How to Engineer a Drag Reveal with Vivica Vanity
EPISODE #19
Vivica Vanity's path to drag began with a childhood creating digital art, anime obsession, and fictional world-building.
As an "internet baby" who could type before writing, she spent years making animations and original characters while feeling like an outsider in school. Her drag career sparked in 2022 at Code Pink in Oxford, Mississippi after being inspired by Sasha Colby's reveal techniques. She reverse-engineered costume reveals by studying YouTube videos frame by frame, eventually mastering theater quick-release techniques. Her first performance came during a Jay Lee memorial night where she felt compelled to "embody the queer spirit," performing to Ayesha Erotica's "Literal Legend." Vivica describes her drag persona as "a spirit of sorts" that exists for three minutes at a time on stage, seamlessly merging her background in digital art and character creation with live performance.
We talk about her signature dress reveals that leave audiences screaming and her 2-3 hour makeup process fueled by My Chemical Romance. Vivica explains how drag taught her to use her voice and gain confidence as an autistic person who previously struggled socially. She shares competing in Hunny Blunt’s Assassins drag competition at Lamplighter Lounge, making the finale despite getting a concussion during a failed dip, and how she processes setbacks by crying privately before moving forward. Her alt aesthetic draws from Panic! At The Disco's vaudeville style, while her supportive family includes her proud mother who attends shows (except clown performances due to coulrophobia). Vivica learned drag skills through YouTube tutorials and maintains an anti-gatekeeping philosophy of sharing knowledge freely. Her dream project involves creating animated shows featuring her character concepts, including Vivica comics depicting her as a "Saturday morning cartoon villain" who wants to "take over the world in a good way."
A show about like really creative people.
Like Really Creative is a show about like really creative people hosted by me, Zack Orsborn, where I interview people about what fuels their creativity.
I am a writer, musician and visual artist. But most importantly, I’m a lifelong student of creativity—what goes into the creative process, how to maintain creative stamina, how to gather inspiration, and learning stories about how artists bring their art to life.
I created this show out of an intense (like really intense) desire to connect deeper with artists and creatives locally in Memphis. This show will showcase some of the most brilliant minds so others can get to know how those minds work.
Like Really Creative is available to watch on YouTube. Listen to the audio version of each episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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MUSE: STANZA—A Mixed Media Poetry Workshop + Open Mic
Monday, May 12, 2025
6:30-8:30PM
BAR DKDC @ 964 Cooper St, Memphis, TN 38104
Explore erasure poetry in a workshop led by artist, poet and singer-songwriter Justin Williams, dig through a mix bag of words and prompts and create mixed media collage poems, write poetry on vintage typewriters provided by Ryan Knop, and build your creative courage by stepping up to the mic to share what you’ve created. Tunes by Strooly.
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May Collage Party with Luvrs & Friends and Floraline
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Ugly Art Co. @ 635 Madison Ave, Memphis, TN 38103
The May Collage Party, in collaboration with The Ugly Art Co., is all about love, friends, and flowers. Collage alongside a creative community as you listen to curated jams by DJ trio Luvrs & Friends, add dried flowers provided by Floraline to your collage, flip through vintage magazines, really cool old books and ephemera, cut, glue, and make your masterpiece. Materials, water, soda, and snacks provided.
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