Totally fab: Pittsburgh Drag Queen Storytime promotes diversity, self-expression — and fun

Miss Akasha L. Van-Cartier never imagined herself putting on a ball gown and dancing with a bubble machine alongside some of Pittsburgh’s youngest kids.

A female impersonator for the last 16 years, she mostly takes center stage at LGBT bars or in flamboyant pageantry around the city.

But Miss Akasha likes volunteering and being a positive role model for diversity and inclusion. After all, she got her start performing in benefit shows.

“I’ve always been interested in giving back to the community,” says Miss Akasha, 34, of the South Side. “This comes full circle for me.”

Her monthly Drag Queen Storytime launched at The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s North Side branch in October with the goal of broadening perspectives, challenging gender stereotypes and building self-confidence in style. The next one is planned for Dec. 16.

The storytime program – geared for kids from toddlers through grade 5 – is co-led by a children’s librarian. Miss Akasha comes glammed to the nines with makeup, hair styled, and a custom-made dress. Stories focus on respect, diversity, self-confidence, dignity, kindness, and embracing self-expression. The program always includes lots of singing and dancing with scarves.

“It’s a program that shows people it’s OK to be themselves,” says Caitie Morphew, lead librarian supervisor for children and teen services at the library. “Everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in what they’re reading. I thought, ‘Why not Pittsburgh?’ Pittsburgh has such a rich diversity of people. It seemed like a good fit.”

Drag Queen Story Hour was created in San Francisco in 2014 by Michelle Tea and RADAR Productions. Morphew got the idea to bring Drag Queen Storytime to Pittsburgh’s library scene.

Looking closely at the community demographics, she says, librarians determined Drag Queen Storytime would be a good fit. When the program was announced, the library was flooded with an “overwhelmingly positive” number of calls and emails from people excited about the new idea.

“We have a lot of LGBTQ families who are looking for queer-friendly events, and we wanted to present a positive queer role model through this,” Morphew says. “Often times, it’s very isolating being a parent. It can be even more isolating if you’re a queer parent.”

The program has brought out anywhere from 40 to 100 people each month with parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles joining in the fun.

Miss Akasha, who is played by Michael King, emphasizes that the program is for everyone.

At storytime, she encourages children to dress up in their own costumes, have fun and be themselves.

“It’s a nice little costume party for us every month,” she says.

Together, the kids, parents and Miss Akasha do a craft, like making crowns, “so everyone realizes they too can be a king or queen.”

“The most important thing for me is teaching parents that everything I’m doing here, they can do inside their own homes,” Miss Akasha says. “You can embrace that character at home. You can be that queen at home.”

Through Drag Queen Storytime, she’s watched children come out of their shell and gain confidence in themselves. She hopes it’s making them realize it’s OK to accept others who are different.

“We live in a new time in 2017,” Miss Akasha says. “We have to show them there’s so much more to life.”

The pilot program is scheduled through January at the North Side branch with other locations under consideration next.