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GIRLTALK MAGAZINE

By Bijoux Deluxe

Fresh, vibrant and a lot more than just another pretty face, Kelly Mantle is all that and well, you get the idea. Actress, model, rock star. Unafraid and unapologetic. I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Kelly on a shoot for the Oxygen network and decided that she would make an ideal covergirl. Not only is she stunningly beautiful (bitch!), she has a unique charm and a heart of gold that I found too good to be true.

BD: Twisted, I love it. Just for some background, how did you get your start in show business?

KM: After being turned down for the title role in our community theatre production of "Annie" at the age of 5 (I don't know whygender specifics, I suppose), I started my mission to conquer the stage. I used to watch The Carol Burnett Show religiously as a child, and I just knew that that's what I wanted to do. So I started acting on the stage very early.

After graduating from high school, I attended The University Of Oklahoma and received a B.F.A. in Theatre. I had so many good acting teachers there, and I was afforded the opportunity to play such a wide variety of roles. After graduating from OU, I moved to Chicago to begin my professional acting career. Chicago was such a great place to work my acting chops on the stage because it has such a strong theatre community. It was there that I got my first agent, and started dabbling in TV and Film. But after two years in the snow, I decided it was time to take the leap into Hollywood. I love it out here. Fortunately, I've landed very good agents who keep me busy on the screen. I still do theatre every chance I get, and I've been able to get my music off the ground. So here I am tryin' to add a little emotion to the motion. I love show business. I can't imagine any other life for me.

BD: There's no business like it. No business I know. What's been your most memorable performance to date?

KM: Oh geez, there've been so many. Bad memorable or good memorable? (Laughs.) There were so many fun productions in Chicago that I was involved with that ran for a year or longer. There was the world premiere of "Tony and Tony's Wedding", which was the gay spin-off of "Tony and Tina's Wedding." I also had the chance to play the leading lady in Charles Busch's "Vampire Lesbians Of Sodom" both in Chicago and in Los Angeles.
But I guess my most memorable experience, the one I'm most proud of, would be an all-male production of "Lone Star and Laundry and Bourbon". My friend, Tracy Parks, and I started our own theatre company while in Chicago, and this was our first production to mount. It was such a great challenge, not only being on the producing end, but we, the actors, played the women in "Laundry and Bourbon" and then turned around after a really quick make up change, and played the men in "Lone Star." (The two one-acts are always performed back to back.) And these are broad southern characters, so we really had to explore the extremes of femininity and masculinity on a very realistic level. We received a lot of acclaim for that production, and it was mentioned as one of the best of the year in The Chicago Tribune. So, I was really proud of that.

BD: Is there any chance of you reviving the show here in LA?

KM: Actually, yes. We're in discussions to mount the show in LA. We already have the rights to the concept, so it's just a matter of fitting it into everyone's schedules.

BD: We know that you perform both as a male and female. Do you have a preference?

KM: Wonderful segue. ;-) Well as I mentioned with "Lone Star/Laundry and Bourbon", I really enjoy both equally. I love exploring and redefining gender. Cuz gender is so much more complex than special effects, ya know? And yet it's all extensions of who I am. I'm here to celebrate individual complexity. I will not be typecast into one thing dammit! (Laughs.) So I will continue to perform as a boy and as a girl and everything in between.

BD: Tell us about the band you perform with: "Sex with Lurch". Who came up with that name?

KM: Sex With Lurch is so much fun. It's an eclectic sizzling sensation of transvestite surf glitter rock. How's that? (Laughs.) It's like a circus sideshow actually, and I love it. Me and my Lurchette trannie sister, Electra Lux, get to be nasty chain-smokin' rocker chicks. And ya know, I don't trust any queen who's wig don't smell like smoke. (Laughs.) Robbie Quine (the lead singer/guitarist) and Bernard Yin (the guitarist) put the band together. And Robbie came up with the name. Our keyboard player, Richard Pilawski, actually dresses up as Lurch and looks just like him. So it's good music and a theatrical production combined. It's good dysfunctional family fun.

BD: While we're on the subject of family, you're uncle is the world-renowned New York Yankees baseball hero, Mickey Mantle. Obviously the apple fell far from the tree in your case (athletically speaking). How did your family react when you told them about your career dressing as a woman?

KM: And to think, I was never even tempted by the athletic apple. (Laughs.) No, my family's amazing! In addition to Mickey, I come from a family full of athletes. My dad's a high school football coach and my brother is a college basketball coach. And then came me! I think I was a breath of fresh air to my family though. Something new, something fresh, something funky.

My parents embraced and even encouraged me and my crazy ass ways. Hell, they're so hysterical and theatrical in their own southern ways, that it just seemed appropriate that they would produce a performer. They've supported me and my choices to go into show business from the beginning. Never once was I forced to play sports or looked down on for not playing them. And that really says a lot for my family and who they are, especially being in a small Oklahoma town where sports are almost a royal event. But they've always encouraged me to do what I want to do, and to be the best in doing it.
They love seeing me perform--in and out of drag. I recently went home and showed them a video of a drag performance I did at Club Makeup, and they were hootin' and hollerin'. The next day, my mom asked me if I could do her make up for her!

BD: I know what you mean, my mother practically refused to let me visit unless I have a full makeup kit with me. Well, Like me, you come from a small town in Oklahoma. Personally, I'm glad that I grew up in a tiny little town because there was that feeling of security and familiarity that I just don't think you get in a large metropolis. How did growing up in the Midwest mold your future?

KM: A fellow Okie girl! Oh, it definitely had a huge impact on who I am. While I was there, I hated it! But looking back on it, I'm so thankful I grew up there. Ya know? Growing up in rural Oklahoma, I'd walk out my back door and have a huge empty wheat field to play in. So it almost forced me to use my imagination. And girl, I built so many imaginary worlds back there. But it really taught me how to be creative in a fearless way. Not to mention that the South/the Midwest is the best training grounds for a drag queen cuz honey the women there ARE drag queens! My mom won't leave the house until her hair and makeup are done perfectly.

BD: Would you ever give up all this glamour and move back? If so, why?

KM: Well they always say you can take a girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl. But no, never! I love it for what it is. I love to go back and visit. Ride a horse from time to time. But I feed off of the fast-paced chaos of the cityin my country ways, of course.

BD: Agreed. Visit- yes; live- no. You play the anti-Christ in the film "The Convent" (now being released worldwide on DVD). Tell us about that.

KM: "The Convent" was such a great experience. It was really my first major role in a semi-major movie. And what better way than to lose my virginity to the Anti-Christ. Right? We had so much fun filming it. It stars the tough and lovely Adrienne Barbeau and that hot hot rapper, Coolio. It was accepted and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. So I got to experience Sundance for the first time. Hollywood in the snow. The film's being released on DVD December 11. So go rent it!

BD: We will! Thanks so much Kelly. You're a class act, doll.

Special thanks to ForPlay Cataloque, Bryant Woodd, Alicia Lawhon, and Koi for their amazing contributions to Kelly's wardrobe, Tish Ciravolo at Daisy Rock Girl Guitars for providing Heartbreaker Guitar (www.daisyrock.com), the city of Los Feliz and its residents, Deana Desmond and the Queen Mary Show Lounge.