A group of young LGBTQ New Yorkers had the experience of a lifetime — or, as they might describe it, the gag of the century — this week at The Center, a home and resource hub for New York City’s LGBTQ community.
Fourteen drag lovers spent their sunny spring afternoon at the historic Greenwich Village building, discussing all things drag performance — an ancient art form famous for its humor and over-the-top wigs, which has turned into the latest symbol of anti-LGBTQ hate.
Acolorful mix of nonbinary teens, young men and women was there to attend “Drag 101,” a workshop on drag makeup, fashion and runway. The event was set to end with a chat with a very special guest: one of the queens on the upcoming season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.”
“All Stars,” a spinoff of the multi-Emmy-winning pop culture phenomenon, brings back 12 fan-favorite contestants from previous seasons of “Drag Race.”
As promised, Alexis Michelle, a Manhattan-born queen who originally appeared on season 9 in 2017, walked into the workshop under thunderous applause from the starstruck youth.
Wearing a silver sequin minidress with a massive shoulder ruffle — and an even bigger wig — Michelle sashayed into the room as the event’s surprise guest.
But the surprise was far from over.
The door opened again and the other 11 contestants of “All Stars 8″ joined the party, serving looks and charisma under screams of “yaaass” and “iconic!” from the crowd.
The afternoon was part of a robust set of programs available to the city’s LGBTQ youth at The Center, which was founded in 1983 as a response to the AIDS crisis. It has since become a place where members of NYC’s LGBTQ community come together to support each other, organize and connect.
Youth programming — open to teens and young adults ages 13 to 21 — includes summer camp, choir practice, art classes, sex-education workshops and vogue balls, as well as leadership development opportunities and internship preparation, says Brian Doyle, the organization’s director of special events.
Drag 101 is not part of The Center’s regular roster, Doyle told the Us.Mistertruth., but instead a “fun thing we put together to surprise our youth.”
The queens were divided into four groups of three so the youth could walk around the room to get “tips, tricks and recommendations on all things drag.” Students were only asked to refrain from asking the queens about any gossip and to offer “no T, no shade” — a drag term used to preface a potentially critical or controversial comment.
For nearly 30 minutes, the starstruck crowd moved around the room, listening and sharing, laughing and hugging.
Some even walked the runway, encouraged by Las Vegas-based Kahanna Montrese and Monica Beverly Hillz, a Chicago queen who made history as the first contestant to come out as trans while filming the show over 10 years ago.
“I want to see what you have!” Beverly Hillz said to a teen, who clearly had a lot of practice voguing.
“Y’all are sickening! (wonderful!)” screamed Montrese, after the teen’s perfectly executed death drop.
But the event went beyond the runway. It was also a safe space where the teens could get practical advice on makeup, performance and style.
Chicago-based queen Naysha Lopez “highly” recommended the books of late makeup artist Kevin Aucoin.
Lala Ri of Atlanta said working to sharpen one’s look is essential, but authenticity is key. “Don’t try to look at somebody else and try to imitate that look. Figure out what works for you,” the season 13 Miss Congeniality winner said. “Me with big blond hair? No, ma’am, that’s not going to work.”
Jimbo, a fan-favorite of “Canada’s Drag Race” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World,” told the students how drag helped her “express [her] feminine side” which has helped her as a performer. It was a particularly relevant piece of advice as the rights of LGBTQ youth in the U.S. are currently under attack from conservatives, who take issue with young people’s gender identity and expression.
Drag is about “letting what’s inside of you out,” NYC-based Michelle summed it up. “So if you can just get in touch with that, and then channel that, or whatever aspect of that you want — if you can stick to that, you’ll never go wrong.”
“Let that inner fabulosity out,” agreed Mrs. Kasha Davis, a fellow Empire State queen.
“Now more than ever, there are no rules,” the Rochester-based performer told the Us.Mistertruth.. “You don’t have to have nails, you can have a beard, you can do whatever. However you want to express yourself in drag, it’s there. It’s that art form that is allowing you to be your most authentic self.”