When Indianapolis drag artist Ciara Myst first heard the phrase “drag queen,” she had no idea what it meant.
“My parents were playing a (word-guessing) game with some of their friends, and they were describing someone who wears a lot of makeup and big hair,” Myst said. “They said, ‘drag queen,’ and I knew about drag racing, the sport. I thought that was the name of the woman who held the flags and started the race.”
Myst did drag herself for the first time in 2019. But she didn’t fully step into it until 2021, when she challenged herself with a New Year’s resolution to build a drag look from scratch every month.
Along the way, she learned wig styling, costuming, makeup and how to take great photos of her looks. She especially took to costuming after borrowing her then-partner’s mom’s old Singer sewing machine.
Now, Myst is stepping into the new year in a big way again — as a contestant on season 18 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which premiered Jan. 2. She held a watch party for the first episode with fellow Indianapolis drag queen and former “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant Blair St. Clair. The party was at Tini on Mass Ave, hosted by fellow Indy queens Ava and Calyko Magick-Waffle.
St. Clair had previously worked with Myst on Indy Drag Theatre projects.
“(Myst) truly is, like, one of the best artists I know across the board,” St. Clair said during a Q&A with Mirror Indy at Tini. “I am so ecstatic to see her on this show, this platform. And I honestly cannot wait to see what (she does) with the platform.”
While Myst said much of her journey in developing her drag persona was internal, the Indianapolis drag community has been a remarkable support system.
“I sort of kept in my cocoon for a little while, and coming out and meeting the fabulous artists here, it was like a warm hug,” Myst said. “I was embraced in a way that made me feel included, but I also found family.”
In addition to offering support, the Indy drag community has given Myst tangible support along her journey.
“All of the costumes that you see, many of the wigs that you see on my time on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ were all cultivated by local Indiana career artists,” Myst said. “When I say I couldn’t have gotten to this point without them, not only is that the emotional support and the inspiration that they provide, it’s the physical artistry, time, talent, labor of love that everybody poured into me to help grant me the opportunity to share on this stage.”
Myst and her network used the codeword “Operation Stardust” to discuss what they were working on for “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” as the work had to be done in secret before Myst’s announcement as a cast member.
Speaking to the current state of drag in Indy, Myst said the spaces that have been home to drag in the past have become limited.
“Indiana has a huge history of high femme pageantry and competition, and over the last five years, we have lost a lot of spaces for queer art,” she said. “So my advice to people who live in Indiana and love drag is to go find (performances). There are less spaces for you to access it as easily, but that does not mean that it is not happening.”
One space to support drag is at 8 p.m. every Friday at Tini, where “RuPaul’s Drag Race” watch parties will continue with after parties throughout the season.
“I think fans can look forward to seeing Indiana drag represented in the fiercest way possible,” Myst said. “I would also encourage fans to go out and find drag in their local community, because what I’m offering is a reflection of all of the fabulous art that I’ve been surrounded with.”
How well do you know Ciara Myst and “RuPaul’s Drag Race”?
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Emily Worrell is a Mirror Indy freelance contributor and Indy Documenters assistant editor. You can reach her at emily.worrell@mirrorindy.org.
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