Meet Beth - Canada's Drag Race Ambitious Dreamer and Big Makeup Enthusiast

Canada’s Drag Race has started its second season with a brand new cast. Out of many drag queen contestants, Beth has left us a lot of impressions on her runway as a grass root drag queen based in Vancouver, B.C. 

What’s On Queer BC’s writer Ian Nguyen talked to Beth about her background, what led her to her current drag art and Beth’s thoughts on Canada’s Drag Race. 

Can you tell us a little about your background?

Beth: 

I was born in Winnipeg, but then I moved to Nelson BC, where I grew up. And I lived there pretty much my entire late adolescence until I was 19. Yeah, I grew up there with my mom and my three brothers. One of them is a twin. 

It was interesting having a twin when we were so different. They're like those straight rugby players with blond hair and blue eyes. We were polar opposites. So we weren't close growing up. But as we got older, honestly, he's become one of my best friends, which is amazing.

Did your brother know about you going onto the show?

Beth:

Well, I mean, we were not allowed to tell anyone when we were going on the show. So I was just like, hey, I'm gonna be away for a while.

I think my story was that [...] I was going to a salon management course. And they're like, 10 weeks. That's a very intensive course. So I was like, yeah, I know. So, yeah, so I wasn't telling anyone that I was going. So that was hard.

But when I was able to talk about it, they were very supportive. My whole family's always been very supportive of my drag career. Sometimes it took them a couple of times to understand exactly what I was doing and like what drag was, but it's never that they weren't supportive at all. They've always been supportive of me and it was weird because I always felt I was being judged and I never really fit in with my brothers until I fully embraced who I was, and then it allowed them to love me and celebrate me with me too.

It's a really good thing to have support and people who stand up for you, right?

Beth:

100 percent. Not everyone is that lucky, and I'm very grateful to have such as a support system when it comes to being queer and being a drag performer. You know, my brothers, they come to my shows when they can. 

My brother was crying when he found out I was on the show, and felt so proud of me. He knows it's something I've always wanted. It was funny though, because my brother's a rugby player. And I was like "so when are you going to come to a drag show?" And he goes "when are you going to come to a rugby game?" And I said: "you got me there!".

What got you into the art of drag in the first place?

Beth:

You know, I always had this feminine side. And I really never understood how to express it in a way that I felt comfortable and I was always very shy about my feminine side. I tried to cover it up and I didn't know how to let it out without feeling ashamed of it. 

When I was 16, shortly after I came out of the closet, I went to Kootenay pride, which is not like Vancouver or Toronto pride. It's a lot smaller but it was honestly something magical because it was just a community of people just celebrating all different types of families and love, and it was amazing. But I saw my first ever drag performer live there. And she was this older drag queen in a pink wig and blue sequin dress, dancing in the parking lot of the grocery store. And I was like this is what I want to do! So that's how I started getting into drag. 

And then in theater in high school is when I started working with characters. I was casted as a female role and my teacher loved what I did with the role so much that I only did female characters for pretty much the entire school year. [...] And then I ended up hosting the year end, and showcasing some of the shows in full drag, which was really fun.

Who is Beth and what does she do?

Beth:

You know, I don't like to put Beth in a box. Beth can be funny. Beth can be sexy. Beth can be you know anything she wants to be in that moment. The thing about drag is I feel like there's no limits to what you can do with it. 

Going on to Drag Race I really wanted to push myself and do things that I wouldn't normally do. But at the end of the day, I just think of the people in the room. I'm there and I'm having fun. And I want to make sure everyone around me is having fun. I want to make sure everyone feels safe and comfortable. We create spaces, especially in like gay bars and queer spaces where everyone should feel safe and welcome. And that's what I love to do. I would never want to make anyone ever feel uncomfortable.

So what has Beth done in the past? What kind of shows have you done in Canada or the USA?

Beth:

I've never left Canada, so I'm really excited to do that. Yeah, I'm doing drag con in 2022, which will be really, really fun. Beth was doing a lot of bar gigs in Vancouver, which I'd loved and honestly, that's probably one of my favorite things to do: just be in a bar full of people having a great time, you know? 

