For eight hours, Shelby Sanford was in country music hell.
She鈥檇 been convinced by her best friend Ruth Krulitsky to compete in a lip sync competition, and Krulitsky鈥檚 song of choice was 鈥淏eer Thirty鈥� by the country duo Brooks & Dunn.
Sanford, not a fan of country music, reluctantly agreed. To learn the lyrics, she put the song on repeat during a long drive from Nelson to the coast. Eight hours, one song over and over, until she could sing by heart a tune she might need 30 beers to enjoy.
鈥淩uth likes to convince me to do things that I don鈥檛 want to.鈥�
Krulitsky, an honest country music fan, was less concerned with Sanford鈥檚 plight and more focused on representing the talents of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a real story we鈥檙e trying to tell here,鈥� Krulitsky said with a wry grin. 鈥淔inished for the weekend and hitting the honky tonk.鈥�
Sanford and Krulitsky were among the five sets of performers competing during Intuit Studio鈥檚 Lip Sync Battle and Variety Show at Nelson鈥檚 The Capitol Theatre on Saturday.
Drag is nothing new to Nelson, but a lip sync battle in the style popularized by the show RuPaul鈥檚 Drag Race was something the city hadn鈥檛 previously seen.
Intuit Studio鈥檚 owner MJ Armstrong said she wanted to de-emphasize stage performance with her dancers and avoid what she described as 鈥渟tuffy鈥� dance showcases.
Lip sync battles between dance numbers, she decided, would mix up the program and challenge contestants who were also judged on their costume and props, dancing, and crowd engagement.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to be really good at any one thing, you just have to be kind of good at a lot of things to do a good lip sync performance,鈥� said Armstrong.
One of the judges was Lev Sonego, or Aloe Vera if you prefer their stage name, who since 2017 has been performing with the local drag troupe The Dancing Legs. Sonego said contestants should exaggerate their facial movements and try to not overthink the lyrics.
The performance, Sonego said, should be an honest one.
鈥淏ecause when that happens, then they can totally sell it. When you are thinking about your lyrics, then we can see it on your face.鈥�
The Dancing Legs, which also includes Alex Pilon (Johnny Poutina) and Marjorie Jade Menard (Shiraz DeVille) who co-hosted Saturday, started as three friends chatting about drag over drinks. They decided to audition for a Christmas burlesque show, and five years later looked like seasoned professionals when they opened Saturday鈥檚 show with their take on 鈥淟et鈥檚 Have A Kiki鈥� by Scissor Sisters.
鈥滱 lot of people say that drag isn鈥檛 being someone else, it鈥檚 being yourself,鈥� said Sonego. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 showing the true part of yourself and I think that鈥檚 really empowering. Even though I鈥檓 wearing a costume I am showing a really vulnerable part of myself. So I think being able to do that and feel empowered by it, that鈥檚 a really rewarding feeling.鈥�
It鈥檚 also clear from the audience which performers have tapped into that feeling.
Laena Brown, one of the competitors, has a theatre background yet prior to Saturday hadn鈥檛 been on a stage in six years. But when the first notes of Queen鈥檚 鈥淪omebody To Love鈥� began to play Brown, wearing a bee-inspired costume, danced and jiggled and lip synced in a performance that would have made Freddie Mercury proud.
鈥淢y whole life I鈥檝e been told in many places that I go that I鈥檓 too much. Being in the world of drag, there鈥檚 no such thing. You can never be enough. I think it鈥檚 a huge place of freedom and imagination and joy and it also gives people watching and witnessing the permission to experience that joy and that freedom.鈥�
The night ended in a lip-synced performance of Madonna鈥檚 鈥淟ike A Prayer鈥� between the finalists Krulitsky, Sanford and Brown. Krulitsky and Sanford won the judges over yet again by returning to the stage in monk robes with crosses in hand, and went home with a $1,000 prize.
But Sanford left with something else she admitted was 鈥渉er secret shame鈥� 鈥� she now has country songs on her playlists. When Sanford realized she was sharing this detail with a reporter, a look of dawning horror appeared on her face.
鈥淎ll of Nelson is going to know I listen to country.鈥�
| tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
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