Owning the Drag Runway with Vicki St. James, Oriana Perón and Verna Vendetta | Flyover Culture

Drag is an art form all about glamor, bombast and self-expression. The Midwest can be...quieter than that. So I sat down with three local drag performers to get to know their thoughts on the local drag scene and where they see it going.
Content warning around 9:10 for some homophobic language.
A HUGE thank-you to Vicki, Verna and Oriana for talking with me, as well as to The Back Door in Bloomington for letting us shoot there. And another big thanks to all the other queens and kings for letting us shoot their performances.
Links:
Vicki St. James
ourcommunityroots.com/?p=1848
Oriana Perón
www.orianaperon.com/
Verna Vendetta
www.vernavendetta.com/
The Back Door Bloomington
www.bckdoor.com/
Other drag performers in this video:
Tia Mirage Hall, Georgette Chevalier, Crystal Cavalier, Rose Whip, Blaque Pearl Persephone, Spank Knightly & Argenta Perón
Sources:
"The Avenue's Black drag queens cemented Indy's queer visibility. But history forgot them." www.indystar.com/story/entert...
"The Female Impersonators of Indiana Avenue: Race, Sexuality, Gender Expression and the Black Entertainment Industry" chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/viewer.html?pdfurl=https%3A%2F%2Fscholarworks.iupui.edu%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F1805%2F27151%2FThe%2520Drag%2520Queens%2520of%2520Indiana%2520Avenue%2520final.pdf%3Fsequence%3D1&clen=897940
"How Dressing in Drag Was Labeled a Crime in the 20th Century" www.history.com/news/stonewal...
Check out Masters of Drag from PBS and American Masters:
www.pbs.org/show/american-mas...
Music via Universal Production Music
©2022 Trustees of Indiana University

[@williamschendel7522]

Bloomington has long been a gay mecca in the heart of conservative southern Indiana. It helps that Bloomington is home to Indiana University, which is home to the Kinsey Institute, among other wonderful institutions. The predecessor to The Back Door was a little bar called Bullwinkle's, and while the bar is no longer there, the folks who came of age in the bar saw some of the best drag that was on offer in the 80"s and 90's, and heard some of the best house and techno in the state. It was a event a giant family. That's where I met Vicki St. James, and I worked the follow spot for many of those drag shows. So glad to see her, and the Bloomington Drag scene get their time in the spotlight. Thank you for this lovely video.

[@aboinamedJared]

Drag King/Male Entertainer here in Indy. Vicki is my auntie. This is pretty cool.

[@DivaDannette]

Such a cool video! I've known Vicki since before she was Vicki St. James and she's just as amazing today as she's always been. She was my lil Sandy Duncan back in the day ;) And she's such a genuine sweetheart as well.