JPR News Focus: Arts And Culture

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Bleuprint is still the show that gets her excited. She brings in a nearly packed crowd to the Black Sheep pub in downtown Ashland every month. Bleu’s childhood friend and drag partner Jenna Saisquoix also helps with the show’s production.

Bleu says she decided not to make her show open to all-ages, like the show once hosted by the GreenHAUS, because of the politics surrounding drag right now. State legislatures across the country have passed laws banning drag performances in public.

“We will at some point,” she said. “But the political climate is really rough right now. Consistency is key, and I think if we can start with our 18+ crowd right now and make sure that college students are accounted for, then that’s a good starting line.”

All-ages shows are also more difficult to plan, according to Wood.

“That was a show that we really monitored the content of,” she said. “No explicit swearing or sexual content, anything like that. We had regulars who were bringing their six-year-olds to come see these shows.”

Despite the worries that drag would die out after the pandemic, you can find a show in Ashland nearly every week, sometimes multiple on the same day, which is more common in a bigger city.

“I think we have a very special scene here,” said local drag queen Andrew Jackson, who goes by Miss Jaxon.

Jaxon is a senior at SOU and the drag queen producer who recently hosted a show at the student union, designed to bring more performers onto the scene.

She also produces a few others, including the show originally called Dancing Queens, now called Pride Night, which Jaxon inherited from Dandy Lyon.

Jaxon is graduating this June, and plans to stay in Ashland for just a few months to continue producing shows.

“I love Ashland, been here for four years,” she said. “But, now that I’ve lived in Oregon my whole life, I’m ready to spread my wings.”

That’s why Jaxon has been trying to make sure there’s another generation of drag performers behind her when she has to leave Ashland. She says the recent show at SOU was a success, and inspired a few new drag artists who are interested in taking their performances to a bigger stage.

Jaxon says Ashland and the Rogue Valley as a whole is cut off from the rest of Oregon’s drag scene. Ensuring a long-lasting future beyond the career of any one drag artist means building more connections.

“Because right now it’s just Ashland knows Ashland,” said Jaxon. “But I want Ashland to be connected to Portland, Eugene, Salem, Bend. Wherever else there’s drag in the state.”

Resilience, creativity and acceptance remain at the heart of what makes Ashland’s drag scene special. These artists are dedicated to keeping their art alive through any future challenges that come their way. Bleu Dinah wants to inspire new drag performers to leave a lasting legacy.

“I just want to inspire people to do drag,” said Bleu. “And I know that Bleuprint probably won’t last forever, but I’m still living every show like it was our last.”

After graduating from Oregon State University, Roman came to JPR as part of the Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism in 2019. He then joined Delaware Public Media as a Report For America fellow before returning to the west coast.

JPR NEWS FOCUS ENERGY

JANE VAUGHAN