Local artist profile: Colin McLean

THIS week we chat with drag performer and costume maker Colin McLean.

What initially motivated you to become a performer?

As far back as I can remember I’ve always loved being on a stage, entertaining an audience. My first drag role was in the kinder end of year performance – I was Father Christmas.

Growing up, I took after school drama classes at the local theatre and from there got involved in amateur dramatic productions, musicals and pantomimes.

I loved street theatre, dance, magic and clowning and became a clown for children’s parties while I was at secondary school.

And then one day I was in year 12 and saw Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and had a lightbulb moment. Drag involved all the things I loved – disco music, wigs and makeup, fabulous fabrics, feathers and frills and glitter and performing – without having to learn lines in a script of a play someone else had written.

I could be anything I wanted to in drag. An alien, a 50s housewife, Liza Minnelli or Marie Antoinette. The only limit was my imagination and creativity.

Drag to me is just another form of clowning, I still wear wigs, silly shoes, too much makeup and enjoy making people laugh!

How would you describe your style and how did you develop it?

Insane glamour. As a costume maker, I’ve always loved fabulous fabrics – sequins, lame, lace, metallics, faux fur, lots of textural fabrics that give movement. I absolutely adore retro fashions from the 1940s to 1980s as well as Baroque/French court dress, the bustles and draping of the golden age, Worth’s crinolines, etc.

Drag gives me the perfect excuse to indulge in my love of all of the above, and my drag persona gives me an excuse to create my ideas to be worn on stage.

Are there any particular themes you like to feature in your performances?

I love presenting a moment in time and creating a suspension of disbelief – that is, the audience becoming emotionally involved in a narrative and reacting as if the character is real and the events are happening now, even though they know we are only a story.

Storytelling can transport an audience from the humdrum and dreary to a place of beauty where the stress of the day ceases to exist for the duration of the performance.

I’ve always said if I can get an audience member to forget about the sh*tty things happening in their lives for just a few moments, then I’ve done my job.

Where abouts can people see you perform locally in the near future?

You can catch me hosting Drag Bingo weekly at Piano Bar Bendigo, and I’ll be doing fun family friendly performances on the Cabaret Tram as part of White Night, this Saturday 3 September from 7pm to 1am.

What would you say to young regional aspiring performers who are thinking of making a go of the creative life?

Get out there and get involved in your community. Go and watch as much different live performance as possible. Enrol in acting/singing/dance classes. Take feedback from your tutors onboard but don’t take any criticism personally.

Make the most of any opportunities presented to you, but realise that sometimes if the opportunities don’t present themselves you may have to create them yourself. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.