The transition from Scott Cayton to Betty Wetter is not taken lightly, nor is the process fast or easy. Thought and attention to detail are poured into costumes, songs are put on repeat, and dances are choreographed. The make-up process alone takes hours, then you have wigs, costumes, shoes, hats, and accessories.

Cayton is a fairly recent transplant to Seattle from North Carolina. His day job has him managing Fuel Coffee; that’s where he and I met, slinging espresso together before I left to pursue photojournalism.

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Betty Wetter, meanwhile, is “silly yet stunning. She prefers plastic sheets over silk and never misses a soda before bed,” Cayton says.

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“I like to have a good time,” Cayton says. “I love doing comedy. I feel a natural attraction to it. When I can make someone laugh, it’s one of the greatest feelings. Personally, she’s therapy, she’s self appreciation.”

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-Excerpt from The Making of a Drag Queen by Alex Garland for The Seattle Weekly.