Studio 13’s ‘Drag Race’-inspired competition puts performers to the test

Iowa City’s Studio 13 is known for its drag shows. On Fridays and Saturdays, the bar fills with performers lip-synching to iconic songs while students and locals tip them in cash.

But on Sundays, at least for the next few weeks, tipping will no longer be allowed. Artists will now compete against a panel of judges in a weekly competition the bar calls “Star Search.”

It’s been going on for five “seasons,” started by two queens, Beep Beep and Lil Kimmy Blaque, both fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race. This year, former contestants were invited back to compete in its inaugural “All Stars” season.

“We started offering this service to new artists so they could get involved in the community,” Beep Beep said ahead of the fourth week of competition. “Over the next few seasons, more experienced queens started wanting to come and try it out and do it themselves, so it became something that was fun for everyone.”

On Sunday nights, the crowd is significantly smaller than during peak weekend hours and consists mainly of other artists, staff and a few regulars and students, but that’s not a problem. Beep Beep says the competition is primarily a competition for the artists.

“I’ve heard it allows some people to get back to their creative space after they’ve lost what they wanted to do in drag,” she said. “It allows them to be like, ‘Oh, I’m having fun again.’”

This season’s competition is almost over. On Sunday, September 22, the bar hosted a “lip sync roulette,” in which the seven remaining artists had to randomly choose a song from a hat to perform on the spot.

The 22nd’s wide variety of pop hits and ballads included Rick James’ “Super Freak,” Jessie J’s cover of Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody” and, most notably, a show-stopping performance of JoJo Siwa’s “Karma,” which earned erotica queen Divine a spot in the week’s top two.

The second half of each week of the competition features a runway theme, where performers create and showcase one of their drag looks. This week’s theme was “Battle Ready” and featured video game looks like Kingdom Hearts And The Legend of Zeldaas well as iconic warrior looks.

“What I do when I’m not here, at work, is play. Fortnite “24/7,” Virgo queen Frost-Belle said ahead of the competition. She dressed as her favorite artist, Ariana Grande, who has a special outfit players can buy Fortnite.

Virgo started doing drag three years ago. She had to drop out due to scheduling issues after the very first Star Search show in its first season, but was asked back for All Stars.

“After being the first one out and currently being in the top seven, I’m very proud of myself,” she said.

Star Search: All Stars continues for four more weeks. You can catch it every Sunday at 9 p.m. at Studio 13 in Iowa City. The finale will take place on October 27.