Spoopy Seductress on the rise Anya Back is a true Halloween queen on the rise!
Thotyssey: Happy October, Anya! I take from your Instagram that the Spooky Season is your Tea.
Anya Back: Ooh, for sure! Halloween is definitely up my alley! I love getting dark and spooky.
Do you have a favorite horror monster or killer from lore or pop culture?
Freddy Krueger is definitely a fave. Nightmare on Elm Street 2 is queer AF, and I love that the franchise plays into the power of the mind. Playing with our minds is far scarier than any physical monster.
So onto your own monstrous origin story: where are you form originally, and how did you ultimately find yourself as a NYC drag queen?
I grew up in Idaho in a town of hundreds of people, and knew I needed to escape from the oppressiveness of the Mormons. I studied acting (as so many of us NYC queens do) and always knew NYC was the place I wanted to end up! I have been a fan of the NYC drag scene for years, and decided to finally give it a go… and have absolutely loved finally embracing my queerness in performance!
Where did you make your debut as Anya?
I did a guest spot at my home bar in Astoria–Albatross, at the lovely Angela Mansberry’s popular bingo last October. I’m about to turn one year old, lol!
Happy almost birthday! How might you describe Anya as a queen today?
Looks-wise, I love embracing weirdness: dark, campy conceptual outfits mostly made out of unconventional materials. Even the wigs! I make wigs out of rope, plastic bananas, duct tape balls, gauze… mostly not hair!
But ultimately Anya is a performer, henny! At one of my shows you can expect a dark sense of humor–something hilarious, yet completely unexpected in a very theatrical conceptual style. You will gag from the sheer absurdness!
You competed in Week 1 of Mx. Rockbar! How did that go, and would you do more pageants in the future?
Yes, I came in first that week and advance to the semifinals November 7!! I will probably make appearances at various other competitions, mostly to meet other performers and nightlife folks. As far as proper pageants, I would love to do Miss Big Adam’s Apple someday!
You’re also competing in Brooklyn this week.
Oh yes, “Hot Mess” at House of Yes this Wednesday, actually!
We’ll get to see you a few more times before Halloween–starting with “Zom-Babes,” an October 13th (Thursday) show at Albatross co-starring Nancy NoGood.
Yes! I am literally tea-staining the mummy costume I made for it as we speak… I spilled the (English breakfast) tea, lol! Nancy Nogood and I have a full-on Halloween spooktacular planned this Thursday at Albatross! We have lots of campy, theatrical Halloweeny numbers planned. I’m planning on decorating the stage in spiderwebs and running into them to No Doubt’s “Spiderwebs.”
Then you’ll be at Bar Nine with Kareema Puff for a Halloween Saturday (October 29th) edition of her brunch!
Yaas! I haven’t met her yet, and I’m excited to! I have done shows with the other two queens in that brunch, Ms. Vanity Vilayne and La Erica. It should be a boozy good brunch! Seats are selling fast, so snag them now!
Have some hauntingly great shows! Okay, in closing… have you ever had a ghostly, space monstery or psychically phenomenal encounter?
No! I wish! I wouldn’t mind a Scary Movie-style ghost visitor in my bed… or an alien probing me!
Same! Thanks, Anya!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Anya Back’s upcoming appearances, and follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
Thotyssey 