There is a new queen on the drag scene…
After losing a bet (and a running race) to his co-host Em, 92.9FM’s breakfast show host Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli performed Cher’s ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ (an apt choice considering that Wippa claims, ‘if I could turn back time, I wouldn’t have made the stupid bet to begin with’) at the Court Hotel’s Amateur Drag Night on Wednesday, April 16. Here is how the 92.9 team created Wippa’s female alter ego – ANITA WAX.
It started with the name, as Wippa explains, ‘The original suggestion Jenny Talia got shut down by the boss and seeing as though I am the hairiest man in Perth my co-hosts thought “Anita Wax†seemed like a safe option.’
With the name settled, it was on to costuming, where Wippa’s breakfast show co-host Em reported Anita Wax more than lived up to her title.
‘The amount of hair on Wippa’s body severely limited our costume options due to chafing and zipper issues so “Anita Wax†seemed appropriate as he needs to do just that.’
After considering several options, Wippa and his costume designers settled on a rather revealing black leather dress that paid tribute to both Cher and Anita’s namesake hair.
‘Once again, I didn’t have total control over what I was going to end up wearing,’ Wippa said, ‘I knew whatever it was would be highly flammable with a fair bit on show. With the name Anita Wax, obviously, people needed to understand the joke, and to understand the joke, they needed to see the hair. That’s why there was the majority of the chest exposed and, of course, the legs.’
Anita Wax (aka Wippa) may be hairier than most of the queens on the drag scene, but after a helping hand from renowned makeup artists, Strykermeyer (who won a BAFTA for his work on the movie Priscilla, Queen of the Desert), Wippa could scarcely recognize himself in the mirror.
‘I went to the toilet just prior to going out there – I was a little bit nervous – and couldn’t believe what I saw in the mirror. I didn’t know the person looking back.’
And so, in tight black leather and with a larger than life wig that did the 80s proud and despite a misguided attempt at the moonwalk, Anita was as close to Cher clone as a straight Aussie bloke can get.
When the music finally faded, Anita had some advice for aspiring drag performers.
‘Everybody has a dream. If you die wondering, then you’re going to die a sad man. If you’ve got a passion, if you’ve said that word drag and got goosebumps up and down your spine, as I have for 28 years, then you better go through with it.’
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To see photos from the night, visit OUTinPerth’s photo gallery.
Click here, to read OUTinPerth’s interview with Wippa’s makeup artist, the BAFTA-award winning Strykermeyer.
