Brews & Broads (& Blogs)

Yesterday was the third Brews and Broads, my original drag variety show at The New Cambridge Project in Bristol. This month we had Kenya Moan Hart, Clementine Ku’Layd, and Seoul Daddy. Leading up to it was a little nerve wracking. The July show had very low attendance, which was a bummer. The owners were understanding and told me it had been a slow month, but I knew I had to work a lot harder at promoting. You have to wear a lot of different hats (or I guess wigs in this case) to be a showrunner. When I started drag just performing was a daunting task. Now that part is the easiest by far. Marketing is a completely different beast.

I made new posters, added fun content to this website, cut out so many more flaminimis, and directly invited a lot of people. The brewery was full of new and familiar faces. My family and some childhood friends made it. Clementine’s family was there celebrating her mom’s 30th birthday (for at least the 10th time…). There were a couple regulars of the brewery there; Two gentlemen that didn’t realize there would be a drag show that day and had never been to one before.

I can feel myself getting better and better at hosting each show. A good chunk of the crowd were people I’ve known my whole life, so that might have been part of the reason why I was more comfortable today. Sometimes I get too in my head and just blank on things I had planned on doing or saying, or I’ll talk too fast to just get through it. Today ran great though. Most of my silly jokes landed, and I only messed up the music like 3 times (tehe). I sounded incredible in that venue; I love singing in the New Cambridge Project. The excellent acoustics mean I don’t need a microphone, and the audiences have been just delightful to perform for (even last month when I could count them all on one hand).

After me, Flaminia, was Kenya. As soon as I knew I had my own show, I knew I wanted Kenya. The mix she was doing was definitely pushing the envelope of what I’d consider PG-13… buuuut it was really funny and there were no kids in the audience, so I gave her the green light. Kenya killed it, as always. She’s so expressive and she’s such an incredible dancer. I’ve seen Kenya jump into splits before, and each time is incredible. What’s even more incredible was looking at this audiences faces when she did it. An audience that hasn’t been desensitized by countless seasons of reality TV shablams.

Clementine was next. She has a contagious enthusiasm on and off stage. Weeks before the show she was promoting it and asking me questions. I worked a lot harder because I was so inspired by her. Clementine’s performances were funny, sweet, energetic. She twirled her hair so fast I was worried she’d take off like a helicopter. She brought a cake out during intermission for her mom. It’s such a treasure to be able to share our true selves with our loved ones.

Even though the show is called Brews & Broads, I’m committed to having at least 1 king in every cast. I want this show to be a “sample” (get it, like beer) of different styles of drag. This month I was so lucky to have Seoul Daddy. Every time I see him he’s so suave and such a precise dancer. Me, Flaminia, I’m more of a float arounder than a choreographer. If the rest of the cast were ciders, he’d be a smoooooth IPA (I don’t drink beer and have no idea what I’m talking about btw). Every time I’ve performed with him, I see him find a spot backstage to practice his moves.

My only regret is not designating someone to take higher quality pictures or videos! I have a nice camera, and I thought about bringing it, but was already carrying so much. I should pack in a bigger bag so I can fit all my stuff. I didn’t even have room to bring my custom bendy straw. Oh another thing I’ll definitely change is the layout of this website. Obviously the layout makes sense to me, Flaminia, but when I watch people visit my website for the first time I realized this is not as intuitive a layout as I thought…

the straw in question

It’s so special to share my voice and the talents of the drag community to new audiences. Those two gentlemen I mentioned earlier loved the show. One of them tipped us a 20-dollar bill… EACH! More importantly though, he told us he was really happy to be there. He told us he was proud of us and the New Cambridge Project for doing this in Bristol specifically. Even just driving to the venue you can see a large chunk of the town’s political leanings.

There’s an underlying anxiety putting on this show in a conservative town like Bristol, but that’s what makes it special. It’s important to introduce everyday straight society to drag. There’s a moral panic surrounding drag and more significantly, the trans community, but the majority of people are understanding and accepting. A showrunner wears a lot of wigs, and besides being a chanteuse, hostess, and promoter, I’m grateful for the chance to be an ambassador.

The Next Brews & Broads will be Sunday November 3rd. Normally it’s the last Sunday of every month, but September and October both had pre-existing events. Hope to see you, not Flaminia, there for the next one! Or at some of my other upcoming events. Until then,

Ciao 💖