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Peaches Christ
Midnight Mass Insanity
Peaches Christ
is a San Francisco legend: performer, producer, emcee and filmmaker.
From the stage of Trannyshack to the silver screen, she shocks and
astounds. Peaches spent a few moments of her busy schedule to have a
few words with us and share her enthusiasm for movies, makeup and
audience participation mayhem.
ErosZine: Tell us how the character Peaches Christ came to be.
Peaches Christ: I was directing a movie in central Pennsylvania called
Jizzmopper: A Love Story back in 1995. The film called for a drag queen
manager of an adult emporium and the queen we’d hired to do the part
was a major flake. Because we were shooting on film I couldn’t really
afford to tolerate her not showing up or being un-professional. Sooo...
I fired the queen! The problem was that there weren’t very many guy
actors in Central PA chomping at the bit to get into drag and star in a
movie called Jizzmopper. I ended up stepping in and doing the role
myself. I ended up directing the movie while in full drag. This
is where Peaches was born. The 10-year anniversary of Peaches’ debut is
actually this month. Shit, you’re making me get all nostalgic. Sniff.
Sniff.
EZ: That is touching! So you've appeared in films and you produce
films. Where/when did your fascination with the silver screen begin?
PC: I’ve always loved movies. I’m guessing I liked movies the first time I was exposed to them.
EZ: So what was your childhood like? Were you obsessed with movies even then? Makeup?
PC: I was definitely obsessed with movies and makeup, but really gross
and scary make-up. I loved horror movies. I loved Freddy Krueger. Now,
that’s some fierce drag! Have you seen her nails? I was really into
scaring people and putting on haunted trails in the forest near my
parents’ house. It would take me an entire year to put these things
together. I’d write scripts and scenes with full dialogue and lighting
cues. I’d put a crew together to build sets. We did an entire living
room with a working fireplace, built coffins, butcher shops, bloody
bubbling aquariums, whatever the script called for. Then I’d hold
auditions! All the neighborhood kids would come and try-out and I’d
cast the show. My parents were very supportive. My mom would sell
tickets and my dad would run the chain saw at the very end of the
trail. My brother and sister were always cast in the show. Folks would
come from all over to check out our haunted trails. This sort of sums
up what I was like as a kid.
EZ: Incredible! So you’ve been a “producer” your entire life! You currently produce a number of events. Tell us about them.
PC: Well, I’m best known for Midnight Mass, which is my midnight movie
series featuring a live action pre-show. It’s kind of hard to sum up
because the shows really vary for each feature film. You show up and we
could be having special celebrity guests (Tura Satana, Mink Stole,
etc.), a full musical production, drag-queen roller-derby,
mother/daughter mud-wrestling or some other crazy spectacle we’ve put
together. The shows correspond to whatever film we’re featuring.
Midnight Mass encourages lots of audience participation and crowds
dress up in costumes, yell things at the screen, compete in our
contests. Midnight Mass usually happens in San Francisco but we’ve also
started taking the show on the road. Look for it at a city near you! I
also produce the SF Underground Short Film Festival, which is an event
designed to showcase Bay Area filmmakers that are often overlooked by
other festivals. We show the kind of films I really like. It’s an
evening of outrageous entertainment and we’ve now had five festivals.
The point is to create a short film festival that’s the opposite of
boring.
EZ: Midnight Mass sounds like Rocky Horror, but with all sorts of other movies. What sort of "participation" takes place?
PC: Well, my favorite annual audience participation gimmick is our
“Free Lapdances with Every Large Corn” segment preceding Showgirls. The
theatre always sells tons of large corns and I’m sure to book at least
one dozen lap-dancers for each Showgirls pre-show. The fun part is that
I don’t like “traditional” lap-dancers, so I try to find the craziest,
scariest, most hideous lap-dancers I possibly can. I introduced the
“girls” and you can literally see people in the audience start hiding
their popcorns under their chairs or coats. This year one of the
lap-dancers came as Gollum. Seriously! People were freaking out. This
is also how our Midnight Mass character Troll Girl first debuted. It’s
literally this thing dressed like a girl with the head of a troll doll.
It will hump your leg and lick the wall. She’s nasty. She was a
lap-dancer that went on to be featured in a number of our pre-shows.
Audiences loved her! She later starred in my movie Season of the Troll.
