While she loves performing in the Long Island scene, NYC’ers will also be seeing quite a bit of drag star TIffany Piffany this month. [Cover photo: @snapitwithsam]
Thotyssey: Tiffany, hello! How is August treating you?
Tiffany Piffany: Hi, angel! August has been beautiful. I was able to get in some crafting and family time in between shows, so I’m a happy camper.
You originally came up as a Long Island queen, but you’re all over the place now! Do you have a favorite place to perform?
I think my favorite places to perform are wherever my Long Island drag community can intersect with the NYC drag scene. It’s always a chaotically beautiful crossover episode when it happens, and the shows are next level. The place where that usually happens consistently is at Icon Bar in downtown Astoria, just two blocks from my apartment! We’re even doing a Long Island themed show, “LAWN-GUYLAND,” at Icon on August 31st, featuring LI performers and NYC performers with ties to the island. It’s going to be stupid and silly and gorgeous—very Long Island.
More on that in a bit!
How might you describe your own drag today?
Oooh! So Tiffany Piffany is the Siberian Showgirl of the South Shore of Long Island. She was born somewhere between North Carolina and New York: inspired by the gorgeous Southern pageants queens I watched while in college down south, and then sharpened by the nasty, hilarious jokes of the NYC / LI comedy scene that I came home to every summer. That intersection of vintage, old school glamour and brainrotted NYC humor is what makes Tiffany Piffany.
My name itself, “Tiffany,” comes from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and my fondness for the old Hollywood broads. And “Piffany” is a play on “Piff,” a strain of hazy marijuana that’s colloquially come to mean really high-quality greens (depending on who you ask).
Tiffany Piffany, in short, is a rhinestoned, glamorous, vintage vixen with a Long Island license plate and a TikTok account.
What are the joys and challenges of being a Long Island drag queen, versus the pros and cons of the vast NYC scene?
I. Love. Long Island. Drag. I think the beauty of LI drag is its sense of family. NYC drag is so heavily saturated, and with that comes intense competition over limited venues–especially post-COVID.
On Long Island, by contrast, it feels a little more like The Island of Misfit Toys; if you’re excited about drag, show up consistently, and you’re respectful to bar staff, the scene is eager to bring you into the fold. For example, I stumbled into a beautiful friendship with my drag mom, Eden DarkStar, by showing up to her show on the island while in busted half-drag; she asked if I wanted to do a number, since I was there! The LI scene has been around for some time, but there’s this renaissance of drag happening on it right now. It’s really cool to be a part of.
In addition to new cisboy queens, I also see a growing number of kings, things, trans folk and AFAB queens on the scene! That’s been really interesting and inspiring to see, especially in Long Island where certain red towns do not always embrace even the most traditional of drag forms.
Absolutely! You’d think I’d be the only trans woman on Long Island doing drag, given the island’s historically conservative nature. But Long Island drag has all sorts of performers from different backgrounds. While it’s true that certain towns on LI are conservative, there’s many downtown areas that are full of young people who are hungry for drag and queer bars. There’s oddly more demand for drag in those spots on the island than, say, Manhattan, where’s there’s a drag queen in every bar. I think this new generation of Long Islanders have the power to shift the tide and make a real difference. I think Long Island drag can be a part of that!
You’ll be serving LI drag to the good people of Sayville this Saturday, via The Smackdown at Station Pub! This will be a one night competition that you’re hosting with Eden and Annie Manildoo.
The Smackdown is a drag competition that started around a year ago. This Smackdown celebrates the 1-year anniversary since the very first iteration (which I won, teehee). This Saturday, the category is “Bizarre,” and contestants will be serving up their weirdest, avant-garde looks, performing their own number, and then battling for the grand prize. I hope more NYC divas come out and try their luck, it’s a sickening, supportive competition that’s delicious to watch.
Then next Wednesday, you’ll be making a Brooklyn appearance at Cheetah Quila’s show What the Cat Dragged In at Medusa!
Omg Cheetah is so much fun, I can’t wait!! I’m going to be performing a new version of my Brainrot “Rizz-abella The Glamour Cat” Mix that I did for Ivy Stalls‘ “Drag Me to Broadway” show on the island.
Have you done much Brooklyn drag before?
I’ve only really performed at Pink Metal (RIP) a few times back when I used to live in Bushwick right after college, with sickening divas like Cheetah Quila and Pachacunti. I love Brooklyn drag, and would absolutely do more shows and competitions there!
Then Monday the 31st at Icon, it’s the prior mentioned LAWN-GUYLAND at Icon! Eden is co-hosting, this time with Awhora Borealis. The cast features performers from both NYC and LI, including yourself!
Yes! It will be a sort of Night of 1000 Long Islanders, with each performer paying homage to an iconic Long Islander. There’s actually a lot of established NYC performers who are undercover / previous Long Islanders, so it’ll be fun to connect them with the current, burgeoning generation of LI performers.
It’s a fundraiser for Walk of Fame, which is the island’s main pageant system. It’s a rewarding and challenging pageant focused on every element of drag, and we are in the beginning stages of promo for this upcoming season! As the current reigning, I have the unique opportunity to shape some elements of the next season alongside the talented producers Awhora Borealis and Annie Manildoo. I encourage all NYC performers who have what it takes to apply—it can be quite lucrative in many ways!
Then looking ahead to September 19, you’re hosting a Practical Magic themed show at Viva Tulum in Baldwin!
My show in Baldwin is going to be a witchy drag show to get the girls pumped for spooky season approaching!! Viva Tulum is one of the many venues on the island that’s rapidly embracing drag. My last brunch there with Audiobook Walking Club of Long Island LLC was a huge success, so we decided to try a nighttime event. I’ll be taking the LIRR in from Astoria in a full witchy outfit—I can’t wait!
Do you think there’s any chance that Practical Magic 2 might actually be good, by the way?
I’m nervous about it, to be honest. Everyone is pickled, and everyone has iPhone face. The original was so iconic, and I hope they have a genuine plot and that it’s not a nostalgia money grab like Moana 2 (no shade).
What else is coming up for you?
Coming up, I also have Slay the Stigma on September 12th with the NY LGBT Center, to raise money for HIV+ health programs on the island. I’ll also be auditioning for the next season of [Icon’s multi-week drag competition] Pantheon, doing some shoots, and announcing the details of a Long Island brunch soon! I love Astoria and Long Island, and can’t wait to keep making art.
Have great shows! Okay lastly: what’s your favorite item in your drag bag, cosmetic or otherwise?
I recently made the switch from OneSize’s setting spray to Kryolan’s fixing xpray, and I bring it with me to every show like a soldier carrying his lover’s picture in a locket on the battlefield. It sits in my bag next to my Off Hours gummies; my post-show snack. Between that and the Kryolan spray, I set it and then forget it. Literally!
Thanks, Tiffany!
Thanks for having me, diva!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Tiffany Piffany’s upcoming appearances, and follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
Thotyssey 