Boston Uncommon vol 1. / no. 18
Witchcrap, Boston's reopening, and Candace Persuasian
Boston Uncommon is a weekly newsletter covering Boston-based drag, burlesque, cabaret, sex work, and various forms of queer nightlife. Featuring original writing and reporting, Boston Uncommon engages authentically with those who work and play within Boston’s queer spaces and reports on the issues that directly impact local and greater LGBTQ+ communities.
In this week’s edition of Boston Uncommon I:
Cover a BIG STORY: Drag artist Severity Stone balances small business as live bookings pick up
Make sure to STAY ON TOP OF THIS: Venues prep for city’s full reopening and end of state of emergency
Check in with our COMPETING STREAM QUEENS: “Now Serving” top five challenged to “activate their activism” in digital competition
And stop to think— WHAT IS BOSTON DRAG?: Candace Persuasian reflects on what she has learned, challenges she faces as a performer
BIG STORY: Drag artist Severity Stone balances small business as live bookings pick up
Drag performer and small business owner Severity Stone has been working in nightlife for 10 years but has always enjoyed crafting, having a knack for drawing, painting, and making clothes since she was a child. Eventually, this translated into fashion, drag, and her small business Witchcrap.
“The idea of [turing accessory making] it into an actual business was always on my mind, [but] it took all the new free time (and newfound inspiration) that I now had during 2020 to actually make it happen,” Severity said.
As venues reopen for in-person shows, Severity will be juggling her small business, digital drag, and live gigs.
“Learning to balance digital and in-person shows is going to be a task...Most drag artists resorted to digital drag as a substitute for the gigs we could no longer do,” Severity explained. “I [now] realized that it's an excellent platform and a great alternative way to share our art with people all over the world who can't necessarily come out to clubs or bars.”
Severity finds it especially important to stress the time and money that goes into producing drag.
“Drag performers who work at clubs are often wildly underpaid and underappreciated,” Stone explained. “While it may be fun for some to pick up as a hobby, doing drag professionally is very expensive and there's usually not a tremendous payout.”
STAY ON TOP OF THIS: Venues prep for city’s full reopening and end of state of emergency
As Massachusetts approaches full reopening with remaining COVID-19 regulations regarding industry capacities, gathering limits, and mask requirements for vaccinated people being lifted, Boston nightlife must not only prepare for the start of pride month, but also the return to queer venues.
With the official end of the state of emergency approaching (June 15, per Governor Charlie Baker’s executive order,) queens, queers, kings, and things have already begun announcing their weekly shows, with a few featured below compiled via Instagram, Facebook, and KikiPedia, Boston.
Latinx Wednesday @ Legacy Nightclub on Wednesdays — Starts today!
Drag Diva Brunch @ House of Blues on Saturdays — Book now!
Category Is... "To Dance Is To Live"! @ dbar on Saturdays — Starts June 5
Throwback Tea Dance @ Club Cafe on Sundays — Starts June 6
Serve! Thursdays @ Legacy Nightclub on Thursdays — Starts June 10
(And don’t forget to tip your waitstaff and performers!)
COMPETING STREAM QUEENS: “Now Serving” top five challenged to “activate their activism” in digital competition
For the semi-finals of “Now Serving,” the Serve Network’s Twitch drag competition, the remaining five contestants created digital drag performances devoted to an issue or cause they believe in.
“As soon as the theme is announced, I don’t go to bed until I’ve come up with an idea,” four-time challenge winner Zad Gravebone said. “[One challenge] for me is… keeping my ideas accomplishable from the beginning so I don’t bite off more than I can chew. It’s also figuring out how I can successfully fulfill the brief with my brand of drag.”
An animator and cartoonist, Zad storyboards to organize his concepts before looking for any costume pieces or props he may need for each week’s theme.
“I felt it was appropriate to do my performance on mental health in the trans/non-binary community since that is my own experience,” Zad explained. “I performed Peter Gabriel’s “Don’t Give Up” to express the despair and loneliness a lot of us feel when we have to transition to save our own lives…I used a reflection of my pre-transition self to send encouraging words to move forward with my authentic life.”
Joined by guest judges and performers Hollow Eve and Saint, the judges panel combined their scores and the fan vote to declare Obsidienne Obsurd safe and crown Zad Gravebone the winner of the night, a booking with drag artist Semi-Sweet, a set of nails by Art Vibe Nails, and $150 sent to Trans Lifeline, a charity of his choice.
Chris Griandher and Seyoncé Knows landed in the bottom two and Seyoncé Knows was ultimately the next to be eliminated. In two weeks, the top four— Zad Gravebone, Obsidienne Obsurd, Severity Stone, and Chris Griandher— will compete in the finale for the $1000 grand prize and a booking at Legacy Nightclub Boston.
WHAT IS BOSTON DRAG?: Candace Persuasian reflects on what she has learned, challenges she faces as a performer
Through my 18-week coverage of Boston queer nightlife and the greater LGBTQ+ community, I have noticed a general lack of reporting on local drag industries and the performers and culture that define the New England scene. “What is Boston Drag?” is a space for local performers and community members to explore and understand their own regional culture.
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Boston-based artist Candace Persuasian. has been performing since she was 16 when she began teaching herself the choreography to every Beyonce music video. By 2015, she was performing at Machine Nightclub and by 2020 was working with Drag Me to Brunch at Carrie Nation, the only show in Boson with a majority Asian/Asian American cast. Through her experiences working in the Boston scene, now a cast member at Drag Diva Brunch, Candace reflects on the challenges she faces, ways she has grown, and what she has learned as a performer.
