Shiuan Cheng / Daily Nexus
In a rare out-of-drag appearance, iconic drag queen comedic duo Trixie and Katya — aka Brian Firkus and Brian McCook — brought their chaotic humor and unfiltered commentary to a sold-out crowd at Campbell Hall on April 30.
The show, put on by UC Santa Barbara’s Associated Students Program Board (ASPB) and titled “An Evening with Trixie & Katya,” featured a two-part format: an unscripted conversation between the longtime collaborators followed by a Q&A as they roamed the aisles, responding to the audience’s questions.
Offstage, Trixie and Katya have cultivated a devoted fanbase through their blend of drag, comedy and candid commentary. Trixie Mattel (Firkus) is a stand-up comedian, singer-songwriter, New York Times bestselling author and founder of Trixie Cosmetics. Katya Zamolodchikova (McCook) is known for her surreal, genre-defying performances and willingness to speak openly about mental health. Together, they co-host the hit podcast “The Bald and the Beautiful” and co-authored the bestselling “Trixie and Katya’s Guide to Modern Womanhood,” a satirical advice book that mirrors the chaotic energy of their onstage dynamic.
Although both queens appeared out of drag — “because if we were in drag, everyone would get horny,” Katya joked — they covered a wide variety of outlandish topics, complete with their witty humor and personal anecdotes. From the trials of dating as a tall woman or a short man, to “straight bar culture,” to even a satanic baby cameo in the film “The Passion of Christ,” Trixie and Katya’s signature blend of hilarious absurdity and realness kept the audience hooked no matter what the topic was.
ASPB created a list of prompts to guide Trixie and Katya’s conversation. While the queens referenced the list occasionally, they clearly didn’t need it — their conversation veered seamlessly from one random topic to another, driven more by instinct and inside jokes than any planned discussion.
“I warned them we’re not good at staying on topic,” Trixie said as she read through the list of questions.
Shiuan Cheng / Daily Nexus
The pair, who live in Los Angeles, often talked about their perceptions of Santa Barbara and asked the crowd about their experiences going to school in the area. When asked what the main thing that makes UCSB stand out was, the audience screamed “Deltopia!,” resulting in confused looks from Trixie and Katya.
“Zootopia? No? Deltopia? Oh, like a Toyotathon but for Dell computers? They’ve got Dell computers for sale! Or is it an Adele concert?” Trixie asked.
The queens also shared memories from their college experiences at Boston University (Katya) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Trixie).
“I never had a computer in college. That’s how old I am. Isn’t that crazy? Still, I only went to the library twice. One time it was for one of my gen-eds … I had to go watch archival footage of a random musical. And I was like, ‘this is peak gay,’” Trixie said.
Following their banter was an opportunity for the audience to engage in a Q&A with the two stars. One question asked about their experiences on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the iconic television show where drag queens compete in various fashion and performance challenges in front of a panel of judges, including the iconic drag queen RuPaul.
“People don’t ask what it’s really like,” Trixie said.
“You have to imagine being absolutely media illiterate and then suddenly being on television, and the runway is like walking on a metal sheet covered in grease and ice,” Trixie continued.
Other questions ranged from unserious to more poignant. When asked how they would survive The Hunger Games, Katya admitted that she would “pretend that [she] was not a threat and then quit sniveling and put the axe in someone’s head,” while Trixie added, “I’m not strong enough to fight, but I wouldn’t lay down and die immediately.”
The pair answering questions from the crowd. (Shiuan Cheng / Daily Nexus)
Despite a night full of raw humor, there were some more serious questions asked by the spectators in the crowd. One student asked how they handle performance anxiety.
“Someone once said that if you don’t get nervous before a show, that means you’re not in the right field and a level of nerves is common and somewhat helpful. It means you care about what you do,” Katya said. “You have to ride lightning a little bit. You know the taco of success drips with the salsa of failure!” Trixie added.
They also briefly reflected on their experience working together, with Katya telling the crowd that “when we [Katya and Trixie] work together, we never get nervous.”
“If you have someone to share the burden with, it’s a really great thing, so just find a co-star and you’ll be great,” Katya continued.
After about an hour and a half of sharp, hilarious and heartfelt storytelling, unfiltered comedy and cultural commentary in which Trixie and Katya shared their unfiltered amusing anecdotes and moments of real vulnerability, the night came to an end. But before leaving, they left listeners with some final words of advice.
“Girl, just be yourself and let them titties out,” Trixie said. “People are obsessed with what everybody thinks of them, so following that logically follows that they are not thinking about you, so just do whatever!”
This appeared in the May 8 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
