Ever wondered how legendary “RuPaul’s Drag Race” queens like Trixie Mattel, Bob the Drag Queen and Monet X Change, managed to sashay their way into drag stardom? The answer lies, at least partly, in Emmy-Winning casting director Goloka Bolte.
Bolte, who founded the Creative Content Group casting agency, joined the “Drag Race” team as a casting director in 2013 ahead of Season 6. Since then, Bolte and her team have given platforms to some of the show’s most famous queens, earning an impressive eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Casting on “Drag Race,” winning the award for casting both Season 12 and Season 13.
Prior to Bolte joining the series, “Drag Race” was cast internally by its production company, World of Wonder.
Following the success of Season 17, which aired its finale in April, Bolte sat down with Parade to reveal plenty of juicy behind-the-scenes secrets about the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” casting process.
It Takes More Than Lip Sync Skills to Snatch a Spot on the Show
While former “Drag Race” stars like Morphine Love Dion, Suzie Toot and Kennedy Davenport have established themselves as “Lip Sync Assassins” on the show, Bolte revealed that only multi-faceted queens become Ru-girls.
Getty“We can’t just cast [queens] based on their personality. We can’t just cast them based on their drag skills, because it’s not even one particular drag skill,” said Bolte. “Drag isn’t just one thing. They dance, they sing, they do choreography, they make outfits, they produce shows, they act, they do comedy characters. We’re looking for so many things in a single drag queen competitor.”
She continued: “It’s really about finding out who has all of these skills wrapped in one package and can compete in the format that is ‘Drag Race’.”
Queens’ Application Videos are 20 Minutes Long!
Similar to other reality series like “Survivor,” the casting process for “Drag Race” always begins with an audition tape. In the extensive tapes, prospective queens are required to include footage of lip sync performances, mock confessionals, and trial runs at a number of classic “Drag Race” challenges, including the notorious Snatch Game. All in all, Bolte reported that the average audition tape comes in at around 20 minutes long!
“The package is pretty extensive,” Bolte said. “I like to think of it as the first challenge of the show. How you present yourself on this tape makes a huge difference. It is a format that allows our queens to really show their creativity.”
She continued: “You can sit there and answer some questions on tape and do a challenge cut and dry. But people that really have fun with it and have a great sense of humor are able to show that.”
Another requirement for every “Drag Race” audition tape? A lip sync performance to one of RuPaul’s original songs.
“By the time we finish casting. I have a RuPaul song stuck in my head for weeks afterwards,” admitted Bolte. “It’s the soundtrack of my life, and I’m literally just walking around humming them constantly.”
Snatch Game Choices can Kill an Audition Tape
Ever since “Drag Race” aired its very first Snatch Game episode in Season 2, the challenge has become a trademark of the series, resulting in stand-out impersonations of Judge Judy (Bianca del Rio), Judy Garland (Jinkx Monsoon) and Cher (Chad Michaels).
GettyAs such an iconic challenge, it’s no surprise that prospective queens are required to provide a few Snatch Game character options as part of their audition tapes. With thousands of tapes to comb through, however, Bolte encourages queens to be bold.
“Really be creative with your characters and really research their mannerisms,” said Bolte, adding, “I think we’ve definitely had some years where we’ll get a YouTube makeup artist, and it’s so much of the same.”
She continued: “You really want people to stand out and do something different and not do the same characters that are popular on TikTok. If this person’s popular right now, and you don’t think you are going to be the very best at portraying the character, then dig a little deeper and do a bit of research and find a character that you can really shine in.”
Producers Don’t Meet the Queens In-Person Until Filming Begins
With new seasons of “Drag Race,” including its “All Stars” and international spin-offs dropping just weeks apart, Bolte similarly revealed that the casting process has become fairly streamlined.
Getty“I go through all the tapes, all the thousands of applications, and I cull it all down to a curated list that the producers and RuPaul look over. Basically, the people that are selected from that go right into phone calls and Zooms with producers. But we don’t do in-person casting finals or anything like that. It’s a pretty efficient process,” said Bolte.
