{"id":144949,"date":"2024-01-02T08:44:49","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T13:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=144949"},"modified":"2024-01-09T09:22:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T14:22:57","slug":"ddn-wright-state-grad-competes-on-mtvs-drag-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2024\/01\/02\/ddn-wright-state-grad-competes-on-mtvs-drag-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Dayton Daily News: 2018 Wright State grad competes on MTV\u2019s \u2018Drag Race\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Excerpt<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Dayton native and Wright State University alum Philip Stock ’18 performs drag as Amanda Tori Meating and is among the Season 16 cast of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’<\/p><\/div>\n

Attention staff! Amanda Tori Meating, a drag queen with Dayton roots, is among the 14 contestants on Season 16 of the Emmy Award-winning hit reality television show \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u201d premiering at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5 on MTV.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I perform in drag, there\u2019s no other choice than to be everything I\u2019ve always loved about myself and thought was hilarious, smart, sexy or fierce,\u201d says Philip Stock, a 2018 Wright State University musical theatre graduate who has performed drag as Amanda since 2020. \u201cDrag unleashes the menace I\u2019ve been keeping inside for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike others who auditioned multiple times hoping to be a part of RuPaul\u2019s illustrious troupe, Stock\u2019s first audition video sealed the deal. The call came last spring for the 2014 Stivers School for the Arts graduate to join what continues to be a huge showcase for queer representation globally. The competition comes with a $200,000 grand prize and the title of \u201cAmerica\u2019s Drag Queen Superstar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018\u201dRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u2019 is unquestionably the largest platform for queer people on television,\u201d says Stock, 28. \u201cThere is no other television show where you can see that many queer people in the same room. I was weeping on the phone and was so excited when I got the \u2018Drag Race\u2019 call but I also felt this was always supposed to happen. I sort of have had this narrative in my head of being the underdog, but I knew if I kept hustling and grinding someone would see it eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stock\u2019s drag trajectory can be traced back to being cast in the national tour of the Tony Award-winning musical \u201cKinky Boots\u201d while a senior at Wright State. But before that opportunity arose, there was an underlying feeling drag would only be a secondary outlet, especially since auditions for \u201cThe Book of Mormon,\u201d \u201cA Chorus Line\u201d and similar shows revealed a more traditional, post-collegiate path.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll throughout college I considered myself a fan of drag, a spectator of drag,\u201d Stock explains. \u201cI thought drag would be something I would do on the side to fulfill myself. But there was something about the \u2018Kinky Boots\u2019 experience that made me feel alive. Some friends of mine also said when they saw me in a normal dance audition I was good, but when they saw me audition in heels for shows like \u2018Kinky Boots\u2019 or \u2018La Cage aux Folles\u2019 I was like an unstoppable diva. So, I began to wonder if I was experiencing some sort of gender euphoria in (drag-related) work and started performing in drag in (New York\u2019s) West Village in 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Stock moved to Los Angeles during the coronavirus pandemic, there was ample time to evolve in the art of drag, tapping into the striking duality of comedy and diva that elevates the essence of Amanda\u2019s energetic ferocity.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople dress up in whatever way that makes them feel comfortable, and for me it\u2019s the divine feminine,\u201d Stock says. \u201cEvery single time I\u2019m in drag \u2014 in every show, in every number, every time I was on \u2018Drag Race\u2019 and walked in front of the camera \u2014 there\u2019s just this moment in which I take a breath and allow my body to be possessed by the spirit of sickening and slay. Honestly, I turn off something in my brain to allow something else to take over, which is why I often have very few first-hand memories of my drag performances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stock didn\u2019t start watching \u201cDrag Race\u201d until age 19 but it wasn\u2019t long before dedicated fandom blossomed into full-blown obsession having been inspired by such queens as Willam, Bob the Drag Queen, Bianca Del Rio, Adore Delano, Latrice Royale, and Alyssa Edwards among others. MTV notably describes Amanda as \u201cthe ultimate mix of camp and comedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I was going to be on \u2018Drag Race\u2019 before I started doing drag,\u201d Stock says. \u201cI\u2019ve always considered myself a clown, so I knew these really funny comedy girls were the queens I wanted to model myself after.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without the comfort of having a \u201cdrag family,\u201d Stock, a New York-based wig stylist who has done wigs for \u201cDrag Race\u201d queens Kerri and Salsha Colby, Lizzo and Beyonc\u00e9’s music video dancers, entered the competition confident nonetheless in important tips and pointers from close friends. However, nothing compared to the meaningful magnitude of advice received on the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe environment of \u2018Drag Race\u2019 in which you are presenting your work to be critiqued by judges such as RuPaul and Michelle Visage \u2014two of the highest authorities of drag \u2014 was a gift,\u201d Stock says. \u201cAs an artist, when you receive feedback or critique you take it as an opportunity to grow. I went to college for musical theatre \u2014 not drag. At Wright State, I had professors giving me notes and adjustments, which I took, applied and moved on. Going into \u2018Drag Race\u2019 I was a little nervous to be critiqued but while I was in it, I realized the critiques were making me better. And I did receive my share of critiques on the main stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, Stock suggests the competition grew heated inside RuPaul\u2019s Werk Room but assures a close-knit sisterhood took place in spite of catty battles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t get along with everybody, but I did get along with a lot of people very well,\u201d Stock says. \u201cI developed very close friendships I would say are sister friendships or mother friendships. Also, seeing the way the other girls did their drag was so transformative.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the season premiere approaches, Stock reiterates the joy of performing in drag.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m gifting the audience an experience. I am in my fantasy and everyone else is merely along for the ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dayton, buckle up.<\/p>\n

View the original story at daytondailynews.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Philip Stock, a 2018 Wright State University musical theatre graduate is among the 14 contestants on Season 16 of the Emmy Award-winning hit reality television show \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u201d on MTV. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":144954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[730],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wright-state-in-the-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144949"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145726,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144949\/revisions\/145726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}