Today we’d like to introduce you to De’vile Mortis
Hi De’Vile , can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have always loved dressing up in costumes and becoming “someone else”. I started as a cosplayer back in 2014. It gave me a sense of euphoria becoming my favorite characters that I saw in books, shows, games. Crafting the costumes and doing my makeup was a good distraction from my everyday life.
Eventually I began to feel disconnected from cosplaying, I wasn’t as euphoric and felt like something was missing. I had lived around the country at this point and finally moved back to Ohio in 2018 when my drive for cosplaying was really dying out. I was in a queer show choir for a few years which helped build some confidence, but it wasn’t enough. And then I went to my first drag show in this state and saw the alternative drag scene for the first time. I saw drag kings and nonbinary performers so in tune with who they were and I just knew in that moment that that’s what was calling me.
I began experimenting with makeup and costuming again (albeit very clunky at first) and I finally stepped onto the stage for the first time in May of 2022. The euphoria was even greater than before, and it just felt right. I felt more myself than I ever have, especially now nearly three years later!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has been very difficult.
I began drag at a time in my life where I didn’t have much direction or purpose. I had died briefly in November of 2021 from complications of serotonin syndrome that led to a massive seizure & cardiac event and it made me lose my way for a while. When I stepped onto the stage in 2022 with the support of my friends and family, it felt like I had direction again. Something that made me happy and I could see a future in.
Columbus was experiencing a boom in the alternative drag scene and I was very excited and proud to be a part of it. From open stages, to being in productions like Scream Queens & Freakshow, there was always an entertaining and inspiring event going on.
I was at a point in my drag career where I was evolving my art, becoming even more comfortable on stage, and getting more opportunities to showcase my art, but it quickly fell apart.
In May of 2023 I got sick. At that time I couldn’t do anything about it, I had no insurance and couldn’t afford to get the medical help I needed. It ended up changing my life. By June 2023, I began experiencing reoccurring seizures and was hospitalized. We found I had brain damage from encephalitis from my sickness, and in turn, developed epilepsy. (Though it took a LONG time and a lot of fighting to finally get that diagnosis) I had to take a break from performing because my mind and body were unable to handle ANYTHING.
I had to move out of Columbus, out of my community and away from my circle, up to Lima, OH where my now husband lived.
When I was finally able to started stepping on the stage again with less issues, it became harder to get bookings because I was at a distance from where the opportunities were, and I couldn’t drive. I relied on the bus or my husband to give me a ride to Columbus or other city in order to do a show, and money was very tight. So traveling wasn’t always an easy option.
The alternative scene is thriving now, but it often feels I have been pushed out (by no ill will of anyone) BECAUSE there’s so many of us. It sometimes feels like it’s easier to book someone who is more readily available/close than help cover the travel costs to have me in a show. I definitely get in my head about it a lot, but I still push through to the best of my ability.
My disability has become more manageable, and I’m eager to get to the point where I CAN travel more easily.
There WAS a queer bar in Lima at one point, but they definitely favored traditional drag and drag queens over the alternative and King art form. (Nothing wrong with that at all! It just made things harder) They ended up closing and there’s now no queer space in Lima, OR Allen County.
I began hosting my own show (De’Viles Inferno) as a passion project of my own to showcase the alternative and non traditional art forms of all types, as well as creating as safe of a space I can in a very NOT safe area. Interest has been established for it, but it’s been hard getting people to come out to a small town to support it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As stated, I am an alternative drag king.
Drag is a performance art where people dress up in costumes, makeup, do choreography, live sing or lip sync to music, MAKE music, act, protest, literally ANY kind of art form can be done in drag. It’s basically theatre, or something you see in a movie, but with an individual’s flair.
I specifically specialize in emotive performances and theatrics. I can do a little dance at times, but I’m honestly not very flexible or super nimble on my feet (though it doesn’t stop me from trying!!)
De’Vile is just a funky way of spelling “Devil” my entire name literally just means “Devil Death” (some people may be surprised to know that my original drag name was De’Vile Milke or “Devil Milk” because I’m lactose intolerant and it was a pun)
My persona is devilish, but not always in the way certain types of people would think. (Christian conservatives would automatically be screaming that I’m a satanist or some kind of sexual deviant towards kids when I’m literally not lol)
De’Vile Mortis’ themes fall heavily on gender and sexuality, religion, mental health, political and societal issues, disability, and literally just.. art.
My drag follows my whims and my emotions, because De’Vile Mortis is ME. My performances are influenced by the tides of my mind, if something needs to be said out loud, I put it in a number. If my community is under attack and we’re hurt or angry, I put it in a number. If I have a concept that I love, it put it in a number. The list goes on.
The thing I’m probably most proud of with my drag, is that I haven’t given up. I continue to create art despite my health and living state. I persevere even with the current political climate attacking me and my community at every turn. I push myself and my own standards while learning and adapting it into my art. I’m proud of the growth I’ve made.
Because of my drive (and support from loved ones) I’ve worked with quite a few Dragula contestants, big name performers of Ohio, AND am now slowly expanding my art outside of Ohio into Michigan with Monster Drag Events. And I plan to continue to aim higher and further out!
What sets me apart from others in my art form is.. they’re not me. People create a persona and an entirely different character for when they perform, but I have been and always will be myself when I’m in drag. I have never felt more correct and whole than when I am in drag as De’Vile Mortis.
I may not be the most talented in dancing or costume making, I may not “make it big” and make it a full time career, I may not do all the things I absolutely WANT to do because things realistically don’t always go that way, but I do everything in my art form with a raw love. This is purely a passion and a NEED to get my art out whether 1 person or 1 million people see it. I put on shows because it’s my own passion, and I don’t care if I make the money back that I put out from my own pocket, simply creating the safe space needed in the time we need it and the art I love fulfills me completely.
How do you define success?
I define success as being seen. As having my message heard and understood by the audience viewing it. By changing the minds of those who are hateful or ignorant.
If I can do a performance and have just ONE person come up to me and talk about how much it has impacted them and made them feel, I have succeeded. And that’s all I want.
Pricing:
- Ohio booking flat fee $75 (if boarding is required it can be negotiated)
- Out of state booking $$ depends on distance/travel & boarding needs (I’m always open for discussion to see how it best works for everyone!)
Contact Info:
