The queen, who once called Williamsport and the surrounding communities home for many years, began really locking into her artform during her time in the area.

Mandy said she came to Williamsport after graduating from West Chester University to serve as an infectious disease nurse for the AIDS Resource Center.

A theater lover from a young age, Mandy said she didn’t consider becoming a drag performer until taking part in a show hosted by West Chester University’s theatre program in college.

She said she was asked to perform a piece as Lola from the hit Broadway show “Kinky Boots.”

PHOTO PROVIDED Mandy Mango, who was recently a contestant on season 18 of RuPaul's Drag Race, dug into her performance career in Central Pa.

“My castmates had asked if I’d done this kind of thing before,” she said. “I said no and they told me I needed to keep going.”

She said it became a bit of an inside joke amongst her friends that she was extremely good at live performances like that. Ultimately her passion was cemented when she performed a drag show in college.

Following this performance, Mandy said she was itching to do more. She said she felt there was a difference between the charity performance she did as Lola from “Kinky Boots” versus the drag show she’d taken part in while in college.

She said the cabaret performance felt just like theatre, but by the drag show she’d coined her name — Mandy Mango — and really owned it.

“I had been holding off on doing drag despite me being very involved in theatre and being interested. I knew if I wanted to do drag, I had to build the whole persona. I knew then that being a drag queen was so much more than just lip syncing or dancing,” she said.

PHOTO PROVIDED Mandy Mango, who was recently a contestant on season 18 of RuPaul's Drag Race, dug into her performance career in Central Pa.

And where did her stage name come from?

Mandy said it came from a fun night with friends. She said her friend found a package of dried mango slices from the Philippines. Mandy herself is Filipino and extremely proud of her heritage.

“I was like, I am a literal Filipino mango… a Filipino fruit,” she recalled. “I said to my friends that if I had a drag name, I think my last name would have to be mango.”

From there, she and her friends went around trying to find the perfect first name. Ultimately, Mandy stuck.

“It felt cosmic the way it matches my sweet personality. And my birthday happens to be the same day as National Mango Day,” she added.

PHOTO PROVIDED Mandy Mango, who was recently a contestant on season 18 of RuPaul's Drag Race, dug into her performance career in Central Pa.

With only one performance under her belt but a deep passion for the artform, Mandy soon found herself in Williamsport where her career passions and performance passions crossed paths.

She told The Express she’d taken a job at the AIDS Resource Center as an infectious disease nurse in Lycoming County. Before long, she became an artist in residency at The Pajama Factory.

“They allowed me to use an art studio space for three months during the summer where I set up shop. I pretty much learned to sew, taught myself how to style wigs and really dove into my make up and fleshed out all of these foundational skills,” she said.

Mandy’s first performance in Central PA would even take place in The Pajama Factory’s community room.

She said this is where she really dug deep into the parts of drag performances that can be overlooked at times. She noted many queens can focus on the foundational skills surrounding their costumes, make up and hair. However, the production piece is also vital.

“What I didn’t expect to find really valuable lessons in is how to produce your own show,” she said. “I think younger, newer queens kind of understand the aspect of putting in the work to be well rounded. But I think it’s sometimes missed about how much of the business aspect exists.”

This production side, she said is key to ensure an audience, which — in turn — can help with costs.

“Not everything is about money, but there is that aspect,” she said.

That first show, she said she really learned a lot about herself and how to get the word out about her shows.

“It taught me a lot about knowing myself and my drag and how to communicate that to people that are completely new to it, and really appreciating all the work that goes into a drag show,” she said.

For Mandy, a big part of her work is trying to connect to those who may not understand drag performances as the artform it is.

“We love the part about getting applause, getting tips. But I really saw before my very own eyes how people were changing in the community,” she said.

She noted drag isn’t anything new in media, from Madea to Mrs. Doubtfire, it’s always been about having fun and making people laugh sometimes.

She said communities, such as drag, can often be polarizing, but she looks to help bridge a gap and open up conversations in a healthy way with her performance.

“This is the ground where we could agree. If that’s our starting point then maybe we can have a little deeper conversation there,” she said. “Things can get tense when we talk about polarizing issues. Drag is a fun way to get people on the bridge and meet halfway so as not to feel threatened.”

She acknowledged drag and drag performances can be overwhelming for those unfamiliar with it.

“I give a level of grace because, if you’re not familiar with it, it is a wildly different culture,” she said. “I also had to have a moment where I was being introduced to gay culture and drag, and it was a shock to me.”

“So I can imagine how it is on their side too,” she said.

However, she emphasized drag shows aren’t necessarily inappropriate or risque. They can also be just about fun and similar to theatre.

“It is like it is with movies, theatres and art, there is a spectrum to it,” she said.

Mandy reflected on her first performance in Williamsport, noting she loves to reminisce on it.

“It was the Williamsport Pride Drag Show. It was the first one, it sold out. People were so excited and I was so excited,” she said.

She noted, the community room didn’t have air conditioning and she performed in July. She said she had photos from that day which she finds a bit comical to see.

“My wig came off! My make up melted off of my face so you can see my forehead and eyes dripping in a fully rainbow stone dress,” she said. “To see it now is so funny.”

“It’s a very visual way of being like ‘let’s literally see how far I’ve come’ because it was nearly six years ago,” she said.

