On Point With: Vape Kid, Jr.

Riding the new wave of drag puppetry in Brooklyn, “Pantheon” alum Vape Kid Jr. is bringing a myriad of merry monsters onto stages all over town. [Cover photo: TeamTan Productions]

Thotyssey: Hello VK, thanks for chatting today! Yay, it’s spring… are you a fan of this season?

Vape Kid, Jr: I am so ready to say good bye to cold weather. Spring is great cuz it’s warming up, but I’m not sweating through my drag (yet).

Heard! So if someone were to visit you at home, would there be a hundred puppets staring at them from every corner, or do you have a less creepy way of storing them, lol?

Uhm…. not exactly less creepy. I have shelves and chairs filled with dolls and puppets. But the biggest puppets live in 50 gallon trash bags whenever I’m in the busy season, because that’s how I transport them. They like it in there, though. It’s like their poke-ball. My partner actually banned me from storing Courtney in our bedroom because he kept watching them sleep.

Did you construct them all?

Yes! I build everything from scratch. I’m afraid of store bought puppets. I think they probably don’t have a soul, and may come for mine in the night. I’ve been gifted one or two store bought ones over the years, but I have to put a couple of my own stitches in them to make sure they behave.

Very impressive! So where did you grow up, and were puppetry and performance always a part of what you are about?

I grew up on the Jersey Shore. Shout out to my Italian homies! Truthfully, there was no time for theater or art. In middle school I was studying to get into a vocational school to get away from bullies. In high school I thought I wanted to be a doctor, so I was always studying or volunteering at the hospital. Then in college I was busy studying to be a biomedical engineer.

A few years out of college, and all I did was work. Something in me was starving to create art and connect with people. That’s when I met [Unintelligible Screaming]; she invited me to do an open stage run by her and the incredible Xaddy Addy. I came and did three minutes of very nervous standup; I’ve been addicted to the stage ever since.

The drag and the puppets came later as my storytelling evolved; I needed drag and puppetry to build my universe.

Can you describe that universe, as far as what folks can generally expect from a Vape Kid show? Also, what’s the origin of that name, if I may ask?

There are three parallel answers to this question 1) A Vape Kid Show is all about psychedelic anarchistic political critique with dumb guy wit, huge puppets and some real heart and emotion.

2) In the late 1980s the US government was conducting experiments at a black site off the coast of Montauk. The result? A fascist brain washing program disguised as a children’s TV show: Vape Kid’s Cool Zone, hosted by Vape Kid Original Flavor and America’s darling Courtney the Pig Boy. The show was briefly a public access staple. Maybe you remember it? What you probably don’t remember is the lost episode where Courtney breaks free of the facility and escapes with a clone of the host. Now Vape Kid Jr lives in the big city with his escaped mutant friends. So to answer your question. His name is Vape Kid Jr. because he is the clone of Vape Kid Original Flavor.

3) to answer another way, Vape Kid Jr. is the stupidest name I could come up with.

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What are the joys and challenges of presenting your very original drag persona to nightlife?

The joy and challenge of my drag is bringing it to audiences who aren’t expecting it; I love catching people off guard emotionally and comedically. I recently had a very successful run at “Pantheon” (Icon’s 6 week pageant), and in one of my performances I wear a full body puppet and strip it off as a sort of body horror burlesque. One audience member loudly exclaimed “that’s not drag!” That’s a sign to me that I’m doing something right–showing audiences a drag they haven’t seen before.

Besides bar stages, you’ve also presented as Vape in a small theater setting.

That’s right. I was the front man for a one hour drag and puppet musical called Vape Kid’s Cool Zone: The Lost Episode. It’s the biggest production I’ve ever been a part of, with my amazing co-stars Sir Cum Sized and Excess Materials co-writing, set designing, puppeteering and doing a million things to tell our story.

It was really surreal to finally tell the Vape Kid origin story. A lot of it stems from my own traumas and around my boyhood and the military industrial complex. But also my boyhood loves: GI Joe, Robocop, and schlocky horror. It was like seeing me and my co-creators brains spewed onstage in a maelstrom of felt, and blood, and technicolor. We even got a little shout out in the New York Times.

Actually on the topic of Vape Kids Cool Zone, I want to give Thotyssey an exclusive scoop. We haven’t announced it anywhere else yet. The Brick was so pleased with our first sold out run of Cool Zone they’ve invited us to bring it back for a two week run at their bigger theater. We’re coming back, and we’re grosser and scarier and fuzzier than ever. New songs, bigger puppets same freaks: July 3-6, July 16-19.

Excellent! In the meantime, you’ll be making another return of sorts this Tuesday: back to Icon in Astoria, where you competed in “Pantheon!” This time it’ll be for the “Dirty Thirty” birthday bash of your season’s winner Eden DarkStar, and many other fellow competitors from your season will be in the house, too!

I’m soo excited. I miss my “Pantheon” famiglia. I really fell in love with Eden Darkstar’s drag–especially her vampiric take on Sex & the City. She deserved the “Pantheon” crown for that one. She’s so funny and dark and hot. I can’t wait to celebrate with her!

What else is coming up for you?

First, I wanna say to the community: It’s hard times right now. Hold your friends close, have patience with each other and do what you can to help each other to weather the storm.

In the meantime, I’ve got two upcoming shows I’m excited about: “Free For All” on April 13th–free art, comedy, and music, with an open stage. For anyone interested, DM PINKHQUSE.

And “Flamboyance” at Someday Bar on April 23rd, from Reina NoBuena and Nancy NoGood. And fans of everything yucky should be watching my page for a new puppet horror short film coming later this year.