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Hale Fishman ’21

Hale Fishman ’21 is a part-time drag historian and playwright with a focus on writing for trans and queer bodies. Fishman also performs across New York state as the drag king Jack Vanity, the first drag king to win the Purchase Fall Ball drag competition overall.

Fishman’s senior project was an original play about the struggles of a trans man coming out and exploring the dating field—a perfect mix of a straight play and a glamorous drag piece. View Cheat Day on Vimeo and check out its behind-the-scenes progress on Instagram.

Jack Vanity has performed under many names across New York State since 2018. Originating his career at Purchase, Jack began to slowly branch out around Westchester and Brooklyn before the pandemic, before re-emerging in his final form in a play about a trans drag king.

From there, Jack took on a life of his own, and after coming home from college, began to perform around Syracuse, Rochester, and most recently Watertown. Jack was the first drag king to win Wunderbar’s Fresh Face Pageant in November 2021, and the Season 3 Winner of the Cub Competition at ROAR in Rochester. He hopes to continue breaking down barriers in performances for other kings.