Darrin Hagen is a freelance playwright, writer, composer, performer, director and Drag Artiste. For two decades he has been at the helm of the annual Loud & Queer Cabaret. He is also the artistic director of the award-winning independent theatre company Guys In Disguise, Canada’s leading theatre company when it comes to cross-dressing comedies, and which not only co-produces the L&Q Cabaret every year, but also tours and promotes Queer theatre across Canada and in the U.S. He is the author of The Edmonton Queen: The Final Voyage, and Tornado Magnet: A Salute to Trailer Court Women, both published by Brindle & Glass Publishing. Plays by Hagen include BitchSlap!; The Neo-Nancies: Hitler’s Kickline; Buddy; With Bells On; The Glory, The Fury; Inventing Rasputin; Tornado Magnet and The Edmonton Queen. He has received seven Sterling Awards for his work in Edmonton Theatre. Buddy was nominated for a Sterling Award for Outstanding New Play; With Bells On was nominated for a Betty Mitchell Award for Best New Play; and The Edmonton Queen received a Sterling Award for Outstanding New Fringe Work. Hagen also received an AMPIA for Best Male Host for his work on the Life Channel Series Who’s On Top?

In 2005, Hagen was named as one of 100 Edmontonians of the Century to mark the city’s centennial. His name came alphabetically after Gretzky. To the best of his knowledge, he’s the only Drag Queen on that list.