David Amick spent most of his life preparing to work with animals. All of his education has been in animal studies, with undergraduate degree in zoology, followed by a masters in primate biology and behaviour. Yet, after moving to San Diego almost two years ago, his career focus has shifted significantly when he started to look more into his creative side. Now you may recognize Amick as Cordelia Blaze, a drag queen.

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Being a fan of drag for over a decade, Amick decided to give this art form a try. What started off just last year as playing with make-up in his living room, quickly became a fully realised character of Cordelia, named after a character from Amick’s favourite TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. At the beginning of 2020 Cordelia started to book her first shows.

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In the past, the majority of new queens would usually gain their knowledge and skills about this art form from their more experienced colleagues, often becoming their drag children and joining drag families. Cordelia, however, being a member of the new generation of drag artists, is a self-taught performer.

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“It’s something I picked up on my own. A lot of pictures and YouTube. Make up tutorials, hair styling tutorials, and just lots and lots of practice. Trial and error. Although now that I’m getting more into the drag scene, I’m getting a lot of tips and tricks from a lot of queens that are around San Diego. So that’s been nice.”

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What people often do not realise about drag queens, Cordelia noted, is that they are not just performers. The comedy show, lip sync, or dance number is just the final product the audience receives. “There is a lot of different aspects, just having to be a Jack of all trades.”

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The preparation for the show starts at least a week prior to the performance. Choosing the song, learning the lyrics, coming up with the choreography. Experienced performers have a repertoire they can always rely on. For someone like Cordelia, who is new to the drag scene, the challenge is learning everything from scratch. Although the novelty and element of surprise of the new performer might also be to their advantage.

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“I don’t think people realise it takes hours to put on the make-up, put on the body and the padding, and the prep work for styling wigs and outfits.” That is why even though what the audience gets might be just a few minutes of entertainment, drag is a full-time job.

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The art itself presents an illusion of glamour to the audience, while the backstage is far from it. Sequins, glitter, and sparkle are a great disguise for how uncomfortable the heavy make-up, high heels, padding used to create the female body illusion, and several layers of tights are. Especially in the heat of San Diego’s summer.

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Despite the downsides of this profession, there is a reason Amick chose this career path. “I’ve just always loved the art of drag, I’ve always followed many of the queens and just every time I see people, see the queens, it brings me happiness. So, I just thought, you know, I’ll try it myself and it kind of brought me happiness by doing it.”

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Drag is not just one type of performance, between comedy, live singing, dancing, improvisation, or modelling. It is an art form that may involve all those things. Creativity and confidence, according to Cordelia, are key to becoming a drag queen, no matter what type of performer you are.

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Drag is a chance to let your personality shine through or create a completely new character. “When I’m Cordelia I’m a little bit more outgoing, have an easier time chatting with people and you know, being a character, I guess. I’m not incredibly different, but I just have a little bit more confidence and a little bit more personality.”

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Even though over the past few years drag became a worldwide phenomenon, mostly thanks to the popular reality TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race, when compared to other artistic professions, it is still not mainstream.

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“Unless you’re a part of the queer community or are interested in drag, you probably won’t know any drag artists. Maybe RuPaul. If you stop someone on the street and ask them to name an actor, singer, composer, they will easily name someone. A drag queen? I don’t think so.”

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Most drag queens are freelancers. With regular shows, they can typically earn enough to support themselves, although any cash tips from the local gay bar audiences are always welcome. With the physical appearance being a crucial element of the job, the need for a steadily growing supply of wigs, make-up, outfits, and accessories, makes this profession downright expensive.

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Over the past few months, the global pandemic has made the job of a full time drag queen rather challenging. With mass closures in the hospitality sector, the artists have been left without venues to perform, and therefore, without a job.

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Amick, given the current limited opportunities to develop his drag career, and taking into account his education and experience in animal studies, has considered finding a more stable job in this field. However, despite the British government’s advice for the arts sector to “rethink, reskill, and reboot”, he decided to stick to his creative profession.

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He is now working at a bar to support himself until it is possible to restart doing drag full time again. “At least at the bar I’m still getting opportunities for drag. I’ve been hosting in drag and perform once in a while. I know I could probably find a job to work with animals now, something more secure. But I’m a drag queen, that’s what I love to do. If I have to wait to continue my career, I will.”