Wichita State sophomore Riley Johnsen describes his drag persona — Beholda Grudge — as an extension of himself.
“It’s a way for me to remove that pressure of having to be he/him all the time,” Johnsen said. “And I could go by she/her while I’m in drag. So it really helps me explore my self-identity.”
Johnsen was first introduced to the art of drag over a year ago when he met Von Love III in the WSU theatre program. Love is Johnsen’s drag mother — or mentor — and performs under the name Venus Medley.
“Riley expressed to me that they were interested in drag, and I was like, you’ve come to the right place,” Love said. “So, me and my friend, we put Riley into drag one night, and then I just saw the crazy amount of joy that it brought Riley, and I was immediately like, ‘OK, yeah, you’re gonna do this now,’ and then Riley had no objection.”
Love and Johnsen have a particularly close relationship that extends off the stage.
“He’s been so helpful with figuring out myself (and) my aesthetic,” Johnsen said. “And of course, he’s let me borrow his shoes for shows and stuff like that, and he helped me do my makeup for my first-ever drag show.”
At this point, Johnsen has only been in a few shows and instead focuses on honing his performance skills through student groups and classes.
“So like right now I’m in a stage makeup class, which drag is inherently a big stage makeup,” Johnsen said. “So being able to apply what I’m learning in theater and what I learned in my own time with Beholda Grudge, I have noticed that I’m able to combine the two.”
On top of being a drag mother, mentor and student, Love is also working on uniting his drag and musical theater skills.
“My big thing is, I feel like a lot of people’s goals are to go on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ because that’s the biggest platform that there is,” Love said. “But since I do musical theater, my main goal is to excel in musical theater, and then find a way to twist my drag into it.”
The most important thing about drag for Love, however, is community.
“My ultimate goal is to entertain, and if I feel like I’m doing my job as an entertainer, and the audience is living for it, then I feel like I’m doing my job,” Love said. “I feel like that’s what brings me the most joy, seeing the smiles on people’s faces.”
