One of Philadelphia’s finest, Avery Goodname spills the tea on why she had to drop out of a major NYC pageant, how she might still be crowned in a totally different pageant, navigating disability, marriage, those big ass titties, and some steaming “Camp Wanakiki” tea!
Thotyssey: Avery, hello! Thanks for chatting with us today! How’s your Philadelphia Autumn treating you so far, and how was your Halloweekend?
Avery Goodname: Hello! My Philadelphia Autumn has been treating me better than I thought it would, all things considered! Didn’t get to do anything too exciting for Halloweekend, but I’ve been busy the past couple months getting trained up at my new day job — which I won’t share where it’s at publicly, but is a dream to work at!
I’m glad to hear that! For the uninitiated, how might you describe your own drag as far as looks and numbers go?
Avery Goodname is a metatheatrical cartoon clown! I’m very inspired by cartoons of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, as well as the Muppets and the Theatre for Young Audiences I grew up watching in Philly. My numbers are basically mini-musicals based off of the dumbest ideas I can come up with. Whatever sounds like the most ridiculous idea for a number, I will try to do it in a way that almost satirizes what drag numbers usually are.
From my understanding, the Philly drag scene isn’t huge… but it’s fierce and diverse! How might you describe what the scene is like there?
Trans. No, seriously. I could maybe count the amount of cis men performing in this scene on one hand, and as a result we get a lot of performers with a very expansive and nuanced view on what gender expression can truly look like. Nobody is afraid to push the envelope visually in ways that aren’t really being done in a lot of other places, and there’s a lot of innovation with the limited resources we get as a rather tiny drag scene.
It’s probably those elements that make Philly drag and Brooklyn drag so interrelated, right? There is a lot of back and forth between the two communities!
The pipeline is real! Brooklyn feels like a second home to me because of how similar the visual / performance aesthetics are there. Honestly, Brooklyn drag might be a bit more unhinged across the board than Philly. But performing at C’mon Everybody has pushed me to get a little weirder with my performances.
[Photos: Jonathan Hernandez]
Are you a Philadelphia native, and have you always had some sort of art or performance interest?
I was born in Philly, but mainly grew up in Collegeville, PA (just outside the city). I have definitely always been a performing artist of some sort throughout my life. When I was a kid, before I developed my disability, I used to be a competitive dancer! Like “Abby Lee Miller Dance Company” kind of competitive dance. I started doing community theatre when I was like 13-14, and that eventually led to me going to college for Directing, Playwriting, and Production at the now defunct University of the Arts.
Is there anything you’d like to share about the nature of your disability?
Oh, sure, let’s talk about it! I have a psychoneurological disability called Functional Neurological Disorder. It’s a fairly new diagnosis in the DSM (I think as recent as around 2015? 2016?), and it works… weird. Basically, any neurological tests done on me come back “normal” or “healthy,” but there is a subconscious misfiring in my brain that is uncontrollably sending signals to my body to essentially “mimic” neurological symptoms, such as seizures, paralysis, and dystonia.
I developed symptoms out of nowhere when I was 14 years old, but didn’t get diagnosed until I was 21. It’s been a huge struggle in terms of being able to consistently work and maintain social relationships. But I’ve been fighting through it for about ten years now, and that fight will not stop so long as I have the drive to keep making art, surrounded by people I love (that hopefully love me as well, lol).
That’s quite a burden, but also a truly inspiring approach! I’m guessing it must be pretty hard to navigate nightlife with a condition like that, given all the sensory overload and inconsistencies that come with the gig.
Don’t even get me started on any venue where a bitch has to take the stairs! It’s been especially rough this past year and a half. I’ve lost out on a lot of bookings because of fatigue or sudden onset of symptoms, and it’s led to a point where I’m only performing around once a month… if that. I’m hoping the rut I’m in right now is temporary, and I can get back to the capacity I was at back during my Camp Wannakiki days! I have so many projects I want to work on, but just need the spoons to be able to put myself back out there in that capacity.
Camp Wanakiki has been such a fun watch over the years! That’s a streaming drag competition series focused on comedy, camp and outdoorsy challenges hosted by the Sugarbaker Twins Apple Brown Betty (Ashley Wright) and Cherry Pi (Brandon Wright), the founders of drag restaurant chain Hamburger Mary’s. You were on the 5th Season in 2022! What was that whole experience like? I bet that’s one of the more fun competition shows to be a part of.
Honestly, people back home love to make fun of me for being on it… but I had a blast being on Wannakiki! Back when I auditioned in 2022, it felt like the only one of the three drag franchises that would really get the full extent of what Avery Goodname as a character is all about. And, despite not winning, I do feel like everyone there and everyone watching just got my drag in a way I’d never felt before.
I think what held Wannakiki back from being as popular as a show like Dragula was its budget (and some other smaller things with the way the show was structured), but it was so cool to be able to see myself on TV in any capacity! It taught me a lot about myself, and gave me so many amazing opportunities to travel the country and meet some awesome drag artists.
