OC employee Jillian Karpick from Print Services, based out of Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus, has been working with local drag-entertainer Freida Whales to produce short videos amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
A highlight of the summer for both Karpick and Whales was an interview with B.C.’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry. In the 6-minute segment, Whales dives into conversation with Henry, asking questions about drag-entertainment, her custom-made John Fluevog shoes, as well as Pride parades across the province.
“We may have to be physically distant for a while longer, but we can still be connected to each other,” Henry said in the interview. “I’ve been impressed with the imaginative things people have come up with [to stay connected].”
For OC’s Karpick, organizing, editing and producing the interview with Whales and Henry was surreal.
“Freida wondered, ‘what if we just sent her an email?’, and thinking we might not ever hear from them, we got a message back saying she’d love to interview with us!” says Karpick.
“It was really fun, we had to have everything set up and have our questions approved and it was kind of an interesting process to go through with somebody who is so in the spotlight. We were both so unbelievably excited to be talking with her so it was definitely a celebrity-like moment.”
Karpick has worked with Whales to edit and collaborate on content, including interviews with Greg Scarnici, Associate Producer with Saturday Night Live and drag persona Levonia, legendary drag queens, singers and comedians, Jackie Beat and Sherry Vine, and Jimbo who recently made it to the Top 4 of Canada’s Drag Race.
Watch Freida Whales interview with Dr. Bonnie Henry here.