An Interview with Amber LeMay
Amber LeMay is the co-founder of The House of LeMay and host of Amber Live, one of the internet’s top comedy/drag talk shows. The House of LeMay was founded in the 1990s and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities. The House of LeMay is the subject of the 2008 documentary, Slingbacks and Syrup, which can be found on Amazon.com. Often referred to as the Larry King of drag queens, Amber LeMay has interviewed 200-plus personalities from around the world on her show, including artists, actors, authors, and politicians—gay, straight, and in-between, the famous to the infamous. With 145-plus shows tucked into her bra, LeMaystreams live Sunday nights (8 pm EST) from her basement in Burlington, Vermont where she utilizes her unique charms to allow guests to tell their stories, openly, honestly, and often, quite humorously. The show can be found online here.
TGForum: What led you to pursue the life of a drag queen performer?
Amber with refreshments.
Ms. LeMay: I was in my mid-30s and had been involved in theater for 20-plus years as well as singing in a cabaret group raising money for VERMONT CARES – the local AIDS resource, but I wanted to perform more. At the time in Burlington, Vermont, drag was pretty much limited to Halloween. However, two local drag queens started to emerge and perform regularly, Cherrie Tarte and Yolanda. My performing partner and I attended their shows and saw how well they were being received. And what we really appreciated was that they sang. They did not lip-sync. We thought we could do that. He sewed and I could write material. We created Amber & Margaurite, The Sisters LeMay, and performed for the first time in public on New Year’s Eve 1993.
TGForum: Amber Live! has become a popular Internet comedy/drag show that you produce and host. What’s the secret to your long-running success?
Ms. LeMay: Russell is my executive producer. He invites and arranges for guests’ appearances and handles all the promotional materials. As for the secret to success, it’s just having the energy to keep it going. Burlington, Vermont, closed down for COVID on March 16, 2020. On March 22, I was bored and told Russell that I wanted to do one of those “Facebook live things.” That evening I started Ask a Drag Queen and it was just me on my laptop in my living room and people were messaging me with questions. After a few weeks, Russell said, “I think we have something here, what if you had guests?” And we changed the name of the show to Amber Live!
I created a studio in my basement with lights and a backdrop. We started having local people – entertainers, business owners, and politicians – telling us how they were surviving being locked down. Russell, having lived in New York City for so long had several interesting friends – mostly in the entertainment business so we talked to them. As we went on, several of our guests would recommend others for us to contact.
Some weeks I’d sing a song or have the guests compete in a quiz, and Russell also started to make appearances.
We’ve talked to people from all over the world and from all walks of life. That’s why I keep doing it. I can talk to all of these people without leaving my basement.
And… it’s still a hobby. I’m not making any money from it.
TGF readers can find us online at AmberLive.tv or YouTube.com/AmberLive. We also have very active TikTok and Instagram accounts that are rapidly growing.
Amber and Lucy Belle LeMay in Ptown.
TGForum: Share a little (or a lot) about House of LeMay and The League of Drag Queen Voters.
Ms. LeMay: When Margaurite and I first started as The Sisters LeMay, we’d do a full show, just the two of us with our accompanist. Always for a fundraiser of some sort, we had fun learning songs, practicing them, and then putting a show together. And people could tell we were having fun – and some wanted to be a part of it. So we created The House of LeMay.
“The House” comes from the documentary Paris Is Burning where the drag performers lived and performed as families – houses. We became a family. We created our background as being from The Hot Damn Trailer in (fictional) Beaver Pond, Vermont. All of us had a history and job in Beaver Pond and we’d often tell stories about our past. We added a four-piece band to back us up.
Our shows got bigger. Our semi-annual shows included the “Leaf Peepin’ Cider Sippin’ Revue” where we’d spoof Vermont’s tourism and the political scene. We also would do our “Sap Tappin’ Mud Flappin’ Revue” in the spring to celebrate surviving winter and welcome warmer weather. Christmas shows and other themes would also be performed throughout the year.
The League of Drag Queen Voters came about in 2004 when Howard Dean, Vermont’s Governor, decided to run for President. We saw it as a way to do something different and branch out in our appearances. We created a pledge and motto, “Don’t Blow It… VOTE!”
We’ve had our picture taken with many mayors of Burlington, Governor Howard Dean, Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders, Congressman Peter Welch (now Senator), Vermont’s Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, and many other state and local politicians.
