Denver Pride is Ready for the Marcia Marcia Marcia Experience

Multi-talented, beautiful, and smart – it’s no wonder why Jan is so jealous of her!

New York City drag superstar Marcia Marcia Marcia first made a splash in the club circuit with her hilarious mixes, handmade outfits, and dynamic moves, and her love of theater landed her roles in multiple Broadway productions including Kinky Boots, Newsies, and the national tour of Hello, Dolly! Most recently, Marcia can be seen competing in the latest season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. 

As the resident Broadway baby of Season 15, Marcia let her theatrical talents shine throughout her time on the show. Although she didn’t win any challenges and was constantly critiqued on her makeup skills, her positive and upbeat attitude is what made her a fan favorite among viewers. Plus, who can forget her iconic elimination lip sync against Anetra to Doja Cat’s “Boss Bitch?” In the words of fellow competitor Salina Estitties, “Free Willy!”

Marcia’s star power is continuously rising, and she will be a headlining performer at this year’s Denver PrideFest, taking place June 24-25 at Civic Center Park. She took some time to talk more about her upcoming appearance and Drag Race journey with OFM. 

Let me begin by asking, how excited are you to be headlining this year’s Denver Pride?

I’m so excited! When you embark on a journey like Drag Race, one of the best parts is getting to travel around and meet people, and I think Pride is one of those times of the year where people are so excited to celebrate queer people and artists. The fact that I get to be a part of these celebrations on such a large scale is so cool to me. I’ve been to many Prides in my life, so this is very full circle. 

Without giving too much away, what can we expect from your set?

As I said on the show, when I lip sync, it’s a flippin’ good time. I’m sure there’s going to be some callbacks from this season, but also some new stuff and new looks. It’s Pride, it’s time to party!

What do you always hope audiences take away from Marcia Marcia Marcia performance?

I always want people to feel the joy that I have when I’m performing because that’s really where I feel the most comfortable. I feel the most at home while being up on stage and doing my thing, so I hope that joy and light radiates. It’s contagious. 

What does Pride mean to you?

Pride in general, especially right now, is when the queer community kind of feels the most normal. We are constantly exposed to media about heterosexual cisgendered people, and that is sort of the status of our society. Finally getting to turn on the TV and see an ad with a queer couple because it’s Pride, and this obviously should be a year-round thing, but I think it’s a moment where we are allowed to feel that our presence is normalized and important. Honestly, it’s more so a brief glimpse into what equality should feel like.

Do you remember the first Pride festival you ever attended?

The first Pride event I ever attended; I went to New York City Pride the day same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States. This was, I believe, after my freshman year of college. I was home for the summer, and I was like, I’m going to go to Pride! I went with a couple of my friends, and it was such a substantial day in history and my opening up as a queer person. That was very, very cool. 

For those who don’t know, how did your journey with drag begin?

I went to musical theater college, and every year, we would have a drag show fundraiser for the Trevor Project. I went my freshman year and I had so much fun. I was thinking, wow, I want to do this next year, and I did. I got into drag for the first time, I choreographed a big number with a bunch of my friends that are dancers, and we did up the whole thing. It was so cool and so much fun. The person who oversaw the fundraiser was graduating, and they put me in charge for the next two years. They were like, I can tell this is something you’re good at and passionate about, so I trust this to be in your hands.

Then after working on my musical theater career for a couple of years, the lockdown hit. In musical theater, you’re always doing someone else’s choreography, someone else’s staging, someone else’s costumes, everything like that, and I’m a very creative person. I like having my hands in everything, so I thought with drag, I can truly be in charge of everything. I can make it whatever I want it to be. I’m very bossy (laughs). So, I really think that’s what it was. I buckled down during lockdown and learned a lot. I started performing in New York City here and there, then the show came along, and here we are.

What were some of your early creative outlets as a kid, and when did you discover that performing was your passion?

Oh, my gosh. When I was little, I really didn’t want to do theater for whatever reason. I guess I was just nervous about the attention, but as a kid, I was very energetic and would perform for my family. Honestly, I don’t know. My first musical was when I was in the eighth grade, and at that point, I was a gymnast. I was like, wow, this is a lot more fun and a lot less dangerous than gymnastics. I think I want to do this. So, I guess I discovered my passion for performing at the end of middle school. 

You have been in several Broadway productions. Are you currently in anything right now?

No, not right now. I am currently focused on touring the country and meeting people as Marcia. 

Yes, you are now a drag superstar thanks to your run on this most recent season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. How did the show change your life?

It’s changed my life in a million ways. Number one, people don’t really talk about this because it’s kind of a gauche topic, but financially, this show has given me the opportunity to support myself as an artist, which I think is incredibly important. I love that so much, and because of that, there’s almost more agency for me to take risks, try new things, and invest more into my art. Then the show itself, I think the people I connected with the most are people who are starting drag. 

I get a lot of messages and comments from people being like, oh, you’re giving the baby queens a shot and inspiration, which I think is so sweet because starting out and figuring out who you are is kind of the hardest part of a drag queen’s career. So, I think having a presence on the show as someone that was still finding their footing, I think that was important because it’s all about showing the perspective of a drag queen, and those drag queens very much exist. It’s been cool to be a voice for those people.

Why did you initially want to be on the show, and was this your first time auditioning? 

This was my second time auditioning. The first time, if I was on the casting team, I would not have cast me either (laughs). The first time I watched Drag Race was when I was in college. One of my best friends was showing me Season 6, which was an incredible season, and they were like, I think you’re going to love this show, but I was like, I didn’t really have a concept of what drag was. 

