Today we’d like to introduce you to Regina Thorne-DuBois.
Hi Regina, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve been a drag performer in Houston for 12 years now, starting while I was getting a BFA in Stage Managament from UH. After performing locally for 3 years, in 2017 I entered a local long-form drag competition at Michael’s Outpost & won! The prize for winning was hosting a show of my own creation for 4 weeks at Michael’s. The show I conceptualized was “The Broad’s Way,” a weekly musical theatre cabaret that featured drag performers and live singers, which I am the show director and *usual* host of. This past April, that show entered its ninth YEAR of running, not even letting COVID shutdowns keep us from performing virtually online. The show currently consists of a Resident Company of performers & production staff, and has featured over 150 unique performers over those nine years.
During this, I’ve also juggled The Broad’s Way along with a professional stage management career. Outside of drag, I’ve toured operas to schools & community centers, worked on local productions in houses large & small, been apart of world premieres & experimental workshops, and have even had the privilege to travel to the other side of the country to work for months at a time. All the while, The Broad’s Way continues (even in my absence), in no small part thanks to the staff still in Houston & the dedicated audience that adores the show as much as we do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Far from it! Being shotgunned into a show director position fresh out of college means I made plenty of mistakes in the early years of the show. Some weeks we would perform to a packed out bar, some weeks we would perform for the bartender, a DJ, and 3 dedicated regulars. COVID, of course, absolutely devastated night life & theatres alike. Then, as my stage management work picked up & began to take me outside of Houston, both I and my team had to learn what it meant for me to show direct from the other side of the country. I am constantly learning new things about how to not only juggle 2 different careers, but how to properly flourish in both.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Houston is, quite thankfully, an absolute smorgasbord of variety. There is a restaurant for every taste, a bar or coffee shop for every group of friends, a team to support no matter what sport you like, and a theatre that continues to produce art that tickles whatever fancy audiences enjoy. In the drag scene, I take great pride in establishing myself as one of the premiere musical theatre queens in the city. The Broad’s Way has given me the opportunity to cultivate an audience that loves seeing musical numbers not on a stage, but 6 feet away from them at a bar. Thanks to those dedicated fans, I’ve been able to perform musical theatre pieces outside of my normal stage, & have showcased that a niche art style can still entertain crowds alongside pop hits and legendary celebrity illusions.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Personally, I feel that I wouldn’t be anywhere if it wasn’t for my resilience and dedication. Through my myriad of success AND failures, my vision both for myself and for those who work with me has made me unafraid to fall down, dust myself off, and try again the next day. Either in drag or in stage management, failure is inevitable. The key is learning from that failure, and remembering that everything we’re creating is for the enjoyment of others. If we can’t learn to embrace failure, how to have fun in the face of it, and see what said failure is traching us, then what are we doing?
Pricing:
- The Broad’s Way is a no-cover show, though tips are welcome & encouraged.
- Michael’s Outpost does require a one-drink minimum for all of their shows.
Contact Info:
