WERRRK.com has proudly partnered up with the Austin International Drag Festival this year and we have been given the privilege of announcing this year’s headliners and ambassadors first! We are so excited about being a part of this amazing event this year and we cannot wait to bring you all the fabulous drag artists that are going to be in Austin this year!
Our first ambassador is a drag superstar from San Francisco and a long time Austin veteran! We are super excited to announce that Dragula star Erika Klash will be an ambassador at the Austin International Drag Festival this year! (Get your tickets here and join us in Austin this fall!)
We were able to get a few words with Erika about being part of this year’s Austin International Drag Festival!
It’s good to talk with you again Erika! (Check out our interview from 2015 here) Congratulations on being named an Ambassador! How did you get involved with the Austin International Drag Festival and what do you bring to this role?
The Austin International Drag Fest invited me to perform at the first ever festival in 2015. At the time I was invited, I was only six months into my career. What an opportunity! I couldn’t have been more excited to be a part of it, and at that moment I joined what turned out to be an incredibly diverse and loving community. I’ve been a part of the festival in one way or another ever since. As an ambassador I hope to encourage more drag performers in the Bay Area to take part in the festival, and to continue to represent the Bay Area drag scene, Dragula and nerdy drag in the festival!
For those people living under a rock, can you tell us a little bit about Erika Klash and your drag?
Erika Klash is a nerdy drag monster inspired by video games, anime, kaiju films, and Japanese Street fashion. I’m known for my cosplay drag looks (especially those based non-human characters), my signature makeup style, and a high energy performance style that is one part comedy and one part spook. I love to take the counter cultural nature of Harajuku fashion and combine that with the counter cultural roots of drag, so my work has a cutesy but very alternative flair to it.
We can’t wait to see what you’re planning on bringing to the stage in Austin! Can you give the WERRRK .com universe a little tease of what’s to come this fall in Texas?
Pastel Gore, the drag collective I am a part of in the Bay Area, was able to perform as a group last year, and I am hoping that we can do the same this upcoming year! As with any year though, my performances will be a mix of tried and true favorite performances from throughout my career as well as some of my favorite newer looks and performances. I’m always looking for ways to challenge myself and really set the scene for My performances with lighting, video, and props, so I look forward to sharing more of that with the kids this year!
