How do I ask a performer for an oral-history interview?

Explain who you are, the project's purpose, recording format, expected audience, editing, attribution, storage, access, and withdrawal terms before scheduling. Ask what topics or names are off limits and obtain documented consent suited to the archive or publication. An enthusiastic conversation is not automatic permission to publish every detail, image, legal name, or private story.

Can an old event flyer prove a show happened?

A flyer proves that an event was promoted in a particular form. Cancellation, lineup changes, venue moves, and printing errors remain possible. Compare it with reviews, photographs, programs, ticket records, calendars, venue documents, or participant accounts. Describe the evidence accurately: “advertised for this date” is stronger research than quietly converting an announcement into a confirmed performance.

Should I include a performer's former or legal name?

Only when it is necessary, already responsibly public, supported by strong evidence, and consistent with the person's consent and safety. Do not expose private identities or treat former names as colorful trivia. Record source wording privately when archival integrity requires it, apply access controls, and consult participants or a responsible archive about description practices.

Costume & Stagecraft

How to Research Local Drag History

Cue & Sequin · Updated 2026-07-19 · 4 min read

In shortResearch local drag history by defining a place, period, and focused question, then building a timeline from contemporary flyers, newspapers, programs, photographs, recordings, venue records, and personal collections. Add oral histories through informed consent, recording names and dates exactly while protecting private identities and requested boundaries. Compare later memories with period evidence, include workers around the stage, mark uncertainty and conflicts, clear image rights, and cite archive details precisely enough for another researcher to retrace the work.

Contents

Start with a place and a question
Map names carefully
Build a source ladder
Conduct oral histories with consent
Include the work around the spotlight
Cite what another person can find

Start with a place and a question

Research local drag history by defining the city, neighborhood, venue network, years, and question you want to understand. Build a timeline from flyers, newspapers, photographs, recordings, programs, business records, personal collections, and oral histories, then preserve contradictions instead of polishing them away.

“The scene began here” is usually not a starting fact. It is a large claim wearing very confident shoes.

Map names carefully

Performers, hosts, venues, and collectives may use several names across time. Record the spelling and date exactly as each source presents it. Do not connect identities, legal names, or private information without consent and strong public evidence.

Create separate fields for stage name, source, date, venue, role, and uncertainty. Respect requested pronouns and the historical context in which a person describes themselves. Never treat a former name as trivia for an audience.

Build a source ladder

Begin with contemporary materials:

event flyers, calendars, advertisements, and programs
local newspapers, magazines, and community publications
photographs, video, audio, and set lists
venue, promoter, and organization records
costumes, props, correspondence, and scrapbooks

Later memoirs, documentaries, social posts, and interviews add perspective but should be checked against the period timeline. A flyer establishes that a show was announced, not automatically that it happened exactly as printed.

Explain the project, recording method, intended access, editing, attribution, withdrawal limits, and storage before interviewing. Obtain documented consent appropriate to the archive or publication. Let narrators define topics they will not discuss.

Ask open questions: What did a typical night involve? Who did unseen labor? How did people learn? What changed when a venue closed? Avoid questions that demand gossip, outing, trauma, or a single “first.”

Transcribe names and dates for review. Memory is valuable evidence and can conflict without anyone becoming useless.

Include the work around the spotlight

Research dressers, makeup artists, DJs, photographers, bartenders, door staff, promoters, designers, activists, audiences, and venue workers where evidence and consent allow. Show structure can help you recognize how much labor sits between listed acts.

Use performance concept craft as a lens for reading old programs, but do not project today's vocabulary onto people who used different terms.

Return interview transcripts or summaries to narrators for the review process you agreed upon. Record corrections without erasing the original research trail, and distinguish a changed memory from a transcription error. Community history gains trust when participants can see how their words, names, and access choices will appear before the archive becomes permanent.

Cite what another person can find

Record archive, collection, box, folder, issue, page, date, URL, access date, and rights holder as applicable. Label approximate dates and unidentified people. Do not publish private contact information or copyrighted images without permission.

Pair material evidence with costume archiving so construction, repairs, wear, and performance stories stay connected. Deposit copies with a suitable community archive when participants agree.

The best local history does not crown one official legend. It leaves a clear trail toward many rooms, many workers, and many versions of what the night meant.