In the End, Casting Decisions are RuPaul’s to Make
As Bolte revealed, no final casting decisions are made without approval from the “Queen of Drag,” RuPaul, himself.
“RuPaul watches as many of the tapes as possible. I give him a really healthy list to choose from, and RuPaul is incredibly hands-on picking who ends up on the show,” said Bolte.
That being said, between hosting “Drag Race,” “All Stars,” “Drag Race UK” and “UK vs. The World,” RuPaul’s busy schedule keeps him from casting the show single-handedly.
Getty“It’s definitely a collaboration,” said Bolte. “Everyone has their favorite that they’ll fight for, and they’re like ‘This is the person I’ll die on my sword for.’ Everyone definitely has input. But if [RuPaul] really likes a queen and feels that she’s talented, it goes a really long way as far as who ends up on the show.”
Hormona Lisa Applied Before her Viral In-Person Casting
Former “Drag Race” contestant Hormona Lisa seemingly made history on Season 17 as the first queen to be cast on the show “without auditioning.” In a moment at the Atlanta stop of RuPaul’s “House of Hidden Meanings” book tour that has since gone viral, Hormona was personally invited to compete on Season 17 by the host.
GettyAccording to Bolte, however, that’s not exactly how it happened.
“Hormona Lisa made a very, very, very good audition tape,” said Bolte. “She auditioned and got her tape in before the deadline, just like everybody else on Season 17. As long as I’ve been working on [‘Drag Race’], every single queen has made the audition tape. It’s not optional.”
Bar Hormona, Season 3 winner Raja, who appeared on the show before Bolte joined as casting director in 2013, is the only other queen who has ever claimed to have been invited to compete without auditioning.
Past ‘Drag Race’ Queens can Nominate New Contestants
Speaking of former queens, Bolte similarly revealed that the show’s past contestants are free to recommend their favorite undiscovered entertainers for the show. While a reference alone won’t secure a queen a spot on the cast, it can encourage Bolte and her team to reach out and ask them to audition.
“We definitely use our network,” said Bolte. “We definitely reach out to different drag bars, figure out who’s up and coming. We get referrals from past queens. We do a lot of online scouting.”
If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try and Try Again
While some “Drag Race” legends, like Jinkx Monsoon and Valentine, landed a spot on the cast after just one audition, others spent years re-working their tapes to snatch RuPaul’s attention.
Getty“We have running lists of people, and we really keep track of everyone. [Queens that have] auditioned before, we have a note ‘Keep an eye out and see where they are. See how their drag’s improved. Encourage them to apply again, because we definitely want to see more of them,” revealed Bolte.
A Drag Family Legacy Isn’t Required, But it Doesn’t Hurt Either
Queens with connections prior to their casting have resulted in some of the most dramatic moments in “Drag Race” history, including Alyssa Edwards’ and Coco Montrese’s iconic Season 5 feud and the reunion of RoLaskaTox (Roxxxy Andrews, Alaska and Detox) on “All Stars 2.”
Similarly, “Drag Race” casting is defined by its inclusion of drag families, like Sasha and Kerri Colby or Alexis and Vanessa ‘Vanjie’ Mateo. These legacies rarely go unnoticed on the series, and oftentimes result in juicy TV drama.
GettyAccording to Bolte, however, “We look for these interesting, organic connections to come up, but it’s not a necessity for the show.”
She continued: “At the end of the day, they want great drag queens, but if there’s some drama already in the works, no one is going to say no to that.”
A Tragic Backstory Won’t Necessarily Get You Cast
While Bolte admits that “Drag Race” wants to see queens’ vulnerability and flaws in their audition tapes, she added that a positive attitude can make a major difference when it comes to getting cast on the show.
“I love outtakes and people laughing at their own outtakes and flubbing words. I love things that really show who the real person is, rather than perfectly rehearsed answers,” said Bolte. “Ultimately, don’t try to be a perfect image of what you think you should be. Show us who you are.”
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Casting Director Reveals 10 Things You Never Knew About ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’