Alaska Thunderfuck Comedy Special to Premiere on OUTtv

RuPaul’s Drag Race legend and All Stars Season 2 winner Alaska Thunderfuck is proud to present her first-ever comedy special, The Alaska Thunderfuck Extra Special Comedy Special.

Premiering April 15 on the queer-centric channel OUTtv, the event was originally filmed in pre-pandemic Hollywood as a one-night-only engagement. Stepping outside her comfort zone, Alaska delivers the audiences some of her greatest musical hits, exciting special guests, and a series of comedic jokes.

OFM had the opportunity to chat more with Alaska about the special, as well as performing digitally during these times of COVID, the evolution of Drag Race, and recently crowning Chicago-based drag king Tenderoni as the second winner of her and Lola LeCroix’s annual Drag Queen of the Year Pageant.

Hi, Alaska! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me. How are you doing during these days of COVID?
Oh my gosh. Dreadful, anxiety ridden, ghastly—no, it has been a really difficult time, and I am looking forward to Joe Biden saving us all and making the world a better place.

What can you tell us about your new comedy special set to premiere on OUTtv?
I was asked if I wanted to do a comedy special, and I was like, ‘I don’t know. I don’t know I am really up to being a comedy queen.’ As you know, I have always been a strict glamour queen, but I thought I would push my boundaries and give it a try. Try being funny and telling jokes.

This is your first comedy special?
Yes, and it is pretty cool. I did not think that I could stand there and tell jokes for an hour because that is what real legitimate comedians do. They can do that. I did not think I could do that, so I stood there and told jokes for like 10 minutes, and then I was like, ‘I need to do everything else. I need to do some musical numbers; I need to have a mini drag contest; I need to have my friend Jeremy doing crystal bowls. I need to throw everything in the kitchen sink with this, but there are also some jokes.’

How did it feel to step outside of your comfort zone like this?
It was cool. It was a lot of work, but the team who helped put it together and shoot it, they are so legit, and they shot it so beautifully. Everyone who was involved came together to make it happen, and it was very inspiring.

What do you hope audiences take away from the special?
I hope that it provides a little bit of laughter because it is a really weird and kind of horrible time, almost to the point where I did not even know if it was appropriate to release something like this. To release a comedy special. We filmed it well before COVID, and then we were looking at it and trying to get ready to release it, and I was like, ‘This feels inappropriate.’ So, I wanted to put it in context of how the world has changed. We were able to talk with comedy legends like Margaret Cho, Jackie Beat, and Sherry Vine, and we were able to talk about it and put it into context of how the world has shifted and changed. So, I guess it’s like, tune in if you want to laugh.

Since the special was filmed pre-pandemic, what do you miss the most about performing in front of a live audience?
Oh, wow. I miss telling a joke or doing something and getting a reaction without a one second delay that you have on Zoom. I also miss singing into a microphone and making loud noises into a microphone. I miss that, I love that, I crave that, I want that. What I do not miss is the absolute backbreaking pain of walking around in high heels. Like, Jesus.

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Can you talk a bit more about how the pandemic has personally affected you both mentally and professionally?
Overall, I think it has been very hard on the drag community in general because it happened overnight. Every kind of place that we have done drag, whether it’s theaters, bars, nightclubs, dance clubs, or whatever, it all disappeared overnight. Then on top of that, it was like, by the way, you are also going to be the last thing that is going to come back. You are last on the list. So, it has been really hard, but also really inspiring. One day one, we were told drag was shutting down, but then on day two, drag turned into a digital thing. There was a digital drag show here, a digital drag show on Instagram, on Twitch. It has been inspiring to see the community come together and continue to do drag, even when we were told your industry is shut down.

What do you think the future of live performances will look like? Do you think we will continue to have virtual performances and events after the pandemic dies down?
We recently did the Drag Queen of the Year Pageant, and we did it completely digitally. It was very eye opening because we were like, oh, we need to incorporate this even when we get back into a theater to do the live event. We still want to incorporate some sort of digital live stream experience, because we were able to have an audience that we never could have had in a theater because it was people from all over the world in different times zones. It was at 2 in the afternoon, and some people were watching us at 2 in the morning. Like, that is major. So, that was very eye opening, so maybe. I could see it as like some sort of hybrid that happens.

Switching to a digital format for the Drag Queen of the Year Pageant paid off?
Yes! It went amazingly, and I have to commend the contestants so much because they worked very hard. Every single one of them brought it, and they were also really patient because we had planned to do it about a year ago, like in March 2020. Then COVID was like, ‘Oh no, you’re not doing that, honey.’ We basically told all the contestants we were not doing it. We don’t know when we are doing it, sorry, and they all hung on with us. They all stayed on the journey with us, and when we finally made the move to do it digitally, they all brought it so fiercely. Tenderoni took the night, took the crown, but it was very, very close. Everybody did amazing. It is another instance of drag surviving the apocalypse.

Why did you and Lola LeCroix want to start this pageant?
We started as an experiment because we found that in pageants or competitions, even on Drag Race, it is sort of like, you can compete if you are this type of drag performer. If you do not fit into that, then you are not really at the top of the list to be cast. We were like, that does not really make sense, because anyone who has done drag has worked alongside drag kings, AFAB performers, burlesque performers, so why isn’t there a reflection of this in some kind of pageant, contest, award competition show? So, we did it, and we did not know what would happen. What did happen was so fierce. It was such an amazing show and such a fierce competition. We were like, this is really something. We must keep doing this.

What are your thoughts on the current season of Drag Race, especially since we have Gottmik, the first trans male contestant?
Yes! I love it. This season, it has been really long, but I am so glad they did that because it really helped get us through this difficult time, and sort of uncertain time. It’s like, well, there is one thing certain. Friday night, I am going to fucking watch Drag Race. I am going to be entertained, and I am going to be inspired. It has been an amazing season.

Since your time on Drag Race, do you think the show is changing and evolving in the right direction?
Yes, and I think they have always done a really good job of shaking it up, changing with the times, and keeping it fresh and fierce. That is why it’s still going. Really, they are just getting started. This show is not going anywhere. It is a phenomenon, and it is something that has changed the world. It has changed culture, and they do a great job with it.

Although you won your season of All Stars, would you compete again?
Oh, of course! Anytime RuPaul calls me, I will answer. If she asked me to come down today, I would go do it.

Do you have any music projects in the works?
Music projects? Hmm, maybe [laughs]. Yes, I do, and I am really excited about them. I don’t know if I can talk about them yet but keep an eye out!

How’s Lil’ Poundcake doing?
Well, again, she’s not doing great. Honestly, she is really going through it. She is a troubled youth, and I will be praying for her. She will be on my prayer list until the day she dies. However, the Lil’ Poundcake doll is still available on alaskathunderfuck.com! It is a talking doll, it comes in a box, it says lewd catchphrases—I love the product. They are not going to be around forever. We are finally, however many years later, getting to the point where she is going to be sold out soon. Then she is really going to be a collector’s item. As of now, she is still available.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention our plug?
You can listen to Race Chaser, which is a podcast where my dear friend Willam and I sit down and talk about RuPaul’s Drag Race. It comes out every Wednesday and Friday, so you can find that for free wherever podcasts are found.

To stay up-to-date with Alaska, follow her on Instagram or visit her official website. The Alaska Thunderfuck Extra Special Comedy Special will premiere April 15 on OUTtv, which can be found on Apple TV in the U.S.

Photos Courtesy of Magnus Hastings and Shaun Vadella