Big Atlas was hosting a watch party at Time Out Market Boston last spring as local icon Plane Jane was competing in the finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race—and suddenly on the screen, in the crowd smiling demurely with perfect hair, there was our host. Big Atlas had joined her BFF from Boston for the finale, and had helped her prepare to go on the show by making many of Plane Jane’s outfits and wigs. “I got to see myself on TV, which was kind of crazy but also really cool,” Big Atlas says.
But drag’s most famous runway is not the stage she envisions for her own performances, which include drag bingo events at Time Out Market. “I would love to do a show similar, but I'm throwing my lot in Big Brother,” she says. “That or the gay version of Love Island. If that ever comes out, I'm game.” For now, Big Atlas returns to Time Out Market, with an all-new drag bingo show on Saturday, Sept. 14, and more performances this fall. (Good witches and bad witches will want to save the date for Time Out’s annual Halloween bash!)
“Time Out’s a really fun crowd, just because it's so open and it's a free event. So truly, all walks of life come through and enjoy the clownery that we put on,” Big Atlas says. The food hall environment brings in an 18-plus crowd that’s barred from typical drag shows at bars, and the diverse lineup of food vendors ensures everybody can find a treat they like, she says. Plus: Bingo comes with prizes in the form of cash to spend at Time Out Market, “and everybody loves free shit.”
For this weekend’s drag bingo brunch, Big Atlas has enlisted two other local queens to share their talents: Gigi Glam, a performer from Providence; and up-and-comer Vilette. A 19-year-old student at MassArt, Vilette attended one of Big Atlas’s shows at Time Out—fully dressed in one of her own glamorous creations. “We had her participate in the show, and she was great,” Big Atlas says. Time Out is an accessible atmosphere for young people just getting interested in drag. “It's hard to break into shows at bars because you can't get in” if you’re 19, she says. “I like that I get to give her a little space to perform.”
The theme this weekend is Oktoberfest, which ties into the new seasonal beer list at Time Out Market and fall specials from the vendors. (The venue’s own Oktoberfest tasting event is Saturday, Sept. 21.) “I, personally, found it really funny. I'm always up for a challenge, so I literally just said ‘Oktoberfest,’” Big Atlas says. “I assume I'm just going to wear a dirndl and speak in a really fake German accent the entire time, making a mockery, of course, of the German people.”
Does she drink beer? Big Atlast says she’s not much of a drinker, but when she does imbibe, she’ll go for an easy-drinking beer like a pilsner or Oktoberfest lager. “IPA’s are for brutes, and I try to keep it dainty and demure,” she says.
Big Atlas’s Oktoberfest drag bingo is on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 1–2:30pm. Brunch specials from Time Out Market vendors are available throughout the day.
