Slay, Queenz (& Kings): Colorado Drag Royale Back for Fourth Season

With summer slipping away, August can be kind of a drag. But the dog days will be drag days (in a good way!) starting Thursday, August 7, when the Colorado Drag Royale busts out the boas for the first show of its fourth season. Denver has no shortage of fabulous drag faces and the Royale — which racked up more than 45,000 viewers during Season 3 — is back with bells on, adding to the excitement with a live-audience drag competition-cum-reality-show that kicks off at Tracks nightclub.

The competition is the bedazzled brainchild of executive producer Minerva Qween. Qween has been performing drag since the age of thirteen, after catching an episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. "My energy and aesthetic is a little different," Qween says. "I am what we would call a quote unquote alternative performer. I look like a Barbie that got thrown into a trash can, lit on fire, dragged through the streets, and then put a little perfume on."

That alternative, do-your-own-thing aesthetic is embraced by Royale, as evidenced by Season 3's winner, an in-your-face, self-described "drag thing" who goes by FUPA and prefers "any and all" pronouns. "I really do bounce from one end of the spectrum to the other all the time and fall somewhere in between," says FUPA. "So I take king, I take queen, whatever I'm looking like that day."

"Local [drag] entertainers aren't getting enough exposure and support on TV, unless they're on TV or a venue or producer spends a lot of money to bring in a special guest," says Qween. "There's just not support for the drag shows around town. And not necessarily so much as now, but at the time of creating the Royale, there were a lot of times that entertainers with a different aesthetic weren't given a certain amount of respect. So that's why we created the competition...to basically create this space of like, it doesn't matter what type of drag that you do."

The Colorado Drag Royale will film nine shows in front of a live audience, with the video then edited to add behind-the-scenes and additional footage; it will be released on YouTube next spring. Casting the show was intense: An initial response from "a ton" of applicants who submitted portfolios and audition tapes was narrowed down to thirty performers who did a live interview, finally resulting in a total of nine contestants, according to Qween. During the nine episodes, the wannabe majesties will compete in a number of challenges and be judged on concept, look and performance. (One challenge last season offered contestants the opportunity to strut their stuff as if they were performing at their own Las Vegas residency.)

For aficionados who can't make it to the tapings at Tracks, viewing parties will be held around town when Season 4 debuts on YouTube. "Last season we had viewers from around the world," says Qween. "And we'll keep growing."

At the end of the competition, the grand prize winner will receive a $2,000 cash prize, along with a customized crown scepter and jewelry package, a $1,000 certificate for body modifications from Coven Body Mods, a custom laser-cut design from Daniel Danger, and a professional photoshoot from award-winning photographer Jay Cupcake. Other prizes throughout the competition for weekly challenges include paid bookings across the state and sponsored prizes from local companies.

But according to Qween and FUPA, the real prize is the community. "I've gotten to connect with so many incredible, incredible people in and outside of the queer community who want to support," says FUPA. "And it's been fantastic. I've had an opportunity to work with several queens from RuPaul's Drag Race, and to work with amazing organizations like One Colorado. The world of opportunities that has opened up has been incredible. And I'm so grateful for them."

Qween concurs: "Our goal with the competition is first and foremost to be creating a space where people feel welcomed. It's about community. It's not just simply about it being a competition. We want it to be something that we create a positive space, both inside the competitive space, but also after — we want to create a good space for the community to feel like they can come and watch and be a part of it. I don't want them to feel like they're just an audience member. I want them to feel like they are a part of the Royale because at the end of the day, without them, we would have no show."

Colorado Drag Royale Season 4 starts at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, August 7, at Tracks, 3500 Walnut Street. Tickets are $5 for guests 18-20 (it's 18+); there's no cover for 21+. Find more info at instagram.com/co.drag.royale.