Holly Dae

“You’ve got to do what makes you smile each day”

Holly Dae, former Miss Fire Island Entertainer of the Year, can be found somewhere nearly every night of the week. With a classic look and a theatre persona, Miss Dae has fast become one of the most sort after, popular Drag Queens on the New York nightlife scene.

What made you decide to start doing drag?
I started off in the musical theatre world. I’ve always been an entertainer my whole life. I was unhappy working as just a chorus boy, because that’s all I was getting booked as. I decided to go into drag and be my own boss, and it snowballed so quickly, and now it’s been my career for eight years.

You have some titles going on, don’t you?
I was Miss Fire Island’s Entertainer of the Year 2013, I was Miss Monster 2014, and just last year I was first runner-up for Miss D’America in Atlantic City.

Where and when do you perform?
On Wednesdays I’m at The Monster. On Thursday I do the Queens Drag Review at Industry. On Fridays I do a show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre called Distorted Disney. On Saturdays I’m at Phoenix Bar in the East Village, and on Sunday I’m at Pieces Bar. On Mondays I’m at Posh Bar for our new show called “Are You Smarter Than a Go-Go Boy?”

It sounds like you’re one of the busiest queens out there.
I’m working hard for the money. Let’s put it that way.

What do you like best about doing drag?
I like being my own boss. I love traveling. I’m going to Key West in October and performing for Fantasy Fest. I’ve been to Paris. I’ve been to London. My biggest thing is traveling, and I get to travel a lot doing drag. It’s really my favorite thing.

It seems a lot of work doing drag.
It is! If anything fails, it’s your own fault. So it takes drive, and it takes determination.

Do you have a drag mother?
Her name is Kitty Hiccup.

Do you recall the first time you ever did drag?
The first time I ever did drag was back in Boston. Jujubee from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” put me in drag for the first time. I did it for an amateur contest and wound up winning it in Boston. I guess that is what created the monster.

Is there something you particularly wanted to talk about or promote?
The start of my new show, “Are You Smarter Than a Go-Go Boy?” It’s a new show that we’re doing at Posh. We’re asking like fifth-grade questions to someone in the audience and to the go-go boys. For every question the go-go boy gets wrong, he takes off a layer of clothing, until he’s totally naked and walking around the bar with just a little towel. The winner gets a $30 bar tab. It’s fun. We actually started last Monday, and it went really, really, really well. I’m actually very proud. It was a lot of fun.

How many go-go boys do you have doing it?
Each week we use a different boy. I know tons and tons of go-go boys, and I’m going to try and feature a new one each week.

That is a very cool concept. You will do well with this one.
We use questions you should totally remember from grade school, and you don’t. Oh gosh, I don’t remember where Roanoke is.

Who makes up the questions? I’m assuming it’s you.
Yeah. I did all the research. I find them online. I mean, I downloaded this kids’ app, and I just go through it.

How long does the show last?
Just about an hour.

I was just curious to see how long it takes them to get naked.
All boys have a different education background. But don’t worry, I get too excited and make them get naked quickly!

Well, I hope that you never get a smart one!
Exactly!

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
You know, I’ve been asked this question before. The thing is that I don’t even really know. I still want to be doing drag, and I still want to be traveling. I want to be seeing a lot more countries. There are still countries that I want to hit. Ten years, I guess we’ll just have to see. Right now I take it day by day and pay my bills. I believe that it’s all about waking up in the morning and feeling good about yourself. You’ve got to do what makes you smile each day, and right now it makes me smile. I’m going to keep doing it as long as I’m having fun.

Drag makes everybody smile I think.
Exactly, I agree.

I have never met a bad drag queen. Maybe a tragic one, but not a bad one.
I’ve met ones. I don’t necessarily agree.

Anything else?
I just want to say that Queens is New York City’s longest and only drag review. It’s almost five years strong. We will be having a five-year anniversary, and that’s really exciting. And Distorted Disney has been going on for three years. All of my shows have been going on for a long time now.

Why aren’t you on “Drag Race”?
I auditioned about four seasons ago, and I didn’t make it. And I’ve just been so busy. It’s hard when you work six days a week to audition. It’s very difficult, and I don’t want to put anything that’s not my best out there. I will audition, but right now I don’t want to do it unless it’s my best.