BenDeLaCreme Wants to Bring You Some Holiday Cheer

For the past two years, RuPaul’s Drag Race alum BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon have conquered the holiday season with their critically acclaimed and sold-out holiday drag spectacular tours. Since all stage shows are canceled thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, these two legendary queens are bringing their high camp holiday magic to you.

Starting December 1, The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special will be available via video on demand. Filmed on a Seattle soundstage safely under CDC guidelines, this 60-minute special is the story of two queens who set out to create a classic, Christmas TV variety show but cannot agree on how. With the help of a chorus of dancers and DeLa’s deceased grandmother whose spirit lives on in a glass of eggnog, DeLa tries her hardest to uphold the cheery Christmas traditions of her childhood, while Jinkx is much more interested in bawdy jokes and boozy libations.

The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special is a side-splitting romp with a sharp tongue and a heart of gold. It also marks the first film project directed, co-written, and executive produced by DeLa under her production company, BenDeLaCreme Presents.

OUT FRONT had the opportunity to chat more with DeLa about the special, how she hopes it will help people struggling this year, what it was like filming under CDC guidelines, and how hard the pandemic has hit the arts and entertainment industry.Hi, DeLa! What a pleasure it is to chat with you again. How are you doing during these unprecedented times?
Fortunately, I am keeping myself occupied, which I feel like is sort of the best way to maintain sanity these days. Every time I have a moment of free time, I spiral into existential dread. Which unprecedented times are you talking about, because they are all on top of each other [laughs]? It is certainly a wild world to be navigating right now, but I do feel like drag queens are some of the best equipped to do it.

I saw that you and your partner moved to L.A. at the start of the pandemic. What made you leave Seattle?
We moved to L.A. March 1, and then we were in quarantine March 14. So, I was on the road for those two weeks in between. Like, I literally dropped my stuff off, went and did a couple gigs, then got a gig canceled, came back, and never left the house. It really feels more like moving to a desert island instead of moving to L.A.

Originally, I had been in Seattle for 14 years, and I love Seattle and still have such a strong link to Seattle. It is so easy to travel between the two, and I was sort of doing dual citizenship between the two cities and had a place in Seattle as well. I was starting to get so many more opportunities in L.A., and so much of what happens in L.A. is ‘Can you be there tomorrow?’ I could not.

So, a big part of it was just wanting to kind of be able to expand those opportunities, but still have the chance to come back to Seattle and do what I do as much as possible there. Of course, a lot of that has shifted for now, but that is still the intention when the world rights itself once again.

Well, it is great that you reunited with your queer family for The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special. What can audiences expect?
Yes! I am extremely proud of this project. Jinkx and I have been doing our touring holiday show over the last two years, so when it became clear that we were docked for the winter season around July, we decided that we were going to jump into creating something for viewers at home. There was a lot of content happening of live events, recordings, and things like this. While I think a lot of that stuff is amazing, this to me felt like the opportunity to really make something that worked as a film. I think a lot of people might be surprised that we approached this as moviemaking rather than documenting a live performance.

We have taken a lot of people’s favorite bits from past years, but we have woven them into this full story. The scope is grand; we built this huge, beautiful soundstage; it’s essentially a musical, and we have songs in every genre all the way from classic musical theatre to 90s R&B, and we have an amazing cast of dancers for these full production numbers as well as incredible additional cast members.

We have a wonderful, local Seattle actor playing the role of the Naked Guy who is Jinkx’s holiday trick who just happens to be hanging around the house for the entire special, but he does turn out to have a very special holiday secret that I am excited for viewers to find out about. Also, the ghost of my dead grandmother who comes to me through a glass of eggnog who is a puppet. We have an incredible group of people putting this thing together.

I like to cram in as much production and as many costume changes as possible into a stage show, but when you are in film, the number of times we changed costumes on screen is kind of ridiculous. We set up a special drag universe with special drag queen physics where we can just change into a new outfit at the drop of a hat or the snap of a finger. So, it allows us to do a lot more of the sort of visual blitz that people expect.This is the first film project directed, co-written, and executive produced by you and your production company, BenDeLaCreme Presents. How exciting is that for you, and will you pursue future film projects?
It is super exciting to be expanding, and it’s not something I ever imagined I would necessarily do. I have been producing stage work for 14 years at this point, and that has been getting bigger and bigger. I mean, The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show, it started as a U.S. tour that grew bigger than we ever dreamed, and that was my first tour production.

Then, the following year, it expanded to the U.K., and that was my first international production. Now, we have been forced into making this film, but it sort of feels like the next logical step of this expansion. It is beyond my wildest dreams, but it keeps snowballing, to put in a holiday metaphor.

This was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and I was pulling out my hair almost daily. Pre-production, Jinkx is in Portland now, and I am in L.A., so we were working remotely writing the script. We were writing all the music; we had to get to the recording studio and create it all; we were designing all the costumes, casting the roles, then flying to Seattle doing a COVID-safe production, which is of course another layer, but I learned so much about the film industry and how incredibly hard it is.

There was this part of me that was like, this is the hardest thing I have ever done. I am never going to do this again. Then friends would say, but are you really never going to do this again? Then I’ll say, of course I am! The reality is, everything along my path as an artist and producer, all the best stuff is really hard. If it is really hard, you know the payoff is going to be good, so you will probably do it again.

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Whenever you and Jinkx are together, it always looks like you two are having a blast. What is it like to work with her?
We have a great time. I think one of the best things about the film is that it is both really funny and irreverent, but it is also heartfelt. At the end of the day, the film is about chosen family and about finding your space at the holidays. Jinkx and I really are that for each other. We have been working together for 10 years, and we are obviously tight onstage, but offstage, she is one of my best friends.

