HistoryProjectInterview

Here is a list of questions to ask HistoryPeople when you're interviewing. As of May 2004: severely under construction.

Short Form

• Sometimes you can find a biography from some other source, e.g. the section of a book or for an event
• Collect vital statistics for the person
  • 1 sentence for When and where born, interesting facts about parents if appropriate
  • 1 sentence about school (any schools you care to mention)
  • Optional: Early interests
• And, most important: document the relationships between this person, and existing queer events, people and places and things in Halifax.
• Add references if possible.
• A picture (with a caption saying when and where taken) adds immensely to a page. DanielMacKay or one of the other editors can get items scanned and promptly returned to the owner.
• Make sure the page is marked CategoryPerson and if it needs further work, leave it marked with NeedsBio

Life issues

• Biography.
  • What year and where were you born?
  • Where were you brought up?
  • Occupation. What work do you do to �make a living�?
• What was high school like for queers?
• When did you come out? Why? How?
  • What was that like?
  • Who did you hang around with when you were coming out?
  • Who were your gay and lesbian role models? Were there any gay and lesbian role models for you to look up to?
  • What were your family relations like then? Now?
• When were you first active in the community in Halifax?
  • What was Halifax like then?
  • what was going on with gay liberation elsewhere? Do you feel that what was happening in other centres was having an impact here?
  • also NS society and politics and life in general.
• Were you ever gaybashed?
• What organizations were you involved with?
• Did you ever hear of -- (maybe go through HistoryProjectTodoList)
• Volunteer work

Then can take him or her into his key areas of interest.

In closing

• Other questions that may arise in conversation during the interviews.
• What materials do you have that would be good for the archivs, or that we could scan for graphics for the encyclopedia?

Drag Queen Stuff

Performance/Personae

• What is drag, are there more one type?
• Tell me about how you started your own act. How did you pick a name? Describe your drag character; what is her/his personality, her/his style, his/her image? What music does she/he perform do? Where does she perform and when?
• Has your drag character evolved over time? How?
• What is the difference between your personality and the personality of the drag performer (stage/off-stage personality)
• Do you see a difference between drag queen/drag king and female/male impersonator? If so what is it?
• How did one earn a reputation as a top drag performer? (what is that called?)

Drag community

• Is there a �drag community�? How do you define it? How do you feel about being part of it (if you do)?
• What kinds of performances do queens/kings do?
• Do you ever perform for money?
• Do you perform for fundraising? Why is this significant and important?
• Where do people perform? How do the different venues affect performance? How do queens/kings transcend boundaries if they are seen as an �NRG queen/king� or a �Reflections queen/king�
• How do queens/kings interact with each other (language, relationship with lesbians)?
• Is there a hierarchy of queens/kings? How does this work?
• Tell me about drag mothers/daughters or drag fathers/sons. Is this an apprenticeship culture?
• How do queens/kings see how other gays and lesbians regard them? What is the LGBT community like? How open is it? How prevalent is homophobia? Who do you see as activists/ who are they? What do they do? Do they work with feminists or African-NS activists?
• What is the role of the use of drugs and Alcohol within the club scene?
• Race; are there First Nations or black queens, other ethnic queens?
• Social status/Class (does it cross boundaries)
• When somebody wanted to retire or become inactive, how did they make that known?

History

• any changes in attitudes towards drag queens between then and now?
• Drag queens have often been seen as trailblazers in the quest for gay rights. Did you have the sense you were opening doors for others as a drag queen? What do you think was liberating about drag?
• What was the perception of drag beyond the gay community in your opinion? Did that perception impact your desire to do/keep doing drag?

The Halifax Region

• What does Halifax mean to you then, as a drag performer? Is Halifax an accepting community, both from other gays and lesbians and from people in the wider community?
• Did you come from away (other parts of Canada, NS)? Was the social environment of Halifax different from where you came from, if so how was it different?
• How do queens/kings see themselves being perceived in the wider (read straight) NS/HRM community?

This page is part of the HistoryProject and is in the HowtoCategory

This page is on the HistoryProjectTodoList

• tighten up questions
• adjust questions to be focussed on recalling events and facts and telling stories?