EZ: You’ve had some pretty spectacular special guests. How do you approach them, ask them to appear?
PC: I figure out the best way to make contact and go for it. I
introduce myself and pitch the show to them. I’ve been lucky that most
people I’ve pitched to have been receptive. It hasn’t always worked
out, but when it does, it’s been fantastic. Often, there are fees,
incidentals, contracts, etc. We work this out with agents and lawyers.
The fun part for me, though, is actually getting to spend time with
folks I really love and admire. I got to open this year’s Midnight Mass
with Tura Satana. We did two shows together and I really fell in love
with her. I’ve been obsessed with Varla and Faster Pussycat! Kill!
Kill! for so long and it was such a thrill to spend time with her
on-stage and off. We’ve had Mink Stole at Midnight Mass twice now and
she is an idol of mine. I really want to bring Elvira sometime!
EZ: Does the SF Underground Short Film Fest bring in work from people
outside SF, or locals? What sort of films, artists, subject matter?
PC: It basically features works by residents of the Bay Area. It can be
any sort of film. It just needs to be 15 minutes or less and fit into
our idea of an entertaining program. We’ve shown all sorts of films,
from high-art to cinematic trash.
EZ: You are an "alter ego." What specifics of your personality shine through more as Peaches?
I’m sure there’s crossover everywhere, but Peaches is definitely her
own sort of character. She’s constantly evolving and has her own story,
ideas, friends, sexuality (or lack thereof). Peaches is a public
person and doesn’t really have any secrets. She’s super
self-deprecating and not afraid to be silly, beautiful, smart, ugly...
EZ: And as Joshua?
PC: Joshua tends to be a bit more dull, business-minded and an admitted
workaholic. He’s grateful for all the fantastic folks who work with him
so that he and Peaches can continue producing shows, movies, music,
etc. Peaches keeps Joshua busy.
EZ: Better still, what parts of your psyche are repressed as Peaches?
PC: Peaches doesn’t have sex.
EZ: Hmm, okay! So, what are your best glamour tips? Any dos and don'ts?
PC: Do your own thing. Experiment and stick with stuff that works, even
if people tell you it doesn’t, even if people say you look like a
clown! I don’t think there are any don’ts.
EZ: I agree! You’ve done many shows at Trannyshack. What kind of numbers have you performed? Humorous? Horrifying?
PC: I’ve been a performer at Trannyshack since the beginning and have
done all sorts of stuff there. Thank god for Trannyshack! I’d have
spent a fortune on therapy by now if I weren’t able to go over there
and work through some demons every once in a while. I also co-produce
the annual bus trip to Reno with Trannyshack hostess Heklina. That’s a
favorite. We take a huge busload of SF queens up to Reno for the
weekend. It’s insane.
EZ: Any backstage dish?
PC: Hmmm, Heklina is obsessed with money. Vinsantos is a snob.
Putanesca is a whore. Actually, I guess I don’t really have much dish
because everyone knows all this.
EZ: San Francisco has a really amazing underground, freak scene. How long have you lived there?
PC: I love San Francisco and hope to make my first feature film here.
I’m currently traveling with my short film retrospective but am very
clear with potential investors that the film needs to stay in San
Francisco. I’ve been here over nine years and feel like I’ve been
able to do all that I’ve done because of San Francisco and the
fantastic people here. The people who work on my shows, my films, my
music, they aren’t making tons of money yet. They’ve stayed loyal to
me, are super creative and generous people.
EZ: Would you consider doing what you do anywhere else?
PC: I think in LA or New York it would be more difficult for me to find
such a supportive community. Even the mainstream [in San Francisco]
supports me! I sometimes think it’s crazy that I end up in the
Chronicle or on the news like any other San Francisco notable would.
I’m named after Jesus for chrissake! Anyway, I’m proud to call San
Francisco my home.
EZ: What are your favorite films?
PC: Oh god, I can’t ever effectively answer this question. All of the
films I’ve booked for Midnight Mass are favorites and so many more.
We’ll be here all day if I attempt any sort of list.
EZ: Well, thank you for spending some time with us, Peaches! We’ll look
forward to enjoying some large corn with you soon! Click on www.peacheschrist.com for the Midnight Mass film schedule and more about Peaches.
[Written Sept. 2005]
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