Then after watching the first episode, the entrances, I was like, oh! These are like characters. People are just building up their ideal dream person and they get to live through that. That sounded very appealing to me, and as I mentioned, I’m very, very bossy. I like to be in control of things, so it was like this perfect little package that I could funnel all my artistic interests into.

What would you say was the most rewarding and challenging aspect of your Drag Race experience?

The most rewarding, I think it came out of that lip sync on my elimination episode. If you told me that before the season, I would have been like, what? Not only was the performance obviously really great, but again, so many people have reached out to me being like, the way that you exited was so noble and you can tell you were very proud of the work you did. I always strive to be a team player. I’m not a sore loser or a sore winner, so the fact that people were able to kind of see that from that high pressure moment, that was nice.

Then the most challenging, gosh. Honestly, it’s been learning how to deal with social media and how you really internalize the fact that you do what you do for you, and that other people’s opinions don’t necessarily matter. Obviously, it matters in a competition setting because that’s what you’re playing to, but after the show and standing by the intellectual property of who Marcia is and why Marcia does what she does, it was learning to be more secure in my thoughts and intentions and not allowing other people’s ‘I don’t like that personally’ energy to affect me.

I’m glad you mentioned your lip sync against Anetra because it is now being considered one of the top lip syncs in Drag Race herstory. What do you remember the most from that moment, and what were your thoughts watching it back?

Number one, that is not the kind of song that I usually lip sync to (laughs). You know how we have the lip sync songs on little iPods? Leading up to that week, I was listening to that song in particular so much because I was like, if I have to do this, I need to know it very well, or else I’m going to look really stupid. I mean, in that moment, you’re just doing whatever you can to stay. I was focused on giving a good show, and you can see the response from the other queens and the judges, but most of the time, you don’t know what they’re responding to. You’re like, oh, did I do something? Did she do something? Did we do something together? 

When Anetra jumped over me, I had no clue that happened. Someone told me that she jumped over me, and I was like, what? I honestly had no idea. Then watching it back, I was Roscoe’s, and people obviously went nuts. The whole room was certain that I was staying, but it was the best way to go out. It was like a celebration of the experience rather than a somber thing.

You said in a confessional that you were dreading the comedy challenge the most, and that is the episode you went home on. What was it about that challenge that scared you?

I love comedy and comedians, and I love working with and writing comedic material, but stand-up is a very different thing. You hear a lot of comedians say, yeah, I had to bomb 50 times before I got my tight 10, or whatever it is. This is the thing that people spend so much time and have to do so much trial and error and failure to get right. Again, third time, being very bossy and liking to control everything, I like to present myself in a very specific way. I have done everything else in the competition in my career, but I had not done stand-up, so that was the thing where I was like, if anything’s going to go wrong, it’s going to be that. Honestly, I think I did pretty well for being alone and going first.

Which challenge was your absolute favorite?

Oh my gosh, I love the design challenges. They’re always my favorite. I think the ball is always my favorite episode because I love seeing everyone’s resources when they are kind of equalized. I love seeing who can do what. Like, here’s a pile of fabric, everyone makes something. A lot of queens come to the competition and have these massive teams that do everything for them, and I think it’s interesting to see who can stand on their own. When you have certain materials to work with, the span of looks is so wide, and you get to be so creative. 

You are also now known as the queen with the most consecutive safes. How does that feel?

(Laughs) That is so funny to me, but I think it’s also a little misleading. I think it kind of indicates that I was just in the middle of the pack throughout the whole season, but I was in the top in the first episode when we had the most queens showing what they thought were their best attributes. The fact that I stood out from 16 other girls, I had a great Snatch Game, which is infamously one of the hardest challenges in the competition, I brought some beautifully constructed garments in the design challenges, and while I was technically safe every episode, yes, I did serve a lot of highs. 

One thing the judges constantly critiqued was your makeup. Did that become frustrating after a while? 

I had been through a lot of makeup phases before Drag Race. Being in lockdown, I was playing and experimenting a lot, and the makeup I would receive the most compliments on was the makeup I came into the show wearing. This very light, very feminine, pretty face. I was like, okay, I’ll do this, and I had a feeling that it might probably come up. But I think ultimately, the critique was never about the quality. I think they saw that the face I was doing was kind of an easy way out, and they wanted me to push myself. I think that’s honestly what it was. 

It was a little frustrating at times because I felt like I was making changes and they just weren’t seeing them, but ultimately, the critiques have given me a deeper connection and relationship with makeup. When I got home from the show, I was kind of in this place where I didn’t know what I wanted to look like, and I wanted to push myself further without abandoning what I like and connect to. So, I think Drag Race pushed me out of my shell and opened me up to different possibilities and ideas of my makeup. So, I think it was a good thing, but at the moment, it was a little confusing.

If asked us to come back for All Stars, would you?

Absolutely! I had such a wonderful, positive experience on the show, and I had so much fun. I said this in my Whatcha Packin’ episode with Michelle. I was like, it wasn’t as hard as everyone says it is. In those kinds of high-pressure situations where you’re learning, writing, and doing all these things quickly, that’s where I’m kind of comfortable. That’s where I thrive. I like high-pressure situations and getting to make my art on a bigger scale. I had a wonderful time, and even though it’s been around a year since we started filming, I’ve already grown so much. If I’m asked back, I think I’d have a lot to show, and I think I might win!

What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your career and platform?

I have a lot because I truly want to do everything. I love working in TV and film, so I’d love to do more acting in that regard. I’d love to go back to theater and Broadway. I love fashion and modeling, so I want to do that. I truly want to do it all. In or out of drag, I just want to do all of it.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?

Just come out and support drag! 

Stay up-to-date and connect with Marcia by following her on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @marciax3nyc. For more information on Denver Pride, visit denverpride.org.

Photos by Gabrielle Carrubba