Meet Les Bone | Drag Artist

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

Hi Les, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I still have a long ways to go in terms of my drag career, but the success I have achieved so far is all due to the community I have around me. And I mean that in the least diplomatic way possible.

Drag takes a VILLAGE! There is SO much that goes on behind the scenes, you have to conceptualize/choreograph your numbers, create and edit your mixes (aka music!), design/sew your costumes, style your wigs, figure out and execute your makeup (ON TIME!), market yourself, and most importantly PERFORMMMM!

In a lot of other performance spaces, there are typically people who perform each of these roles individually. One-man-banding it all while working your day job on the side is nothing short of exhausting, but it’s also the most wonderful thing as it puts you in contact with other insane people who are doing the same damn thing!

I have met the most passionate, wonderful people within the short amount of time I’ve been in the drag community, & I could not be more grateful. I know that if I ever need something whether it be help with moving, a place to stay, a meal, etc. there’s always someone I can call, & it goes both ways.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Les Bone is everything I always wanted to be growing up. They say whatever he feels, yells at whoever she wants, and dances how I do when I’m alone in my bedroom. I learn more about Les every day.

Becoming Les was not easy. Drag requires an incredible amount of vulnerability. I grew up very closeted and didn’t “officially” come out until I was 20– two years before my first ever show. Accepting my queerness meant accepting the repressed version of myself, & AHHHHH has that been difficult!

When you learn to repress majority of yourself, entering a space that demands you to be you is so daunting yet so rewarding.

I am incredibly proud of myself for how I now allow myself to exist without question. I still struggle at times, but I have never felt more myself than I do now & it is 100% all because of drag.

Les Bone is ANGRY, off-putting, passionate, stupid, sexy, & does whatever they want. They love a good stage & love a good story, feel free to watch but he’s gonna be doing her thing regardless.

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?
Whenever my out-of-town friends come to visit I try my best to take them to as many shows as I can :3

The perfect week for me would start on Wednesday (yes I do work a day job & yes this schedule pains me but WE’RE IGNORING THAT) at @genderblenderproductions , they’ve always got killer lineups & book all the alt gremlins!

Next, we’d have to spend our Thursday at @andersondistillery for their weekly Drag Bingo Night! My friends & I love going & grabbing the biggest table we can find. You get to play bingo & watch drag for FREE!

On Friday, we’d have to hit @broadstrokesdenton & say hi to the Luthers. This show is run by the sweetest humans & is a great place for newer performers to get their foot in the door!

On Saturday we’d have to regroup, maybe spend the day exploring Denton & strolling around the square/peeking in all the local thrift stores 😀

Last but not least, we’d spend our Sunday at a @stardustproductionz show! We may be tired from a long week but this show would definitely revive us, their hosts have the best banter & their lineups are always the best!

Denton & DFW as a whole has so many other wonderful shows that I wasn’t able to mention. Our scene is alive & well! Booked & busy even…

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
As I mentioned before, I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for the community around me.

I will always be grateful to Psyril Cybin (@psyril_cybin) for mentoring me on my first ever show, to Sammi Nilla (@sammi_nilla) for adopting me & taking me under her wing, & to my lesbian cohort — Faux Q (@xx_fauxq_xx), Dick Gayson (@d.ickgayson), and Forest (@_fore.stgreen_) for being the most supportive group of friends I’ve ever had. I would be nowhere near as confident in myself & in my queerness as I am today if it weren’t for them.

Instagram: @lesssbone

Youtube: @BonyBon3

Image Credits
Ivan Rodriguez – @ivanrodriguezphoto
Lola V. – @lolav.photog
Quest – @that_questcaptures