Interview - Miss Terri Boxx
Miss Terri Boxx, welcome my love to Spill the Tea!
To start, how did you get into drag?
Thank you for having me! I'd always enjoyed dressing up in “drag” - and took the opportunity when I could at fancy dress parties - but this was just clothes and no real make-up. I think the first time I remember doing this was in high school, and I remember stealing one of my mom’s wigs for this!
At uni when I had the opportunity to put on a dress and a wig, I would. Then you know, fast-forward a few years and I’m obsessed with Rupaul's Drag race and itching for the opportunity to get into full drag.
So one day I just kind of thought fuck it, been watching enough drag on TV and seeing a lot of local drag and I really wanted to give it a go. My first night in full face drag was alongside Dr Cox, who was also doing drag for the first time that night, for the Finale of RuPauls Drag Race UK Season 1. I was watching most episodes live at the Bethnal Greens Working man’s club on a night hosted by Crystal (from Season 1). My first night in drag was amazing and I loved it so much, that I decided I wanted to do a show - lockdown happened so I could not do a live show so found a little competition that Crayola The Queen was running called MX Madhouse and I entered that - made it to the semi finals and since then I’ve fallen in love with the art of drag. It did a lot for my confidence and allowed me to express myself in this new and wonderful way.
How did you choose your Drag name?
Took me a while to find it but the minute I did,I kind of settled on it. I have a friend of mine who was organizing a birthday party and the key feature of his party and it featured a “mystery box” which was filled with something that was only going to be revealed at the party. He kept saying mystery box and started singing it in all kinds of ways and then one day it kind of heard it and I was like, “oh wait that kind of sounds like Miss Terri Boxx” - So right then and there I decided it would be my drag name I think it's quite apt and accurate for me because I don't really fit in a lot of a box for many of reasons. So yeah the name I found the name and it's stuck.
“one day I just kind of thought fuck it, been watching enough drag on TV and seeing a lot of local drag and I really wanted to give it a go”
Did you have any rejected names and if so, what were they?
The only other name I considered using was Layana Table - but I thought Miss Terri Boxx worked better for me.
How would you describe your Drag style?
So my drag style is… I don't really know how to define my drag style because I'm still kind of exploring my drag and finding my feet. One thing I can say for sure is my drag is a bit of a mystery, like my name suggests, you never know what you're gonna get. Sometimes I feel like being sexy, sometimes I feel a bit messy, and other times feel like clowning around. It's just a bit of everything, whatever I'm feeling at the moment. I suppose that's probably the way I describe it but actually to sum it up ridiculous, sexy and messy because it's usually some combination of those three things but then again, describes a lot of drag.
You have chosen to keep your beard when doing Drag, something people haven’t really seen in the mainstream representation of the art form. What do you have to say to people who have negative things to say against bearded or even hairy Queens?
The standards that you see on RuPauls Drag Race are why we don't see many beared queens in mainstream drag. It was amazing to see Crystal on Drag Race UK who was the first “hairy queen” we saw on the show who talked about not shaving for drag and that was really eye opening. It made me realise you don’t have to be clean shaven to do “drag” and then through seeing that I discovered more bearded queens again through my local scene in London.
To people who don't like bearded queens or any kind of hairy queen: Drag isn't defined by what you see on TV. Explore drag for what it is and not just a narrow definition of drag that you get from Drag Race. Let people express themselves how they want to express themselves, be it hairy or whatever.
Why do you think we haven’t seen a bearded Queen on the US Drag Race yet we have on other versions?
I think the main reason we haven't seen a bearded queen on US Drag Race, is because I don’t think Ru is as precious about the other Races as much as he is the US one. US Drag Race is Ru’s baby, and I might get some shit for this, but the other seasons are like nieces and nephews from siblings he does not like all that much. He doesn't seem to care about them that much and therefore is happy to let the other seasons do what they want a bit more with regards to casting. The first openly trans performer on Drag Race was on Drag Race Thailand (a MUST watch), and it's almost like she’s forgotten in favour of Gottmik on drag race US as being the first [openly] trans performer on Drag Race. If there is ever a bearded queen on Drag Race US I bet you they're going to forget about Madame Madness who was the first bearded queen on Drag Race.
What emoji describes your Drag?
🍑
What is your go to lip sync song?
I don't necessarily know if I have a particular one song that I go to when it comes to lip syncing but if you see me perform live there is gonna be something heavy metal involved in my act or a cover of a metal song.
When on stage what do you love most about it?
One of my favorite things about being on stage is just being able to express myself and seeing people react to that, just seeing peoples live reactions to my art. I also really love just being in queer venues sorounded by so many wonderful people who are all there for the same reason, to have a fabulous time. Plus, I really like shaking my booty on stage!
You were the winner Luna Lestrange’s – Luna Macabre. How did that feel to win?
Winning Drag Macabre felt amazing! I entered the competition to challenge myself to do something different to all my other digital performances and was so overjoyed to have won it. I really like challenging myself, as I am a little bit competitive, but not really against other people. I've always been competing with myself, always trying to do better than the last thing I did and drag competitions really help me to do that.
I had such a blast creating the performance for Drag Macabre, from creating the Alien costume, the chest burster and paying tribute to one of my favorite movies. Plus, I love all things grim and macabre so it was really fun to be inspired by that for a drag act.
Drag Macabre will always stick with me because it gave me a massive confidence boost - in terms of my video editing skills, but also my creativity when it comes to drag. I entered the competition after doing drag for a few months and that performance led me on to so many amazing opportunities - including a stage show with Crystal Method, Blue Hydrangea, Sum Ting Won and Charity Kase for Klub Kids.
How has Covid changed the way you do Drag?
So Covid was what actually got me started in drag. Prior to that I had only really gotten into drag once. So I really I’m a quarantine queen. It’s been really interesting starting my journey during the lockdown - it has meant that I’ve had way more digital shows than I have live and in person shows. That being said, I also feel like I've connected with more drag artists around the world than I would have otherwise.
RuPaul’s Drag Race has helped catapult Drag into the mainstream, but Drag goes beyond Drag Race, what one other Queen deserves a shout out from you?
Before I shout out any Queens I’d love to give a shout out to Beau Jangles and Cyro a drag king and thing respectively. Two performers I absolutely love watching, their performances are always incredibly powerful and captivating. The Queen I need to give a shout out to is Crayola The Queen, they gave me my first ever slot on a digital drag show and that was really the start for me. Also Cray is an absolutely lovely person super supportive and doing so much to be an amazing voice in the community.
What does the future hold for you?
I think one of the reasons I got into drag apart from expressing myself was also to entertain people. For me it's all about entertaining people, making people happy or creeping them out and yeah and just expressing myself artistically. I also want to keep challenging people's expectations of gender and keep showing people it's ok to express yourself however you want to express yourself.
Any last shout outs?
Oh there are so many, but to keep it brief I’d like to give a shout out here to Luna Lestrange for being so supportive, Taylor Trash for hosting one of the best drag shows out there - if you have not seen The Gold Rush, go check out season 1 and 2 free on YouTube - you’re welcome.
You can find Miss Terri Boxx on instagram by clicking here.
Photo credit Dr Cox the genital pox / Miss Terri Boxx