WERRRK.com has proudly partnered up the fabulous Hellen Heels to present the “Into The Draglands” on our YouTube channel starting Wednesday August 19th! (Subscribe to our channel here so you don’t miss a single episode!) We are so excited about being a part of this amazing event and we are thrilled to talk with these amazing up and coming drag artists that are going to be competing! Next up, Katana Rei!
Into the Draglands is an online drag competition put on by performers of California’s Central Valley. It is the brainchild of Hellen Heels, a popular drag queen know for hosting in Stockton and Sacramento, and performing throughout the Bay Area. The basis of the competition is to showcase these performers by assigning them different challenges every week that push them out of their comfort zones in order to challenge them to show off the full range of their talent. They were required to select their own music, do their own costuming and hair, and to perform as if the world were watching. Some performers consistently ride high, while others crack under the pressure. The performances have been judged post-production so there is the added twist of performers having no idea what the critiques are, if they win a challenge, or even when they are eliminated until they watch live!
Congratulations Katana on being named a competitor for Into The Draglands! What does this opportunity mean to you?
It’s pretty rare for me to compete in an event this complex but being a part of Into the Draglands is allowing me to challenge myself and try new things I probably wouldn’t have on my own. It’s also great to be included in a great lineup of performers.
For those people who might not be familiar with Katana Rei , can you tell us a little bit about you and your drag? How did you get your start?
Way back when I first Started Drag in 2012, I was a YouTube queen, focused mostly on Makeup. Since then I’ve co-created and hosted Eves of Paradise in Stockton, California for the past seven years. Since Covid-19 started I’ve gone deeper into exploring Drag in a visual online experience and started creating short films as my performances.
We can’t wait to see what you’re planning on bringing to the competition! Can you give the WERRRK .com universe a little tease of what’s to come for you on Into The Draglands?
Into the Draglands definitely posed some challenges for ALL of the contestants, so you’re going to see all of us in a wide variety of performance genres than we’re used to. Regardless of experience, in this competition, no one’s safe, It’s anyone’s game.