A famed street artist and storyteller who’s found a very unique way of incorporating their imagination into their drag, David Puck is truly leaving their creative mark on the city.
Thotyssey: Hi David, thanks for chatting today! So how was your Halloween… I’m guessing you had some looks upon looks?
David Puck: It was fun! Although with everyone dressed up, I did feel less special. My looks for my shows were very ooky-spooky, but they’re too big to wear otherwise… so I went to the parade in a lemur onesie. I was so ashamed!
I went to my friends party after–it was “under the sea” themed–and I was still in the lemur onesie… and one of the judges of Drag Race Germany was there. I was like, “I swear I’m usually more fabulous!”
Lol! So as a drag performer, you’re known for these very large, kinda two dimensional masks / headpieces that are basically surreal, whimsical paintings. It’s all very gorgeous and unique! First of all, are these a challenge to transport to gigs?
They’re actually easy to transport on the train, ’cause they’re super lightweight paper / cardboard. I do get funny looks from people, though! What’s more challenging is wearing them, especially in crowded areas; they’re so big, and limit vision. I end up hitting a lot of people! Whenever I have to lip-sync with other performers on stage, I always warn them.
Where did you grow up… and we’re you always an artist of some sort?
I grew up in Florida until I was seven, and then rural England after that. I loved painting and drawing since I was really young. I went a non-creative route from 18 to 25, but I hated it so found myself back to painting… and since then it’s been art all the way. I paint murals under @davidpuckartist. I dabbled in performing, but I had horrible stage fright and didn’t see myself as a performer. Since unlocking that, performing has now become my favourite art form.
You’re quite an active and respected street artist all over the country… you’ve even collaborated with Savage X Fenty!
Yes, they featured me as one of their Pride Artists this year. So, Rihanna is basically my best friend now.
Obvs! And I love what you did with those Troye Sivan and Kandy Muse murals. How did that particular phase of your artistry arise?
I started painting canvases, but it was a lot of time spent alone inside. So I got into painting outside to make it more social, and connected with the world. I love queer and drag culture, and representing it–particularly in public (non-queer) places and in street art, as it’s not very common. I like how it can help get queer values outside of our echo chambers. Like just recently, I painted a big queer kiss, and a lot of local queer people messaged me to say how important it was to them because of how conservative it can be there. I did actually get a lot of homophobic things shouted at me whilst painting it, which was kinda scary.
Yup, I bet! Having lived around this country and the UK, does this rise in public homophobia all over the world feel shocking to you?
I find it very sad. I’m not necessarily shocked because history often moves in waves, back and forth. And we’ve made such amazing progress in recent years, it’s the reaction against that progress. To me what’s important is to zoom out and recognize that everyone is hurting from restrictive and painful systems–capitalism, religion, patriarchy, etc.–and this hurt causes some people to seek their own safety through villainizing and attacking others.
How did you start with drag, and these characters you’ve created?
My first time in drag was, like, 2011 at the Glastonbury music festival in UK, just being a crusty artsy weirdo. I loved going to cabaret and burlesque shows with drag in the UK in my 20s. And then Drag Race became an obsession, of course. Over the years, I dabbled with human-female-style drag… but it never fully connected. I just felt like me with a wig on, possibly because I’m gender fluid anyway as a human.
Then one day in Berlin I wrapped myself in my painting paper as a giant cigarette, and it clicked. I finally felt the fantasy and confident armour that drag artists talked about, and it was so fun. I love being objects in improv shows too, even without the costume. I love the inherent absurdity, and imagining what they would think of our human world if they could speak and feel. It also allows me an absurd shield to explore darker and deeper places than I often feel able to as a human.
I bet audiences usually respond with delight when they see you come out in these looks–it’s so unexpected on a drag stage. It might confuse some of the other, unaware drag performers though, lol!
I’ve actually gotten amazing support from other drag artists; even in more traditional drag bars when the audience hasn’t been on board, the other drag artists have (*cough* Hell’s Kitchen *cough*). We’re all artists in our own way, so I think they appreciate that. It’s camp. I do know many a queen would prefer I dance better, but it’s hard to dance when you’re a British person dressed in giant cardboard!
Do you have a favorite character / look, or is that like picking a favorite child?
I love The Storybook, because I use it for my solo improv shows. That’s my favourite act to do; it’s me at my most free and unhinged. I also love the really dumb ones, like the slice of bread, the fridge and the sexy foot. So I guess I can’t pick!
You’ve been competing in the “Pantheon” competition at Icon in Astoria, hosted by Audrey Phoenix!
Yes! It’s every Sunday until December 3rd. It’s awesome! The cast is super varied, which makes for a great show. And Audrey and Team Tan Productions are sweethearts. It’s fun to have themes as a prompt. Like, last week was kink and fetish, so I made a giant sexy foot costume. It was so fun to play with that, I’m now writing it a cameo in my musical!
More on that musical in a sec, but first up is the latest one of these solo productions you mentioned earlier, at the Magnet Theater on Friday, November 10th (6pm)!
It’s my 30 minute improv solo show. I’m dressed as a giant storybook, and I tell a brand new improvised musical story to the audience. It’s very interactive with the audience also, like a Choose Your Own Adventure: Bandersnatch meets Drag Race meets Mother Goose. It’s always very silly and bizarre… follow the fun energy. And it’s double billed with Julie McNamara’s solo show A ‘Confessional’ of a Recovering Catholic: The Musical.
Now tell us about the musical you’re staging!
Yes… the world is burning, let’s make art! It’s a comedy, I promise. It’s called We’re All Fucked Up: The Objective Musical, its on at Brooklyn Comedy Collective on November 19th and December 3rd, 7pm. I wrote it as an amalgamation of my object drag characters and numbers. I staged it once in the jungle in India, and this is the first NYC run. Five out of six of the cast are giant drag objects trying to convince a depressed human why life is worth living, from their own fucked up perspectives. It’s a dark comedy and very bizarre, like my drag. The cast are all from my favourite communities: improv, drag, and the radical faeries. So they’re all babes.
I’ve been doing IFS trauma therapy for many years, and I worked in mental health support and started training as a therapist. So it’s also heavily inspired by that.
Mental health to me is the most important thing in the world, and the only potential to unlock the type of suffering we talked about above.
Very exciting! Is there anything else coming up for you?
That’s all the big things for me! I’m new to NYC, so anyone with shows reading this… book me! One of my goals is to host my own weekly drag cabaret show in 2024, with an emphasis on live performance and alternative drag. So I’m talking to venues currently. If you manage a space, hit me up!
Okay lastly… what’s been your favorite and least favorite thing about drag so far?
Favourite is that it’s an accessible space for free artistic expression; I can do and create whatever I like. And getting to meet lots of other queerdos.
Least favourite: I’m sober, I’m a theatrical sensitive artist, I connect through deep conversations and playing games. So loud, crowded, intoxicated spaces don’t make my heart sing. I love drag for the art, rather than for the party. But I also appreciate that drag is usually funded financially by the party, so it is what it is.
Thanks, David!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for David Puck’s upcoming appearances, and follow them on Facebook, Instagram (drag and art) and Twitter. Also, check out their website.
Thotyssey 