LIGHTS . CAMERA . DRAG !
A LOOK AT THE LIGHTING & SET DESIGN FOR CANADA ’ S DRAG RACE
By Michael Raine
SHOW PHOTOS BY JACKIE BROWN , COURTESY OF BELL MEDIA
Whether you watch it or not , after thirteen seasons , RuPaul ’ s Drag Race is a near-universally recognized franchise in the pop culture landscape . Like other mega-successful reality competition shows such as The Bachelor or Big Brother , it ’ s a seemingly permanent fixture on the annual TV calendar . As such , it ’ s easy forget the show ’ s unique social importance and the fact that , like few other shows have , it has pushed LGBTQ + culture into the mainstream . And it ’ s done this not only in the United States , but around the globe . Just like those other ubiquitous shows of the genre , it has spawned international spin-offs – from Australia to the Netherlands , Spain , Thailand , and Chile – which are each tasked with capturing the style and joy of the original while putting their unique stamp on the brand . Of course , we ’ re talking about drag queens here , so that brand is all about glitz , camp , and having a lot of damn fun !
That was the challenge for those who created Canada ’ s Drag Race , which is produced by Blue Ant Studios and airs on Bell Media ’ s Crave network and streaming service . The Canadian spin-off of the series premiered on July 2 nd , 2020 and the finale aired on Aug . 27 th , with the second season recently beginning filming .
Every iteration of Drag Race follows a familiar format , with three main set components . First , there ’ s the Werk Room ( yes , that ’ s how it ’ s spelled ), where the 12 competing queens perform mini challenges and prepare for the runway by creating costumes and applying wigs and makeup . The second set is the Challenge Space , which changes from week to week . Here , the queens compete in about 10 challenges each season , from photoshoots to acting in front of a greenscreen , doing stand-up comedy , or the popular Snatch Game . The third and most glitzy set is the Runway . This , of course , is where the queens strut their stuff for the judges .
“ From what I ’ ve seen , all the different brands maintain some level of similarity ,” explains Joey Sadler , the lighting designer for Canada ’ s Drag Race and the president and creative director at Toronto-based lighting and production design firm Light + Dark . “ You can recognize a Werk Room , whether it ’ s in the U . K . or the U . S . or Canada show . Like , it ’ s pink walls , typically , and there ’ s tungsten bulbs and big pink tables . They ’ re kind of all set up the same . And similar to the runway , you can identify a RuPaul ’ s runway between the different brands . They might have little tweaks , and I find our runway stands out the most and is the most unique relative to the original U . S . brand . Whereas , the U . K . and the Australian brand have sort of copied pretty closely the same runway look . So , there ’ s definitely a lot of carryover , for sure .”
In terms of process , Production Designer Peter Faragher designed the three sets for Canada ’ s Drag Race and laid out the basic lighting necessities for Sadler . Lighting-wise , each of the three sets requires something different , from the straightforward to the flexible to the big and flashy .
“ He ’ ll design , say , the Werk Room and present that to us ,” says Sadler . “ We will say , ‘ Okay , we need to light this space and it needs to be lit 360 for cameras ,’ because it ’ s a reality space and they ’ re going to be shooting from every angle . There weren ’ t too many requirements for that space , other than that we need to shoot in 360 in a reality format .”
18 | Summer 2021