On community understanding and curation of drag performances
Werk It- Business Plan
No tea no shade
Overview
Drag community is one of the most vibrant and colourful communities in India .Drag is a gender-bending art form in which a person dresses often in elaborately exaggerated clothing and makeup of any gender identity as self expression.
A drag show mostly include lip-syncing or dance, where performers often have elaborate clothing, hair, and makeup
The history of drag is different in different parts of the world. For instance the sociopolitical scenario of the US in the 1970s when drag emerged as an art form and 2014 when transgender communities constitutional rights where recognised and drag gained attention in India showcases two varied contexts. The former was during a time of queer hate and the latter happened on the foundation of civic rights.
Drag is often associated with events like stonewall protests, AIDS epidemic, legalisation of gay marriages, rupaul's drag show etc but drag queer history of drag is more expansive than that. It is not an art form that begins and ends with cis-hetero men.
In simple terms, it is a gender expression where you see boy dressed as girl, girl dressed as boy, boy dressed as boy dressed as a girl,gender less attires, multiple gender attires, and the definition varies person to person.
One should catch a local drag performance to understand how drag is in their region.
The folk dances with elements of drag, the neo-drag ,tranimal drag and the performances that address the political context of the country etc are some of the drag performance genres in India. It is different in rural and urban locations.
The elitism and privilege in action is a problem that the community faces which hinders the reach of drag beyond elite structures. But the community addresses these issues and tries to blend people of all backgrounds united with and for drag.
They question the ruling regimes, for instance ; in one of the performances a drag queen asks the audience "we asked for a rainbow ,you gave us saffron." The first ever drag queen in history was a former slave in the US who dressed up in heavy attires that dragged through the floor,hence the name drag. There are historical records of the community that deserves to be archived and understood. Our venture "Werk it" will try to document, curate, educate, and learn.
(An AI generated image of Drag Community)
Product
Existing spaces for the drag community are confined to the elite and privileged. Through our research we found out that many from the community cannot afford to access such spaces.
Werk It will provide a web portal to curate drag performances from all sections of the society. It is a platform for the drag community to connect, interact, and perform. The portal will provide a database of performances to act as a directory.
There will be an exclusive networking space for the community to communicate and interact with each other.
Apart from drag performances, there will be profiles of the artists, their lived experiences and interviews.
We would like to offer non-stationary platforms to organise drag performances, events and campaigns. We will be going to the local drag artists and setting up a platform in their vicinity.
Werk It is a non-profit organisation and so, our focus is to bring the drag community to forefront by facilitating a platform.
Organisation Lifecycle
The website primarily focuses on promotion through various marketing channels such as social media, displaying ads, and search engine optimization (SEO).
We would also attempt to widen the audience and increase community engagement by developing interesting contents like videos, write-ups, and interviews, as well as scheduling and organising events like webinars and discussions.
We’ll be conducting offline events, campaigns, and discussions, through that our goal is to facilitate a platform for the people from the community to perform and participate in discussions which could help them to get a wider acceptance and increase awareness to the general public.
Initially, we will focus on creating and uploading two to three videos on a regular basis on the website.
These videos will portray the experiences and performances of drag queens with the motive of bringing voices from the community into the limelight.
We will also develop a section on our website to promote their previous events and performances.
After a thorough research and analysis by the research team, write-ups also will be published on the website. The write ups will help the general public to understand more about the drag community. Our objective is to inform and raise awareness about the lives of the community.
We will also create a Calendar on the website that will include upcoming events and their venues. This will make it easier for people to learn about upcoming events and check for availability. Special webinars are also part of this.
We’ll be offering a networking space on the site called #Dragonnet, which is exclusively for drag where the access will be limited to community space.
Within this community network, they can interact, communicate and share their experiences and opinions.
Since the concept of drag queens is all about vibrant makeup and graceful appearance, we’ll be providing a range of makeup products, accessories, and clothing for rent to those who are in need of them.
Value Proposition
Werk It is a non-profit platform that intends to work along with the drag community in India and provide an easily accessible yet safe platform for them.
At present, there are platforms for the community to perform, but the reality is different for those in the marginalised communities. Platforms like Kitty Su, started by Keshav Suri, the youngest of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, are indeed for the community to connect with each other and present their talents with performances. What stands as a roadblock here is that these platforms follow the ‘by the elite, for the elite’ convention.
