HOLLY HARKNESS
(Holly) Well, I started drag by doing cosplays first.
So I was cosplaying Scarlet Witch and Agatha and Poison Ivy and a few anime characters.
And I just thought it was like all the parts that I wouldn’t be able to play otherwise, I was playing.
(Holly) Yeah, well Agatha is a huge one — Agatha Harkness. Sarah Sanderson is a big one. I feel like Poison Ivy a little bit. Like the Harley Quinn — no, Harley Quinn actually is a huge inspiration.
Yeah. It was Harley Harkness.
Harley Harkness.
(Holly) In your Australian accent it sounds like Holly! Yeah, so I was like — and I’d always mistakenly say Holly instead of Harley. So I was like, it’s Holly now. I don’t care.
(Holly) Outside of drag? I’m an actor. I’m going to school to get my acting degree. We’re still working on the BFA. I’m at NYU. And my teachers are so — I don’t know — they’re so cool. And they’re so willing to talk about how the techniques that I’m learning apply to drag. Which is really cool.
So like the clowning technique is huge in drag.
Movement techniques I found really useful in drag.
(Holly) And just being able to create your own material. Because it’s not — it’s a totally different muscle than script writing.
Because I’m writing a script for Holly right now. I’m trying to make a show for her to be in.
But like making a mix is such a different thing.
But I find that it’s still like finding the way you find beats in a scene — you can find beats in a mix or in a performance.