I've done competitions in the past and they haven't always worked out the "beth" for me. But they're always fun. They allow me to test myself and see what I'm capable of. 

When I perform, I like to tell the story of the song and bring it to life as much as I possibly can. So whether it's a comedic way, whether it's a sexy way. I like to bring the song the way I set it up.

Speaking of art style, what is your drag aesthetic?

Beth: 

I like to do big makeup and I like everyone to be able to see my makeup from the back row. That's just the way I like. 

I tried painting a lot smaller for a while and I just never felt fully realized. It was only until I thought "let me put my eyebrows up a little higher and bring the makeup out a little further and just to see what happens" and I never felt it's weird. I don't look like how humans should look, but I've never felt more beautiful. It's wild.

What's your thoughts after your run on Canada’s Drag Race? Any memorable moments that we haven't seen on camera?

Beth:

You know what, the one thing that didn't get shown especially in the first episode, is how fastly we all bonded. We got so close so quickly, and I got really emotional leaving not because I lost but because I wasn't gonna be able to share this experience with the people I met there. 

It was honestly insane how fast we bonded. I've never had a lot of drag friends. But I connected with all of them so fast that it was sad to go. That was honestly the only thing I wish they showed how close we were. They might show more of that later in the season. Just so everyone knows: It was day one and we were sisters for life.

How did that start?

Beth:

You know, so many other queens and artists have competed on the show. But no one other than the 12 of you know exactly what you're all going through. In that exact moment, with that exact experience, right? Somehow we all understood exactly how each other were feeling and we all felt so connected in that moment.

The funniest part was like getting out of drag for the first time and we were getting to know each other fully in that moment. Because it's a very vulnerable thing. When you are in drag, you can put on a character but getting out of drag in front of people you don't know and you get to know someone really quickly that way. 

I have tons of friends who know me only as Beth but I have very few friends who you know Roland and Roland is a very closed off person. I only let certain people in my life but my sisters from season two are in my life forever whether they like it or not.

About the remarks about your confidence on the show from the judges, how do you feel about the critiques?

Beth: 

You know, I'll be honest with you. Was I a confident person? I am a confident person and it's taken me a long time to get that confidence. Was I the most competent at that moment? No. I mean, I was walking down the runway in a dress made out of red solo cups in an umbrella. 

I wasn't able to take the competence up to really sell, but do I think I look horrible? No, not at all. Do I think I deserve to be in the bottom? Not necessarily. Do I think anyone else deserves to be there over me now? No. [...] I would never want to put anyone in the spot I was, because I know how hard it was to be in the bottom in the first episode. And it was the worst horrible feeling to experience. I would never want anyone else to experience that. 

And then I [re]watched it when I went home and I was like, okay, I can kind of see what they're talking about with my confidence. I just wasn't living in the moment and enjoying the experience. But do I think I looked good? Sure, I think I looked right.

So what's your plan in the future? What's what's coming for Beth?

Beth:

You know what, I want to say no to nothing anymore. Any opportunity that comes my way I'm going to say yes to try different things. [...] But you know, I'm ready to take that across the world and share it with everyone. I've gotten so much love from so many different places. And they want to be able to share, share myself with those people and get to meet all my fans from everywhere.

When did you start doing shows outside of B.C (British Columnbia)?

Beth:

"It started as soon as the announcement came out, you know, I had such a great reception from the fans and that was honestly so amazing. I went home first, but people don't really care. I've been getting requests from all over Canada. It's been amazing."

"I know it sounds cliche to say, but there are no losers when it comes to Drag Race. You know, like, there's one person who gets the crown but we all win at the end of the day."

Are there any events or links that you would like to give a shout out to?

Beth:

Just keep an eye on my Instagram. I'll be posting all of my upcoming events there constantly as well on my website allthatbeth.com, where you can also purchase my merch. And again, just keep an eye out. You'll never know where I'm going to pop up next.

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Ian Nguyen is a 20-something gaysian who is compiling the stories of our lives. Say hi to him at heythereian.com or Twitter: @ianwith1n