Live from New York: Marti Gould Cummings

Marti Gould Cummings has been doing drag in New York City for a very long time. "I feel like I've worked in every place that has drag in Manhattan," they tell me over a video call that doubles as our long overdue catch-up. I've also known Marti for a very long time, having met them early on in their drag career, which I only mention because they insist. "Everybody should know that you bring me flowers and I love it!" they say.

The truth is I've only gifted Marti flowers twice. Once was almost a decade ago after a particularly bad breakup that left them feeling down; I brought them flowers to their then-weekly gig at the infamous Stonewall Inn. The second time was just a few months ago to congratulate them on their hard run for public office.

In September 2019, Marti announced they were running for City Council in New York's Seventh District, an appointment that would have made them the first nonbinary person elected to public office in the state. A global pandemic and last summer's historic uprisings made for an unconventional time to run for a government position. Still, Marti and their campaign team adapted and were successful in producing a unique and community-centered political campaign. Marti lost the race, but that hasn't slowed them down, with a few new roles in both politics and performance. Besides serving as the national campaign chair for the new Drag Out the Vote PAC, they are now the performance director of the Q, a recently-opened three-story queer club space in Hell's Kitchen, and the nightlife director at Hush, an even newer venue.

Drag Out the Vote, which has been historically non-partisan since it started in 2017, recently filed to formally establish a PAC, allowing the politically engaged drag artist group to have a more pointedly left political stance. "We engage drag artists across the country in Drag Out the Vote in a political process, how to volunteer with campaigns, how to run for office themselves, how to fundraise for campaigns and just get engaged locally," Marti says. "Now, we can work on progressive campaigns to ensure that actual progressives are elected, especially in light of what's happening with the Supreme Court and in Texas. All these GOP anti-trans laws are being put in, so we really need to make sure that we are partisan and we're activating people."

You could say that activating people is Marti's mission in life. Whether by singing with Broadway legends on their weekly drag stage, making people laugh with their stand-up comedy, or mobilizing volunteers for neighborhood clean-ups or to get out the vote, they want to engage as many people as possible. They've long been a community activist and leader, sitting on the boards of and volunteering for organizations like the Hetrick-Martin Institute, the Trevor Project, and the Trinity Place Shelter—all as part of their drag identity.

"Drag is political," Marti will remind you every chance they get. This essential aspect of drag, along with their queer and nonbinary identity and experience in nightlife, has them mobilizing people from the queer clubs to the ballot box. "As gig workers, laws that are made about us are really important," they say, connecting their new leadership roles in nightlife to their politics. "Gig workers, like drag artists or DJs or go-go dancers or sex workers or bartenders or barbacks, whatever, don't have paid sick leave or hazard pay or paid time off, but oftentimes they're subject to wage theft, so our laws need to be supportive of that. It makes sense to have nightlife folks engaged in politics because we don't know that drag is inherently political."

I once heard Marti say during their campaign, "The work doesn't stop once elections are over!" and they've kept true to their promise. Their role at Drag Out the Vote allows them to stay politically engaged, and their positions as director for two of New York's newest LGBTQ+ venues allow them to uplift some of the city's best nightlife talent to center stage. They aim to give opportunities to young and up-and-coming drag talent and provide a platform to performers who push political, gender, and artistic boundaries in their performances.

"I want to make sure that this is the work that we are doing: to be the most inclusive and diverse space in Manhattan because nightlife is diverse and there are artists of all genres of performance," Marti says. "Drag is very expansive and includes all genders and sexual orientations and races and body types, so it’s important that we have a venue that is reflective of that and I believe that we are. I just love how expansively beautiful the nightlife community is. I've been very fortunate in my career as a drag artist and there's no greater joy in nightlife than seeing other people thrive in their careers."

Cummings will participate in a political panel at RuPaul's DragCon from May 13 to 15. Read this story and many more in print by ordering our third issue here. See the full Live in New York series here.