Pliladelphia’s “Skin Wars” champ and “King of Drag” finalist Joy Taney aka Henlo Bullfrog is hopping into our end of the pond this month! [Cover photo: Jaycen Brooks]
Thotyssey: Henlo, hello! Thanks for chatting with us today! Are you currently in Philadelphia, and how did you enjoy your summer?
Henlo Bullfrog: My home is in West Philly, but this year I’ve been traveling and touring an average of 1-2 weeks out of every month… so I didn’t get to see much of it! But in the moments between being a full-time artist and drag king, I tried to enjoy being a person by having beach adventures, running off to the woods, and attending shows I enjoy rather than just expecting my exposure to queer art to come through the events I work at. I still love theater and nightlife despite working in it full-time, and know what a boost in energy it can create for artists to see a supportive face in the crowd!
We’re approaching the Spooky Season, which I’m guessing is your busiest time given your amazing signature dark fantasy inspired FX makeup looks! What have been some of your favorite Halloween looks that you’ve done in the past, and have you seen anything in regards to a horror movie or comic book or show or whatevs you’ve recently consumed that might be inspiring a future look?
One year, I destroyed a couple cat toys to repurpose their motors in creating a multi-winged, eldritch angel headpiece which flapped its wings independently of my movements. That elegant piece of Halloween engineering still stands as one of my favorites, and a technique I’d like to use again.
I’m a big reader, and have been looking for ways to incorporate cityscapes and building structures into my drag visuals beyond just being the kaiju stomping Philly flat, so The City We Became and House of Leaves have given me a lot to think about in embodying the true nature of your home and unsettling architecture. I also have to shout out the early chapters of Bury Your Gays for giving a voice to my frustrations in trying to maintain your integrity as a queer creator in the entertainment industry.
Can you share a bit of your origin story with us?
I was born into a West Philly folk music band to a couple of hippies who rasied me by asking “Who are you?” instead of telling me “This is who you are.” I wanted to be a comic artist since I was 14, and majored in Sequential Art at SCAD, but struggled to find traction in the industry despite numerous helping hands and mentors along the way.
My chronic health issues also really started when I was around 14 and severely impacted my life until I found better ways to manage them by 26, and my mom died when I was 18. Being in pain every day was an additional barrier to the focus and endurance required for an art career in any industry. I was furious with the world for the hand I was dealt, and that held me back from being a pleasant person to work with or be around.
Years before I ever tried them, I wrote off FX makeup, airbrush painting, and drag as things which were beautiful but beyond me. I was two years into my new pain management when the opportunity to compete on Skin Wars: Fresh Paint arrived, and I was well enough to start taking more risks with gaining skills and pushing my physical stamina. Leaning FX makeup and how to paint a drag face were direct results of expanding my body painting career, and realizing that I’d already been in love with these mediums–but assumed for most of my life that I would not be able to partake in them myself.
You won Episode 8 of Skin Wars: Fresh Paint competition in 2016, hostd by RuPaul (each episode had an entirely different cast)! That gathered artists from many different disciplines and genres to compete in body painting challenges. How did you get involved in that show, and what was that first experience like being on a reality TV set?
I saw the first message from a Skin Wars: Fresh Paint casting assistant in my Tumblr DMs. The “YOLO” philosophy was in vogue at the time, and was my entire justification for giving the application process a shot. I was dazzled and delighted by the entire process, and production took very good care of us. There is no major interpersonal conflict on my episode of SW:FP, and that is because the six of us castmates put in lots of time hanging out off-set to build our relationships. The bonds and experiences shared between competitors feels like summer camp–only this group of people know exactly what it was like, in this specific instance, at that time.
Your dad Peter Taney is a well-known Philadelphia folk musician, and “The Balled of Henlo Bullfrog” that you two have recorded and performed together is a Gothic Americana Bop! How cool is it to have a Dad who is so supportive of your identity and art? I understand he’s somewhat responsible for your drag name!
My dad’s whole-hearted support of both Joy and Henlo removed a lot of potential barriers in my ability to openly pursue my art to its absolute limit. He says there’s a lot in common between the folk music scene of the 70s and the drag scene now; both developed heavily through grassroots / DIY production, fierce and loving ties to political activism, and the explosion of creativity in response to uncertain and fearful world and national events.
