Hello and welcome to Big Gay Energy.
I'm Caitlin. And I'm Fiora.
Come along with us while we dive into the fun and nuances of
queer media. Representation matters.
And we're here to talk about it. On today's Big Gay Agenda, we
are here at the ARTNYC theaters with a very special guest.
It is none other than the legend themselves, Vico Ortiz.
You might recognize them from our show as this is not their
first rodeo with Big Gay energy. They have been on a previous
episode to talk with us about our Flag Means Death, which you
may know them very well from, or some of their other iconic roles
in American Horror Story, Transparent or these themes.
What you might not know is they are an extraordinary drag king,
a creative force who brings heart and humor to everything
they do. Their new solo drag show, Rise
of a King is a cosmic coming of age journey that reclaims power,
memory, and identity. Now this show is part of the
Fuertsa Fest, which is the annual Latin LGBTQ plus arts
festival here in New York City. The Forza Fest Virtue originated
in 2016 and celebrates queer voices through theater,
performance, and community. Vico, thank you so much for
coming on today. We're excited to have you.
Goodness, this is such. A sweet intro for that.
All right, so Rise of a King is your new special solo drag show.
This is the world premiere event at the Forza Fest.
So where did this concept start? Oh my gosh.
Well, yes, this, this started because I, I had an agent who
really who's singing to drag and really was like, you should do a
solo show. You should do a solo show.
And I was like, I don't write, I'm not a writer, an actor.
Let's keep it chill. Like you write the thing and I
will read it and I will perform it.
And she mentioned this about like 4 years ago and we have
some conversations with ideas and stuff, but I was like, I'm
into it. But I I'm scared.
I don't know about writing. I feel like this is a different
way of exploring art that I haven't yet truly like leaned
into. And I read a lot, but I wasn't,
I would, I wouldn't consider myself a writer.
And then last year I was like, you know what, fuck it, let me
go ahead and let me go ahead and write this.
Let me, let me go ahead and do it.
And I had done a storytelling show a year and a half back at a
show called Don't Tell My Mother with Nicky Levy.
And it was a short story. It was like a 12 minute story
about something that I hadn't told my parents, which I ended
up telling them because I was like, well, this is going to be
out in public. They got it now.
And then the year after June of last year, I was like, let me
let me start actually experimenting with what a solar
show would look like with the concept of don't tell my mother.
But then instead of don't tell my mother, it's more like my
mother wouldn't want me to tell you the audience.
And and I loved how Nikki helped me with the storytelling of the
year before. And I was like, I think Nikki
would be an amazing coach to kind of help me write this
piece. And so last year I rode was
supposed to be 12 minutes ended up being 20.
And then I kind of used that story to kind of propel and
expand it into what is now this solo show that's an hour.
And it went through various drafts.
I sort of would one thing and then it went to a whole
different direction. And then now we're in this that
feels that felt producible. And I, I, I finished it,
finished writing it in December of last year, 2024.
And I was planning on doing it in LA first, but then the fires
in LA happened and I chose to stay in Puerto Rico a little bit
longer. And because I wasn't sure when I
was going to return to LA, I was like, fuck it.
The world is literally on fire. This administration is also on
fire. And this story is one that I
feel can connect, has a lot of connective tissue with ourselves
and people that we love and care about.
And, and I was like, you know what, I want to do this.
I want to do this regardless of what the fuck is happening with
the industry. I want to do this for the
community. I want this for myself, for my
people, for my family, for my chosen family.
And I began to hit up folks that I knew in NPR because I thought,
shit, if I'm already in Puerto Rico, I'll do it in Puerto Rico
first. I'll do it in Spanish because I
have it in Spanish as well. And then my friend who I have
worked with in the past was like, wait, hold up.
There's a there's a festival happening in New York.
Let's do it there. And I was like, oh, OK.
And then here we are. It happened so quickly.
Wow. Well, obviously there is a whole
creative team behind you that is helping you make this image come
to life. So let's talk about the process
of rehearsals and putting the show together.
