A newer queen on the scene is keeping it cosmic… Mx. Nobody hopeful and Hudson Valley transport Venus!
Thotyssey: Hello Venus, thanks for chatting today! So summer is basically over… how did the season treat you?
Venus: I think the summer season was pretty decent. I’m new to the Brooklyn area, and I’m sort of slow when it comes to getting the ball rolling… and so much change has been happening with my drag.
I hear that! Where did you move from?
I’m from Upstate New York. Some of my drag family and I decided to make the move from our New Paltz / Hudson Valley scene to Brooklyn. Thankfully we did it together, so it was nice to have [that togetherness]. Drag-wise, I grew up with ShowPonii and Evangeline. There’s more, but they didn’t move here to Brooklyn with us.
That’s a talented family!
Thank you so much! I love them all to pieces.
How did you come to start drag yourself, and join up with them?
So I got my drag start through a community college I went. The queer club on campus was getting ready to throw its first ever drag show, and I was there to help make it happen. We had booked the artist formally known as Phi Phi O’Hara, and she did an amazing job! During the” Q & A” portion I was on stage helping it all go smoothly, and she answers a question and immediately looks at me and says, “do you do drag?” I told her no, and she says to me, “I think you’d be amazing at it.”
In 2017 I started really doing drag, and got my start at this little competition in my area… and lost! But I met Eva and Katarina Mirage there, and the rest is history.
How would you describe what your drag is like today?
I would describe it as captivating. I’m kind of going back to my roots with my drag right now–doing what made me feel the most at home in my drag, being soft and sultry, using the natural stage presence I have when I perform. My looks are in another evolutionary period, so it’s hard to say where that’s going. But like I said, it’s slow to get the ball rolling. I’m trying to find a balance with all things style and fashion, while also trying to go in a direction I don’t see most drag artists doing right now.
Exciting times! How does Brooklyn drag differ from Hudson Valley drag? From what I’ve seen, there are actually a lot of similarities.
So true, honestly! It feels like home–just that there’s more queer folx, more drag artists, and more spaces for queer folx to call their own. Also, there are more folx of color here than there is upstate, which I really appreciate. What makes Brooklyn so different is just the sheer amount of talent. There’s so much going on and so many people. Someone new pops up almost every few months, and it’s exciting!
Have you had a favorite performing experience, or just a favorite venue here, yet?
I have to give it to C’mon Everybody–both venue and performing experience! I won BitchFest with one of my favorite numbers there, and C’mon feels like home in a way that both feels new and familiar. It’s hard to explain!
You will be back in C’mon Everybody on September 13 for a monthly show you host with Philadelphia’s Little Piece: “Goop, Gagged & Gathered!”
That’s right! Piece and I will be doing our monthly show, and I’m so excited and grateful for it! The show is sort of a love letter to, like, one of my and Little’s favorite aspects when it comes to drag: the drag roulette! It’s our all / mostly drag roulette show… but to set it apart from the typical format, we make it a themed roulette show! I don’t know if there is anything like it in the city right now, and we are just so excited to be putting something like this together.
When you’re doing a roulette and don’t know the words to the song you get, do you have a go-to on stage stunt to distract everyone or do you always wing it, lol?
For me, it’s a bit of both; it’s whatever I’m feeling, or what the situation calls for! Which is part of the fun– and, I guess, rush–of a roulette, ya know? You don’t really know what’s coming, but you gotta go out there and perform.
I see you’ll also be at C’mon’s sister bar Good Judy on the 17th, as Showponii’s weekly guest star for his September residency!
That’s right! I’m so proud of him, by the way… he’s really hit the ground running ever since we moved.
What else is coming up for you?
I’m almost doing the bonus round for the Mx. Nobody pageant! Missed my first round because I got Covid, sadly.
That’s at Dromedary Bar on September 23!
Good luck! And finally: how much would it take for you to lip sync the entire upcoming Taylor Swift concert film, lol?
Oooooh! Well, there will be some Taylor Swift coming very soon!
Now that’s a tease! Thanks, Venus!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Venus’ upcoming appearances, and follow her on Instagram.
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