In total, Mandy held six performances in the Lycoming/Clinton/Centre area over two years before deciding to return home to the Philly area.

However, central Pa. truly became a home away from home for her.

“When I moved to the area I had only lived in the Philly suburbs. I already knew I was a city girl, I love the big city,” she said. However, she chose Williamsport to offer a new perspective.

“I wanted to put myself out of my comfort zone. I needed to surround myself with people who were different from me. I knew I’d be one of the first visibly queer people and a person of color too in that space,” she said. “I’m happy to look back and say it did have an impact.”

She said it feels so important for people to get out and see parts of the world if they can, even if they ultimately return to their roots.

“It’s also important to come back and share information from the outside,” she said.

After returning to the Philadelphia area, Mandy said she decided to fully commit to her performances — while still continuing to follow her passion in nursing.

That’s when she decided to apply for a spot on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

She explained the auditioning process is rigorous and involves a variety of factors.

“You have to submit a written application, then after you submit that they send you instructions for the audition tape,” she said.

She said her instructions involved submitting about 18 to 20 minutes of various things such as a personal interview out of drag; a performance of a piece by your favorite artist, one from RuPaul All Stars and other talents outside of lip syncing. They also ask for two Snatch Games characters and some reading challenges for past RuPaul’s contestants. A final piece to the puzzle was submitting a collection of runway looks.

To do all of this, Mandy said she had to prepare for a year.

It was during this, Mandy said she had a moment of reflection and really decided she was going to give this her all.

“I reached a point with drag where it was costing me money, and was getting tiring so either I leveled up and made it an ongoing career or backtracked,” she said.

Thanks to the support of her friends, she was able to complete the process and submit her work.

“The week of the deadline for the tape, I was trying to get all of the last of the stuff and, in trying to film some of that, I essentially had a panic attack and thought ‘I don’t think I can do this,'” she said.

However, her friends were quick to step in.

“They said ‘girl, you got this all together. Let us help you and we can get it done on time,'” she said.

With their help, she was able to submit everything just two minutes before the deadline.

“It was my first time auditioning and I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. But there’s things, as you can imagine, the twists and turns just from the beginning,” she said. “It all caught me pleasantly off guard,” she said.

Though she was eliminated early in the season, Mandy said she cherishes the time she spent on the show and the memories she made with her cast mates.

She said she became close with fellow contestant Mia Starr, sharing one sweet moment between the two.

“She happened to see me practicing for the Girl Group Challenge and pulled me aside and said ‘Mandy, I didn’t know you were a dancer,'” she recalled.

She said it felt like such an honor coming from someone who had choreographed for performers like Shakira and Britney Spears.

“I didn’t have the best run and it certainly didn’t feel like that when I was there. Mia kept me so grounded,” she said. “When you’re there in the bottom three weeks and hearing how much of a star you are and bringing that out is the perfect drive for competition.”

She also spoke about hearing the girls’ perspectives during Lip Sync for Your Life — a final challenge to see which of the bottom two queens will remain in competition.

Mandy said during her performance she’d taken off the table.

“At the end of the lip sync, it’s emotionally intense. I go back and Briar Blush is sobbing and she is holding and offering up to me one of my ceramic bunnies from my table,” she said. “She said to me ‘I’m so glad you didn’t go home.'”

“People I think view Briar as such a villainous pest, which she is, but she has such a sweet, soft side,” she said.

Mandy also spoke about a special moment between herself and Athena Dion which hadn’t made it into the show. She said the two had gotten ready together the day of the Girl Group Challenge and had the opportunity to sit down and talk about a variety of things.

“I got to ask her about raising the Dion family, how serious and how much she values drag family and chosen family and what that has meant for the Miami community,” she said. “It was really cool to get that context. Athena Dion is a diva and she’s mother but there is a true point and value in it.”

Following her time on the show, Mandy said she felt surprised by how validated she felt by the RuPaul fandom.

“I have received the utmost validation from the fandom’s response to me despite the outcome,” she said. “They really see the heart and soul of my drag and I didn’t really quite know I had that until I realized I had this impact on all of these people who didn’t know me.”

She said this aligns with advice she’d give anyone who was interested in drag performances.

“When you are kind and you lead with your heart and soul and lean into your passion and concepts and do it because you like to do it, that’s what brings people joy,” she said.

She said, in her mind, drag offers a way to bring people together and showcase the queer community.

“We are the visible, unapologetic symbols of what it means to be queer. And not everybody is able to or expected to do that,” she said. “But if I have the strength to do that I’m happy to take on that torch and to use those powers to bring us all together whether that be for a few minutes, for a day or for the rest of your life.”

Following her time on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Mandy held a special homecoming tour in Central Pa., performing at various venues in Lycoming, Clinton and Centre counties. She said her fans can look forward to seeing her again in the future, too.

“Before drag race I was coming back to Williamsport yearly because, with each year of drag, it forces you to grow and learn and improve. I always get really excited to show how much I’ve grown since my first show,” she said.

She also said she truly appreciates just how much support she’s received in Central Pennsylvania.

“I can’t say it enough how much I truly value and appreciate the fact that Central PA always supported my drag, came to my shows and kind of paved the way for me and helped me grow to get to this platform. I love being able to come back and share that and bring that energy back,” she said.