Marti Gould Cummings is the rare queen who doesn’t use a stage name. “RuPaul is the most famous drag queen in the world and his real name is RuPaul. So I was like, I’m not going to change my name either.” Cummings hosts Stage Fright Mondays at Therapy, which features Broadway guest stars mixed in with Cummings’ versions of show tune classics.

“Like every little gay boy, I loved Liza Minelli, Ethel Merman, Betty Buckley, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone. I really loved their over-the-top diva theatrics. So I guess that helped me with wanting to be an actor. But then it also certainly helped my drag.”

“The best thing about New York is I can go to five or six amazing drag shows in one night and I’m going to get a completely different show each time. Each of the girls here is so vastly different. And I love that. I love the creativity of New York.”

“I like the audience to be a part of my show. Obviously, we don’t want you jumping on stage if you’re not invited. But we also want you to have fun and unwind and have a good time. If we come into the audience to play with you, we want you to play back.”

“I think every drag show is like a mini-play. Every drag queen is trying to tell a story and trying make a connection with the audience. So it’s like we’re doing our own one-acts every night.”

One of the younger queens on the scene, Sherry Poppins started doing drag in college at SUNY Purchase and now performs in Brooklyn’s cutting-edge clubs. She’s a regular at Gold Sounds in Bushwick, where you can hear her unique takes on her favorite divas, Donna Summer and Amy Winehouse.

“A lot of drag queens default into staying within the boundaries of what people expect drag to be, and I’ve never liked that. So I try to push the limits of what drag can be.”

“I wanted my name to have reference to me being a Gemini—some sort of twinning or double entendre. I decided that my persona was going to be a little classy and a little trashy.”

“I had always been a theater kid growing up, but I never liked traditional acting or singing. The performance style for drag is so different. There are no rules. And I think being able to explore your own gender while you’re performing…it just felt like magic to me.”

“For any queer and nightlife artist to thrive, you have to constantly be inspired and challenged. I’ll see a performance of a good sister of mine or someone I’ve never met before and I’m like, ‘Oh my god—they’re a genius!’”  

“It’s a symbiotic relationship with the audience. I wanna do for them what they’re gonna be entertained by… just as much as I want them to support what I’m doing for myself.”

In January 2017, West Dakota signed up for the Mr(s) BK pageant, took the sash and was soon sashaying all over town in drag shows, but also as a fashion and runway model. On Wednesdays, West Dakota hosts and performs at a drag “open mic” at Bushwick’s The Rosemont.

“The Brooklyn scene has something very raw and edgy about it. Manhattan has a rich history that sort of revolves around Broadway and theater. I’d say the references in Brooklyn are much more diverse and a lot of it has to do with art, fashion and performance art.”

“What we’re doing in Brooklyn is really changing people’s conception of what drag is. It’s not about beauty; it’s not about femininity. It’s exploring what identity means to us. And just emphasizing the fact that every time you step out into the world you put on a costume.”

“So much of drag is putting on a character, putting on armor that equips you to deal with people, to deal with the world. To deal with an audience. To deal with the ideas you’re talking about in your performance.”

“I’m Filipino American…but I felt very disconnected from the Filipino side of my family. Here in New York there’s so many platforms specifically for queer Asian people. I feel very lucky to be a part of that. It’s given me a new sense of community around my Asian identity.”

Shequida got her start in drag at an unlikely place: the Juilliard School. In 1990, after singing in an opera, she got dressed up with friends for a post-show night out and has been performing ever since. She hosts the long-running Drag Wars at Pieces, a weekly competition for up-and-coming queens to make their mark.

“Nowadays people are realizing that drag is an actual job. It’s a career. It’s something to be respected. Something for everyone—‘Oh my god, I can grow up and become a drag entertainer.’ It’s not just something off to the fringe anymore.”

“A friend of mine said, ‘How are you so quick on stage? You just talk to anybody.’ And I said, ‘I love all people and so I fear no one.’ If you fear no one, you can talk to everybody. I think that is the key. Loving people, loving what I do and just treating everyone the same.”

“At Drag Wars, we have so many contestants because it’s so easy to go online and type in drag tutorial and someone will teach you how to do your makeup, how to do your hair,” Shequida says. “When I started there was none of that—there was watching and trying to emulate.”

“The hardest thing for a new performer is where do you perform,” Shequida says. “No one’s gonna book you if you’re new…so Drag Wars is something that’s very important for me to do.”