I think part of the reasons people like us so much as a duo and enjoy watching us so much is because that chemistry runs so deep. I think that one of the best things about the film is that our level of connection and our affection for each other is palpable. I am incredibly grateful that I have a collaborator like that in my life.

Going along the lines of chosen family, is that the number one thing you hope audiences take away from this film?
Yeah. I think this film came out of the same sentiment that I started making holiday shows over a decade ago, which is that I never enjoyed Christmas. I was never a fan of the holidays.

In the plot of this, it is infused with some of my true backstory, which is growing up in Connecticut to a family that was very sort of picture-perfect around the holidays. A big get-together, too many gifts, too much food, and this façade of togetherness when the reality was that nobody liked each other that much. That is what I have always associated the holidays with. A lot of traditions that were all beholden to, but no one really likes that much.

I think the hopeful takeaway of this film is that you get to choose who you spend, not only the holidays with, but your life with. You get to choose who the people are that you invited into your inner circle and you get to choose how you spend time with them. You get to make your own traditions around the holidays, and you get to define what an experience like that wants to be for yourself.

That is true of life, and it’s one of the things I love about drag. We self-create and create our own lives. Anyone can do it. You do not have to be a drag queen producing theatre or film. Anyone can take back control over their lives.Unfortunately, many LGBTQ people will not be able to spend the holidays with their chosen families or in their safe spaces this year due to COVID. What advice can you give to those who will be struggling?
The first piece of advice is tune in to The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special [laughs]. I think that so much of the reason for this film was wanting to create some sort of connectivity even though we cannot be physically connected. I think it is just one of many things. We have to use the tools that we have right now. Connecting when you are isolated, it can be really easy to stay isolated. We just sort of form those habits.

Even though in order to stay safe, we have to be physically isolated, we don’t have to be isolated mentally or emotionally. I think it is important to know that however much you are struggling, the people that you care for are also struggling and you can support each other. If you are feeling isolated, reach out to somebody else and see if they are feeling isolated.

The fact that we are physically distant, I think it has to be overpowered by the knowledge that we have had this togetherness in the past. We can fight through this to create that togetherness now, and we will have that togetherness again in the future. Keeping the fires of that connection kindled is the best way to maintain that connectivity.

Can you talk more about the CDC guidelines and COVID restrictions you all had to follow while shooting, and what were some of the biggest challenges?
It was pretty wild. The entire cast quarantined for two weeks prior to the film, so Jinkx and I both headed to Seattle and stayed together for two weeks. All our other performers were Seattle-based and quarantined themselves. We had regular testing, and everyone had to send in their test results on a regular basis.

Fortunately, in Washington State, the turnaround is quick, so that was wonderful for us in terms of being able to do that. We had a COVID safety monitor on set who made sure to check everyone in at the top of the day when we entered the building, made sure that no one was experiencing any symptoms, and made sure that everyone had proper PPE and sanitization.

Part of an extra layer of difficulty about producing this film was that the cast and crew essentially had to stay separate. We had different zones for cast and crew to make sure that cast, who were the most vulnerable individuals who could not wear masks on screen, were extra safe. Green rooms were separate; dressing rooms were separate, pathways onset were separate. Everyone was of course masked and in full PPE, then those of us who had to be in full makeup had face shields, which of course we cannot wear because of our wigs and stuff, so we all had them on sticks.

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From your personal point of view, how bad has the pandemic been for artists?
It has been such a hit and so immense. It is sad and frustrating to see so many people within my immediate community, and just the broader community of performers and queer performers, loose so much of what they have worked toward their entire lives. People need to know that working in the arts is a full-time job.

It’s not just the time that you are on stage and the time you are creating. It is fully your life, and you have to work for many, many years to get to the point where you can have a full-time career in that field. That devastation of working so hard for something and suddenly having it pulled, I think it is vital that people see people working in the arts as essential workers.

The way that we are all staying sane right now is through media. We are all trapped at home consuming record amounts of streaming content, music online, and live events. If anything, this should be proving to people that the arts are worth supporting. They are worth funding. Art is in a capitalist society; art is worth money. Hopefully, when we get through this, we will be able to get a lot of those independent artists back on their feet through the proper support from patrons.

In the meantime, it has been amazing to see the way that these creatives find opportunities for themselves. Certainly, we had to do this hard pivot in the film, but I am seeing so much ingenuity in the way that drag performers and burlesque performers are bringing things online and creating exciting and interesting live events.

They are figuring out how to adapt to media and come up with creative solutions. I am glad we could band together. I am glad I was able to have the opportunity to work with a bunch of performers whose schedules have largely, unfortunately, been cleared. We had the opportunity to be in this sort of joyous, creative bubble that I think a lot of people are craving.Besides the holiday special, do you have any other upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?
Oh my goodness. If anybody would like to get a live Twitter update of the three-month nap that I took, I will be more than happy to oblige. I have no immediate objects on the horizon right after this is done, but we still have all the pots simmering on the burners for my solo tour, which was postponed.

My Ready to Be Committed show. Depending how long we are waylaid, we made this hard shift into this new medium, so who knows? Who knows that sort of creative solutions will come around all these various projects that I have locked and loaded and ready to go?

Is there anything else you would like to mention or plug before we wrap up?
I don’t think so. I just hope that people have a great experience with the special. I hope that it brings them some joy around this bizarre holiday season, so check it out. Also, the film soundtrack is available for purchase. You can play it on a loop for your own socially distanced holiday party for one.

To stay up-to-date with DeLa, follow her on Instagram and Twitter, or visit her official website. Visit jinxanddela.com to stream the entire holiday special.

Photos Courtesy of Matt Baume