Drag Newbies Find Their Voice In The Fruit Basket Incubation Programme
Founded by drag and burlesque star Lychee Bye, The Fruit Basket programme trains aspiring performers in the art of drag.
Drag as an art form has been undergoing a cultural renaissance in Singapore recently. Bars at which drag performances are the main draw and not a novelty act, such as Salud and The Tuckshop, have popped up in the past year and become some of the buzziest nightlife destinations in town. Its fan base, particularly among Gen Zers and millennials, has likewise surged – it’s apparent in not only the steady crowds that turn up at drag‐related shows these days, but also the number of new performers hitting the scene. Launched in 2022, The Fruit Basket, an incubation programme started and self‐funded by Singapore drag and burlesque performer Lychee Bye to teach the craft and culture of drag to newbies, has undoubtedly helped fuel the momentum. This is the first time it’s being written about in the press.
Hi Lychee! Tell us the story behind The Fruit Basket.
“The Fruit Basket (TFB) started back in 2022 because I realised that it’s pretty hard to get started as a drag performer and break into the scene if you aren’t a cisgendered gay man. The idea of TFB is to give performers of marginalised genders (for example, drag kings – people who perform stylised forms of masculinity and who are usually women) a chance to experiment and a stage to perform on, and to help them become part of the drag community.”
Why do you say it’s hard for people to get into the drag scene if they aren’t cisgendered gay men?
“I mean, the assumption used to be – and still is in some places – that drag is all about cisgendered men dressing up as women. And when you look at the spaces where drag used to happen here in Singapore, they’re mainly gay bars. So naturally, one would have more access or exposure to the drag scene if you were from the gay community, as these are already your spaces, so to speak.”
What other problems do newer drag performers face in 2024?
“Newer queens have to deal with the fact that got2b (the hair styling and colour brand popular among drag performers) raised its prices and that Kryolan (another favourite on the drag scene, this time for its professional‐standard, high‐impact makeup) pulled out of the Singapore market. But older queens have to deal with these too – haha.”
Walk us through what goes down at The Fruit Basket.
“We break down our programme into seasons and each one takes place across roughly three months (there have been four seasons held to date). At the start of every season, we have the tradition of going to watch Riot! (Singapore’s only regular drag revue) together and maybe grab supper after. Sometimes, the participants’ first showcase – where they bring in a number they’ve conceptualised so that we at TFB can see the talent we’re working with – happens before this. Other times, it takes place the week after our visit to Riot!. And then we tell them to throw their showcase away: I don’t want to see that concept again and I don’t want to hear that song again during the season. This is because – and I think this is true across art forms – when you’re new to drag, your first number often feels like it’s your entirety as an artiste. One tends to get really precious with it when, as with any art form, you need to be constantly chucking things aside, pushing yourself, reimagining your work and getting comfortable with the fact that you’re going to have tons of shitty ideas – and that’s OK.
Lychee Bye – the on‐stage moniker of the 27‐year‐old Singapore drag and burlesque performer (she prefers to keep her real name under wraps) – started The Fruit Basket two years ago after noticing that new performers, especially those of marginalised genders, have a harder time breaking into the drag scene here.
You’re also going to have a ton of good ideas and your one great idea will not be your last. After the first showcase, we do a boot camp – this is a pretty new addition to our programme – where baby performers get the chance to learn from more established performers in an intensive way. After that, there’s a makeup kiki where we invite working drag queens and kings to come down and we do our makeup together. The babies can ask questions, see how it’s all done, and the pros can point out when they see something that can be done better or differently. Towards the end of the season, we bring in respected drag performers to watch the participants rehearse and give critique. After that, we hold a couple more practice sessions and then it’s showtime (every previous season of TFB has culminated in a show at the Blue Room at The Projector Golden Mile).”
How does one become a part of The Fruit Basket?
“I open applications, you enter, life is good.”
READ MORE: Watch Video: Meet The Queens Shaking Up Drag Culture In Singapore
How do you decide who makes the cut? How many have applied and how many have completed this programme?
“Generally, it’s a feeling. I ask myself: Is this exciting? Are the baby performers bringing something new and funky and weird to the table? Do they seem like they’ll have fun with this process? And do they seem like they’ll get something out of it? We’ve turned people away before because I sensed that the way TFB is run might be counterproductive to the way they approach drag or the way they learn. I also prioritise performers of marginalised genders. I can’t remember how many applicants have come by, but we've had 16 absolute champs complete the whole process."
