Charles Busch is the author and star of such plays as The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset, Queen Amarantha, Shanghai Moon, Our Leading Lady, The Third Story, and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, which ran five years and is one of the longest running plays in Off-Broadway history. His play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife ran for 777 performances on Broadway, won Mr. Busch the Outer Circle Critics John Gassner Award, and received a Tony Award Nomination for Best Play. For two seasons he appeared as Nat Ginsburg on the HBO series OZ. He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays,Psycho Beach Party and Die! Mommie! Die!, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2003, Mr. Busch received a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright. He is the subject of the documentary film, The Lady in Question is Charles Busch.

Check out Charles’s plays,
available from Samuel French
Die! Mommie! Die!
The Green Heart
The Lady in Question
Our Leading Lady
Psycho Beach Party
Queen Amarantha
Red Scare on Sunset
Shanghai Moon
Sleeping Beauty or Coma
Swingtime Canteen
The Tale of the Allergist's Wife
The Third Story
Times Square Angel
You Should Be So Lucky
Vampire Lesbians of Sodom

Q & A with Charles Busch

Q: You often perform in your own plays. Do you always take that into consideration when writing? Do you think of a character and develop the play from there, or vice versa? What is your process like?

When I write for myself, it begins with my imagining some fun character I’d like to play and usually in a film or theatrical genre that fascinates me. On the other hand, when it’s not a play for me as an actor, the idea usually stems from a situation. I’ve really enjoyed writing for specific actors, including myself. It becomes almost a puzzle to include elements that a specific performer brings. I’ve written numerous roles for the same actors and it’s a challenge to spotlight their unique gifts and also stretch them as actors. I also hope that the characters are conceived well enough that other actors can succeed in these roles.

Q: You are famous for performing in drag. What motivated you to become a drag performer? What do you think has been essential to your success in this arena?

I began as a solo performer. In my solo pieces, performed not in drag, I played every role that the narrative required; male and female. For whatever reasons unique to me, my female characters were more vivid and complex. When I began my theatre company in 1984, it was almost a relief having other actors in the ensemble play the parts I wasn’t that good at or interested in, and leaving the leading lady roles to me. I suppose I have something of an androgynous nature and tapping into my understanding, observation and sympathy for women came easy to me. There can be a certain misogyny in many drag performances and I’m proud that so many women have found my female characterizations to be positive and celebratory.

Q: When and/or how did you know that you wanted to create plays?

From early childhood I wanted to be on the stage. I was also always writing but didn’t think of that as a professional goal. In college at Northwestern University, I was rarely cast in the student plays. I began to think that this didn’t bode well for me in my choice of career. During this period, I became exposed to the work of experimental theatre masters such as Charles Ludlam and Jeff Weiss and saw that there were possibilities for a career that was of my own invention.

Q: What inspires you to take on a new project?

I get new ideas constantly. Many of them fizzle out after several pages of notes. I get inspired by an incident I observe or someone I meet, or a historical episode that intrigues me. I’ve written many plays based on theatrical and film genres. I grew up watching classic films on television and there are still many film genres left that I’d love to tackle.

Q: Have you ever come across a production that made you see one of your plays in a new or unexpected way?

It’s particularly difficult appreciating new productions, when I was actually in the original. It’s only natural to be sentimental and confident that ours was the definitive interpretation of the play. However, there have been times when I was actually thrilled to see productions where the actors playing my roles have found nuances that I wish I had thought of. I’ve also seen productions that came up with staging ideas that I’ve found very funny and original. It’s a bit of a battle between my actor’s ego and the playwright wanting to see his play live on. I like to think the playwright wins out.