Gather’s spotlight lingers on Victoria Lynn!

Victoria Lynn has been bringing her glamor to Gather on Broadway’s stage with the rest of the Glitz and Gather Queens for the last three years in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with a history of six years in nationwide Drag overall.

Drag Queen of the Glamazon

Stepping one fabulous heeled foot into the Drag scene approximately six years ago at a Halloween show opened up an entirely new passion and side to life Victoria was excited to explore and stake her name in. 

“I was, what one would call, a ‘Halloween Queen’,” Victoria laughed fondly as she recounted her past on the stage. “I tried my hand at Drag the first time six years ago on Halloween, and then did another show six months after that, and from there I just knew this was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Not only was her presence on stage exactly what she had been craving to shine as a brighter version of herself, but she felt at home in the community that had taken shape around her, finding family in the fun.

“Drag is a lot like family in a lot of ways,” Victoria started, “you have people who either become your mothers or your sisters, and you end up sharing your names with them. My Drag Mother is Bianca Lynn Breeze, who started The House of Lynn in honor of her mother, and I was lucky enough to be brought into that family which is where I get the ‘Lynn’ in Victoria Lynn.” 

“The name Victoria actually came from my desire to be perceived as a more fabulous Vicky,” she laughed. “I started as Vicky because I wanted to be the girl who was down for anything and wouldn’t take shit from anyone, but as my love for pageantry deepened, ‘Vicky’ just didn’t feel like the glamor I was going for, so I switched to Victoria!”

Even before Vicky was Victoria, she was taking up each stage she graced her presence in a big and bold way. Donning the brightest, eye-catching costumes, Victoria Lynn frequently stole the show.

“I consider myself a glamazon Drag Queen, influenced by Texas Drag as well,” she explained. “All the feathers and rhinestones, the biggest hair – I want to make a statement with my stage time. I love to take up space since I am a plus-size queen, I don’t want to be small on stage.”

The pageantry of the performance of Drag is what drove Victoria to this passion and dedication to the art. Beating over 19 other Queens from across the country, while in the state of Florida, Victoria Lynn became Miss Club Wisconsin, a state title she holds dearly amongst her recent accomplishments. She also took home the title of Miss Gay Wisconsin: At Large, for the plus-size category.

“I represent all of the queer clubs in Wisconsin that host Drag events,” grinned Victoria. “They each have their own pageant to compete at, and if you win said pageant you are then qualified to compete at the state level of pageantry. For the next year, I get to travel around the state of Wisconsin and help with those duties.”

Building up a credible reputation within the Drag community can take years of trial and error with costumes, makeup, the artists you work with, and even the style in which a Queen performs, and Victoria has already established a name for herself not only within the state of Wisconsin but in the midwestern states surrounding as well. 

“I’ve been performing with Gather for the last three years, which I am more than happy with because it gave me time to perfect my stage presence, and what I wanted to say with my time as Victoria Lynn,” she explained. “By this point, I was heavily investing in my costumes, wigs, and makeup; I had a bit of a reputation built up, and now I’m booked nearly every weekend.”

Victoria works with quite a few independent artists across Wisconsin and the midwestern states to develop aspects of her costumes such as wigs, heels, accessories, or even the costumes themselves. Some costumes can take as little as a weekend to put together, and for others, she might work with a team or collect items leading up to an event months in advance. Most of her costumes range from $400-800.

“I feel my best when I present my best,” Victoria stated proudly. “There isn’t really any money being made in this art, it’s more about the community and how you feel doing it. I spent thousands of dollars just to compete for Miss Club Wisconsin, but it was worth it!”

“Gather has another production level entirely,” Victoria gushed. “It’s like a drag show on steroids: there’s money in the lighting, the stage, the effects, the decorations, the food! They treat us like royalty, and we as the Queens are already trying to bring our best show forward, so it always makes us feel appreciated and excited to be there.”

Gather is entirely different from many shows Victoria has taken the stage before, removing the competing and directing their focus to ensuring the audience has a unique and fun experience, and that the Queens feel safe, sexy, and celebrated.

“I just love it so much,” smiled Victoria. “It’s one of the busiest, biggest, most well-organized shows we get to be a part of every year.”

‍

Down-to-earth Drag divas

Victoria prefers to perform theatrical, diva-inspired numbers ranging from Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce, all the way to Jessie J. Artists that have a broad range of emotion and command the stage as much as she loves to are her preferred discography to dance to.

“Every Queen has a hype song, and Domino by Jesse J is my go-to hype song every time,” she laughed. “I try not to repeat my sets or numbers because I always want to give a new show, I never want someone to be bored watching me perform, but I do have a few favorite routines that come back now and then.”

Victoria finds inspiration for her next performances and shows everywhere: in public, with friends – she’s not afraid to involve the artistry of her friends and the community surrounding her in Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, and the other cities of the midwest for the absolute pageantry she brings to the stage.

“I’m in many group chats where ideas are frequently floated and molded into different things,” Victoria laughed. “Local Drag inspires me a lot too, especially plus-sized artists, I just went to a show recently where I was in complete awe of one of the dresses worn that I knew I had to get one made like it.”

