The St. John’s queen talks to IN Magazine about that famous East Coast Charm, her resourcefulness, and the skill she didn’t know she had before Canada’s Drag Race…
Tara Nova was the second queen to enter the werk room on the fifth season of Canada’s Drag Race. Her pride for Newfoundland, East Coast charm, and creativity made it incredibly easy for fans to root for her. Tara was the first to be sent home during the second episode of the season (You can read IN’s recap of episode two “Greeting Queenlings” here) but that didn’t stop her from making a lasting impression on the competition. She chats with IN Magazine about her hidden goofy side, what Ru girl inspires her drag the most, and the impact she’s already made breaking the ice for other artists to have conversations about fair pay.
What surprised you the most about yourself during the competition?
I think what surprised me the most about myself would be that I didn’t realize how goofy I was. I’m a little bit of a goofy girl and like I feel like I’ve always put up such a wall of perfection, and that’s the way that a lot of people have seen and experienced me. But like once I got back from Drag Race, I let that wall down and then watching it back I’m like “Oh, wow. I’m just silly, like I’m very goofy!” and that’s what surprised me the most about myself is that I’m not always so uptight.
Aside from the surprise goofiness, was there something unique you think that you brought to the group of queens that none of the other girls this season did?
I think that it’s like the East Coast charm, but more specifically, it would be like the East Coast resourcefulness. Because obviously, we really do not have a lot to work with here. We have to work with what we have, and it is very, very, very little and very, very expensive. And I was able to hold my ground next to the rest of these girls who have almost unlimited access if we’re being real.
In your exit speech, you mentioned that it’s not every day that a small-town girl gets the same opportunity that you did. What’s something you wish the rest of Canada and the world knew about Newfoundland?
I want to set the record straight on this, that we can do it too. It’s not just a game for big city girls. We all have something so unique here, and East Coast rural communities have this different sense of charm, and a different sense of charisma. We can talk the ear off of ya. And that is such a great trait to have for something like Drag Race. Cause you need to show personality and we have a lot of it.
And was there a challenge you were really looking forward to doing that you didn’t get to do?
Absolutely! I am a designer and seamstress and I made my entire package. Obviously I made that in a time crunch, but I was really expecting that episode two would be a design challenge, because usually they are and I would have probably won, if we’re being real. (laughs) I am the girl. I can make things so quickly. Um, I really, really understand sewing. It is my passion. I am a designer seamstress in my city, so I could have whipped something amazing up in such little time. And then I would have got that little golden beaver.
I pattern draft too, self-taught completely. I had a few YouTube videos that my manager at the time had, like she was a seamstress and she had one of those pattern drafting books. And I just read through that when I’d want to and create new things. It just, easily came to me. And now I think about it, translate it to paper, then make it into an outfit, with no problem.
That’s such an incredible skill to have. Looking back at your time, would you have done anything differently?
I probably would have tried my best to outsource some looks, like my entrance look specifically. I wanted to get it made by somebody else in a different design, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the time. We don’t really have access to designers here, especially drag designers, and I’m the only one, and the one other person that has done outfits for drag queens was stuck in a production. So, I wish that I were able to outsource a look or two, just so I could’ve shown a little bit of variety.
In the first episode you openly mentioned the pay inequality for performers and artists, often drag artists face. It’s already started making an impact online, but what do you hope comes from that moment of honesty and vulnerability from you on the show?
I hope that we are able to establish either a new standard, or a new queer space. I would like for all of us to be paid fairly, and not only just us. This, like you said, has spread throughout the world and I’ve had so many people contact me and thank me for what I’ve been doing, shining a light on their communities as well. So, I hope that this finally starts the conversations at least of establishing fair pay. And I’ve already seen that happening. There’s already people having conversations with their bars and they are succeeding. And that warms my heart that I was able to make an impact like that.
“Marathon Drag” is big in the Toronto drag scene with queens performing four to six numbers in a row, sometimes multiple times a night. You mentioned that the performance style is similar in Newfoundland.
People don’t understand that Newfoundland drag is basically like a model of Toronto drag because a lot of people from Newfoundland moved to Toronto, started drag there, moved back to Newfoundland, and then our drag culture started to boom. We really modeled everything after their infrastructure, essentially.
When people think of Canadian drag, their mind might not automatically go to the East coast and places like St. John’s, but in just two episodes you’ve proven that the East coast drag scene is bursting with creativity and talent. What is unique about drag in Newfoundland that would surprise drag fans who haven’t been able to experience it live for themselves yet?
I think that’s something that’s so unique about the Newfoundland drag scene is that all of our shows are themed. Everybody has to show up with themed outfits, perform all themed numbers. There’s so much work that really goes into our numbers. At the venue that we were performing at, there was a projector even. So, we create visuals that are linked with our mixes. There is so much work we would put into our numbers and that we always have. And it’s so unique because when you go to these other cities, typically it’s a little bit of choreo or it’s the top 40. But here people actually take something in their brain and put it out onto the stage.
It all ties in with that resourcefulness and having to do everything yourself.
It’s like we’re making things work and I think that it comes from St. John’s being more of an artsy scene already, so we find a lot of inspiration in the fruity little artsy girls that run around and bop around the city.
Speaking of inspiration, where do you draw inspiration from for your drag look and aesthetic?
I started watching Drag Race around season nine, season 10. So, Aquaria had gotten on in season 10. She was the one person that really, really pushed me to be like, “you know, I can do exactly what she’s doing”. Her makeup, everything, her entire image, I just love so much. It’s always the fashion queens that get me. People like Naomi Smalls from season eight, and then you have like your makeup queens as well. So Krystal Versace, you have Raven. These people are the ones that. push me to continue integrating because these people are always switching it up.
What do you hope fans and viewers will take away from your time on the show?
I hope that they take away that I’m willing to fight for my place in any situation, no matter what, where I am, whatever situation I’m put into whether that be on Drag Race or whether that be back here with my community, I’m always willing. And I have a lot of heart that I put into my art and I’ll continue to do that. I’ll continue to push myself and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
And in a year from now, where do you hope Tara Nova is? What do you hope she’s up to?
I hope that she is designing for the dolls. I hope that she’s designing for season six of Canada’s Drag Race. I hope that she is travelling around some, you know, because I’m stuck here on the East Coast and I’d like to get out of here sometimes and experience some other cities. I haven’t been past Toronto. Also, maybe we’ll have a little All Stars journey! Who knows? The glow up is real!
We have to put it out there!
Well, we do. Put it into the universe and it’ll come back to you.
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