My dad always had a lot of frog and bullfrog symbolism around him. During his own time in the 70s folk scene, he allegedly tried to change his name to the mononym Bullfrog. As he tells the story, he chose not to pursue it after his friends kept calling him Bullshit. From the first time I did boy drag, I was contouring based on my father’s bone structure–so as my father’s son, it made sense to continue the froggy legacy. “Henlo” was a cutesy meme alternative to “hello” at the time I debuted the first photos of Bullfrog, and when a friend commented “Henlo, Bullfrog!” on my post I knew I’d found the name.
What are the joys and challenges of Philly drag today, and is it particularly challenging for you to navigate that space given the type of drag you do?
Philly drag is having a renaissance of shows, high level artists, and growing events and communities among its king, clown, thing, and alt communities. The BIPOC and trans drag artists make up a large portion of the drag communities–the specificity of these perspectives, and BIPOC and trans artists doing much of the work of holding the scene to standards of equitable ethics, means there is a broader spectrum of drag styles, storytelling, and skills to enjoy and create art, as well as changing the way Philly artists move and treat each other. Philly has only had its time on the national TV competition stage in recent years, and I think that’s a good thing–it means we are still building the reputation of our artistic style rather than fighting an entrenched city stereotype.
One Montreal artist told me the Philly reputation is that we work in teams. I was thrilled that our collaborations have international renown, but a little sad for the artists in other cities who primarily work on projects alone. As much as I relish solo time in my studio, my career and creations are profoundly motivated by the thrill and inspiration I feel by creating things greater than the sum of our parts alongside my fellow artists.
As far as challenges–I think it’s true to the entire drag scene that, when pageants and competitions are so baked into the artform, the algorithms, and how it becomes well known, it is hard to shake the habit of comparing oneself to the artists around them. In Philly we usually have multiple drag shows happening every day. And when we’re comparing ourselves or our shows to others there is a possibility for fear to creep in about how much of an audience can be drawn in, and which stages are available to one person if others are in them, too.
But these audiences and opportunities exist–they just may not know about that artist or show yet, but would drop everything to see if the information reaches them. Creating a fertile and expansive scene only looks like oversaturation or scarcity if you don’t count the new artists and audiences falling in love with the medium for the first time, the venues which are just now being developed, the students who will be the next masters… the legacies just now beginning!
We love your drag mom Sapphira Cristal! how did the relationship come about?
Sapphira and I were introduced through a mutual friend when I gave them both an airbrush lesson. We stayed in touch, I body painted her for a gig, and we hung out periodically. We became closer when I lived near her therapist for a time, and she would drop by after sessions for a lovely hangout. She knew me before I started drag, and was one of the first people to offer feedback and advice for Henlo in his very early stages. We kept finding reasons to collaborate, like when I painted some pieces for her winning Miss Paradise. She took care of me when my dog died. Ours has always been a friendship first, and the drag family relationship was a formalization of the collaborations which came out of it.
Both our lives have gotten more hectic thanks to the magic of drag reality television, but the love and appreciation haven’t faded. I’ve called her during some weird crises–I’m thinking of a call I made this year, barefoot and crying in the rain–and her warmth and support is always something I can rely on.
You were a Top 3 finalist of King of Drag’s first season last summer. That of course is the grounds breaking drag king competition show hosted by Murray Hill on Revry, marking your return to reality TV. There must’ve been a lot of chaos behind the scenes as it was a new show, but also a lot of wonderful authenticity! Was it very different to present on camera as a drag character?
Presenting as my drag character is more and less vulnerable than presenting as the person who makes the art. Even with all the specificity that the rainbow alphabet can achieve now, “artist” is the most accurate and personal designation I have given myself or have ever given myself. I am more than my art, but my art is me. The flaws in my art are as sensitive to criticism as comments on the perceived flaws of my body are, despite the art being arguably more within my control. Under the mask of Henlo, I can obscure parts of myself that I want to keep for myself. But what artist doesn’t wind up telling on themselves anyway, through the themes they return to and unconscious details they can’t help putting into their style?
What were some favorite or least favorite moments of KoD? And, are you still largely in touch with you fellow contestants?
My most favorite and most painful memories around King of Drag are too tightly mixed to ever separate. Every day on set had me stopping to marvel at a feeling, an experience, a kindness, and every day took me to serious depths of fear, anxiety, chronic pain.
But filming is just the first hill on the rollercoaster–many of my best and most painful KoD experiences came during the year after, meeting people who felt lit up inside by some aspect of my work, hearing fan reactions to each episode and to me, seeing opportunity strike at different times in different ways for each castmate. I am still in touch with all of them, and the ten different relationships I have with my S1 brothers is the undisputed, stand-out best prize of the entire thing.
