A standout in New Jersey’s rapidly evolving and expanding drag scene, Summer Eve Slayer is about to freshen up the Brooklynites as well. [Cover photo: @respectfullyryan]
Thotyssey: Hi Summer! SO it’s a gloomy rainy weekday right now, but otherwise how has May been treating you?
Summer Eve Slayer: Hi darling! Oh my goodness it’s such a dreary day, let’s be real here. But apart from that, May has been good! Busy between gigs and life events, but overall good so far.
So in Thotyssey’s daily event listings, we’ve found ourselves adding more and more Jersey drag shows lately, and discovering tons of new NJ based drag performers. Is it just us, or is Jersey drag having a Moment?
Oh let’s speak on that because I’ve been feeling the same! I feel like NJ has been having its own Drag Renaissance these days, and it’s such a good feeling. When I first started attending shows back in, like, 2018, there was maybe a handful of shows happening. These days? Baby, so many. Paradise, Six26, La Gatita, QXTs, Lunar Faire, etc. etc. I’m personally loving it. It’s time for NJ drag to gain some attention!
Are you a Jersey native, and were performance and fashion always parts of your background?
So I was born in Long Island, but my family moved to Jersey when I was a baby and it’s been home ever since. As for my background, performance was definitely shining through a lot more than my fashion sense, to say the least! I grew up as a band geek and did a lot of that in high school, but that actually led to a stint I did as a member of a ska-punk band for a few years up until, like, sophomore year of college. That’s where I started to love performing. Soon enough, I made a friend at college who convinced me to join their drama club, and then boom: I started performing in shows, and I was a member and co-director of their improv comedy team for a bit. That experienced rounded me out to be the entertainer that I am today.
How did you arrive in the drag world?
Picture it: April 2021. I was in my apartment with my friends and one of them, my now drag mother Sabrina Slayer, looks at me and asks if she can put in me in drag. I say sure, thinking nothing of it, and then a couple of days later when the makeover happens I see myself, and something just erupted within me. Over the next year, she and I would get together and she would help me with makeup, how to walk in heels and how to put an outfit together.
In 2022, I put myself into this open stage drag thing at Lunar Faire where I did a minute and a half of performing in heels in the grass to “Enigma” by Lady Gaga, and it was wild. I thought it was going to be a one-and-done thing, but I was then hit up to perform at a Halloween event at QXTs in Newark. I did an Elvira impersonation for the gig, and again thought it was a one-and-done situation. But life had a different direction for me, and now here I am running shows at QXTs and performing a couple times a month!
What’s QXTs like, for the uninitiated?
Oh, it’s a hoot and a half. So the venue itself caters to an alternative / goth / punk kind of crowd, and it has such a welcoming and friendly vibe. Our show “QueenXTs” has been running there for the last two years after a transitionary period. Myself and my sisters (Noa Peele, Sabrina Slayer and Tangelina HoLee) have been making it an inclusive and welcoming space for all, because community building is key for us. We all love the art of drag, but also we don’t take things too seriously. So you’ll see a lot of camp, comedy, theater, burlesque, dance and shenanigans here. We actually just had our own little pageant there, “Little Mx. Diva Boots: The Unserious Drag Pageant,” and it was phenomenal!
Oh, that sounds fun!
Oh my god, it was incredible. Full house of people, amazing performers, beautiful gowns, great vibes. The crown went to Zelda Vox and our Mx. Congeniality was Very Gerry. Both insanely talented, and we’re actually having them both headline at our Pride show coming up!
Is your own drag aesthetic on the gothier / punkier side these days?
A little bit? My aesthetic has gone from “neon princess” to “Jersey mob wife” to “your one aunt who just got back from her trip to Cancun and is still hungover from it” over the last three years of doing drag, so I’m still trying to find what truly suits me. These days, I like to gain inspiration from Vivienne Westwood, Peggy Bundy from Married with Children and Raja from Drag Race when it comes to my looks. I’m not sure if that’s coming off to other people, but it’s all a work in progress!
So on May 22nd, you and a squad of Jersey sisters are heading out to Brooklyn’s All Night Skate for a night of “Brooklyn Vs. Jersey,” featuring that bar’s resident matron Pam Who?! flanked by a girl gang of her own! You’re no stranger to All Night Skate, right?
Yes! All Night Skate was the first place I worked at in NYC, and Pam Who is basically my stepmom at this point. This show has been in the making for months. I think Pam and I were at ANS sometime last year and talking over some drinks, and the idea came up and it’s been brewing ever since. It’s going to be an all-out slugfest. I know the girls she’s bringing and they’re all talented incredible performers, but I don’t think Brooklyn is ready to see what my girls have in store just yet (all jokes of course! Love my Brooklyn gals)!
Then on May 31st, you’ll be with Very Gerry, Cristal Lite and Sabrina at the Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship for a special bingo night!
Sure am! Gerry does a whole bunch of bingo shows, one woman shows and more in the tri-state area, and she asked myself and Sabrina to join her and Cristal this time around. It’ll be exciting! I’m actually originally from that area, so it’s a bit more exciting as I may have some hometown people coming through to support.
Looking ahead to June 5th, you’ll be back at QXTs for that prior mentioned Pride show with a large drag cast that includes Gerry and Sabrina! Exciting!
Yes! It’s our little QXTs “Core Four” of myself, Sabrina, Noa and Tangelina. Of course our pageant winner Zelda, and Mx. Congeniality Gerry. And on top of that, we have the iconic Alisha Day and my drag grandmother, Victoria Courtez. It’s a star-studded cast, and every single one of us brings something different to the table. Swing on by if you have the chance!
What else is coming up for you?
Oh man! I think the next show I’m at least allowed to talk about for the time being is the upcoming Pole Brunch Theater on June 7th [at Art House Productions] in Jersey City. So fun little fact, I’m also a little bit involved in the pole community in NJ / NYC. I used to do it at some local studios in NJ, and that’s how I got to know the producers of the Pole Brunch, who all became close friends of mine. It started about two years ago, and it’s been going strong ever since. Essentially it’s me as the main host of the whole show, and then we have like usual eight to ten pole dancers doing their own sets–all while the audience gets to enjoy bottomless mimosas and a brunch buffet. It’s the wildest concept, but honestly it’s such a fun time. Pole dancers and waffles work well together… who knew?
Okay, here is the final, very important question: who is the best Jersey Shore cast member?
I’ve been a JWOWW girl since day one. A ride or die bestie who will throw hands at anyone who disrespects her friends? That’s my kind of girl.
Thanks, Summer!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Summer Eve Slayer’s upcoming appearances, and follow her on Instagram.
Thotyssey 