I was in San Diego in a restaurant back in January 2011 enjoying some food and drinks, when the season premier of season 3 of RuPaul’s Drag Race came on the big screens. The bar was packed, and drag queens hosted and gave away prizes during the show. More than just a TV show, RuPaul’s Drag Race has become a community event.

"I have to tell you I am most proud of that, to have a portal for these young kids to become famous and make money and for bars to celebrate drag. The show was born of our love of drag and the need to show people the art of it. I grew up with it and for a good time there it wasn’t celebrated, it was the ugly stepchild of the gay movement," RuPaul told us. "To have these things happening on the night that it airs is just brilliant for me. I love that it is creating revenue and awareness, but on a deeper level I love that drag exemplifies what we are doing on this planet. We are actually, for lack of a better word, god in drag pretending to be human beings. That is part of the reason why for years people wanted nothing to do with drag because it shines a light on the fact that we are all playing a charade."

GayCalgary Magazine caught up with RuPaul on the phone to get back up to speed on all things drag. RuPaul’s Drag Race airs Monday nights at 9pm Eastern/Pacific, and the show has also lead to two spinoffs: Untucked, a behind the scenes look inside the interior illusions lounge and goings on, and RuPaul’s Drag U which features women getting a drag makeover. Ru says she isn’t surprised that things have exploded from the show.

"I have to admit yes. I am actually surprised that this hasn’t happened before. ...Drag really breaks the fourth wall; if this life we are living is a play that we are all playing roles, drag breaks the fourth wall and says, Madam you know you are not who you are pretending to be. I am surprised more people don’t embrace drag but I know why, because it tells on the ego. If you are in drag around a baby in a stroller, babies are so enthralled with the colour and shiny things, the shapes and forms of drag. We are innately attracted to dressing up and colour."

Fans get invested into the queens on the show. Who can forget Ongina’s emotional breakdown as she revealed she was HIV positive in season 1, or laughing at the celebrity impersonations in the "snatch game." Everyone has their favorite moments and react in different ways. When Raja was crowned champion in Season 3 my reaction was "What?! No!!" based on her attitude and behind the scenes treatment of others.

"Every year people are very emotionally invested and some are very upset with me. Some live and love the winner and others like you are like no no no! There are a lot of reasons for why the winner is chosen. A lot of the behind the scenes stuff, like in the interior illusions lounge, I don’t see until I watch it on TV.  I am surprised sometimes by some of their behavior as you. It is solely based on how they work the challenges out and what ends up on stage, and my expertise of who has what it takes to take it to that next level. We are looking for superstars," Ru explained, adding that she is often surprised when she watches the show. "When I see the girls they are always like, Hey Ru!!! Hiii! When I see the dark side of the moon in the interior illusions lounge it is like, Whoah, I didn’t know you had all of that! There was one point in last season when Alexis Mataeo and Yara Sofia both almost left the show. I didn’t know that happened. Watching Yara be her own saboteur, I saw it onstage when she collapsed and just couldn’t go any further.  But on the actual body of the show I could see her own inner saboteur working on her earlier in the show and doubting herself. It was a very painful study in the human psyche. That is what makes the show so wildly incredible to watch, is that this is all about the human spirit and its need to shine and have colour and love and beauty. That is ultimately what keeps audiences coming back."

It is fun to also see who will appear as judges on the show. On a recent tour stop in Calgary, Henry Rollins talked about his experience judging the show and how he found himself attracted to one of the queens. This season has a list that includes the likes of Elvira, Pamela Anderson, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kelly Osbourn, and Dan Savage.

"The judges as with all people in show business understand that we are all drag queens – once you get onstage you are one character and offstage another person, the one who wipes the babies nappies and gets the dry cleaning. The judges get to share their experience and expertise in the art of duality. I have known Henry Rollins for many years and he is one thing onstage in Black Flag and offstage a lovely, lovely human being. Talk about duality and knowing how to judge what it takes to have a career where you are one thing on and something else off stage. By the way I am sure the queen he was talking about was me!"

With the show’s success they get thousands of video applications. Few actually make the cut for consideration.

"It is very easy. Everyone who has a wig and a pair of high heeled shows thinks they can be on the show. The truth is we are looking for showgirls who have already proven themselves in clubs with the ability to become producers, artists, visionaries, marketing people, designers, because if you are a showgirl you have to be all of those things. That really narrows it down. Once we get a good 20 people which is very easy to do, then it becomes about what the ensemble will look like as a whole. There are times when we have had someone who didn’t work in the ensemble and we brought [them] back the next season."

Season 4’s cast may be the craziest yet: unique looks from The Princess and Sharon Needles to classic beauty like Kenya Michaels and Leshauwn Beyond to comedic performers like Jiggly Caliente.  It shows the variety in the community.

"I don’t know how much we are representing the gay community; we are representing the different genres of drag. We are introducing drag to people who have never heard of it or seen it. Each time we put together a cast it has to represent many different factions. In the case of this current season it is a little edgier then we’ve done before. The kids this season are kind of fearless in a way that they are not concerned with looking girly-girl but with making a statement. We are going to get a lot of Gaga influenced performers in attitude towards show business – a sort of fearlessness. They are crunchier and more ‘monstery’ and not afraid to be ‘not so pretty’, but still pretty amazing."

Season 4 kicked off with the "RuPocalypse" featuring zombies and a post-apocalyptic runway look. The challenges are unique, nervy, and take a lot of talent. Behind them lay lessons not only in being the next drag superstar, but in a lot of ways, life.

"The challenges always start with what is underneath the hood psychologically. Every single thing the girls have done on our show I have had to do in my career to make it work. Beneath it all we are looking to create situations where a psychological process happens and see who these people are and what they are working with. At my house I have a lot of games nights and new people come. One of the reasons I love to play charades is because on the spot, with a timer going, a person has to make the choice whether or not they are going to make a fool of themselves and win at this game, or hide in their insecurities and let the time go by. We are creating situations on the show which challenge each performer to really go for it or not. In this world if you are going to be here you have got to be willing to make a fucking fool out of yourself to get what you want done."