Interview: Theatre Life with the Men Behind The Kinsey Sicks

Today's subjects are living their theatre lives under some mascara and big hair. The dragapella sensation known as The Kinsey Sicks are back in DC at Theater J starting tomorrow. They will be giving the holidays a kick right in the (fill in blank) with their no filter, hilarious, holiday extravaganza known as Oy Vey in a Manger through December 28.

The group began in 1993 when a group of friends went to a Bette Midler concert in San Francisco dressed as the Andrews Sisters. Assuming they'd be among many drag queens, they found themselves to be the only ones. They were approached that night to perform at an upcoming event. Their reply - "we don't sing" - was quickly disproved when they realized that all of them had musical backgrounds. They began singing and harmonizing that night, and the seed for the Kinsey Sicks was planted. Twenty plus years later, the group is still an international phenomenon. They have performed off-Broadway and have nine cds to their credit. For more info, check out their snazzy looking website.

The Kinsey Sicks are made up of Ben Schatz (Rachel), Jeff Manabat (Trixie), Nathan Marken (Winnie), and Spencer Brown (Trampolina). I thought, for this interview, it would be fun to go behind the characters these men play and learn something about themselves. I started this out as a serious interview and, well, you can read for yourselves to determine if I succeeded.

For something completely different this holiday season, I highly recommend you check out America's Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet known as The Kinsey Sicks in Oy Vey in a Manger at Theater J. You have to be a rare breed of performer to perform in drag, be able to sing accapella, and do it well.

Get on over to Theater J if you can. There are even performances of Oy Vey in a Manger on Christmas Eve and Christmas night so for all of us Jews that need something after our Chinese food, this is a wonderful alternative to the movies.

The group that brought you Chicks with Shticks and the timely Electile Dysfunction: The Kinsey Sicks for President is ready to make your holidays truly unforgettable. Many thanks to Ben, Jeff, Nathan and Spencer for coming out (sort of) from behind their famous alter egos for a minute. Happy Holidays everyone!!!

Can each of you please tell us what you were doing before you became members of The Kinsey Sicks? Do any of you still hold that job when you are not performing?

Ben: I was the first attorney in the United States to work full time nationally on AIDS-related impact litigation. From there, I went on start a national program for HIV positive health care workers, and then went on to serve as executive director of the (national) Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. The next logical step, of course, was to become a singing drag queen.

Jeff: During the day, I used to work at a market research company. At night and on weekends, I performed at theatres throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Although I enjoyed working with that company, I couldn't stay. Being a member of the Kinseys is a full-time job, and we're never in one place for too long as we tour across North America, the UK, and Australia.

Nathan: Up until a few months ago, I was an office manager for a residential luxury high rise in San Francisco while performing in local and regional theatre productions. I still do some arts performance and administration work in San Francisco, but left my office job in July!

Spencer: I was working in a cabaret bar as a server and as a drag queen. So technically, I only partly have that job now since I'm no longer serving and the bar has since closed.

Did The Kinsey Sicks invent the Dragapella form

Ben: Not only did we invent it, we trademarked the word. You owe us fifty cents for using it.

Nathan: Yes, he and the original founders created (and wisely trademarked) the concept of "Dragapella."

What are some of the misconceptions about what you and other performers that work in drag do?

Ben: The biggest misconception is that "drag" in and of itself is a specific performance genre. Drag is a means to a thousand different ends, depending upon who is doing the performing. I think The Kinsey Sicks have more in common with musical theater or with Jon Stewart than we do with some of the folks on RuPaul's Drag Race, for example. Drag can be lip synced, spoken or sung; drag can be biting, or even angry social commentary. Drag can be gorgeous and drag can be hideous. As far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as a "drag show."

Jeff: I think "drag" is incredibly diverse, and many people are missing out on the many possibilities within this genre of performance art. It's like perceiving something as merely "Asian," when that something could be Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese, or any other (or combination of) of the myriad of cultures throughout Asia. Our version of drag is very different from the fabulous ladies of Drag Race, and with our live a cappella harmonies, we're closer musically to groups like Pentatonix or Straight No Chaser than drag artists who lip sync.

Nathan: There's actually misconceptions about our drag - that we lip sync and are catty. People are surprised that the four characters are fully-developed entities with backstories, interests, and personalities!

