Meet SF's Drag Pioneers: Colette LeGrande, Olivia Hart & Donna Personna

All Photography by James Hosking
Unlike glitzier drag clubs in New York or Los Angeles, Aunt Charlie’s in San Francisco's Tenderloin district looks like a basement at the edge of the world.

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"I’m home at Aunt Charlie’s. For the most part, the girls are good girls. Every once in a while, you get a crabby old bitch in there. And after the show people tell you you’re the greatest. A few minutes later, you hear them tell another girl the same thing."

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Collette LeGrande's cracked soprano bawls out drink orders and insults with blunt conviction. She is one of the show’s oldest and longest-performing queens and a seasoned crowd-pleaser.

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"I like that it’s more intimate than most bars. Some bars, you’re on a stage and the crowd is way out there. At Aunt Charlie’s, they’re practically on you. And you can get drunk there for $20."

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"I don’t really think of myself as an entertainer. It just comes with the territory. I tend to gravitate to numbers I think I can do. When I started doing Kesha, I was only going to do it once or twice and call it a day. But then the crowd liked it, and 99% of the time they don’t realize I’m drinking Coke in that shot glass."

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"I feel powerful [performing]. But I don’t want to be in control of anything. When I’m interpreting a song, I’m not doing it to the lampshade. I’m always singing it to someone. I like being close to the audience. I like that Aunt Charlie’s is dark and has a spotlight. I’m less effective when I see too much."

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On being almost 70: "I’m odd in that when I don’t have an assignment, a little voice inside says, 'You’re worthless. You have no purpose.' That comes with anxiety. To relieve that anxiety, I have to have a purpose in the world. I feel like I’m serving a great purpose — I feel so alive — when I’m performing.READ THE INTERVIEW

On the first time doing drag: "Oh my God, such shame! It was difficult to leave the building. But I always want to do things that scare me because then I’m in a heightened state of being alive. I feel more alive during drag. And that’s our struggle in life: To stay engaged."READ THE INTERVIEW

"My thing is not being a female illusionist where I look dead-on like a woman. I’m a man in a dress, and I’m not afraid to show that. I just use a little bit of shading. Olivia and I are pretty much one and the same. It’s not a total transformation. I’d need to see a psychiatrist if that happened."

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"A lot of straight guys are fascinated with my cleavage. They all want to touch it. Well go ahead, honey, I’ll touch you while you touch me. There’s a group of Hispanic boys in front of the Carl’s Jr. that are always whistling at me. In the Tenderloin sometimes I get picked up by somebody who wants to pleasure me."

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