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Trannyshack was aSan Franciscodrag club started bydrag queenHeklina in 1996[1] as an offshoot ofKlubstitute, and was a weekly fixture atThe Stud bar in San Francisco for 12 years, drawing large crowds on a regular basis. The Tuesday night performances at The Stud ended on 12 August 2008, with Trannyshack resuming as a monthly event atDNA Lounge in March 2010.[2]
The Trannyshack stage has hosted celebrities includingLady Gaga,Gwen Stefani,RuPaul,Charo,Michelle Visage,Mary Wilson and many of the contestants fromRuPaul's Drag Race among others.[citation needed] In the early years of the club,Ana Matronic of theScissor Sisters lived in San Francisco and performed frequently at Trannyshack before moving to New York in 1999.
Trannyshack ended as a weekly Tuesday night show on August 12, 2008, with "The Final Tuesday".[citation needed] Heklina claims she stopped presenting the show because its success caused it to be copied by other shows: "I felt like if everyone's trying to copy me, maybe I should try to do something different."[3] The Trannyshack name has become so popular that Heklina has filed six cease-and-desist letters against other clubs using the name.[3]
In January 2015, Trannyshack was renamed "Mother" and started taking place atOasis, a San Francisco gay club owned by Heklina. The reason for the name change was out of respect for the transgender community, who were critical of the use of the word "tranny" as being offensive. "Mother" ended in February 2020.[4]
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The Miss Trannyshack Pageant is no longer held in a nightclub. In 2004, Trannyshack Founder and Promoter Heklina teamed up with event producer, Juan Garcia of Beatbox Events to move the event from the clubs to the Regency Ballroom. Together with Juan Garcia and the help of drag phenomena and co-hostess, Juanita More!, they have expanded the contest into a late-night dance party complete with celebrity judges, live performances, concert-like production, and special effects.
Until 2007, which marked the final Miss Trannyshack Pageant, this annual offsite event had been a pageant-style competition for the title "Miss Trannyshack." Candidates for the pageant were recruited from Trannyshack, a weekly show at the Stud Bar in San Francisco. Every week, a new theme was presented. Guests could expect a mix of everything from lowbrow trash, "old-school" traditional drag performances, avant-garde and highbrow installations, and punk-rock shows in a dance-club setting. Trannyshack guest favorites worked towards entering and winning the coveted title "Miss Trannyshack" at the annual Trannyshack pageant.
Trannyshack also holds the annual Trannyshack Reno bus trip. Hosted by Trannyshack veteranPeaches Christ and held overEaster Weekend, participants are encouraged to dress and act as outrageously and provocatively as possible. Heavy drinking is also encouraged. During the ride from San Francisco toReno, the tour bus makes several pit stops in relatively conservative places such asPlacerville andDonner Pass. The culmination of the event is a special Trannyshack show at a Reno nightclub, followed byEaster Sunday brunch the next day at a local casino.
Trannyshack also held the annual SS Trannyshack chartered boat cruise on San Francisco Bay, usually held in September, although the event was not held since 2004; however, it was announced that the event would be revived for the 2009Folsom Street Fair.[5][6]