We recently connected with Matt/Messy Martineau/Margaret and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt/Messy, thanks for joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I absolutely love that I own my business. Prior to starting Messy Productions Canada I worked in the restaurant industry and while I am grateful for the experience, it simply wasn’t what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing. I have a theatre arts diploma from Algonquin College and I also trained at the Second City Toronto in their improv and conservatory programs. Pursuing a career in acting has always been the dream and I have had some success in that median, but it wasn’t until I started drag that my performance art career really took off. Messy Margaret was born on January 8, 2020 and it’s been an uphill climb ever since. Once I started getting booked I remembered some great advice I got while in theatre school. The advice was to not wait for opportunities, but to go out and create your own. With that advice in mind I decided to start producing drag shows that suited my comedic and theatrical background. I started Messy Productions Canada in 2022 and the company has grown quite significantly since that time. I also use my platform as an artist to talk about serious issues that impact our community. Messy Productions Canada bottom line is to ALWAYS produce queer content. We want to uplift and protect our community. I give thanks every single day for my career and company growth. I have no plans of ever stopping!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

The business was born from my background in theatre and comedy. My drag style is definitely more of the camp comedy variety. I like to tell stories through my performances. I love hosting events, because it allows me to connect directly with the folks who attend our shows.

Messy Productions Canada produces several shows around Toronto and Ontario. We mostly produce drag bingo, trivia and brunch, but we are slowly expanding into other areas of drag and we are working with other artists to bring these shows to life.
We also offer private and corporate services. People have booked us for birthdays, bachelorettes and much more. We’ve worked with many corporations to bring them the best drag entertainment for their company gatherings. We always take time to talk about the important issues surrounding our community. We pride ourselves on our ability to curate any show for any client. We’ve even been hired to attend an event and create a dramatic storyline as a prank to the party guests.

I’m most proud of being able to bring this company to life. Messy Margaret has given me the blessed opportunity to use my voice and to serve my community. I want people to know that Messy Productions Canada is a company that focuses on community and to be a driving force of change within our sometimes very harsh political system. No one should ever be made to feel non-existent. We are watching a fascist regime take control in real time. We are witnessing an attempt to erase and dehumanize our trans siblings. We cannot standby and allow this to happen. We need to unite as a community and fight for the rights of our most vulnerable community members. We most not become complacent and we must do everything we can to not allow the same fascist regime to take control here

How did you build your audience on social media?

Messy Margaret was born on January 8, 2020. She had started to dip her toes in the open stage scene within the Village and then Covid took full control. During the lockdowns I started to play around with TikTok. I posted a few video and tried a few different trends but nothing was really gaining much attention. I thought to myself-‘you’re a character actor so why not try and post some original content.” So, I started to write short pov sketches and over a short time I started to build an audience. I posted one video titled: “Server Life” and that was the first video to really blow up. I leaned into this and started posting more videos around my experience in the restaurant industry. I was able to build my following to over 80k. I admit that my TikTok has lost a lot of steam over the years, but I still post and the 80k has stuck with me so far!

Social media is a hard place to find your groove. Algorithms constantly change and content creation is a lot of work for not much return. My advice, and this extends to all artists, is to know your brand/niche. What is your point of view? How are you going to connect with the folks who consume your content? The beauty of social media is that you can try different things. Being an artist is not how talented you are; it’s how much grit do you have? We face a lot of rejection, but we truly never know what opportunities wait around the corner. I tell myself everyday that the only way for me to fail is to quit and I don’t think I could ever give-up!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As I said, being an artist is all about grit and determination. We face so many setbacks and rejection. You really have to dig deep and remind yourself that this is what I want. This also means that you have to invest yourself into this endeavour. An artist never stops growing or learning. If you feel there is nothing left to learn then I would suggest truly reevaluating your career.

I lost my mother to cancer in 2015. She was given a very grim diagnosis from the very beginning. In 2011 she was told that she would be lucky to survive 3 months. Not only did she defy this, she went far beyond her life expectancy. I watched her fight right until the end. She wanted so badly to beat her cancer. I learned so much about grit, determination and the undeniable strength of the human spirit. I’ve made it my mission to honour her by living my life to the absolute fullest. I even had a dream where she visited me and told me that my career would take off, but that I had to be prepared to work very hard.

I also just lost my father on March 15 of this year. Facing the reality that at 40 years old, both of my parents are gone. But just as I live for my mother I also live for my father.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.messyproductionscanada.com
• Instagram: @messymargretqueen
• Facebook: @mattmartineau
• Linkedin: @mattmartineau
• Youtube: @messyproductionscanada
• Other: TikTok: @messymargaretqueen

Image Credits

Matt Martineau