GIRLTALK MAGAZINE
INTERVIEW
By Bijoux Deluxe
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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.
For further information about Kelly Mantle, you can visit www.kellymantle.com.
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.
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