Werk It caught this trend in the market and thus aims at resolving it by;
Launching a website that would contain content related to the drag community, such as, performances, talks, discussions, and their journeys. And this would be Werk It’s originally produced and presented content.
Although accessible by all, this website would also have an exclusive access section for just the community, which allows them to look for gigs, share their concerns with each other, etc.
Followed by this, we will be organising and hosting physical spaces to showcase the drag communities’ performances, discussions, etc., along with campaigns to help raise awareness and educate everyone on these subjects, where logic and reasoning play a huge role. These events will take place across the country so that the goal of accessibility remains afloat.
The interaction with the community and the eventual incorporation of a person from the community into our board would help in improving the organisation as well. We will help this pre-existing niche in arriving worldwide.
Werk It would try to provide both the community and its audiences a sense of reality and respect. For those who don’t know about the community, can learn and for those who already know, it can open up several other alleys of information. It will try to help the community within and outside of its limits as well.
Existing Platforms
Dragvanti - It is India's desi drag space to get all the information about desi drag. It's an online platform for upcoming desi drag artists and drag enthusiasts where you can find drag shows, reviews, photographs, memes, dictionaries and more.
Kitty su - It is a hub for conversations about drag in india. In a city where night clubs were known to be strange places for sexual and gender minorities, Kitty Su has emerged as a space for inclusivity. Over the years they invented and introduced a series of international drag icons, Trans icons and legendary performers. Kitty Su gave birth to desi talents such as Rani Ko-HE-noor, Maya-The drag Queen, Betta Naan Stop, Zeesh, Lush Monsoon and more who found a career in drag.
Kitty ko - It is a franchise of kitty su in bangalore. Here, the artists drag is performed for the south indian audience
The Lalit - It is a platform in Kolkata, they host and curate shows for the drag community where there is no kitty su franchise.
Social and anti-social - It is a chain of clubs in Mumbai and pune which has hosted several drag shows and queer nightlife events.
Giggle water - It is a Hyderabad based platform. They host drag shows parallel with other events such as jazz nights and comedy gigs.
Soho Mumbai - It is a place for the diverse members or the queer community to come together, connect, share and have fun. They have been creating inclusion and creative work for the lgbtqia+ community. They have hosted multiple drag events
The Moonshine Project - It is a pub that has always been inclusive of their audience and entertainers.
Some of the popular Drag Queens in India:
Maya the Drag Queen or Mayamma, is a drag queen from india. He is a malayali who is an activist, tedx speaker, Emcee & Host, actor, and an LGBTQ influencer. He started to perform as a drag queen from 2014. Maya now performs every Thursday night at Bangalore club Kitty Ko as Maya the Drag Queen.
Patruni Sastry, popularly known as Patruni Chidananda Sastry or Suffocated art Specimen is an Expressionist dancer, performance artist, visual artist, model and drag queen. He is a trained classical dancer, and a software professional who is India's first-ever drag queen married to a cisgender heterosexual woman. Shastri says that he can bring the elements of natyashastra in drag performances.
Glorious Luna is a drag performer, actor, and model. He is very passionate about queer art and performance, and has also founded ‘Queer Carnival’ which is a platform for queer centric events and parties.
Rani kohinoor is an Indian model, actor, singer, columnist, psychologist, motivational speaker, pageant director, video jockey, Who is also a popular drag queen.
Prateek Sachdeva, better known as Betta Naan Stop, is an Indian drag queen, model and Dancer from India. Betta has been performing drag for 6 years and has been the mainstream drag artist of the Indian LGBT Community. Prateek is one of the headliner performers of Lalit Group's Queer nightlife club chain, Kittysu
Initial Investment
Assuming that the initial investment of 1 lakh 64 thousand is being split between 8 founders, each contributing 80 thousand, for building a website and hosting offline events, here is a breakdown of some of the potential expenses and uses for that investment:
Website development: The startup will need to invest in website development to build a professional and functional website. This could include hiring web developers, purchasing website templates, and paying for web hosting services. The cost of website development can vary depending on the complexity of the website and the skills required.
