Meet Erika Klash | Drag Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erika Klash and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erika, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I fell in love with the art form or drag as soon as I turned 21 and was able to go to bars & clubs to see drag shows. As a theater kid and theater student, I saw the opportunity to sort of be a one-person theater company. That’s reflected in my work today, where I custom edit my performance materials and make the most out of venues’ lighting and visual capabilities.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My drag character is one big mash-up of video games, anime, Japanese street fashion, and horror. I do love to be at the creepy/cute intersection. I started performing in 2014 as part of the drag scene in New York City and later, San Francisco. In 2017 I appeared on Season 2 of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, and then I returned in 2022 for Dragula: Titans, an all-stars spin-off of the show.

The spotlight I was able to achieve through appearing on both two Dragula seasons enabled me to turn drag into a business. I’ve gotten to live my dream of traveling from city to city, performing my spooky, kooky, nerdy art for lovers of drag all over the North American and Europe. Being on tour is is like being your own little traveling circus, and traveling with drag is definitely a science! I have met a few Japanese fans and I still dream of going to Japan.

Drag itself is a multidisciplinary art form, but the elements I enjoy most are makeup and photography. I’m very proud that I have a long body of work and that this body of work is captured on film. The pandemic inspired myself and many other drag artists to create video “digital drag” performances, so my body of work is in photo as well as on film.

You invest a LOT into drag: creatively, financially, mentally, emotionally, and the work is sometimes thankless because people see the fun, glamorous parts on stage (we also make it look easy!) It’s easy to get caught up in the competitive nature of the business, especially when a ticket to stability as a business is to compete against others on TV. I’ve felt its important to stay focused on what makes me unique, and my fans appreciate me for that.

I’m a niche within a niche within a niche! As a result I’ve had to put in that bit of extra work to get my piece of the pie. Being a one-person business requires discipline but it’s worth it when you feel you delivered a good show.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am currently based in the East Hollywood area of Los Angeles, so, assuming they will be staying close by:

* Silverlake walking tour including chilaquiles burritos at Tacos Delta.
* Morning Griffith Observatory hike followed by lunch at Palermo in Los Feliz.
* #4 Bus to Santa Monica Pier, hitting West Hollywood at night on the way back.
* Virgil Village walking tour ending in a picnic at Bellevue Recreation Center.
* Hollywood Forever Cemetery to visit Vampira’s grave, then a Hollywood Boulevard walking tour.
* DTLA walking tour, The Broad, Angel’s Flight, and lunch at Grand Central Market, perhaps a drink / see a show at Precinct.
* One day poolside at Hollywood Hotel, Vermont Avenue street tacos for dinner.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I should shout out some of the divas I worshipped as a kid. That includes my mother Lourdes, and my two sisters, Rebecca and Jessica, but it also includes fictional characters like Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erikaklash/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erika.klash

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx0Zy_59uzeGAZyaiP4dPjg

Other: https://www.twitch.tv/pastelpokemaniac

Image Credits
Cash Monet – 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th,
Robert Frashure / Bob of Scotland for 5th photo
Remaining photos self-produced by Erika Klash