Femme & Fabulous Queens of Syracuse
Sunday night, Syracuse University’s very own student queens owned the stage in the school’s 15th Annual Drag Show Finals. There were sparkles, lashes, heels and plenty of glitter tossed around in true drag queen fashion. Hosted by Milk and Trixie Matel, the show started with a bang and ended with (many) death drops. Jerk sat down with one queen in particular who not only slayed her own performance, but has been owning the stage for the past three years. Lavon Top is a queen who has been molded by Syracuse drag culture, and she is a representation of the LGBTQ community on campus.
In case you weren’t already familiar, here’s a brief description of her performance from Sunday night: Lavon strutted in with a killer BDSM, all-black lace and leather look. The hair, the lips and the HEELS all created a bad-ass femme look. She invited many queens from the local performance areas (bars like Trexx and Rain) to join her on stage, and together they torched anything in sight with the flames from their hotness. The judges compared them to a “badass version of Taylor Swift’s gang in the Bad Blood music video,” but we can’t bring ourselves to even put these queens and Tay Swift in the same sentence due to their pure level of fabulousness (and some hatred towards the whiney country singer).
The performers/sex symbols channeled energy on the stage that met the levels of the audience’s excitement. There were gestures and nuances to some family favorites, such as the aggressive blow job, a sloppy sexy make-out and, my personal favorite, a little bit of ass eating. The finale was when Lavon and her dynamic, completely nude, duo did a simultaneous death drop center stage. The beat dropped, their bodies dropped, the mic dropped and yes, my panties also dropped. A finale of a lifetime and one no one was worthy of for Lavon’s final Syracuse University Drag Show performance.
What made you start doing drag?
Lavon: I started to do drag my sophomore year of college because I loved the transformation that occurred. I watched RuPaul’s Drag Race and was completely in awe of how makeup, wigs, and costumes can completely change who someone is (both physically and psychologically). I used to be a painter, so I took that creative ability and applied it to makeup and drag.
Where has your drag career taken you besides Syracuse?
Lavon: Since I started I have been performing in upstate New York and was booked in Florida.
How has drag impacted your lifestyle?
Lavon: Drag has almost completely taken over my life, because it’s so time consuming and takes a lot of work. For example, I go to school all day Thursday, and then at 3:20PM I have to head straight home to start getting ready to perform that night. It is a lot of work, but it’s fun getting ready with friends and helping each other out with makeup and ideas.
Do you see yourself continuing drag post-college?
Lavon: I wish I was able to slow down with all the drag stuff, as it is so expensive and takes up so much time, but I feel like I am too far invested in it at this point that I cannot quit or take a break before graduating. I would like to continue my drag career after graduation, but I am not sure how that will happen due to family conflict. My best friend said he would clean out his closet to hold all of my wigs, outfits, jewelry, and makeup at his place, though, so Lavon Top will continue after college!
Lavon Top and some of her fellow performers can be found at Trexx on Thursday nights.