An edgy comedy performer who’s done everything from drag and pageantry to wrestling to teaching to sketch comedy to social media stardom to practicing law, Wilma Carstart has definitely had a wild ride. And when she premieres the NYC edition of her competition show with its massive prize, we will all be riding shotgun!
Thotyssey: Hello Wilma, thanks for chatting today! I just saw you perform at Metro for Queer Talent Show recently, where you placed Top 2! You served us a delightfully unhinged and hilarious number where, among other things, you bodyslammed a babydoll.
Wilma Carstart: Metro was so fun for the Queer Talent Show! That was actually my second time performing there; I did their Mad Mondayz open stage. I’m actually new to New York; I moved here about four and a half months ago from Phoenix. [Previously I also lived in] Iowa, North Carolina, Kansas… all over the place. I had such a fun time at Metro doing the Queer Talent Show, though.
What’s your take on the New York drag scene so far as its size and depth, the personalities, the politics, the venues, etc.?
I would say it is very different from the scenes I like grew up in. I started drag in Iowa City at a small bar called Studio 13, and then Basix in Cedar Rapids which has Frisbee Jenkins as the main queen (who was formerly Sasha Bell from Drag Race Season 7). So I kind of grew up in a smaller environment. Then I moved out to Phoenix, which is the fifth largest city in America. I kind of made my way there, navigating that big city.
Every single city has it’s own style. I grew up in the drag pageant world because Arizona is very much a pageant state/ So I love that New York specifically loves camp–it’s been great to get to experience a place that just loves the style of drag that I do.
Nothing compares to New York and New York drag. It is such a different world, even how the scene is structured. The different boroughs having different vibes to them in terms of the drag style has been super interesting to experience and find out kind of where I fit in, because I I do a lot of different styles of drag. I’m known for my camp and high comedy and glamour, but I do a lot of also other styles of drag–some alternative stuff, some dance stuff. That being said, I found that the community has been really fun… and it’s a fun city to try to navigate.
Obviously the challenge is coming in as a new entertainer… but I’m not new. So it’s that kind of dichotomy of being new to a city, but not being new to drag. Navigating that has been really fun. So far I’ve really enjoyed performing at Pieces, at Metro, at 3 Dollar Bill, at Icon out in Astoria, at some of the places in Hell’s Kitchen like Industry. I’m actually getting my own show at Red Eye, which is in Hell’s Kitchen as well. I’m kind of becoming a queen of all the boroughs! I’m learning a lot, and I’m meeting a lot of really cool people.
What have been some influences on your evolving drag style?
My background is really wild. I went to Duke for undergrad, and so during that time I worked in late night television out here, actually, in New York. I worked at SNL and on The Daily Show doing production work, and I’ve always been really passionate about comedy and and what it does. Those jobs really solidified that for me.
I do improv and sketch comedy. I’ve worked on these sets with some of these famous comedians, and understanding the way they think about comedy. So my style of drag has always been kind of influenced by some of the great women of SNL: Kristin Wiig, Tina Fey, Cecily Strong, Maya Rudolph… the amazing Rachel Dratch, I just saw her on Broadway. I’ve always just vibed with the way that they approach humor, and I brought that to my drag.
I’ve always been interested in producing, directing, acting, theater, comedy and design. I think drag is such a unique art form where you’re able to combine every single one of those things into the art form that is drag. Drag has taught me to be a versatile human being.
You’re also a lawyer, right!?
I am! I started law school and drag at the same time… crazy decision! I went to the University of Iowa College, and I started dragging literally the first week of law school doing my first open stage in Iowa City. So my path is really kind of wild, but it’s brought me to my ultimate goal of working in entertainment.
That’s an amazing life!
Yeah, it’s been super crazy. I’ve got so much in my background. I’m a former high school teacher; I did that in between undergrad and law school. I wrestled in college. I just have a really bizarre and unique background, and I bring all that experience to everything I do.
Have you ever done any sort of “worlds colliding” situation where you’re doing lawyer themed drag numbers, or serving legal advice or representation to a queen?
I did a character named Judge Wilma (which is basically like a Judge Judy-esque type character) that I did for the first season of Wilma’s Drag Derby back in Phoenix, which was super fun.
And I have done some Drag Queen Lawyer legal education videos; they get circulated frequently. I usually base them off of what the hot topics of the day are, or what people need help with in today’s world… especially drag entertainers and the LGBT+ community. I also do immigration law, and I’ve done some education videos on what to do If ICE stops you, or tell you what your constitutional rights are in your home. I try to use like my background as a way to help people, because at the end of the line if you’re not making the world a better place… what are you doing?
I’ve also helped drag queens trademark their names, and helped them through different legal issues. I think the drag community doesn’t have a lot of resources that are available to us on the legal side of things. It’s really hard to understand legal stuff, I mean even as a lawyer; there’s stuff that’s like what on earth are you talking about? My goal all the time is to give access to people that don’t have access.
We also enjoy your video series that I am calling “drag cliche parodies,” where you are mocking the tropes (certain types of social media announcements and gig behaviors, etc.) that queens, in particular baby queens, often adhere to. Very funny! Do you come up with those on the spot, basically? And, have you gotten any sort of interesting feedback from those?
They are definitely what I am most famous for. I fully just improv my way entirely through them. I think comedy is about a lot of what observations you make in the world, so a lot of them are based on its observational humor. Whatever the character is that I’m parodying, I take it to the extreme; I just go for it and see what happens. Every single one of those videos that you see are pretty much improv; I kind of do best in an improv situation.
