Dust Cwaine, a fun-loving, indie rockin' drag queen extraordinaire and former Mount Baker Secondary School theatre student, is returning to Cranbrook for a colourful show that pays tribute to their roots.
Dust Cwaine (pronounced Dust Ca-Wayne), also known by their legal name David Cutting, will be performing at Cranbrook's 'Big Drag Weekend,' Oct. 19 and 20 at Encore Brewing and Fire Hall Kitchen and Tap.
The weekend is filled with musical entertainment and drag performances that give the LGBTQ+ community a public venue to celebrate their identity and community, and the greater public a chance to experience a colourful culture.
Dust said returning to Cranbrook really is a full-circle moment for them. They got their start in the performance industry over a decade ago through musical theatre at Mount Baker Secondary School and Gordon Terrace Elementary School.
They played a munchkin in the Wizard of Oz, a prisoner and revolutionary student in Les Misérables and the big jolly old fellow himself in Surfing Santa — a musical about a major corporation's attempts to steal Christmas when Kris Kringle goes on a tropical vacation.
"I'm incredibly proud to come from the theatrical experiences that are provided at Mount Baker and at Key City Theatre," they said. "I look back on those times and I see someone who was learning and being cared for by adults. I wouldn't be where I am without knowing that I could do it and I think those early days showed me that."
Dust came out publicly in 2008, just two months after they graduated from high school. They discovered drag a few years later in Calgary at a cabaret performance at a gay night club, and were drawn to perform when they moved to Vancouver and began interviewing drag queens for a series of magazine articles. They profiled a queen named Shanda Leer, who encouraged Dust to take up drag.
"To this day he is my drag mother and we have a close working relationship. I'm really blessed to have support like him," said Dust.
"I thought it was going to be a one-time thing, and I never stopped."
Dust is an artist in Vancouver's drag scene, known for superhero Marvel-inspired musicals like Sleepy Girls Save the World, about two friends who restore justice to planet earth, and X-mas Days of Christmas Past, about a dysfunctional family who travels through outer space to be together at Christmas for the first time in 10,000 years.
They worked with queens from RuPaul's Drag Race, including Willam, Gia Gunn and Stacy Layne Matthews.
They'll take the stage in Cranbrook on Oct. 19 at Encore Brewing alongside Nora Vision, Anne Xiety, LBee The Drag Jack and Glitter Beast "The Kootenay Cryptid," in a glamorous theatrical lip-synced spectacle called Homecoming Cwaine.
Dust's self-titled band will play an original set of indie-pop songs with big juicy hooks and dirty electric guitar riffs. Dust said their lyrics are inspired by politics, the human body and sex.
"What I'm interested in is fun music. Will people have it stuck in their heads? Will it have some sort of impact on them," they said.
Hit songs include Aliens in L.A, about learning to love your body, and 90s Darling, inspired by their upbringing in Cranbrook. They'll also perform some new material from their upcoming album.
Dust said that music complements drag nicely, adding permanence to an artform that has always had a more live-in-the-moment ethos.
"I like the idea of creating art that will be around forever regardless of me being around and I love that about music."
On Oct. 20, Dust and crew will make an appearance at the Fire Hall Kitchen and Tap for a drag brunch.
"It's high energy. There's food. There's drinking. There's a lot of hosting and making jokes. It's so fun," said Dust.
Dust said they're excited to perform at a completely interactive venue where the barrier between the audience and the artists is removed.
"The stage is the entire restaurant, so you get this 360 degree experience — interacting with the drag performers, tipping us, making friends. It's a way more immersive experience."
Fire Hall manager Tarah Boyle said they're looking forward to hosting their first LGBTQ+-themed event.
"I think it's something that our community has wanted for a while ... I've been pushing for it for a long time, knowing it's going to be a big success," she said.
"[LGBTQ+ folk] they need a space to feel comfortable and having specific events adds to that. It just shows that we're inclusive," she added.
Dust said the show is all about helping to build community in Cranbrook and give LGBTQ+ people a space where they can truly be themselves.,
"What's really special about drag, is that it does have a larger element of community than a lot of other artforms because it was built out of a need for it. Drag artists are viewed as leaders of community," they said.
"I want the younger generation to know that there's more out there. What I'm doing now isn't something I could comprehend when I lived in Cranbrook," they added.