Like what was like the beginning stages and then like the special
moments of the rehearsal process.
My. Goodness, yes.
So the first person that I reached out to was my Dina
Hutte, who runs Boundless Theater in New York.
And I had worked with her in a virtual slash live theater show
during lockdown and with her as a producer.
I also worked with Ivan Rodriguez, which was the
director for that show. And I loved work with working
with him. And I knew of him because also
he has worked with my parents and other theater productions
and I loved working with him for that show like Arita, which we
did during lockdown. And so when I reach out to
Maritina, I was like, I'm thinking Emmanuel would be an
amazing director for this. And so she was like, I got you.
And then we had a meeting at a different theater in in Puerto
Rico that was in the middle of a production for something else.
And my Gatina were there. My Gatina was there with Mario
Cordon, who is the one that runs for So Fest.
And he was like, yes, I definitely want your show for
the festival. And then Imanuel was in a couple
of floors upstairs. So I just like, took an
elevator, went upstairs and I was like, Imanuel, my show is
happening. Do you want to read it?
Do you want to direct it? And he was like, let's fucking
go. And so while all this was
happening, someone that I met at a convention last year in
London, their name is Fire. Fire with AY, had made these
amazing puppets for Jim, for Izzy, for wee John, for Lucius.
And I love puppets. And then this person reached out
to me and was like, hey, I would love to make you a puppet.
And I was like like outside of like our flag and I was like,
amazing. I actually have an idea for a
puppet that maybe could work for my solo show.
So I told them about what them Regalo who is this amazing or
was an amazing Puerto Rican astrologer and just gender
bending icon. And so I was like, can you make
this puppet? They did Samantha Ray who made
me a Cape a while ago. I was like, oh, this this Cape
can be used for the show. Josue Matias, who is friends
with the Manuel who really designed the little frog for Bad
Bunny's new album, has worked with his many, many years ago.
And anyone, I was like, I want you to design this like little
set piece that can be transported to various theaters,
can be built and unbuilt without any tools.
Of course, you had to use it with tools in the very
beginning. But for me now it's I can just
build it and and and break it down and put it in two boxes and
travel with it. And it all kind of came together
in with various people. And now with Lai have
celebration theater with Nikki Levy and then Chris who are
helping me produce the French festival over there.
So I'm like, I just I touched community and I was a community.
I need help. And they were like, let's
fucking go. So I got people in New York and
Puerto Rico and LA all helping me out and getting this all put
together. So after all of this hard work
and the amazing team that you've gotten to work with, what do you
think you're most proud of with this show?
And if it is literally everything, let's talk about
that. Oh.
My gosh, what am the most proud of?
I don't know necessarily. It's like the word is proud.
But the most gratifying experience of all of this is
that I have gotten to rehearse all of this at my parents'
house. So that has been a really
touching, beautiful 180 moments of being, you know, living in LA
for so many years, over a decade, and then finishing
writing this piece in December while in Puerto Rico and really
getting the wheels running in Puerto Rico, rehearsing it in
Puerto Rico. And my parents, Terasa and my
mom seeing glimpses of the rehearsal process.
And I also share with her the the script in Spanish so she
could understand the piece. But even then she was like,
there's so much physicality that just it, it tells the story even
if you don't understand the language.
And so, yeah, more than anything, the the gratifying
part of all of this is being able to have birth this in
Puerto Rico and, and be be held with, with family while doing
so. Yeah.
Wow, that's so sweet. All right, so going into the
actual performance progress, without spoiling anything, was
there any moment in the show you are most excited or nervous or
both to share? And how does it feel to finally
do it on stage? I actually mentioned it on the
show. It's in the very beginning, so
no. Crazy spoilers, but.
