Madison Prepares for a "Hot Mess"

Madison, get ready for this summer's hot ticket. Emily Mills and friends have put together what we think is a first: a Midwestern drag king show in Madison. With a line-up to make your knees weak, you won't want to miss Hot Mess, your chance to see the finest drag kings from Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago all in one steamy evening.

Emily was kind enough to give us some back-story about Hot Mess, from the basics of drag, to why we'll want to eat up Miss Tamale, to what's behind the name "Hot Mess."

Q. What's in store for those planning to see Hot Mess?

A. "Women dressed as men" covers it on a really basic level, but it's a lot more than that. Drag is basically anything that you're not normally comfortable wearing, or don't normally make a habit of wearing.

Modern kinging is a mix of performance art, theatre, gender bending, politics, humor and sex. In a drag king troupe, women portray all sorts of male "types," plus transgendered folks push the definitions even further. You'll even have the occasional woman in "femme drag" — a woman who typically dresses/is pretty butch dons a dress and make-up, etc.

Q. How will this be the same as or different from other drag king shows?

A. We're incorporating a lot of burlesque, which has become more common in the king scene. And when I say "burlesque," I mean everything from traditional, classic strip-tease and fan dancing, to a drag king stripping down to pasties and undies, to humorous sketches or political vignettes where the players happen to not be wearing much of anything.

There hasn't been much in the way of big drag king shows in Madison. These sorts of events have been happening all across the country for some years now, mostly in bigger cities, and I thought it was high time Madison got a taste of it. Plus, we have so many great performance troupes here, and they've mostly been relegated to small venues or travel to get stage time.

Q. What inspired you to put the show together?

A. I've met lots of great performers and seen lots of great shows through my sister (who lives in Chicago and who will be performing in Hot Mess). Last year, I performed with her and her friends at the International Drag King Extravaganza, a yearly event that's held in a different city every time. I met some great people and saw some inspiring acts. I decided that I wanted to bring that sort of thing, on a smaller scale, to Madison.

I know a few people involved with the MadKings, Madison's own drag king troupe, and thought it would be cool to get them and the people I knew from Chicago together for a show. It snowballed from there.

Q. Who has helped along the way?

A. I've had a lot of help from Danielle Hartman-Semtry, who's a member of the MadKings and a good friend of mine. The MadKings themselves have donated some funds and general help, too, which has been great. And while I've done the lion's share of organizing and marketing for the show, I've been extremely fortunate in getting little bits of invaluable help from all sorts of other people: Rob Matsushita designed our poster, Timothy Hughes has agreed to photograph the event, Josh Klessig will be filming, Liz Tymus at indie Queer has been helping me get the word out as well as the good folks at dane101.com. Lee Rayburn, who hosts a morning show on 92.1 FM (The Mic) has been great about letting me crash his show and plug the event.

Q. Any story behind how you came up with the name?

A. Hot Mess, typically, refers to something that's just way out of control and/or messed up, so you wouldn't think of it as something you'd want to brag about. But I decided to take it and make it my own, because the show will be totally hot, but it's also a bit messy and disorganized (process-wise, not the show) because this is the first big event I've ever organized/produced. It's all very DIY, very fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, and I have felt a bit like a hot mess at various times during the process. So it's meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, and a bit silly.

Q. What should we know about our emcee Miss Tamale?

A. Miss Tamale is fantastic! I know her through my sister, and I've seen her perform and emcee at several big shows in Chicago. She's a consummate professional, but also fun and sexy as all hell.

Q. What are some of the songs that will be performed?

A. The MadKings will be doing a number from the musical "Chicago," and there will also be disco, hip-hop, old time rag, live singing, and all sorts of other good stuff. It's not all lip-syncing, and there are some hilarious sketch-like numbers, too! There may even be some Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.

The Details
When: Saturday, July 26, 8pm
Where: Majestic Theatre
Cost: $10
Who: anyone 18 and over wanting to be teased, tantalized, and titillated

More links than you can shake your tail feathers at:

* Miss Tamale – www.misstamale.com
* Timothy Hughes – www.weaztek.com
* Josh Klessig and Rash Films – www.rashfilms.com
* The MadKings – www.myspace.com/themadkings05
* Cherry Pop Burlesque – www.cherrypopburlesque.com
* Miltown Kings – www.myspace.com/miltownkings
* Foxy Veronica's Peach Pies – www.myspace.com/foxyveronica
* Irma & Dee Dee – www.deedeeandirma.blogspot.com/
* Emily Mills' blog – www.thelostalbatross.blogspot.com

Tickets
Available through the Majestic Web site: www.majesticmadison.com or by phone (1-800-514-ETIX).
Also available at:
# Context - 113 King Street, next door to the Majestic
# Strictly Discs - 1900 Monroe St.
# Pipefitter - 520 State St.