TGForum: Drag queens in public, especially at children’s library reads have faced a backlash. Plus, there is much anti-LGBTQ legislation to combat. How does your political activism play a role in confronting these negatives?
Amber LeMay
Ms. LeMay: I’m quite fortunate to be living in Vermont and especially Burlington. We have not seen the hatred and condemnation as has been prevalent in less tolerant sections of our country. With the exposure I’ve had with Amber Live!, we’ve been able to create a social media presence (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) that allows me to speak to those who are being attacked, and in looking at the comments we receive, to speak to the attackers. We can’t hide. We can’t quit. And we have to support our fellow drag performers. With over 32,000 followers on TikTok, the videos on this subject have received almost a million views combined. That’s definitely helping to get the word out about what is going on, and encouraging people to speak up to stop it.
TGForum: Do you still enjoy appearing at live events?
Ms. LeMay: One of the most difficult things about returning to performing in person was having to get fully dressed! When doing Amber Live!, I’m only in drag from the waist up – and in flats. It was challenging to attempt to fit into pre-COVID clothes and wear even the low heels I normally did. (See “sensible shoes” in tips for virgin queens at the end of the interview.)
But I do love appearing live. There’s instant feedback. When doing Amber Live!, I have no idea who or how many are watching. I love to see people smile and hear their laughter.
For the past 10 years, we’ve been appearing at Winter Rendezvous, the east coast’s largest gay ski weekend in Stowe, Vermont. We host parties and karaoke there, as well as call Drag Bingo.
We’ve produced The Winter is a Drag Ball for 20 years—a benefit for local AIDS agencies. With 100+ performers in two rooms and 1,000+ in attendance, it’s one of the biggest parties of the year for Vermont.
Every summer we attend Carnival Week in Provincetown, Massachusetts where we assist Miss Richfield 1981 with her Drag Brunch.
Amber Lucy Belle and Margaurite LeMay.
TGForum: Who are the Beaver Pond Players?
Ms. LeMay: The Beaver Pond Players, the local community theater company of Beaver Pond, make appearances on Amber Live!. Cousin Crystal LeMay teaches acting lessons and directs the troupe’s productions. Cousin Bones works down at the local fix-it shop. Rusty Peen is the head of the Beaver Pond Guns and Taco Society, and from his bathtub, he hosts Thinkin’ ’n’ Drinkin’, a segment on Amber Live! Cousin Craig is our musical director. Lucy Belle LeMay is our foreign exchange student from Mississippi, who teaches cooking during her segment Bitchin’ in the Kitchen. Finally, our good friend Emoji Nightmare hosts a segment called Pass the Tea and often does updates about RuPaul’s Drag Race.
We also have a couple of out-of-town members who appear on Amber Live: Italian gadfly Rocco Zamboni who lives on Long Island and Chicago’s very own vintage expert, Duane Scott Cerny.
TGForum: What do you still want to accomplish as a drag queen? Or, have you just about done it all?
Ms. LeMay: There’s no way I’ve done it all. I think I’ve done a lot, mainly by keeping at it for 30 years. What I’d like to do is to continue giving inspiration and opportunities to other performers and get recognition for my accomplishments.
TGForum: Please share your top 10 tips for virgin drag queens.
Ms. LeMay: Here it goes.
Do it. You are not going to be beautiful or perfect the first time. Get over it and do it.
Get out there and get to know other drag queens. Make your presence known. Offer to help them in any way.
Create a character. Don’t be just a mess in a dress. Have a backstory. Know who you are/want to be.
Wear sensible shoes. You don’t have to wear six-inch stilettos to be a drag queen. I’d rather see someone move comfortably on stage than someone wobbling around thinking it’s all about the shoes. And once you do wear higher heels – don’t take them off until the end of the night. Your feet will hurt, but they’ll hurt more putting them back on.
Don’t do it for money. Do it because you want to. It’s your hobby, not your job. If you can’t afford fancy gowns, go to Goodwill and find something that fits your character.
Be a part of your community – the entire community, not just the gay/drag scene. Be seen at local parades, parties, galas, and events. The more people that see you outside the normal drag venues, the more people will come to see your show.
Perform at fundraisers, and let people know that your tips are going to the cause. Again, this is your hobby, not a job.
Don’t wait for others to ask you to be in a show. Organize your own.
Don’t just sing, or lip sync. Learn to talk in character and make sure you introduce yourself and repeat your name as often as possible.
Keep your swearing to a minimum. Drag queens don’t have to be vulgar to be funny.