NYC Drag Queen Of The Week- Ivy Stalls
There is no shortage of drag queens in NYC. You can’t throw a rock without hitting some twink in a dress thinking he’s got what it takes to shantay down the runway just because he’s seen every season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race while practicing YouTube makeup tutorials. There’s a difference, though, between learning how to just paint your face and turning that face into a work of fucking art. This weekly series highlights the queens who stand out from the crowd and rock those heels til they bleed.
Meet Ivy Stalls.
How did you get started in drag?
I run a theater on Long Island and I directed La Cage Aux Folles. I started doing drag then when I played one of the ensemble drag queens. I just fell in love with it. I had been watching and following some drag queens for years and it’s just something that I wanted to do. From there I thought let me take this out into the big world.
You have a monthly show at straight bar in Long Island. What kinds of reactions do you get from the patrons?
The bar was a little nervous the first time we did it because they weren’t sure how their clientele would take to it but they absolutely loved it. One woman came up to me last month and she said it was the second time she had been to my show and her husband talks about it all the time. Now, I have a crazy big following of straight people.
You teach theater kids. Do they know you do drag?
They know all about it and they absolutely love it. They’re always asking to see my Instagram and videos and stuff. Some of their parents even come and see my shows.
What does your family think of you doing drag?
My family loves it. My mother actually makes all of my costumes. She supports me, my father supports me and my brother supports me. They always come to my shows. It’s awesome.
Is it expensive to be a drag queen?
It depends. I always say you can make something very cheap look very expensive or you can make something very expensive look very cheap. I give the girls that do it, like 6 or 7 days a week, a lot of credit because just supplying all the supplies you need for it does get very expensive.
What’s been one of your most memorable nights in drag?
The first time I did my monthly show I jumped on the bar and stood up and almost had my wig ripped off by the ceiling fan. I thought it was higher up than it was. That’s become a running joke now. I give them a look and they clear the bar because they know I’m coming through and the bartender stands where the ceiling fan is so I know to crawl right past him.
What’s something you’ve seen other queens do that you would never do in your act?
Something that shocks me all the time, and I give them a lot of credit, is when queens jump off of platforms and land in a split. Ivy Stalls would never do that. She can dance her ass of but she can’t do no splits. I like to call them cooter splats, when you splat your cooter on the floor, and I don’t do those.
Ivy Stalls will be performing at the Broke Ass Drag Show at Bedlam Bar with Bella Noche on Thursday October 25th at 9pm. She’ll be at One Eyed Jacks on Long Island on November 24th and January 26th. She’ll also be at The Stonewall Inn on December 9th.
