Anyone who has watched Angelo “Lily” Perez in one of their drag performances at The Emerson would probably be surprised to learn that when the effervescent, fearless Lily (short for Liliana) is offstage and out of costume, they’re an introverted homebody.
“I’ll tell you a little secret,” they said while sipping a beer on a quiet weeknight at The Emerson. “After a drag show, I immediately get out of drag. I will sit in that corner”—they point to the end of the bar—“have a beer or a shot, and either look at my phone or read a book. … I like my downtime. I love cooking. I love staying home. I’m thinking about getting a cat.”
This makes their acting even more impressive because, when onstage, they’re dynamic, a lightbulb of shining, vivacious energy. Whether writing a play—they’re currently finishing the third installment in a murder-mystery trilogy—acting in one, directing fellow actors, or leading a troupe of drag performers, they bring 100 percent.
It’s a good counterweight to their day job in health care—doing authorizations and referrals for Northern Nevada HOPES.
“I love working with people, and I currently work from home right now, so sometimes it feels crippling, because I just want to talk to someone live,” they said.
The entertainment work helps provide that needed balance.
Origin of a storyteller
Born in the Philippines, Perez considers themself a native Nevadan; the family moved to Reno when Perez was only 3 years old. Perez said they had always been a reader, but it wasn’t until sixth-grade at Anderson Elementary School in Reno, in teacher Dennis Dyer’s class, when the joy of creating worlds through writing became a passion, too.
“(Mr. Dyer) would always assign the class a prompt at the beginning of every week to write about,” Perez said. “Anything from, ‘If you were stuck on a deserted island …’ to, ‘Describe a day in outer space.’ Every Friday, before school ended, he would spend an hour reading all our stories out loud to the class. That was one of the things that got me into storytelling.”
Another important role model was Perez’s Filipino aunt, Joanna, a transgender woman.
“She was the one who taught me to just be brazen, bold and unapologetically myself,” Perez said. “So, I have a lot of close relations with people who have inspired me through the years and have reinforced my love for performing and storytelling.”
Perez majored in English, with an emphasis on creative writing and poetry, at Truckee Meadows Community College. The performance work came years later, in 2015, when Perez—who was in their mid-20s and inspired by icons such as RuPaul—first began doing drag and experimenting with costumes, hair and makeup. Their social circle included friends who performed in shows at local LGBTQ+ bars and clubs, including Faces and the 5 Star Saloon. Before long, Perez was getting drag work as Liliana—a name chosen in honor of their mother, Lilian—and eventually became a headliner at The Emerson’s drag brunch in 2019.
These days, Perez can be found doing drag at The Emerson as well as The Selden, Reno’s new LGBTQ+ bar, conveniently located across the street. Perez describes the show as high-energy, with stunts, splits, choreography and what they call “park and bark”—a knockout ballad.
It was at The Emerson, at the tail end of the pandemic, when Perez had the idea of injecting a little more storytelling into the drag-brunch experience. “I approached Tyler (Colton), the owner, about this murder-mystery that I had, which would include drag queens, lip-sync performances and live singing, but also have the audience involved in it.”
Colton went along with it, but it soon became clear that the other performers didn’t share Perez’s enthusiasm for a scripted show. Discouraged, Perez shelved the project. Fortunately, The Emerson’s loss became the local theater scene’s gain: After Perez was cast in their first mainstage theater role in Good Luck Macbeth’s Puffs in 2022, they “caught the acting bug” and saw, for the first time, real theater potential for that shelved murder-mystery, which they retooled to capture their love for pop culture and slasher films. The finished play, Murder Mystery at the Mother Regina—Perez also directed the show and played a small role—enjoyed a three-week run at Good Luck Macbeth in early 2025.
The whodunit was such a success that Perez’s follow-up, Murder Mystery at the Heebie Jeebie JuiceBox Company, took the stage at GLM in spring of this year, directed by Mojo Montelongo. Perez said turning the reins over to someone else was a valuable learning experience, and they welcome creative input from fellow directors and actors.
“I always encourage people to just leave a space better than how you found it.”
Angelo “Lily” Perez
Perez is now writing the third installment.
“I’ve always envisioned it to be a trilogy,” they said, explaining that they’ve already been in discussions with GLM’s executive director, Melissa Taylor, about a potential run for that show next spring.
What’s next
Fresh off an extended run in Reno Little Theater’s hilarious, hugely popular summer show, The Play That Goes Wrong, with their next mystery script in the works, and with multiple roles in a new drag production of Rocky Horror Picture Show at The Selden throughout October—not to mention a full-time job—Perez is taking a bit of a hiatus from the drag work. This creates space for Rocky Horror, writing and maybe even getting that cat.
But the hiatus won’t last for long—they love the work too much, and they hope people will continue to support it.
“I always encourage people to just leave a space better than how you found it,” they said. “I’m always just very grateful for any opportunity and any blessing that comes my way, and I appreciate everyone supporting me and loving me and being there for me.”
The Selden, located at 960 S. Virginia St., presents a new drag production of Rocky Horror Picture Show at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 1:30 p.m., Sunday, from Friday, Oct. 9, through Saturday, Oct. 31. A ticket that admits two for bar seating is $33.29; a ticket that admits four for table seating is $133.17. Opening-night tickets cost extra, Visit www.theseldenreno.com/events-1.