Member-only story
I emceed a college’s commencement ceremony — oh, but in drag!
This past spring, I did something really cool and I may have been the world’s first to create such an experience for myself and a global academic community.
My drag persona, Juhnay Arabesque (phonetically pronounced “JUH-NAY”), was the Emcee of the 114th Commencement Ceremony at San Francisco’s California College of the Arts, honoring the Class of 2021! As the Mistress of Ceremonies, it was my duty to werk, dip, twirl, entertain, and give the Class of 2021 — our now and future artists, designers, craft makers, writers, business owners, and the like — a gift they know oh so well: the gift of story — the crux of art & design. And thanks to CCA’s Marketing and Student Life’s film production staff, it was a story with one hell of a twist.
Before I elaborate on how this project came to fruition, here’s the tale of how I met Juhnay Arabesque — my inner superhero who saved my life.
When I moved to San Francisco from Los Angeles 8 years ago, I was thrust into the artist and nightlife entertainment scenes; I organically found my footing as a backup dancer and choreographer for many queer parties and drag shows. In April 2015, I was faced with an opportunity to do drag for the first time on behalf of my dance company, Velvet: a Janet Jackson cover band, but for her iconic music video choreography. The gig was at Oasis, an internationally acclaimed drag cabaret & nightclub founded by drag legends Heklina and D’arcy Drollinger. However, in order for my group to perform, someone had to be in drag; that person was reluctantly me! I was frightened by the idea of wearing makeup and didn’t know a single step of the transformation process. My friend Effervescence Jackson donned my first face beat, therefore receiving the title of “drag mother.” And voilà! My drag persona, Juhnay Arabesque, was born — a unique name that honors my French ancestry and love for dance. The performance was successful and it gave me permission to dabble in drag, often relying on my drag house to convert me into a queen (because it wasn’t my thing at the time). Despite being a professional actor, I was uncomfortable in drag.
