{"id":245724,"date":"2026-05-27T23:07:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T23:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/245724\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T23:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T23:07:08","slug":"qa-drag-queen-susie-starlet-hosts-a-newcomer-showcase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/245724\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: Drag Queen Susie Starlet Hosts a Newcomer Showcase"},"content":{"rendered":"

Local drag queen Susie Starlet calls herself the \u201cauntie\u201d of the Milwaukee drag collective Haus of Fiend<\/a>, which she regularly shares shows with. She\u2019s also the founder\/host of The Serve<\/a>, a monthly drag revue at Cactus Club that aims to give burgeoning local drag artists a welcoming debut. A self-described \u201cDIY queen,\u201d Starlet styles her drag after fashionable Gen Z and millennial nightlife looks she sees in Milwaukee and Chicago clubs. Outside of drag, Starlet works in vintage fashion.<\/p>\n

On May 28, The Serve revue will be an actual competition, one with a specialty judges panel. It\u2019s the revue\u2019s second contest since it launched in summer 2025. Alongside her hopes for the fresh batch of queens at the show, Starlet discussed with Milwaukee Magazine where Milwaukee\u2019s queer community is finding spaces to gather despite a string of recent venue closures, why many drag artists are shifting to Chicago, and why drag matters in 2026.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!<\/p>\n

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Tell us about the structure and goals of The Serve.<\/p>\n

We need more people in the scene. We want more diversity, period. Every Wednesday at This Is It! was an open stage, basically. You had to know the host, Bailey, and she\u2019d get you in the show. It could be your first time in drag; it could be your 50th time in drag. It really didn\u2019t matter. But when [it] closed, there was no space for new performers.<\/p>\n

[I wanted] to provide that space back in Milwaukee. So, the competitions are to see who is out there that we\u2019re not seeing, who in Milwaukee is not getting booked. We want to see what you can do.
\nHow are you feeling about The Serve\u2019s impact so far? <\/p>\n

I was a bit nervous at first. The Serve itself is a beginner show, but there has to be something there. I\u2019m hoping that each one of these girls has at least that one thing \u2013 her outfit was amazing, her performance, her on the mic. I just want one thing to say, \u201cOh, yeah, this is gonna be your [specialty], and that\u2019s totally great.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was your first drag performance?<\/p>\n

I started drag in my bedroom when I lived in Illinois. [In college] I started going out in drag. That\u2019s how I met some queens. If you go out in drag, you\u2019re treated as one of their own, even if they don\u2019t know you. There\u2019s a sisterhood about it.<\/p>\n

I first did a \u201ctip kitten\u201d spot \u2013 picking up dollars for the girls at This Is It!. I ventured out to Madison because they had more open stages. My first performance, I was in a little lingerie bikini set, a blunt bang wig, and just lipstick, mascara. I was very into La Veneno at the time, so I did a Spanish song at a fully non-Spanish bar.<\/p>\n

Which drag artists inspire you?<\/p>\n

I was really inspired by Violet Chachki, Jorgeous and Valentina. Locally, Yufie<\/a> and Princess Janelza<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How did you learn all the components of styling?<\/p>\n

No one tells you. You learn by getting bullied in the dressing room. \u2026 [Someone once] told me that I look like a bag of bread. I had to realize she\u2019s talking about the costume; she\u2019s not talking about me.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your process of getting ready at the venue?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll put my wig on first and then do my makeup, which I have not seen a lot of queens do, and they make fun of me for it. But it\u2019s because then I can see where things are going! I don\u2019t want my eyebrow to be in my hairline! \u2026 I would say most of us are just in comfortable clothing before we get to the gig, though. Usually, you don\u2019t want people to see [your outfit] before a performance.<\/p>\n

Why are local drag performers leaving for Chicago?<\/p>\n

We\u2019re trying to venture into new places to work. There\u2019s only a handful of [local] bars that book drag performers, and in all honesty, [many of them] are not true drag bars or gay bars. We\u2019re performing in some queer concert spaces, which is interesting, but there\u2019s something about a gay bar. It was like stuff [was] drying up in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

What do you want to see change in Milwaukee\u2019s drag scene\/queer night life? <\/p>\n

I think we lost the gay male audience. And I love the lesbians, the queers, the nonbinaries and [transgender community], because that\u2019s who gets us. But at the same time, there has to be everyone here. I need gay boys to lock in and support local drag.<\/p>\n

Times are tough economically, but I also need the bars to start paying us [beyond what we make from tips]. We bring in a lot of people to the bars, and some just do not work with us as much as I would like them to.<\/p>\n

On the same note, there\u2019s some gay bars who do not care about drag \u2013 not just the bar themselves, but the audience. We need people to care about drag, especially in Milwaukee. Not only This Is It! closed, but Hamburger Mary\u2019s closed [with plans to reopen in another location], which a lot of people were performing at. It\u2019s getting harder and harder for bars to stay open, so it\u2019s kind of all hands on deck.<\/p>\n

What does drag mean to you?<\/p>\n

The community aspect. Especially as queer youth, [it matters] to know that others value what they value. It\u2019s motivational to see yourself in someone else. \u201cI\u2019m gay, too. I love all this. Thank goodness I\u2019m not alone.\u201d That\u2019s what made me fall in love with drag: that feeling that I\u2019m never alone. There\u2019s always someone in the bar I knew from performing, or vice versa. That helps me, and it helps the community, giving us spaces. I really think of The Serve as a third space.<\/p>\n

Anything else you\u2019d like to add?<\/p>\n

Support young Milwaukee drag and book us [new] girls, too!<\/p>\n

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