Pythia: Hi, I'm Pyhtia from Canada's Drag Race season 2, and you're watching
Pythia: Xtra Magazine's After the Sashay.
Russ: Hey, squirrel friends, I'm Xtra contributor Russ Martin,
Russ: and this is the top three edition of After the Sashay,
Russ: and we have Pythia.
Russ: Now, let's get into it.
Russ: You are top three. Congratulations.
Russ: I want to know what would be Canada's
Russ: next drag superstar mean to you?
Pythia: Oh my god.
Pythia: Honestly, I have spoken about this quite a few times, but
Pythia: honestly, it's like, as a queer immigrant
Pythia: kid, I didn't think that ever this would be a possibility
Pythia: for me. And I feel like just the fact that
Pythia: me as a queer, non-binary person is like able to
Pythia: showcase so much, I don't know,
Pythia: versatility and art and like fashion.
Pythia: And just like, I don't know, making my wildest dreams come
Pythia: true. It's like, it would just mean the world to me,
Pythia: it's kind of like a testament on, look, everyone can make
Pythia: it, you know what I mean? So, oh my God, it would mean the
Pythia: absolute world to me. It would be like so affirming, you
Pythia: know what I mean?
Pythia: And $100,000 is great, too, so.
Russ: Absolutely. You mentioned your non-binary identity.
Russ: We had a few non-binary contestants, and I love to hear
Russ: from non-binary artists about the art of gender
Russ: performance. Can you tell me as a non-binary person
Russ: what that mix of masculine and feminine is in your specific
Russ: art?
Pythia: Yeah, of course. Growing up in a sort of very conservative
Pythia: country with the huge implications
Pythia: of the Orthodox religion, it was,
Pythia: I don't know, quite hard for me to see myself within
Pythia: my surroundings. Like, I don't know.
Pythia: It's like to me, drag just allows me to do whatever.
Pythia: Like, this is not a woman, you know what I mean?
Pythia: This is not a man. This is like a creature, right?
Pythia: So I don't know, witches and villains that I was obsessed
Pythia: with as a child, because that's who I really identified
Pythia: with, because I could never see myself in any other
Pythia: character in movies or cartoons.
Pythia: You know, I would always be attracted to weird, witchy,
Pythia: gender-ambiguous villains.
Pythia: So now I am that in a way with drag.
Russ: Well, I am just obsessed with the mix of gender play
Russ: that you have going on.
Russ: I want to know now that you've made it to top three you've
Russ: been through, where is drag in Canada headed?
Pythia: Oh my god, there's so much elevation in Canadian drag,
Pythia: and I'm sure you can see that is a true testament watching
Pythia: season two, because I feel like we brought such a new level
Pythia: of just fashion and personality
Pythia: and just magic in general, and I feel like our cast
Pythia: this season was one of the most diverse in the history of
Pythia: Drag Race, of the franchise.
Pythia: So just that, it's just Canadian drag, like the future of
Pythia: Canadian drag is just elevation and unity
Pythia: and diversity, and I just love to see it.
Russ: Now was there anyone from the show that you were surprised
Russ: didn't make the top three?
Pythia: Oh my god, yeah.
Pythia: I love my top three sisters and we are 100 percent working
Pythia: so hard to be there, and we all deserve to be there.
Pythia: But the one that I was just shocked that went so early
Pythia: was my Montreal sister, Suki Doll.
Pythia: I just I think she's so unique and so creative and so
Pythia: talented. And when I saw her walk in, I was like,
Pythia: fuck, this is going to be one to beat.
Pythia: And of course, it happens to be my hometown
Pythia: is there. So yeah.
Pythia: Suki's an amazing artist and such a kind soul.
Russ: You made it all the way to the top four without ever having
Russ: to lip sync. What do you think kept you out of the bottom
Russ: two every week?
Pythia: Oh my god. Yeah. I don't know.
Pythia: I feel like I just try new things and just keeping
Pythia: everything fresh, you know, always looking polished,
Pythia: always showing different silhouettes on the main stage.
Pythia: You know, I did like a little dancing sexy leopard
Pythia: girl moment. And then I did like a very spooky, eerie,
Pythia: like two headed mistress.
Pythia: And then like, I don't know, you know, I just like, I'm
Pythia: open to so many different characters and positions
Pythia: like, I really, truly believe that I was very versatile and
Pythia: I feel like that's sort of what kept me out of the bottom.
Russ: I want to get real for a second.
Russ: Who is the better designer, you or Icesis?
Pythia: I hate you!
Pythia: Oh my god.
Pythia: Um, I love Icesis so much.
Pythia: Honestly, like, you can't really compare our art.
Pythia: It's so different. You know what I mean?
Pythia: Like, you can't compare, I don't know, Michelangelo's
Pythia: sculptures to Shakespeare's theater, you know what I mean?
Pythia: It's like we're completely different artists, and we're all
Pythia: and we're both so valid and great at what we do.
Pythia: She's so skilled, and she's so amazing.