How does a baby queen benefit from taking part in The Fruit Basket?
“They meet people! They struggle through the creative process with others who’re working towards the same show, which can be really rewarding. They get to talk to the performers who’ve been doing it for a while and doing it well, and they get to pick their brains. They get a regular studio space to practise in, which is a huge privilege, and studio‐quality photographs of themselves so that when they get hired by a bigger producer later, they’re not sending them bedroom selfies,hoping they’ll work as press photos. Also, obviously, they get a public platform to showcase their work at the end of the programme.”
Drag, says Lychee Bye, is commonly misconstrued to be mainly about queens (performers who perform exaggerated forms of femininity and who are usually cisgendered gay men) when it can be so much more.
Are you running The Fruit Basket by yourself?
“Nope. It’s funded by me and I run the back‐end stuff – the logistics, licensing, venue hire and producing – but that just makes up the mechanism. The Fruit Basket wouldn’t exist without the many drag queens and kings, showgirls, dancers and ballroom icons whose expertise and experience the programme relies on. (Veteran performer) Kak Nina Boo came in as a mentor pretty early on and she has returned every edition since. The same goes with dancer Reirei; queens such as Becca D’Bus, Mona Kee Kee, Salome Blaque, Sapphire Blast, Sissy and Sassy Sucktits, and Vanda Miss Joaquim have all spent precious time watching the baby performers’ showcases and giving them feedback. The babies aren’t learning from me – they’re learning from all of these people! So really, it’s the drag community that runs this show. I just do the paperwork.”
But you have self-funded this entire programme.
“The Fruit Basket is a passion project for me. I want to see more twists on drag culture, more drag kings, more burlesque performers, and more queer talent being given a place to grow and thrive. It doesn’t feel like a sacrifice. It feels like an investment.”
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The history of drag is intrinsically tied to queer communities. Is The Fruit Basket strictly for the LGBTQIA+ community?
“Yes. I developed The Fruit Basket specifically for people of marginalised genders and sexualities. I think anyone can try drag, even if you’re heterosexual or cisgendered, as long as you get what it’s about and do your homework. However, the very heart of drag is intrinsically queer. In my opinion, there’s no way one can do drag that isn’t queer ... If you somehow manage to, it’s not drag you’re doing.”
What plans do you have for The Fruit Basket in the future?
“Applications for the fifth and next season will open in December this year. In the immediate future, I’m planning to have a little gathering to celebrate the participants of the most recent season (which concluded in May).”
PARTICIPANTS OF THE FRUIT BASKET ARE A COLOURFUL LOT AND REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DIVERSITY OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF DRAG PERFORMERS IN SINGAPORE. TO DATE, 16 EMERGING KINGS, QUEENS AND ONE SELF‐PROFESSED DRAG “CLOWN” HAVE COMPLETED THE PROGRAMME ACROSS ITS FOUR EDITIONS TO DATE. HERE, MEET THOSE WHO WERE ABLE TO MAKE IT FOR OUR SHOOT.
Drew Pictures – who was raised on Elton John and big show tunes – specialises in putting a campy spin on musical theatre and pantomime.
T.RAMP combines the art of teasing with a touch of seductive glamour.
Public MissChief is rock star personified.
Sabun Mandy is a comedy personality with real cute fits and a beauty look Chappell Roan would dig.
Keitsune is a self‐proclaimed fox deity who is “here to learn more about the human realm”.
Dancer and mentor figure Reirei describes herself as a “smorgasbord of sultry, sexy, salty and slapstick offerings”.
Baebybratzy combines innocence and fierceness in her name, and her stage persona alludes to drag icons such as Plastique Tiara,Violet Chachki and Aquaria.
Zenith King Chi is the self‐billed “pocket‐sized” K‐pop superstar‐inspired king of The Fruit Basket.
Woody Fitt is your self‐described resident “hunky himbo drag king” with comedic reveals and the occasional striptease.
THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN EDITED FOR BREVITY AND CLARITY.
COORDINATION KENG YANG SHUEN PHOTOGRAPHY ATHIRAH ANNISSA ART DIRECTION JONATHAN CHIA
This article first appeared in the August 2024 Passion Edition of FEMALE