BY SARAH THURMOND / PIC BY PHIL KLINE

The first time Louisianna Purchase performed drag, it did not go well.

“Literally 15 seconds into my number, my wig fell off,” she says. Not one to give up, she returned to the stage three months later to perform a duet with Summer Clearance. That’s when the bug hit, Louisianna says, and she hasn’t taken a month off drag since. Fast-forward 11 years and Louisianna has been voted Best Drag Performer eight consecutive times by the readers of The Austin Chronicle, and she’s competed on the reality TV show The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula. Not bad for a kid from Johnson Bayou — a town of 500 in rural Louisiana — who moved to Austin at her best friend’s urging to pursue visual art and music in 2011. Within two years, she found herself “thrown into the world” of drag when she started dating performer Bubu. They’ve been married for five years. today, Louisianna performs in Sad Girls Only at Swan Dive and Mochi Mochi at Cheer Up Charlies, two venues in Austin’s Red River Cultural District. 

What does it take to be the best at something? 

I’ve never thought of myself as being the best, but what has been consistent with my drag is having a connection with the audience and my fanbase. Just human to human. I’ve come to find that if you’re very authentic and present, audiences can feel that. I am also a firm believer in finding your drum’s beat and following that.

Are there any life lessons drag can teach non-drag folks?  

Absolutely. It kills me to see people who have their life on hold, for whatever reason. I started drag at an age when most drag performers are thinking about quitting or retiring. You have one life that belongs to you. People would be so much happier if they followed their dreams without fear. The worst that can happen is people tell you no. 

I remember through my personal hard times, what pulled me through was art. Every hard time, there has to be dreamers who provide the content to help salve the people. I feel that’s my job, to provide entertainment and show love and give warmth to the world and my community.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

When I got on Dragula, Mariah Balenciaga from RuPaul’s Drag Race and I were in Los Angeles doing a show together. She looked at me and said, “I have a piece of advice for you: Work smarter, not harder.” That runs through my head on at least a weekly basis. Don’t make things more difficult for yourself. Also, collect the money after the gig. 

What’s the best thing about what you do?

I get to live out my fantasy onstage. There’s no greater satisfaction than producing art that completely comes from you, and people pay to come and see it. 

And the worst? 

Doing drag in the Texas summer heat. The sweating, the heat rashes, it separates those who have to do drag from those who are like, “I think I’ll do drag.” At least put some misters on the stage for us, please. 

How do you handle failure? 

I’ve learned that some of my greatest lessons have come from failures. And failures are only failures to a degree. To me it’s more of a failure if you never attempt, if you never give it a go. “Next time, diva!” That’s what you tell yourself. 

What is something you wish you knew when you were starting out in your career?

To not stress. Looking back on Dragula, I wish I had more fun with it, been more relaxed. But I do suffer from overachiever syndrome. 

How do you stay positive in a political climate that’s so uneasy right now? 

How do I keep dancing in a world that’s burning? I ask myself that all the time. We have these horrific things happening in the world. Why am I concerned with drag? But I remember through my personal hard times, what pulled me through was art. Every hard time, there has to be dreamers who provide the content to help salve the people. I feel that’s my job, to provide entertainment and show love and give warmth to the world and my community.