A Night at Woody’s

It’s a crisp Sunday night on the streets of Toronto, but once inside Woody’s and Sailor Gay Bar the atmosphere changes. The crisp chill from outside fades fast as the inside is warm and inviting.

The lights are dim and people move about getting ready for the night’s festivities. Stepping farther into the bar, we see the stage where the drag queens will perform, facing a bunch of empty tables and chairs that will soon be packed.

It’s roughly 7:30 p.m. and the bar is starting to fill up. Drag queens appear one by one. Some of them look almost too pretty to tell who’s a drag queen and who’s really a girl.

One drag queen is sitting at the bar dressed as Jessica Rabbit, carrot in hand, and it’s a bit of a daunting task to go up to her to ask for an interview. You don’t know what she will say. But non-the-less she agrees to be interviewed after her set.

At 8 p.m. the first show is underway. The first drag queen to perform is Michelle Ross dressed up as Diana Ross. She sways across the stage batting her eyelashes and flipping her hair. Outstretching her hand for her tips as she twirls around.

She’s fun to watch.

Next up is Farra N. Hyte performing as Jessica Rabbit, the drag queen we spoke to minutes before. During her set she notices us filming her and she let’s the whole bar know we are there, “We’ve got Guelph University in the house tonight” she yells into the microphone. “They’re here doing a school project. What kind of project is it?” We reply back with, “drag culture” which prompts someone in the crowd to say, “we have a culture?” The bar cracks up.

That’s what we came to the bar to find out. All about drag culture.

“I don’t even think they know what they’re doing, or what they got themselves into.” Farra N. Hyte says as she goes on, “They probably had some gay guy in their class who suggested the idea because he didn’t want to go to a gay bar alone.” Everyone is in stitches.

Being in the presence of a drag queen can be a little intimidating just because they can be sassy and not want to talk to you.

As the night wore on the second drag show started up and a drag queen by the name of DManda Tension performed as Liza Minnelli. She was so approachable and happy to speak with us. She’s probably one of the best drag queens we talked to all night.

A drag queen named Georgie Girl was dressed as a vampire for their Halloween special drag show, and man did it make her look down-right scary. She played the part well, making scary faces with her false fangs, like she was out to get the audience.

The next drag queen we spoke to was over the top, and very flamboyant. She also makes a living doing drag, which we found pretty impressive. Her name is Carlotta Carlisle. She had voluminous hair, and make-up done so flawlessly. Her arms were adorned with jewels making her a beautiful drag queen.

When she performed she got really into it. She danced and utilized the whole stage, interacting with the crowd. She performed to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

One thing noticed about all the drag queens is that their make-up is all spot on and done to perfection. As a girl, it really makes you want to get some tips!

It’s reaching close to 11 p.m. and the bar is now fully packed with people in every possible space available. The mood in the club is at an all-time high. Everyone is enjoying themselves, from the people in the crowd to the drag queens on stage.

As the show continues some new faces show up like Cassandra Moore, and Scarlett BoBo.

Cassandra Moore was one of the most breathtaking queens of the night. A girl-crush could be felt coming on. Either way, no one could take their eyes off of her, her natural flowing black hair making all the girls in the bar jealous. The songs she chose to perform were perfect. It was such upbeat music for such an upbeat and inspiring person. Performing to Anna Kendrick’s “When I’m Gone,” and “Brave” by Sara Bareilles.

Scarlett BoBo performing afterward Cassandra, and she had a bright red wig that was awesome. She painted half her face up for Halloween. Half her face was done up in make-up, the other was a skeleton. It was a little trippy because half her face looked like a girl, while the other looked like a boy.

Looking for a drag queen after they’re done performing proves to be a challenge. They just disappear once off stage. And getting interviews is becoming difficult.

Devine Darlin is the last drag queen we get to interview. She’s all decked out in feathers. Watching her perform is like watching a Cirque-du-Soleil act. She used the whole stage jumping and doing the splits. Some things it looked like it hurt to do, but she showed no sign of pain, just that she was having a good time. The audience looked like they were really enjoying the show. Not a single person in the bar could look away. Everyone was crowed around the stage trying to get a view of the performance.

The night proved to be an experience that won’t be forgotten. It was interactive, and it was a night full of acceptance where no one was judged and everyone had an amazing time.

As Devine Darlin said, “I would describe drag as a female impersonation, illusion, [and] form where by it’s like putting on a mask, it’s whatever you’ve had inside of you [that] you want to portray.”

To learn some interesting stats about drag culture click here!