And yeah, I get a lot of different feedback from it. It’s helped me gain a really large social media following; I have over 10,000 followers on Instagram, almost 72, 000 followers on TikTok and a large following on Facebook. I get responses from a lot of famous drag queens that will comment on it or follow me, and love it.
But there’s also always going to be people that don’t like it, or that are offended by something. Over the years I’ve had to just grow a thick skin of understanding that humor isn’t for everybody–you’re not going to be for everybody. There are always going to be people that don’t like you or are jealous of you, or something like that. But as long as you are making the world a better place and doing things that align with your values, then that’s all that matters to me.
What’s your ultimate goal with drag? Would you be interested in being a Drag Race cast member, do you want to be a star on your own terms, or are you happy for now going day by day trying new stuff and seeing what happens?
That’s a really good question. Obviously it’s something that I think about a lot, and it wasn’t really something I thought about when I started drag. I originally started drag just to have fun and do something creative during law school. Who doesn’t want to be on Drag Race, right? But I wouldn’t say that it’s like the end-all-be-all. I think my ultimate goal would be to be on a show like SNL… a comedy show. I’d love to be producing my own work; I’d love to be just actively creating my art and making people laugh, and making a living doing it. I think that’s the only thing that I can ask for.
I always think about what it’s boiled down to for me, and what the stuff is that matters, and why is it that I wake up and do this? And the answer is storytelling. To me, storytelling is the base core of everything that I do. I’ve just always thought of storytelling as the number one form of social change, a way to show people the world. People empathize with stories; they can understand people from different backgrounds through stories, since the dawn of humanity. So for me, drag, comedy, art, theater, film, movies, television… all that stuff is storytelling. That’s what I love. In an ideal world, that’s just what I want to be doing with my life–telling those stories, and allowing other people to tell theirs.
You’re currently in a rotation of guest performers at Cherry Poppins‘ Wednesday night drag show at Monster Bar, Glamageddon!
Yeah, that’s been super fun–I actually got that pretty close to when I got here. I know Cherry through National Miss Comedy Queen, us being two camp girls. She was the first person to really give me a regular booking in the city, which was super great. I am basically there about once or twice a month on Wednesdays–we rehearse group numbers and do our solo numbers. We just recognize that drag, at the end of the line, is about having fun. I will be back soon, and we will be having a hoot and a holler underground at Monster.
You and Cherry will be on the pageant stage together again on October 11th, this time for Miss’d America in Atlantic City. Cherry will be stepping down as the current reigning, and you will be competing to replace her! How excited are you?
I’m really, really excited to do that. Miss’d America is hosted by Carson Kressley, and it’s got a really big audience. I get to go to Atlantic City, which is super fun. And the fact that Cherry is stepping down, and I know her and I work with her and we’re friends, makes it even more exciting.
I have been working on getting a package together–that’s a really big thing. I’ve got my gown and presentation settled. All I’ve been working on is my talent right now; I’m definitely going to bring that camp comedy flare with a lot of stupidity. I’ve done quite a number of pageants in my ,drag career and I’ve won a number of them… like, seven of them. I’m currently Arizona Entertainer of the Year, even though I no longer live in Arizona– so I’m going to be stepping down from that soon. But Miss’d America is going to be really fun.
Now tell us all about Wilma’s Drag Derby, which will premiere its second cycle at Red Eye in October. This is a drag competition that you hosted the premiere season of in Arizona, and are now reprising in NYC!
We actually just finished the casting process, and we cast 20 incredible entertainers. We start off with 20, and we will get down to one. There’s going to be a lot of twists and turns throughout it. It’s a very chaotic ten week long competition; there’s challenges, runways and lip syncs, but there’s a lot more to it. We did Season 1 at Kobalt in Phoenix, Arizona which was amazing, and the season one winner was Orbit.
I created it because I love producing things; I was producing about five shows in Phoenix, and I just felt like Phoenix needed a long form competition show. I feel like New York needs the same thing, weirdly enough. So when I came out here, it was something that I had always wanted to bring out anywhere I went because I had so much fun doing it.
I think the difference with it being a New York show this time around is that there’s going to be a lot more theatricality. I think the styles of drag are going to be very different from what we saw on Season 1, which I’m really excited about, and I think the way that people approach it is going to be very different this time around.
I’m bringing in guest judges every single week, including some of the most prominent entertainers in New York. There’s confessionals at the audience gets to watch. There is social media content. The audience is voting for advantages this season. There is social game and strategy… it’s not just a drag competition. There’s a lot more to it. We get to showcase a lot of local talent, and the response has been outstanding. We had 40 applications in the matter of about a week.
We are going to be sponsored by Freddie, the incredible healthcare company where you should get your PrEP and PEP care. They’re sponsoring a grand prize of $3,000 for the winner alongside a whole jewelry set, a styled wig, bookings, a photoshoot with Charlie Silver and a lot more. It’s a really, really great prize package, and the talent is outstanding this season. I think that everyone’s going to really bring it. They are going to be announced shortly, with introduction videos. I’m super excited about it.
Enjoy all the pageantry this October! Lastly: what’s the most essential item in your drag bag?
As a camp girl, definitely a prop. The most important item in my bag on any given day is a prop, and it depends on what number I’m doing. So it could be a babydoll, it could be a Peppa Pig doll, it could be a Mario Kart wheel, it could be a hanger. It could be a lot of different things, but it’s always, forever, going to be a prop.
Thanks, Wilma!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Wilma Carstart’s upcoming appearances, and follow her on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Thotyssey 