Boulet Brothers

The Boulet Brothers (known individually as Dracmorda and Swanthula Boulet) are drag artists, television personalities, writers, and producers. Their projects have included horror themed television shows, live nightlife productions, books, movies, and comic books.[1] Since 2016 the Boulet Brothers have produced and starred in the Netflix reality competition series The Boulet Brothers' Dragula.

Dracmorda and Swanthula Boulet
Other namesCollectively: The Boulet Brothers
Occupation
  • Drag artists
  • television personalities
  • writers
  • producers
TelevisionThe Boulet Brothers' Dragula
Websitebouletbrothersdragula.com

The duo are considered to be “modern day horror hosts”.[2] Outside of their television projects, the Boulet Brothers appear regularly as featured guests, performers and emcees at horror conventions, nightclubs and live events. The Boulets are considered prolific nightclub producers with a career creating legendary nightlife events for over a decade.[3] The Boulet Brothers are also widely celebrated as queer icons due to the inclusive nature of their creative endeavors.[4][5]

Television career

The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula

The Boulet Brothers are most known for their reality TV competition series The Boulet Brothers' Dragula. The show is loosely based on a nightlife event of the same name created by the Boulet Brothers and is currently in its third season streaming on Netflix. Many of the challenges and themes of the show were inspired by nightlife events hosted by the Boulet Brothers.[6] The show has received international praise for its creativity, talent and diversity.[7][8] The Boulet Brothers serve as the showrunners, executive producers and hosts of the show.

The Boulet Brothers wrote, produced and co-directed a spin-off film titled Boulet Brothers' Dragula: Resurrection, which Digital Spy described as "part-horror movie, part-documentary and part-reality competition."[9] The film is due to be released as an original film on AMC Networks' Shudder streaming service on October 20, 2020.[10]

Podcasts

Creatures of the Night Podcast

The Boulet Brothers are the executive producers and hosts of Fangoria’s The Boulet Brothers’ Creatures of the Night Podcast. The podcast is a horror variety show styled after a 1940s style radio program. Each episode offers an introductory dialogue, a newscast and discussion of entertainment news, a horror movie review, a celebrity interview, and listener questions.[11] The show's “Haunting of History” segment revisits famous historical hauntings. The show is co-hosted by Ian Devoglaer, the supervising producer of The Boulet Brothers' Dragula.[12] Guests include Rose McGowan, Poppy, Dita Von Teese, Rachel True, and Darren Stein.[13]

Nightlife and live events

The Boulet Brothers are considered icons in the nightlife scene and are credited with producing numerous well known events in the United States over the last two decades.[14][15]

The Los Angeles Halloween Ball

The Boulet Brothers founded and host the Los Angeles Halloween Ball, which has been held annually at the Globe Theater in Los Angeles since 2001.[16]  The event takes place on several floors and features DJs, themed dancers, haunted mazes, carnival style games, stage shows, and a midnight stage spectacular.[17] Performers that have been featured at the event include Elvira, Clive Barker, Trixie Mattel and Violet Chachki.[18] It has also become tradition for winners of The Boulet Brothers' Dragula show to perform at the event.[19]

Queen Kong

The Boulet Brothers organized and hosted “Queen Kong”, a weekly Friday night dance party and live cabaret that ran for four years in Downtown Los Angeles at the gay bar Precinct, from 2015 to 2019.[20] The party was a celebration of alternative queer art and live performance.[21] The event has been credited with pioneering a new countercultural queer nightlife scene in Downtown Los Angeles.[22]

Each week featured an eight show stage spectacular hosted and curated by the Boulet Brothers featuring non-traditional drag artists, queer rappers, voguers, dancers, singers and “queer artists from all walks of life”.[23] The event featured guest performers from RuPaul's Drag Race, as well as queer icons such as Bruce LaBruce, Lady Bunny, Coco Peru, Peaches Christ, Heklina, Homo Riot, Kevin Aviance, and Pansy Division.

DTLA Proud

The Boulet Brothers were founding members of the DTLA Proud Festival in Los Angeles.[22] They were hosts and master of ceremonies of the event for the first two years.[24][25]

Dragula

Dragula was a monthly dance party and drag event which premiered at the Faultline leather bar in Silverlake, California.[26] The event is known for bringing a gritty, punk, and glamorous alternative to the Los Angeles queer nightlife scene. It was billed as a celebration of “Drag, Filth, Leather and Glamour.”[27] Dragula was held in a gay men’s leather bar and featured trans women and men go-go dancers and leather clad muscle men entertainers.[28] The event was hosted and curated by the Boulet Brothers and featured shock themed stage shows performed by non-traditional drag artists including horror themed drag queens, drag kings, afab queens, and non-binary artists. The highlight of the event was the “Midnight Drag Pageant” which saw thirteen drag artists competing on stage in extreme challenges to win a $300 cash prize, a crown, and the title of Dragula.[29] Due to the party’s success, the event expanded and began running monthly in San Francisco at the San Francisco Eagle.[27] The party was also held in New York City for a special one night event as well as in Austin, Texas as part of the International Drag Festival.[30][31]

The Boulet Brothers held the last live 'Dragula" event on its third anniversary, and announced that the party was transitioning into a reality competition TV show. The trailer for the first season of the show was screened at the end of the party.[32]

