About

Beauty and the Bear is an interview-based television series which showcases the work of high profile Australian Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (GLBTIQ) artists producing outstanding work across a dazzling range of art forms.

The show first aired as part of the 2008 Adelaide Feast Festival on Channel 31 Adelaide and has since been broadcast on Television Sydney and Channel 31 Melbourne. In 2011 the show was broadcast nationally on the Aurora Community Channel on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Digital Networks. Full episodes of season one are available online as streaming video and audio podcasts.

Beauty And The Bear is completely written, shot, edited and hosted by drag-tastic cabaret starlet Miz Ima Starr (Australia’s Got Talent, Miz Ima Starr is Born Free) and Nathan Little (Green Room Award Nominee, The Bad Father). The sassy duo bring an eclectic knowledge of showbiz to Beauty and the Bear along with a dose of perverse humour.

Miz Ima Starr

Miz Ima Starr is a singing, wisecracking cabaret phenomenon of stage and small screen and the comic creation of performer and filmmaker Charles Bracewell. She most recently stunned TV audiences with three memorable appearances Channel 7’s hit show ‘Australia’s Got Talent’, and is currently wrapping production on her debut album ‘Start the Crescendo!’ – the follow-up to her critically acclaimed ‘Pop Object’ EP.

This drag supernova has presented eight theatrical cabaret shows to audiences across New Zealand and Australia, starred in numerous short films and a feature film, and made over 20 singing & comedy television appearances since her ‘birth’ in 1991.

In addition to her work on stage, Starr has appeared as chanteuse and wit on over 20 New Zealand and Australian TV shows, including The Drum, Good Morning New Zealand, Nightline, 2 Newsnight, AM Adelaide, A Bit After Ten, and Havoc. She was also chosen to be profiled by 60 Minutes New Zealand.

Miz Ima Starr collaborated with techno supremos Baitercell in 1999 to record and release Trippin’, a remake of the 90’s rock classic by New Zealand superband PUSHPUSH. The song hit number four on the alternative radio charts, was selected to be a part of the soundtrack for the hit Kiwi film I’ll Make You Happy, and was released by the famous Flying Nun label on the official soundtrack album. In 2001, she released her first EP CD Pop Object, which was reviewed as “pure pop genius” by DNA Magazine.

“The girl’s got it, and it’s about time some television station executive with foresight realizes it giving Ima the broader exposure she craves and richly deserves.” – DB Magazine

Official site
Facebook Profile
MySpace Profile

Nathan Little

Nathan Little was born in New Zealand with Samoan and Scottish heritage. His great great grandfather was poet Sir Thomas Bracken, writer of the New Zealand national anthem. His father dated Alby Mangel’s sister for a bit.

In 2003 he received the South Australian GALA Youth Award for his work on groundbreaking film project I Can See Queerly Now. His short films have screened at festivals around the world and have featured in the Art Gallery of South Australia & The South Australian Migration Museum.

In 2006 he established boutique production house Pixel Pro, specializing in video production, photography, graphic design and web design for creative organisations in South Australia including Come Out: The Australian Festival For Young People and The ASSITEJ International World Congress. He was Project Coordinator for the South Australian Minister for Youth’s Filmmaker’s Human Rights Award and produced all the video projections for the South Australian Screen Awards. He has conducted state-wide seminars about digital video and it’s role in creative and personal development to school teachers, festival directors and at risk youth in co-operation with the Salvation Army and Southern Youth Theatre Ensemble.

Nathan was crowned Southern Hibearnation Cub 2007, as part of an international event for the bear community managed by VicBears. He featured in the 2009 Colours Of The Rainbow Calendar by Evolution Publishing as ‘Mr May’.

His electro-pop supergroup The Bad Father have performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Adelaide Feast Festival, TasPride Festival, Victorian Pride March and on ABC TV’s hugely popular TV show ‘Spicks & Specks’ Europa special to 1.4 million viewers.

The Bad Father Official Website