Pythia: So I don't know both of us. Honestly, we're great.
Russ: But who's Michelangelo and who's Shakespeare?
Pythia: Well, I'm a theater gal myself, so I'll claim
Pythia: Shakespeare.
Russ: Well, you certainly got the outfit for it with the
Russ: beautiful neck piece.
Pythia: Right? Oh, my goodness, my little Pennywise moment.
Russ: Quebec is most traditionally known for having this campy
Russ: style of drag that is very traditional,
Russ: and your drag is a little bit different from some of the
Russ: other Quebec performers who we've seen on the show.
Russ: Can you talk to me about the scene that you're a part of in
Russ: Montreal, and what kind of drag is there?
Pythia: Of course, oh my gosh. There's a main scene, basically like
Pythia: the main drag bars in the Gay Village to pose
Pythia: a very like, you know, typical showgirl cabaret
Pythia: style. It's like a weekend at, you know, Church
Pythia: Street here in Toronto. It's very like, you know, you put
Pythia: on a show, people come, they watch you, they watch glamor,
Pythia: like dancing this and that.
Pythia: But there's also like a very like, underbelly to drag in
Pythia: Montreal, which is what I'm part of.
Pythia: It's really composed of so many different
Pythia: types of drag, like there's so many like trans and
Pythia: non-binary people, kings, queens, things.
Pythia: We just find spaces and we turn them into
Pythia: drag shows or like performance art pieces or
Pythia: you know what I mean? So it's very like Underground Club
Pythia: Kid and very different.
Pythia: So. And that scene is huge as
Pythia: well in Montreal, and Quebec as well.
Russ: Yeah, there's so many performers I love from that
Russ: little neck of the wood, Ooh
Russ: Ma God, Denim Pussy, there is just incredible stuff going
Russ: on in Montreal.
Pythia: Exactly. Yes, they're all my sisters, love them so much.
Russ: I want to know who is the most famous person who has slid
Russ: into your DMs since you were cast on this show, and tell me
Russ: a little bit about your interaction with them.
Pythia: OK, before the announcement, I have to say Miley Cyrus
Pythia: messaged me, because I did like an impersonation of her
Pythia: once and she, like, re-posted it on her story.
Pythia: So that's the absolute most famous person that has actually
Pythia: reached out to me.
Russ: During that finale lip sync, we got to see just a little
Russ: bit of your hairy stomach.
Russ: I think that that might be one of your trademarks, showing
Russ: off some body hair with your drag, is that right?
Pythia: Yeah, of course. Even under here.
Pythia: Oh my God. We haven't really seen that on the show, and it
Pythia: usually gets pretty critiqued quite a lot.
Pythia: If you know a contestant shows some arm hair, some
Pythia: body hair, like some beard hair, which is like, so
Pythia: what? This is our body?
Pythia: You know what I mean? It's like we all grow body hair, and
Pythia: that's just like, totally okay.
Pythia: If it's not your thing, then it's not your thing.
Pythia: But that doesn't negate how I'm going to live my life
Pythia: right? And how I'm going to showcase my body.
Russ: Yeah, no. We love to see it. And women have beautiful body
Russ: hair too, all over their bodies, so it's fantastic when
Russ: it's feminine as well.
Russ: How did your background as a theater artist prepare you
Russ: to be on Canada's Drag Race?
Pythia: Oh my god. Honestly, thank the Lord
Pythia: I went to theater school, because Drag Race is
Pythia: so stressful and so intense and you're literally
Pythia: in a pressure cooker.
Pythia: And I don't know if you've worked in theater, but the
Pythia: environment in theater is very much similar to that.
Pythia: You know, there's quick deadlines, there's quick changes.
Pythia: There's like so much pressure to work
Pythia: with other people, like in a team work setting.
Pythia: So I feel like all of those skills that I acquired, plus
Pythia: the technical skills, like sewing, painting all that,
Pythia: really applied it to the show and really helped me
Pythia: carry me through the finale, honestly.
Russ: Fantastic. My last question for you is that
Russ: your drag takes a lot of inspiration from villains,
Russ: but are you the villain of season two?
Pythia: Oh my gosh.
Pythia: I wouldn't say so. Honestly, the allure of me being
Pythia: attracted to villains is more stylistic.
Pythia: You know what I mean?
Pythia: You look at Maleficent, you look at Cruella de Vil and they have so much like style
Pythia: and presence, and they're like, you know what I mean, very
Pythia: poised and elegant, and I feel like that's kind of what I
Pythia: attract out of it.
Pythia: I'm not an evil person at all.
Pythia: I promise you, I'm super chill, super kind.
Pythia: I will never say anything to your face that I don't mean,
Pythia: you know what I mean? So I wouldn't say I'm the villain.
Pythia: Thanks for watching Xtra Magazine's After the Sashay.
Pythia: You can find me on my social media @pythia.queen on
Pythia: Instagram, and if you click on my bio, you can find all of
Pythia: the rest of my socials.
Pythia: So, yeah, thanks for watching.