive.
She is like one of my biggest, like,
kind of like parental roles, as far as drag goes.
- This next gal is not old.
She's brand new. She's fabulous.
You're gonna love her.
She's Wednesday Westwood!
♪ I'm moving forward with all of my might ♪
♪ I'm headed toward a new state of mind ♪
♪ So I hold back tears ♪
- Me being a heavy, heavy, heavy drinker
and Kasha was being sober around me,
it kinda keeps me in check with my drinking,
and it makes me think about,
"Okay, it is possible to do this
and do it well without getting drunk."
[audience cheers]
- [Kasha] Anything that I do,
I really try to encourage that family kind of dynamic
where we're supporting one another
and helping to lift each other up.
- My name's Wednesday Westwood!
- My name is Simona Ioffe.
I love drag.
Loved it all my life.
So last June I was diagnosed with breast cancer
and I have undergone three rounds of chemo.
So we drove for a 24-hour-trip to Rochester,
just for drag brunch.
I wanted to fill my joy meter
and start living as much as I could.
So I have something to keep grabbing from
when things are really hard
'cause I still have a long way to go.
We went and saw Aggy, so she could cut my hair.
Darienne taught me how to construct my new boob.
And Mrs. Kasha Davis was super lovely.
I wrote her and asked what we should do in Rochester.
And she sent me great list of stores and places to go.
I feel so grateful and happy.
You know, on those days when I'm gonna be stuck in bed,
I'm gonna be able to think how much fun today was
and how nice people are in this world.
And I'm gonna be able to keep going.
So that's why I came. [cries softly]
[melancholic music]
♪ Absentation brought despair to me ♪
♪ But allows me to trust imperatively ♪
- I realized I can have an impact on people's lives
doing the work that I love right here at home in Rochester.
"RuPaul's Drag Race" created this template
of how to be a celebrity drag queen.
And it seemed to me that maybe I didn't fit that mold.
It was important for me to navigate and pave a new way
that really matched my performance styles and passions.
How is everybody this morning?
[audience cheers]
Oh, that's music to my ears.
Woo!
Hey there, boys and girls.
I'm Mrs. Kasha Davis.
And over the next few minutes,
I'm gonna introduce you to my fabulous vision,
"Imagination Station."
"Imagination Station"
is a celebration of the artists in our community.
So, it's sort of this Mrs. Kasha Davis' variety hour.
So it's all inspired by shows that I grew up with,
like, Mr. Rogers, Pee-wee's Playhouse.
Oh, my goodness!
Look at everybody's smiling faces here today!
That makes me so happy.
We have so many things planned.
Of course, we have our live music, we have some dancing,
we have a story.
Special guests!
We're gonna bring people in.
We're gonna have special guests
because it's like, how many people are out there?
Like my sister Aggy Dune, season after season, auditioning,
and not getting that moment.
- So, I guess I'll try one more.
And, this year, it will probably be like,
so I'm Aggy Dune and I'm auditioning for the 12th time.
And that's kind of where I'm at with the RuPaul thing.
- [Kasha] The more I can do
to have someone like Aggy or Ambrosia
be a part of what I'm doing,
that's really important to me.
[whimsical music]
- As a queen in the community,
if you're lucky enough to be one of those
that are the leaders in the community,
you can help unite people,
you can help bring them together.
- I'd love to ask you,
what will you be when you grow up?
- A Gruffalo.
- A Gruffalo?
Do you know, I was a Gruffalo just yesterday?
I want to help those parents
and I want to help those children realize they are enough.
They are exactly the star they were always meant to be,
whatever that is.
Now, run in place!
You gotta run and jump!
Jump!
Skip to the side!
Because you have to practice, practice, practice,
and work hard and practice and never give up!
- It's really something to see.
She's very passionate about the kids' show.
- Yeah, come on in if you wanna join.
- I'm just so proud.
- A young woman was telling me
that her daughter was very, very shy
the first time she came to the show
and then each time she came closer and closer,
and now she sits right in front of me.
Hey, thank you for bringing those.
That is very special.
And I see some beautiful wigs over here too
that look fantastic.
That is wonderful.
Thank you for dressing up.
There's an opportunity to talk to the kids about gender
and sexuality.
So if the question comes up, we address it.
But we assume that these kids understand.
These kids light up
and look at you as if you are truly an angel, or a queen,
or a princess without an ounce of judgment.
And they look at you as if you're the most beautiful thing
they've ever seen.
I am kind! Go!
- [Kids] I am kind!
- I am helpful!
- [Kids] I am helpful!
- I am grateful!
- [Kids] I am grateful!
- I am me!
- [Kids] I am me!
- And I am fabulous!
- [Kids] I am fabulous!
- Oh, I love it!
Give yourselves a big round of applause.
[kids applaud]
[soft string music]
A lot of times older people give up on their dreams
and say they're too old for that.
There's a lot of wisdom that comes with experience.
Sometimes you just can't sing a song or do a scene
unless you've lived through something.
A divorce, a death.
Sometimes you just can't fake it.
You have to live through it.
And you gotta get older first
to have had those experiences.
[soft string music]
I may be turning 50,
but I'm just getting started.
[soft string music]
♪ - [Klaus Nomi] Thank you! ♪ - Oh think nothing of it. ♪
- You're very welcome. - Oh, yes I know!
- Okay! - Well fine and dandy.
- Well thank you very much. - Thank you very much!
- Well that's alright. - You're very welcome.
- That's all right, it's okay.
- ♪ Remembering... ♪
[soft string music]