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Brenda the Drag Queen is hosting a “Big Gay Spelling Bee” at Greensboro’s Carolina Theatre this Sunday to benefit Triad Health Project. The Thread caught up with her this week to talk about her background, her charity work, and the hardest word she can spell.

For those who don’t know, tell us a bit about yourself.

So, I’m known as the Green Queen of Greensboro because I work with the Guilford Green Foundation and put on events with them throughout the year. We do a Bingo every other month, and those have a pretty high attendance and helps raise funds for the Guilford Green Foundation and the LGBTQ Center.

I’m also known as the live-singing, shade-slinging comedy monster of the Carolinas. I’m just north of seven feet tall in drag, and in 99 percent of cases, I sing live, which is a little different from other drag performers who lip sync. I also consider myself a comedy queen. I like to bring joy to people in what can sometimes feel like a dumpster fire of our reality. 

How long have you been doing drag, and how did you get into it?

It will be seven years in October since I started doing drag. I had been doing a Halloween queen situation. You know, Halloween is the birth of a lot of drag entertainers. Then I met my drag mother, Kitty Litter, who, when our paths crossed, saw something in me and encouraged me to do drag.

How did you come up with your name?

I’ve always gone as Brenda. I think it’s because everyone knows a Brenda, whether it’s a nurse or someone who works in HR. It’s just one of those funny names. It’s a classic, middle-aged white woman name.

Why a spelling bee?

I just think spelling bees are fun. They’re something that we don’t see that much anymore. And these days, drag is so saturated, everybody is doing something. So it’s a challenge for drag performers to do something a little different, something unique. I always wanted to do a spelling bee, and it’s big and gay because I’m big and gay. 

We’ve got five entertainers who will be performing and competing. I’m the MC and I’ll be performing to open up the show.

Tell us about partnering with the Triad Health Project.

When I’m not wearing a wig, and sometimes when I am, I work for the Triad Health Project. I’ve been there for over two years as the director of people, culture, and outreach. I oversee our development to help raise money to bring attention to the important work that we do.

THP has been around since 1986, at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Since then, it’s transformed into a much larger sexual health and justice organization. We provide free and confidential testing and go out into communities to share information about prevention. We also offer medical case managers for those living with HIV and have a day center for impacted folks, too. We run food pantries, too.

A lot of folks think we’ve moved on from that epidemic, but preventing the spread of HIV and other STIs is still important. And we’re seeing threats to funding from the national level, and we want to stay free and accessible for those who need support.

What is the hardest word you can spell?

I feel like it’s probably phlegm. But that’s not gonna be one of the words we use on Sunday night. We’re drag entertainers, not academics. I’m using words that have been used by the National Spelling Bee, but not at the national level. We’re trying to make it more approachable. We just want people to come prepared to have a good time and share in the joy of the event.

Sayaka Matsuoka is a Greensboro-based reporter for The Assembly. She was formerly the managing editor for Triad City Beat.

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