Miss Kitty’s Parlour

Miss Kitty's Parlour was the Boulet Brothers’ first event, which they started in 2001 after relocating from East Village, Manhattan to Los Angeles.[33] The event was held every Friday night at the Dragonfly nightclub in Hollywood for nine years.[34] The party is considered to be one of the most infamous weekly events held in Los Angeles due to its celebration of pansexuality, performance and shocking stage shows. “Miss Kitty’s Parlour” was billed as an “Erotic Cabaret” that featured multiple stage productions, contests, live installation artists, costumed dancers, and theatrical fetish themed shows.[35] The event was infamous for having a diverse crowd and blending together club goers of all sexualities, gender identities and cultures. The L.A. Times described Miss Kitty's Parlour as being attended by “drag queens, goth gamines, and would-be NYC club kids of every (legal) age, size, gender, and sexual orientation.”[22]

Personal lives

The Boulet Brothers work under a stage name and their real names are not public knowledge.[36] The couple do not appear out of drag on television or in interviews and lead private personal lives. They have stated in interviews that they are not brothers but romantic partners who have been a couple for over a decade.[37]

References
  1. Liner, Lucas (2019-12-03). "The Boulet Brothers Ink A Book Deal With Literary Agent Connor Goldsmith". CryptTeaze. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  2. Millican, Josh (2019-08-09). "Queer Horror-Themed Competition THE BOULET BROTHERS DRAGULA Season 3 Hits Amazon This Month". Dread Central. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  3. Podell, Michael (2016-02-26). "An Interview With Filthy Royalty, the Boulet Brothers". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  4. Doonan, Simon (2019). Drag: the complete story. Laurence King Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78627-423-6. OCLC 1153814302.
  5. Mandelo, Lee (2020-06-17). "Queering SFF: The Weird, Wild Fun of The Boulet Brothers' Dragula". Tor.com. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  6. "10 Questions With the Boulet Brothers". www.out.com. 2018-01-27. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  7. "'Dragula' Is Loud, Weird, and Pisses on Heteronormativity". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  8. "Landon Cider, the First Drag King to Appear On a U.S. Drag Competition Show, Wins 'Dragula' Season 3". Billboard. 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  9. Chase, Stephanie (2020-09-30). "Dragula confirms Halloween special featuring all-star queens returning". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  10. "THE BOULET BROTHERS' DRAGULA: RESURRECTION Hits Shudder October 20th". Dread Central. 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  11. Gidney, Norman (2020-05-09). "The Boulet Brothers CREATURES OF THE NIGHT Debuts on Fangoria". HorrorBuzz. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  12. "Lockdown Listening: The Boulet Brothers' Creatures of the Night Podcast -". werrrk.com. 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  13. "Boulet Brothers Launch New Show on The FANGORIA Podcast Network". Dread Central. 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  14. "The Boulet Brothers' Queer Horror Empire". WUSSY MAG. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  15. Lecaro, Lina (July 2, 2014). "The Best Fetish Clubs in Los Angeles". LAist. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  16. "The Boulet Brothers 19th Annual Los Angeles Halloween Ball". Los Angeles, CA Patch. 2019-10-08. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  17. "The Boulet Brothers' 16th Annual • Los Angeles Halloween Ball Saturday, October 29th!". The WOW Report. 2016-10-26. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  18. "LA Halloween: 10 Parties You Can't Miss". www.outtraveler.com. 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  19. "The Boulet Brothers 19th Annual Los Angeles Halloween Ball". Los Angeles Downtown News - The Voice of Downtown Los Angeles. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  20. Stuart, Gwynedd (2019-07-09). "DTLA's Iconic Queer Party and Stage Show Queen Kong Is Coming to an End". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  21. Cooper, Michael (2019-08-07). "Time for Tea: The Queen (Kong) of Gay Nightlife is Dead". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  22. Ciriaco, Michael (2019-05-23). "Drag in L.A.: The Boulet Brothers Bring Dark Debauchery to Nightlife — and TV". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  23. Stuart, Gwynedd (2019-08-07). "How the Boulet Brothers Made Space for Freaky, Femme Energy in L.A.'s Queer Party Scene". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  24. "DTLA Proud Kicks Off Its First Bash This Weekend". www.out.com. 2016-08-03. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  25. "DTLA Proud Is Back This Weekend in Pershing Square". WEHOville. 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  26. "Dragula's Ghoulish Glamour". The Bay Area Reporter / B.A.R. Inc. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  27. "Fangs a lot". The Bay Area Reporter / B.A.R. Inc. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  28. Lecaro, Lina (2016-09-09). "The Boulet Brothers Keep L.A.'s Gay Nightlife Weird". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  29. "Leather, Wigs and Hotdogs: Scenes From Dragula". PAPER. 2015-04-20. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  30. Lusky, Bridget (2019-11-28). "Hello Uglies: Dragula's mix of horror and glamor brings new depth to drag". Film Daily. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  31. Conde, Chris. "The Show Must Go On: Dragula Performers to Play San Antonio Dates in Spite of Aztec Show Cancellation". San Antonio Current. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  32. Goodman, Elyssa. "Blood, Guts, and Glamour: How "Dragula" Made Drag Dangerous Again". them. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  33. Strangeways, Michael (June 25, 2015). "The Boulet Brothers Set To Conquer Seattle At PrideFest…And, Beyond! | Seattle Gay Scene | Your Daily Gay In Seattle". Seattle Gay Scene. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  34. Podell, Michael (2016-02-26). "An Interview With Filthy Royalty, the Boulet Brothers". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  35. Becker, Ramie (2011-02-01). "A flamboyant farewell to Miss Kitty's in Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  36. "The Boulet Brothers Are The Masterminds Behind "Dragula: Search For The World's Next Drag Supermonster"". bust.com. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  37. Earp, Catherine (2018-09-06). "Dragula's The Boulet Bros discuss relationship". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2020-09-16.

Bibliography

Further reading
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