About Local Drag

A home to drag in Australia.

One stage for every king, queen, and everything in between — a free, public directory where Australia's drag talent can be discovered, connected with, and booked.

Free to browse

A pride service

Open to everyone — no paywall to discover talent.

Australia-wide

Every state

Performers from every state and territory, side by side.

Performer-owned

Their stage

Profiles are curated by the artists themselves, on their terms.

The origin

Once upon a sequin…

Local Drag began across the ditch. During Auckland Pride, drag talent was on showcase everywhere — stages packed, performers booked out, the energy electric.

But when a friend of our founder went looking to hire a performer for a corporate event, everyone he knew was already taken. Finding alternatives meant trawling social media, word of mouth, and dead ends.

It became clear the country was missing something obvious: a single place to discover the full breadth of drag talent on offer. Local Drag was built to fill that gap — and Australia's scene has exactly the same gap.

The new stage

The new stage for drag.

The scene is pumping — but finding the right performer is still harder than it should be. Talent is spread across Instagram, Facebook groups, word of mouth, and the occasional flyer at a bar.

For performers it's the same story in reverse: you might be slaying stages in your city, but someone booking in another state would never know you exist.

That's the gap we fill. One place to browse, discover, and connect — whether you're hiring for a sold-out venue or a Sunday brunch.

The craft

Side hustle to centre stage.

Drag is art. It's entertainment. It's culture. But for too many performers in Australia it's still treated like a side hustle — something squeezed in between day jobs and late nights.

We think it deserves better. Local Drag exists to help performers turn their craft into a career: a professional profile that works around the clock, visibility beyond your usual crowd, and a direct line to people ready to book.

As the platform grows, so will the tools. Better discovery, better connections, better opportunities for every performer who calls Australia home. This is just the beginning.

Who it's for

One directory, three doors in.

For performers

A dedicated space to showcase your artistry, list your services, and be found by people actively looking to book — no algorithm, no noise.

For hirers

Browse performers by location, style, and services — whether it's a corporate event, a hens night, a festival, or a screen casting.

For everyone

Explore the directory to discover the kings, queens, and everything in between that make Aotearoa's scene one of a kind.

What we stand for

Built on respect for the craft.

Free pride service

Discovery stays open to all. We're here to grow the scene, not gatekeep it.

Pronouns, always shown

Every profile shows pronouns verbatim — never assumed, never hidden.

Local means local

Browse by state, council area, and suburb, so a search near you actually lands near you.

Artists, not 'talent'

Performers control their own listing, set their own services, and own their stage.

Gage Keenan, founder of Local Drag
Meet the founder

Kia ora, I'm Gage.

Gage Keenan (he/him) is a software engineer in Auckland, New Zealand, and part of the queer community this platform was built for.

That friend in the origin story is real. Seeing the effort it took him to book a performer, Gage realised the missing piece was something he had the skills to build himself.

Local Drag is designed, built, and run by Gage — a bit of a love letter to the art form from an appreciator (not a performer), and a way of giving back to his community as a free pride service.

Ready?

Enough reading. Time to meet the talent.

The kings, queens, and everything in between are waiting just for you.

Explore performers