16 Behind-The-Scenes Secrets From “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” That Will Have You Gagging, Honey
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Drag Race season 15 is now well underway, and the gags just keep on comin'.
But if you (like me) often have questions while you're watching like, "How long long do the queens get to prepare?" or "What goes on when the cameras aren't rolling?" or "When do they film their confessionals?" then you are in luck!
LOGO / Via giphy.com
Recently, our Season 12 fave, Jan Sport, answered fan questions in a series on TikTok, and I for one was fascinated.
Here's what she had to say about how Drag Race is made:
1.The queens only have three to four weeks to prepare for the show.
According to Jan, she got the call that she was cast only three to four weeks before shooting began, and was only given the list of categories she needed to prepare looks for EIGHTEEN DAYS before heading into the Werk Room.
She described the stress of trying to pull everything together in time saying there is a lot to consider when creating the looks like: will someone else come up with this idea? Which designers are available in this time frame? And are those designers already working with other girls on this season?
2.The Werk Room entrances really are the first time the girls see who was cast in their season.
In one video we learned that for the first episode of the season, everyone receives a different call time and waits in different trailers prior to filming so the entrances can be kept secret.
However, Jan did say that during the quarantine before filming All Stars 6, she could hear some of the girls through the walls of the hotel, like Yara Sophia who was "cackling and doing her own thing." Jan also revealed that she knew which other New York girls would be there prior to filming (like Brita Filter in Season 12) presumably because the girls talk.
3.The producers help the queens choose their entrance lines.
In Jan's experience, she had other lines prepared before going into the shoot. Initially, she was going to say, "I've got this in the bag!" (a reference to her namesake, Jan Sport...which is... a bag. Get it?) but the producers decided she should say that line later in the episode during confessionals! She was only given 20 minutes to come up with a new line, which is a big deal since this is the first impression for the Drag Race audience.
4.The queens actually perform the entire song during a "lip sync for your life," even though we don't see all of it.
I've honestly wondered for years if the Drag Race contestants lip-sync to complete songs or to edited versions for the sake of time. But now we know! They are performing their hearts out for the full three and a half minutes. Bring back the 90-minute episodes so we can see it all!
5.There's a limit to how much the queens are allowed to pack for the show.
The ladies are allowed to bring five 50-pound suitcases with them into the competition, which may seem like a lot, but some of these wigs and costumes are HEAVY, and they need looks, not only for the runway, but for challenges, mini-challenges, etc. Jan said she had to get rid of one look entirely because she just didn't have enough space to pack it.
6.And there are some lip sync songs that just don't get used.
Jan said on Season 12 they were told to learn "Commander" by Kelly Rowland and "Come Clean" by Hilary Duff but they weren't used on the show which is A TRAVESTY!!!!! RECTIFY THIS, RU PAUL!!! I NEED TO HEAR "COME CLEAN" ON THE MAINSTAGE!!!
7.There are people on set that help the queens with finishing touches before the runway.
Referred to as the "talent team" these folks help the Ru Girls zip their zippers, button their buttons, and any other last-minute details they need help with before they stomp down the main stage. I've always wondered how queens got into some of their intricate looks by themselves, and now we know!
8.Each Ru Girl has to walk the runway twice per episode.
Each queen will walk every runway, once while the music is playing, and then again to do a second take in complete silence so the judges can make the jokes that we hear during the episode. Jan really hammers home how silent the room is, like you can hear every little footstep down that catwalk. Lol.
9.There are times when the queens are not allowed to interact with each other unless the cameras are on.
There are two different categories that are used on set to let the queens know how much they're allowed to interact with each other when the cameras aren't rolling: "soft ice," meaning they can talk, just not about anything to do with the competition; and "hard ice," meaning they can't interact at all. This is all to ensure that all the good stuff makes it on screen for our hungry little eyes to watch.
Jan did let slip, however, that the vibe was a little different during her All Stars season, and the girls took these terms more as suggestions rather than hard rules.
10.Off set, the girls can't leave their hotel rooms or have any contact with other queens.
When the day is done, everyone has to back to their own rooms all by themselves. I would struggle with this. I just wanna have fun with my friends all the time! But I'm sure after HOURS on set filming, you'd be ready for a break.
We did learn that the rules were a little different on All Stars, where everyone had a pool buddy they could go chill with for half an hour at a time.
11.Confessionals are done in the morning before they start filming the episode.
Filming starts around 9 a.m. every day, but the contestants leave the hotel around 6 a.m. to take care of confessionals for at least an hour before they head into the Werk Room. But if something big happens in the middle of the day, the story producers will pull the girls from set to get their reactions in the moment.
Jan described talking to the story producers as a relief. "It's nice to talk to your sisters who are there in the room with you," she said, "but it's also really good to talk to the story producers because you can talk to them as candidly as you want and it's kind of therapeutic."
12.The iconic promo shots happen after the season has already wrapped filming.
I've always wondered if the promo shoots where all of the girls are together happen before anyone gets sent home, or if it happened once everything is filmed. Apparently, it's like a little reunion before the reunion! I'm also impressed that no one has signaled, "I went home first! I don't really know these girls!" in any of these shoots.
13.The production team provides costuming for the Rusicals.
While the queens have to arrive with their own wardrobe for most challenges, the Drag Race crew has them covered for the Rusicals since they often don't know who will play which part until the day of the challenge. For example, for the Madonna Rusical, production had cone bras ready in everyone's size so whoever got cast in that specific role would have the look. They're also provided with the wigs and accessories.
14.They get a lot more time to rehearse their choreography than what's shown in an episode.
When asked if they are allowed to bring videos back to their hotel rooms to practice, the answer was a quick "no" as they're not allowed to have phones, tablets, etc. while filming.
It was also revealed that there's a choreographer on set who helps and gives notes on what the girls come up with, and they're given a few days in between filming the beginning of an episode and the final performance to really work on the choreo.
15.The queens don't get a lot of creative control in the personal branding challenges.
Every season we get at least one personal branding challenge where the queens have to come up with a commercial concept for some wild product, like a soft drink, a fragrance, or even creating a TikTok dance.
Turns out the queens have very little control over the final product and are not involved with the editing process at all. In fact, at the time of filming, the girls only get to see a rough cut of their videos. Not only are they much longer than what we see on TV, but they also don't have the green screens filled in or the music added in, so the queens see the finished product at the same time the audience does.
16.Finally, Ru has an ear piece in so the producing team can help move conversations along
This definitely helps explains Ru's apparent omniscience. While it felt safe to assume Ru gets a major briefing before talking with the queens in the Werk Room, it makes a lot of sense that the producing team is in his ear telling him who hasn't been getting along and what the newest drama is.
Though Jan did say one of her fave un-aired memories was a time when Ru didn't have the earpiece in and just talked to the queens for over an hour about their favorite artists and what inspires them in their drag. I would LOVE to get my eyes on this.
