Helen Kerr never thought she'd be writing, producing and performing in her own show as a drag queen.
The performer was rehearsing for a Fringe show at the end of 2017 when she shared a stimulating conversation about the art of drag with a friend. It was through this conversation that Helen begun crafting her own hypothetical drag persona – but she'd never seen a female drag queen before.
“My friend insisted that I could do drag too, if I wanted to. He was the first person to tell me that anybody can do drag,” Helen says.
The pair made a vow that they'd perform at Drag Factory, an open mic night for 'baby queens' at Perth's The Court, before they both went overseas.
The rest is history. Helen's first performance in drag – under the name Ziggy Adrasteia – was the push she needed. She fell in love with the theatrics and creativity of it all, and when she returned to Perth from studying in New York, she decided to change her drag name to Moxie Heart.
“I love the word 'moxie',” Helen says. “It means to have courage and grit, and Moxie really does give me those things. Performing as her is very empowering.”
Since, Moxie has escalated in the Perth drag scene and also witnessed a growth of the number of female drag artists: “Here in Perth we have drag kings, male and female drag queens, transgender and non-binary drag artists and a significant crossover between drag, burlesque and boylesque. It’s a diverse environment, and I feel really fortunate to be part of this community.”
'You Got Moxie, Kid: A Quirky Cabaret Of Silliness & Self Discovery' is Helen's first independent project and features storytelling, live singing and performance concepts.
“For a long while, I thought that Moxie was a character that I’d created, and that I was performing as someone else. But actually, she’s just me,” Helen reflects. “[The show] samples a variety of my fun and silly concepts, but also tells the story about how drag helped me embrace and appreciate all the weird and wonderful things that I am.”
“Musical theatre is my original passion and I don’t get much opportunity to perform live as Moxie, so I’m really excited to embellish the musical side of me in this production. Drag gives me an arena to be creative and courageous. It’s changed my life.”