I can’t wait to welcome eight new siblings into the fold as they hit the part of the reality TV rollercoaster where we REALLY get to know each other–the season airing and year afterward–and get to know the idiosyncrasies of each S2 castmate. I hope they’ll let me in far enough to share what the experience is really like for them, too.
King of Drag Season 2, with a cast that includes NYC’s own Lollygag, premieres on Sunday! It was recently announced we will see you on the set again this season… this time as a guest judge. Were you / are you excited to see anyone in particular from this new cast?
I want to let the brilliance and newness and variety of their art wash over me without preconceptions. Competing on this scale forces any artist to take their work to the next level, and I don’t want to have expectations based on who and what they were before. But I’m also excited to get to know these artists on a personal level, because any TV depiction is going to flatten, reduce, or remove some crucial aspect which feels important–and we can only learn from interacting with them day-to-day.
That being said, I am utterly confident in the brilliance and excellence that Cyrus K. Stratton will bring to your screens. I hope the S2 audience will join me in telling Cyrus how amazing and beloved he is, every chance we get! Cyrus is my bestie, and one of my most frequent collaborators in Philly. Even though my view of S2 filming was mostly limited to a few runways as a guest judge, I have absolute confidence that the artistry, personality, and heart we will see from him will teach the rest of the world why everyone in Philly is obsessed with this king! Cyrus brings gravitas to every show and project he’s a part of.
So our Be A King class series–which gives emerging drag kings a strong foundation of skills and experience with topics including musicality, history, makeup, costuming, character development, audio mixing, movement, storytelling and more, with a final student showcase to put it all together–is one half Cyrus’s compassionate, serious, self-searching approach to artistry… and one half of me being very silly between delivering rapid-fire facts while we cram a college semester’s worth of creative development into 6 classes.
What improvements would you like to see happen in drag and nightlife today?
I would like to see at least one drag king in at least half of all drag lineups. Try to pin down what fraction of shows currently feature at least one king, and you know we have a ways to go.
On September 26th, you’ll be a headliner in NYC’s historic annual drag festival Bushwig at 3 Dollar Bill! Many local and visiting performers–along with Drag Race stars Suzie Toot and Lydia B. Kollins–will be turning it onstage with you! How excited are you for this?
I’m feeling something big in my chest… which could definitely translate to excitement, or nerves. Feeling the pressure I put on myself to deliver something worthy of the group of artists I get to be among, I think it shows that I care.
Then on Saturday, October 3rd, you’ll be taking over B. Scene in the East Village for Mo B. Dick’s “Drag King History Show!” What’s in store for us then?
I am interpreting Bridge Markland! I worked on the same Bearded Ladies Cabaret project as Bridge once, and they left a major impression. I am excited to explore Bridge’s sense of the strange, and use of puppets as scene partners.
What else is coming up for you?
I am throwing “Henlo Bullfrog’s Paint Party” on Friday, September 25, from 10-11:30pm at the Black Box Theater in the Asian Arts Initiative [in Philadelphia] as part of Cannonball Fest. It is free, or PWYC / NOTAFLOF with any donations going to the wonderful programming and production that is Cannonball! I will be body painting the crowd for free, there will be free photoshoots for anyone who wants documentation of how they looked and felt good. There will be an art wall, pop-up performances by a few names you might recognize… and more!
I want to give everyone a peak experience and beautifully capture what that night looked and felt like. Things are really hard right now, and it feels like a gift to my community and a gift to myself to offer a fun night where they can get and enjoy these things like being airbrushed, getting a photoshoot in an outfit they love, painting together with no end result except to enjoy it, watching some cool artists do their thing, dancing (I hope) and curating a group of really interesting people whose combinations will make it a night to remember for everyone who interacts with them.
Finally, a frightfully festive question: have you ever seen a ghost, Bigfoot, UFO, etc.?
Never! And I’ve spent summers scenic painting in Eastern State Penitentiary, one of the haunted hotspots of the Northeast. You’d think I’d have some kind of encounter, but I fear the ghosts and ghouls know I want it too bad. Sensing that someone is desperate for their attention seems to turn off the supernatural beings… just like it does with cats.
Thanks, Henlo!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Henlo Bullfrog’s upcoming area appearances, and follow him Instagram and TikTok.
Thotyssey 