Spencer: The beauty of drag is that there are ALWAYS misconceptions. Try as one might, there's never been one clear way to define drag. In terms of what we do, and how drag started in gay culture, it's always been about taking progressive stands in places where people don't feel that they have the voice to do so themselves.

Are any of your characters based on people you knew beforehand? If so, please explain.

Ben: Fortunately for everyone I know, my character is based upon none of them.

Jeff: Trixie was created by one of the co-founders of The Kinsey Sicks, Maurice Kelly, who is as glamorous and witty offstage as he is on. I took over the role of Trixie from the fabulous Kevin Smith Kirkwood (currently in Broadway's Kinky Boots), and found inspiration for the part from both of their versions, and from my mom.

Nathan: Winnie was created by (one of the Kinsey Sicks' founders) Irwin Keller. She is, as any good drag character, an extension of him. When I took over the role a couple of years ago upon Irwin's retirement from the group, I found that she and I (and Irwin) had a lot in common. So, the shoe more than fit!

Spencer: I joined the group after my character was created. However, I've found that I have a lot more in common with Trampolina than I'd like to admit. In her favor though, she does get away with saying a lot of ridiculous crap.

Where do the ideas for your shows come from? How many productions do you have in your repertoire?

Ben: Most of my ideas come from really bad acid trips and hallucinations of Donald Trump. Except that it turns out that, sadly, Trump is not a hallucination.

Jeff: Every year we tour with several shows, changing our content as necessary (for example, the recent election changed scripts for two of our shows!). This year alone we've toured with several shows, including our election year satire Electile Dysfunction, our musical Chicks with Shticks, and several custom sets for special events. Each of them filled with appalling originals and unforgivable parodies.

Nathan: Ben Schatz is the primary writer for the group, and at any given time, we can have two to four full productions in our repertoire for touring as well as custom shows for events.

Spencer: How many productions do we have in our repertoire? You'd be surprised to know it's more than one. We've been known to tour several shows throughout the year depending on who's booking us and what it is they're looking for. Bless their hearts.

Can you please tell us almost everything we need to know about Oy Vey in a Manger?

Nathan: This version of Oy Vey in a Manger is particularly suited to our stressful political climate, as well as having all of the naughty holiday parodies and biting original songs you'd expect from The Kinsey Sicks.

Spencer: This show has been a staple for Kinsey Sicks fans for many years now and each year, we've always found a way to adapt it to the current culture. The only thing you need to know from that: be afraid, be very, very afraid (at least that's what we've been taught from the new Trump administration).

I imagine your shows play differently in different parts of the country. What are some of the most memorable reactions you've had from audience members at the end of some of your performances?

Ben: I think the most amazing and remarkable reaction we've encountered is when audience members actually stay to the end. The amazement, I should add, comes from us.

Nathan: Right after this year's election, we had shows in Idaho and Montana (it was our Montana debut, by the way!) and the audiences were so grateful to have us! In reality, we needed those performances to cope with the pending political upheaval.

Spencer: My most memorable reaction from an audience member was that they didn't ask for refund - which was fortunate for them, because we don't give them anyway.

Please answer this one in character. You have made it pretty well known on social media how you feel about our president elect. If you were asked to be part of his cabinet and accepted the position, what would be the first piece of advice you would give?

Rachel: Hey Donald, let's switch jobs.

Trixie: After confirming that he's made at least one impeachable offense by day one (for example, his possible treasonous collusion with the Russian government to influence the election), suggest to him that he should dump Pence and choose Clinton as his VP.

Winnie: Leave.

Trampolina: Like many out LGBT celebrities, I refuse to go back into the cabinet. Nor will I accept his position -which, let's face it, is probably not very dominant.

You guys keep a busy schedule. Are you even busier now since marriage equality became the law of the land?

Ben: No, despite tremendous social progress, people's taste in entertainment has not improved and we continue to get bookings as a result.

Do any of you have any non-Kinsey performance projects you would like to tell us about?

Jeff: Something that most people don't know about us is that, in addition to our performance projects as members of The Kinsey Sicks, we also work full-time on the production side as business partners and co-managers of the group. So in addition to performing, we also write, direct, produce, do contracts, accounting, travel arranging, music arranging, music directing, web designing, social media managing, marketing, advertising, costume designing, and so much more!

Special thanks to Theatre J's Managing Director Rebecca Ende Lichtenberg for her assistance in coordinating this interview.

Theatre Life logo designed by Kevin Laughon.