OK, I do a lot of burlesque and I'm I'm very comfortable in
getting naked in front of people, but that's physically
naked and then getting emotionally naked in front of
folks is, is one that I'm like, you know, leaning into most
recently. And so, yeah, being being
nervous about sharing such an intimate story of my family,
especially with my, with my mom's relationship is, is
incredibly vulnerable. And so I'm the most excited
about that because I do feel that we all have some sort of
parental figure that whether it's a, a bloodline parental
figure or a chosen parental figure, we, we have this desire
to have someone that we're like, oh, hi, you're like this figure
to me. And sometimes we connect and
sometimes we disconnect and sometimes we there's distance
and closeness and whatnot. And exploring all of all of that
story through drag was exciting and and nerve wracking for me,
and it's the reason why I'm so excited about sharing this show
to as many places as I possibly can.
Wow. So how would you?
Say that. Performing drag has evolved for
you over time, especially alongside your acting career as
that has progressed a. Lot.
A lot. And you see it on the show, too.
My first couple of performance as I was impersonating other
people, and then I kind of began realizing that, oh, there's
something here that that's more just than impersonation.
There's something here that I can use to play and explore who
I am as a person and how I process things and how I,
through art, explore parts of myself that I otherwise would
have taken forever to like, notice, or perhaps never.
And so, yeah, my drag has evolved a lot.
It's still very silly. It's still very goofy and
whimsical. I love using magical realism to
explore a lot of themes, but I love that that, yeah, it just
ebbs and flows and, and it's giving me such an openness to
who I am as a, as a human being. I, I mentioned this in the show
too. It's just like how dragging me
the opportunity to, to witness all of the contradictory parts
of myself that also somehow align.
And then I was like, oh, wait, but I'm doing this on stage.
How, how about I do this also in my day-to-day life?
How does it look like for me in my day-to-day life to embrace
and celebrate all of these contradictory things about
myself? And so, yeah, it's really fun.
Yeah. My drag has evolved a lot.
It's shifted a lot, but it's still that theme of like whimsy
and magical realism and silliness is very much there,
very clown like. But even with that clown, I also
touch a lot of subjects that explore heavier themes.
I even did a show at a church last year that explored Guild,
explored punishment, explored shame, explored liberation,
explored kinkiness, explored control, explored release and
acceptance and all. Through, you know.
Being a priest. So it's interesting to kind of
be like, oh, there's silliness, but there's also like a lot of
like things that hit really hard on a performance like that.
So in a show like this where you're.
Both having fun but also being very vulnerable.
How do you think you as a person have grown through this whole
process? Process.
Oh my. Gosh, everyday, everyday.
I was telling you this earlier, I talked a lot about
perfectionism as well on the show and the expectations of
perfectionism. And there's so many elements in
the show that that for a moment I was like, Oh well, this queue
and this queue and this queue. And I was like, how about I
release all of that and just allow myself to be human in this
process and have fun, show up to my fullest, most authentic self
every day, whatever that looks like each day.
And if something happens, like honor that and see where it goes
and roll with it and explore what can happen from that.
There's a saying that a teacher of mine shared with that share
with us it in college a while ago.
That was an obstacle as an opportunity to make a different
choice. And I was like, yeah, if
something happens, just make a different choice, see what and
see where that takes us, you know, and not punish ourselves
for something different to show up, right.
So celebrate that figuring out process.
So yeah, I'm, I'm learning every day.
I've discovered new things about myself every day.
I'm having a lot of fun. It's been really sweet to have
my parents here as well and see almost every performance they
didn't see last night's because they were like, well, everybody
there's it's every day is sold out.
And if there's someone that can see the show that hasn't been
able to, then you know, we can give it to this to these people.
So other than that, though, it's been beautiful.
All right, so you've. Mentioned before that you've had
a lot of inspiration from other drag kings, other drag Queens
for your drag performances. Are there any inspirations that
you have had for this show specifically?
Oh my goodness. Inspirations for the show
puppetry. It's the first time I do
puppetry ever in my life. And I was like, oh God, I can't
believe I like speaking about learning.
I'm like, I I love art. I love everything that I can get
my hands, feet, soul, heart, everything on that is artistic
in any kind of way like I want it.