Do you know if Wannakiki is coming back in any capacity, by the way? It wasn’t on this year; I heard possibly because they weren’t able to find an appropriate campsite available to film in.
From what I know, the Sugarbakers have kinda been put in a weird limbo with the good people at OutTV, and are waiting for either Season 7 or an All Stars season to be greenlit. It hasn’t happened yet, and I don’t know if it ever will. But, until OutTV says they’re ready for more drag summer camp, I don’t think we’re getting any more Camp Wannakiki. Which sucks, because I was given an open invitation to come back… and I was ready to smoke Season 7. OutTV, if you’re reading this… bring back Camp Wannakiki!
Day-umm! Many folks would love to see it come back… make it happen, Universe!
By the way, you often incorporate giant titties into your drag looks! Are those hard to cart around, lol?
Okay yes, OMG! I haven’t been wearing them recently because my current pair has been falling apart, but it’s also just a nightmare to travel with. The ones I used to have were a silicone X-Cup breastplate from a website named Roanyer that Koco Caine recommended to me, but they weighed 15 pounds and fucked my neck and back up! So the lovely Henlo Bullfrog from King of Drag made me a foam replica of the breastplate that is a lot easier to wear and move with. But it’s a few years old, and has seen so much abuse that I definitely need to re-up!
And people think I wear them as, like, some visual gag… but the truth is that I don’t see any humor in Just Having Huge Boobs. I wear them because I wanted an extremely exaggerated hourglass silhouette to sell the Uncanny Valley cartoonishness of Avery as a character, and had no plans of being known as The Big Titty Girl when I started wearing them!
Boobtastic! So I understand that you were supposed to do the Miss Big Adams Apple Comedy Queen national prelim pageant at Industry this weekend.
I had to drop out last week! I was really determined to take the title — but I was having significant issues with getting together the appropriate resources, both financially and in terms of designers. Turns out, every seamstress in the city gets asked to do a bunch of Halloween looks way earlier than when you get to ask them about making new looks for a pageant! I’m absolutely storming and taking that crown next year, though… trust the duchess!
But almost exactly like Camp Wannakiki, I wanted to do the National Comedy Queen pageant circuit for two big reasons. One, I love to compete, but don’t feel that the weirder drags get as much access to competitions that teach you so much about yourself… and I think this pageant is a huge chance for someone that looks and performs like I do to actually find some success.
Secondly, though, National Comedy Queen has historically only ever had white or white-passing winners (just to clarify, the Miss Big Adam’s Apple preliminary has had winners of color before… It’s just Nationals that’s been all white so far). To get the honor of being the first Black National Comedy Queen would be such a huge win for me, as somebody that hasn’t been able to see a lot of representation for Black comedy queens during my career. I know a ton of funny Black drags, but very few of them classify / brand themselves as Comedy Queens. I do, and I want to be a representative for the Black comedy girls everywhere!
Meanwhile, you are still competing “Mx. Fist” on November 20th at C’mon Everybody!
Oh, I’m so excited for “Mx. Fist!” It’s basically like if Chopped was a drag show. We’ve been given three different songs that we are required to put into one mix together, and it’s been a very much welcome challenge to fit these random songs together into one number! I appreciate that this competition, much like when I did “Mx. Nobody” last year, is all about performance and isn’t judging you based off of your looks or how much money you spent on an outfit. That kind of accessibility is really important to me as somebody that has spent thousands of dollars trying to win some of these nightlife competitions. That being said, I am looking for a place to stay in Brooklyn that week… if anybody wants a haggard bricky clown in their living room!
What else is coming up for you, in Philly or beyond?
I produce and host a monthly audience game show at Franky Bradley’s called “The Franky Fries Tournament!” On December 13, my amazing co-host and drag sister Wet Betty and I are doing a Wicked themed game show to celebrate For Good coming out! It’s such a fun show, and it’s pretty much every second Saturday. So if you’re in Philly, mark those calendars!
Hopefully, I can get into or back into some other fun drag projects soon, but you caught me in what I’m half-affectionately calling my Flop Era. So stay tuned for when We’re So Back!
OMG, also I’m getting married soon! I somehow forgot that that’s a major thing coming up for me!
Congratulations! Will it be a drag wedding?
To be decided on the actual ceremony, but trust that Ms. Goodname will be present for the reception! I proposed to him in drag, so I should probably cut the cake in drag, too.
Absolutely! Okay lastly: if not your giant boobs, then what is the most essential item in your drag bag, cosmetic or otherwise?
I need to have some kind of vanilla-scented fragrance or else I feel like a monster. When I first started, I was unfortunately one of the smelly girls… so it became very important to me very quickly to make sure that a part of getting into drag was smelling nicer than I look. I have run through countless Rio de Janeiro 36 bottles from Ulta. actually that reminds me, I should go pick some up with my next paycheck!
Thanks, Avery!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Avery Goodname’s upcoming area appearances, and follow her on Facebook, Instagram and LinkTree.
Thotyssey 