Drag Queens Go Virtual: NYC's Nightlife In The Coronavirus Crisis

NEW YORK, NY — For the last month, Brooklyn drag queen Miz Jade has traded the packed New York City bars where she would perform as many as six nights a week for a new venue: her apartment.

Christmas lights framing an Amy Winehouse tapestry backdrop, a folded futon pushed to the side and a paper taped to the wall that reads "Tip Me," she joined a group of other nightlife performers for her first online show April 16.

"I've been turning my bedroom into a performance space every time I'm teaching or performing," said Miz Jade, who also works as a dance teacher. "I have to move everything, get the right lighting, play DJ — I’ve had to learn how to be a jack of all trades."

Miz Jade, who lives in Bushwick, is one of thousands of New York City drag queens, and other nightlife performers, who have had to reimagine their careers as the coronavirus pandemic shuts down the bars and venues where they typically perform.

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But the shutdown has created what is perhaps a new art form: the at-home livestream.

Drag queens across the city are taking to their own Instagram pages or banding together for virtual group performances, sometimes several nights a week, complete with links to PayPal, Venmo or other online methods for tips from viewers.

And, as with any performance, they are getting creative.

"I like the rawness of the digital performance," said Williamsburg queen Merrie Cherry. "If I'm doing a rock and roll song and roaming through my kitchen, whatever it looks like at that moment, that's how it's going to look."

Merrie Cherry joins an online performance from her couch. (Courtesy of Merrie Cherry).

But, the at-home performances aren't without their challenges.

Miz Jade said one of the first obstacles was wondering whether, with everything else going on in the world, if people would tune in. It took her a few weeks before she said yes to requests for performances, she said.

"After being told everything I had planned in the next month was not happening, I needed a moment," Miz Jade said. "I was in my room for days — I wasn't sure if people were doing that or if they were looking for artists to uplift and entertain."

Miz Jade said she slowly made her way into the virtual space with online dance classes, then a digital version of the Brooklyn Library's Drag Queen Story Hour and eventually, a group livestream.

(Courtesy of Miz Jade).

Another challenge, though, is that the virtual gigs have taken away perhaps the most important source of energy for the performer, the crowd. Performing directly to a camera instead of to a packed bar was an adjustment, the artists said.

"I have never done a live stream drag show until the shutdown began about six weeks ago," said drag artist Marti Gould Cummings. "It took some getting used to as there isn’t a live audience to feed off of."

But, even if they aren't in the room, the performers have found people are still watching — perhaps in even bigger numbers than would be possible in-person.

Merrie Cherry said one of her group performances had about 2,000 people tuning in. For Miz Jade, her dance classes have brought viewers all the way from Ohio and California.

"Having it virtually, more people have access to it," Miz Jade said. "You don't have the 'oohs and aahs' of the crowd, but people are commenting and giving you hearts. People are finding ways to support."

Both drag queens said because of the online success they personally haven't had to worry about their finances yet, but that that day may soon come.

Merrie Cherry — who said each online performance brings $60 to $100 instead of the hundreds from in-person gigs — said her biggest worry is that drag queens might be one of the last people to go back to work. Even as bars or restaurants open, the fear of large crowds might keep them from in-person performances until at the earliest September, she said.

The online performances and savings are enough to get by for now, but likely won't pay the bills for months, Miz Jade agreed.

"I wasn’t nervous until recently, because it just keeps getting extended," Miz Jade said. "That constant flow of income revenue isn’t happening...It's scary because I don’t know how long it’s going to last."

(Courtesy of Marti Gould Cummings).

Cummings, who is also running for City Council, has taken to advocating for a rent freeze, both to help nightlife performers and those who may have lost their jobs or are self-employed.

"The nightlife industry is collectively very scared right now," they said. "Everyone in the business is unemployed at the moment and the fear of not being able to pay rent, bills, or for food is very real."

A source of hope, though, has come from banding together to support each other, Cummings added.

Many of the online performances include fundraisers for workers at certain bars or venues and donations for individual performers.

The best way to support the industry, and the many LGBTQ artists who are part of it, is to keep tuning in, the performers said.

"There are drag queens, drag kings, burlesque performers, DJS, security guards — It takes a lot of people to have a successful bar night," Miz Jade said. "We are all looking to each other right now."

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Find out more about each of the artists' live shows on their Instagram pages, linked above.