And I, I feel like now I'm just like I at the end of the day,
I'm an artist. I don't care what medium, I
don't care what the fuck I'm doing, but as long as I'm
creating something, that's where I feel the most free and, and,
and at ease and, and just all the love, all the love.
The audience is the inspiration. Honestly, like each day has been
so different. The energy is so different.
And I, I do, I live for that. I live for feeling inspired by
how the audience is reacting and how they're enjoying the show or
feeling like I've, I've struck A chord that like really hit them
all. Like it's so interesting and and
beautiful to me to witness the audience laugh and cry and guide
them in this journey and that inspires and, and hearing them
afterwards processing or things that they want to do now moving
forward with themselves or a family member or a friend or a
Co worker. That's what inspires me every
day. So with this.
Show At the end of the day, what kind of conversations do you
hope audiences will have when they leave the theater tonight
in this show? I share very vulnerably.
Of course, it's an hour, right? So I can't go super in depth
with a lot of stuff, but I do my best to kind of hit those like
notes and those moments. But I, I share a lot of like
what insight to be a kid who is just like, but what happens if I
do this this way instead of this other way?
And having family who's also learning how to like let go of
like, well, this is the way that we've been taught.
So this is the way that's always been then like, oh, does it have
to always be like this? It doesn't always have to be
like this. What if we just let go and
release that and and allow for what happens, happens.
And and so I want people to see this show and have those
conversations with themselves and with their families and with
their friends and their Co workers.
Just like what are some ways in which I've been like, well, I
have to do this this one way and be like, wait, although do I
actually have to do it this one way?
Can it be a different way? That's OK for it to be different
and that's beautiful, amazing. And even with all the insurance
and outs of connectivity, lack of connection, still loving each
other through distances, closeness and how we can find
each other again when we release all of these expectations and
notions. Because even for myself, like I
also have expectations of my parents that I also have to be
like, wait, I got to release these expectations and then like
where they at? And then we can meet each other
in these moments and then and then continue to expand their
our relationship because we've released these expectations.
Wow. All right.
Well, FICO, I have just one more question for you.
So what do you wish more people, especially young queer artists,
could understand about carving their own path in the arts?
And how do you hope to spark that inspiration for some of
them Art? Is a reflection of life, and
life is a reflection of arts. And so as you carve your own
path through art, you're also doing that in your own life.
And I know that there's a lot of blueprints out there, yet like
everything, not every blueprint is going to be the same or it's
going to work the same because we're all very different people
and we operate in very different ways.
So more than anything, understand that while there's a
lot of quote UN quote rules that get you to A-Z, it doesn't need
to be like that for you. And that's totally 100,000% OK.
You can continue to carve your own path the way that feels true
to you. Listen to your intuition, listen
to yourself. What rings true to you, what
moves you? Because a lot of people can be
like, well, you did that and you did this and this is the one way
you're going to do that. And it's like, but then you're
doing it for somebody else and I'm doing it for yourself.
And and when you're doing it, when it moves you, when it
really strikes a chord for you. That's.
Where the sauce is when you're doing it because like all this
person is expecting this of me or they told me I should have
done this this way, this should have could have would have
scratched that. You can throw it away.
Do it the way that you want to do it, even if it's different,
even if it's not the same as everybody else.
And you can do that not just in the arts, but just do it with
your with your life as well. All right, I love.
That all right. Well, Viko, obviously we are
coming to the end here, but do you have any closing thoughts
and final thoughts before you go on stage tonight?
Oh my gosh, have fun. Y'all have fun, breathe deep and
have fun. I can't wait to share this story
with as many people as I possibly can and just have these
really beautiful, gorgeous, vulnerable conversations with
everybody at the end. That's my favorite part.
Awesome. All right, well, Vico, it has
been an absolute pleasure. Break a leg tonight.
I'm so excited to see the show. It's going to be so fun.
All right, well, folks, thank you all so much for joining us
today. You know the drill.
Hydrate for lesbian Jesus and get up all over the place and we
will talk to you guys soon. Bye bye.
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