In the former office of Georgia Voice, 22-year-old drag artist Thea Trickality is bringing a new drag brunch to Atlanta that seeks to make drag intimate, authentic, and accessible to both audiences and performers.
Thea moved to Atlanta in January from Richmond, Virginia, and brought with her the idea to host a drag brunch in a coffee shop, like she did back in Richmond.
“I was introduced to coffee through my partner who’s a drag performer and barista,” she told Georgia Voice. “We started doing shows back in Richmond in a coffee shop, and what was beautiful about that was seeing the particular community come out for that show.”
She wanted to find a venue owned by someone who genuinely cared about drag — not just the money drag could bring in. Ash Coffee was the perfect fit to be the home of Haus Blend.
“[Ash is] very authentic,” Thea said. “Especially at a time where drag is everywhere, it’s really important to me to make sure that the venue hosting the drag cares about it; it’s so easy to, especially for Pride Month, bring a performer or show in for no good reason. The connection between owner and performer is important to me, and I think [that translates] to the audience members. There’s a good vibe here.”
The coffee shop atmosphere brings with it the opportunity to make drag accessible to performers and audiences who are sober or not interested in being in nightlife spaces. It also opens up the possibility for all-ages shows — but don’t expect every Haus Blend show to be family-friendly.
“I prefer to keep my brunch shows at 18+ just because of the stories that I like to share and the way I like to interact with the audience,” Thea said. “However, there is the opportunity for it to be all ages … [Although,] just the same as you wouldn’t take kids to every single movie that’s in theaters, you wouldn’t take them to every drag show that’s in your city.”
Being a small coffee shop, the venue offers audiences the chance to experience the performers up close and personal. Every seat is in the front row, and Thea plans to take this intimacy to the next level with how she and other performers interact with the audience.
“I love to greet people as they come in, I like to bring you your drink or your food,” she said. “Even having Taylor DJ in drag, I love creating the fantastical environment of the drag performers who put this on are in drag doing real things — and then they’re also performing. There’s duality in that.”
Haus Blend launched on June 16 with its first show at Ash, featuring Thea and her partner Pony Boy, CoCo Iman Starr, Aqua De’Laroja, and Taylor ALXNDR as the Haus DJ. The event was a huge success, but Thea is ready to keep improving.
“We did sell out, and the audience was really enthusiastic,” she said. “Someone told me that if intention was worth its weight in gold, I’d be rich. [I want to execute my intentions], and I’m learning that that takes time. Doing two to three shows in a day [in Richmond], I got very used to making things happen quickly. But that doesn’t always ensure that they’re quality, right? I want to teach myself to really perfect things.”
Haus Blend’s second show will take place on August 18 at Ash Coffee. Tickets start at $15 for general admission and $40 for admission, brunch, and bottomless mimosas. To purchase tickets, visit theatrickality.com/tickets. To keep up with Thea Trickality, follow her on Instagram @thea.trickality. You can buy tickets for Haus Blend on August 18 online at theatrickality.com.