This community is so tight-knit, that there is a Facebook group where many midwestern Drag Queens will swap costumes, wigs, heels, accessories, costume-making services, and other resources involved in the multi-step process. 

While preparing for a show, many Queens will hire artists to help arrange their costumes and other featuring pieces. However, most prefer to do their own makeup as it is a statement of their Drag Queen persona.

“I 100% do my own makeup,” Victoria stated emphatically. “It takes a long time to figure out your style of Drag and how you want your face to reflect that. I’ve had others do my makeup for me, but it never felt right. I used to dread the process because I didn’t think I had it quite right, but about three years into performing, another Queen walked me through it in a way that made more sense for me and now I absolutely love it. I always feel so beautiful.”

Most queens have about an hour, to an hour and a half to make sure everything with their makeup is perfect before the show begins. 

“For Gather shows for example, we’ll have a dress rehearsal a few hours before people arrive, and in this dress rehearsal we go over our introductions, the in-between segments, costume changes…everything to see if there’s anything we need to clarify or correct with sound or lighting, and then we go take group pictures just before guests arrive for cocktail hour!”

“We want to leave people on a high note, and we want all the Queens to be seen at the end of the night, so this group number is such a fun feature because the audience gets to see everyone one more time, but together!’

The group number performed at the end of Gather on Broadway’s biannual Drag Show, “Glitz and Gather”, has become a crucial piece to the evening for the returning Queens. It is a recurring cast of Queens for these shows, with some new additions every so often, so these women get very close with each other, and to share the stage in that way has become a favorite of the series to each and every one of them. 

“A lot of my bookings come from people I have an established community with or have worked with before,” smiled Victoria. “I want to have a fun time just as much as everyone else, so I want to involve people whose company I enjoy!”

Having this recurring circle of friends take the stage at Gather after spending the last many months texting back and forth, provides the foundation for a cohesive show where the audience can feel the love was poured into. When there’s no competition, it’s easy to truly bring in the sisterhood side of the art.

“One of the best parts of Drag happens behind the scenes while we’re all getting ready and after shows, when we get to truly be ourselves – whether that’s talking shit to build up our competitive sides or building each other up and admiring each other’s pieces, I’ve been in all the types of environments,” she laughed, “it’s all part of the fun.”

‍

Characterization of the brightest and boldest self

While competing against each other can bring out the less-than-preferred attitude amongst some performers, Victoria is adamant about lifting each other up within the community instead of bringing each other down. Light-hearted banter can be fun to increase motivation, but overall the whole allure of Drag is the community that has been fostered from it.

“I think it’s really important that we lift each other up so that we can lift this community up,” Victoria stated. “We should talk about the Drag community, we need to be seen and heard, so it’s important to think of ways we can do more to build up this community.”

“At the end of the day, I’m a professional, so I’m going to be kind and courteous, and put aside any feelings that aren’t beneficial for the show,” she commented. “We have to be respectful of each other when the community is so connected. 99% of the time it’s all fun and love backstage, and it’s fun to get to see the same friends at different shows across the state, or even country. We are sisters before, during, and after this whole event.”

The following and support for Drag and the artists involved have become much more widely accepted in mainstream media in the last decade, and with so many new and welcome enjoyers and participators, Victoria feels it is important to remember the roots of Drag.

“For those interested in trying Drag first hand for the first time, just respect who came before you,” she emphasized. “This is not a new art, there are years of artists behind us that we need to respect and pay homage to. We’re very lucky Drag has become mainstream, it did not use to be like this and they had to work a lot harder for a lot less than what we have now. They’ve earned their legacy. And be open to trying new things!” 

“To anyone who’s never seen Drag before: sit back and open your mind. Understand that who you are seeing on stage is a perceived idea of the Queen, a characterization of the brightest and boldest self.”

For many Queens and Drag performers, Drag, like most occasions in the spotlight or limelight, is a way for the artist to convey a fuller version of themselves that they might not have the opportunity to present in their day-to-day lives. With Drag, there is little to no judgment about how they’d wish to express themselves on stage (aside from the actual judging).

“In my day-to-day life, I’m very masculine presenting, closed off, and just a tad shy. I run a very successful tattoo business (Blue Lotus Tattoo) that demands all of my attention and passion just as much as the shows I’m booking. When I’m Victoria, I get to be who I feel is the complete me: glamorous and commands the attention. It’s a bigger version of me who still has layers and layers to life.”

As long as the interest in the art is genuine, Drag Queens and Kings alike are more than happy to welcome more royalty to their court. 

“Anybody can do Drag!” Victoria emphasized. “You’re doing Drag when you’re doing your makeup at home! Find a fun outfit you can’t wait to show out with your friends? That’s Drag! Drag is simply being an exaggerated version of yourself.”

“You have the ability to be anything and anyone you want. Everything is a spectrum, and life is extremely short. Keep an open mind and enjoy the moments you have – you are enough and can make a difference simply by being yourself.”

While the world seems large, making friends can make it feel a whole lot closer than one thinks, and the community built by the artistry of Drag grows ever the larger in this actually small world.

Follow Victoria Lynn on all of her socials to keep up with where she’ll be performing next, and sign up for Gather’s emailed updates and follow their social media accounts for news on the next Glitz and Gather show.

‍