Event planning and management: If the organisation hosts offline events, they must invest in event planning and management. This could include venue rental, catering, event staff, and event marketing. The cost of event planning and management will depend on the scale and type of events being hosted.
Legal and administrative expenses: Starting a company will involve legal and administrative expenses such as registering the company, drafting legal agreements and contracts, and obtaining necessary licences. Depending on the location and nature of the business, these expenses could range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of rupees.
Marketing and advertising: The organisation may need to invest in marketing and advertising campaigns to attract customers and promote the website and events. This could include digital marketing, social media marketing, traditional advertising, and other forms of outreach. The cost of marketing and advertising will depend on the channels used and the scale of the campaigns.
Equipment and supplies: We may need to invest in equipment and supplies for hosting offline events, such as audiovisual equipment, tables and chairs, and decorations. Additionally, they may need to purchase office equipment and supplies for website development and administrative tasks.
Salaries and wages: If the founders plan to hire employees or contractors, a portion of the investment may be used to pay salaries and wages. This could include hiring web developers, event staff, marketers, and administrative staff. The amount spent on salaries and wages will depend on the size of the team and the compensation offered.
Helpline - Safety Cell: As per market research on setting up helpline costs anywhere between ₹5,000 to ₹20,000. Therefore for setting up 4 helpline numbers, we are estimating somewhere between ₹40,000 - ₹50,000.
Although being a non- profit organisation for the drag community, which will gain the traction and engagements among the drag enthusiasts, and makeup artists and performers— our portal would still depend on several revenue methods. The primary revenue of our portal would be through merchandise and collaborations.
Merchandise
Customising items such as clothing, accessories and rental clothes is a great way to establish a unique identity and stand out in the market. By offering customised products the customer can have products that reflect their own unique and personalised identity. While offering customised items, we can also explore the possibility of renting clothes and accessories particularly appealing for those who look for sustainable yet affordable fashion options.
Collaborations
Collaborating with fashion and makeup brands would be another way to expand our brand. We will partner with established brands to create exclusive collections and to promote each other's products through marketing initiatives. This would be mutually beneficial as well.
Makeup brands
MAC Cosmetics: MAC Cosmetics is a popular makeup brand that has a long history of supporting the drag community. They have previously partnered with RuPaul's Drag Race and other drag events to provide makeup and sponsorships.
Anastasia Beverly Hills: Anastasia Beverly Hills is a makeup brand that offers a range of high-quality and pigmented makeup products that are popular among the drag community. Collaborating with Anastasia Beverly Hills could help you offer customised makeup options for drag performers.
Fashion Brands
The Blonds: The Blonds is a fashion brand that offers bold and glamorous clothing options that are popular among drag performers and celebrities. Collaborating with The Blonds could help you offer customised clothing options for drag performers.
Moschino: Moschino is a high-end fashion brand that offers playful and colourful clothing options that are popular among the drag community. Collaborating with Moschino could help you offer customised clothing options for drag performers.
Apart from these we will also look out for makeup and fashion influencers so as to promote as well as collaborate.
Safety cell
This cell will consist of members of the team who will look over the proper and safe implementation of the plan. Safe especially for the people from the community. It will be ensured in the following ways:
1. Track of abusive, hurtful or offensive comments on the portal
Such comments under the videos or any content posted on the portal will be under a supervision radar. The account/user who comments will be noted. Following which their accounts will be blocked. Not just the account they used to comment from but also an option of blocking 'any further accounts this person might create' will be enabled and exercised if required.We will take help from an expert in this field to help us come up with such a feature.
2. Physical protection
During offline events. There will be security allotted at entry. Additionally a few bodyguards can be appointed to protect the performer and allow the happening of their performance to go smoothly.
3. 24/7 helpline numbers
There will be 4 numbers. These can be used by people within the community and outside it to report any sort of problem. Not just to report something but also any sort of enquiry can be done through these numbers.
4. Identity verification
The website is accessible to all but we will have an exclusive feature for just the people of the community to interact. They will have to register and verify themselves.
The research team which will interact with people from the community and make notes. Through extended connections like this we can verify the people from the community and approve their registration.
Not anyone and everyone who wants to register can do so. Identity proofs like government id cards like aadhar, defence will be required apart from the above mentioned procedure.
Team and Roles
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