DC Drag Lab opens the stage to up-and-coming drag performers in the DMV

By Manny Siskind

By showtime at Songbyrd Music House, the venue was empty. Despite this, the performers at DC Drag Lab, a monthly sign-up-based drag showcase at Songbyrd, seemed to be in good spirits, waiting for a few dozen spectators to drift in before they started nearly an hour late.

DC Drag Lab is one of only three regularly scheduled open sign-up drag shows in D.C., the others being Screen Test (hosted on Wednesday nights at Shakers, on hiatus until November) and Slay Them (hosted on first Fridays at Red Bear Brewery). At open sign-up shows, any performer can contact the host and perform, regardless of their experience level. Host Brooke N. Hymen posted the sign up link on their Instagram in July.

“I started producing DC’s Drag Lab because we were missing an open stage, non-competition format drag show in the city. Open stages are where I really got my start and was able to work on my craft and try out new numbers, so it felt important to bring that platform back for newer artists,” Brooke said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Brooke N Hymen (@brookenhymen)

Outside the walls of Songbyrd, a 220-capacity venue in Union Market, these new performers have a much tougher time booking performances without connections and a history of shows. Here, though, they have up to five minutes to perform whatever they so choose: usually a mix of lip sync, dance, and comedy numbers. All the while, each performer sashays into the audience to collect cash tips to fund their drag.

Inclusivity is the basis of an open stage show, and this month’s Drag Lab cast made a point of letting the audience know that these values don’t stop at the stage door. During numbers, queens supported one another by filming for social media and cheering with all their might. The performers of Drag Lab, many of whom are rarely able to show their skills, took the stage with a passion for both performance and their community.

Jazz What and Vettick What traveled to DC from suburban Maryland to perform, and relied on the community that they built with one another to propel them into drag performance.

“I started doing drag almost two years ago already, in November 2022,” Jazz What said. They started performing on their partner Vettick What’s birthday, at Vettick’s encouragement. “They were the one who pushed me and told me ‘Hey. Are you going to talk? Or are you going to do something about it?’” Jazz said. At Drag Lab, they wore a leather outfit and performed a comedic routine beginning with Queen’s “I Want to Break Free” and ending with a dance break. They were followed by Vettick What, who, adorned in white face paint, covered themself in fake blood as they danced to Paramore’s “Misery Business.”

“I came to life… like a week after my birthday.” Vettick said. Though their initial birth was as the feminine drag queen Betty What, they changed their name to Vettick What in December 2023 to represent their desire to gender-bend in performances.

“The best thing about open stages like tonight is that you can let go, and you can do anything you want… It went great! And all of the performers were so great to be watching,” they said.

As the two headed to their car at the end of the night, they were stopped by multiple audience members that they knew, exchanging hugs.

Jazz and Vettick were not the only ones in the room encouraging each other. Though groups entered the audience separately, it became clear by the end of the night that many already knew one another. Ballroom performer Bombshell Monroe climbed onto the stage halfway through the night to celebrate her birthday and the performance of her drag daughter (a younger performer that she is mentoring) Jade Monroe. Silver Ware, the host of T4T 2000, a monthly transgender social hour at Trade Bar, was invited to the stage as a surprise guest host to cheers from the crowd. By the time the show ended just after 1:00 a.m., groups that entered the audience together had separated and blended together into a small sea of queer faces.

The cast of this month’s Drag Lab included hosts Brooke N. Hymen and Andromeda and featured performances by Anya Olympia, Miss Gorgeous Michael, Archer Back, Jazz What, Vettick What, Donnicka Reddy Alexander, Jade Monroe, and Dream.