The D in Drag Stands for DIVA: The Alter Ego of Syd Nostramo
By Xiaoying Wu Hong
Leaning toward the mirror hanging on his door, Syd Nostramo, a junior double major in theatre performance and anthropology, fixes the layers of false lashes glued under his eyes. He adjusts the hairnet stretched across his face with holes haphazardly cut out for his eyes and mouth. After hours of makeup, a black wig waiting in his closet is the final step in completing his transformation into Vik Venom.
Nostramo’s drag persona, Vik Venom, draws inspiration from early 2000s emo, scene, and internet culture.
The Long Island resident fell in love with the avant-garde after discovering the New York Club Kids, a youth movement known for its outrageous fashion. “Seeing them not giving a shit, having fun, living their life, partying, the pleasure and whimsy and joy. It’s like, shit, I want that,” he said.
Vik Venom celebrates those who exist outside society’s expectations through exaggerated makeup, alternative fashion, and provocative performances. Nostramo describes his alter ego as “Jeffree Star, if he didn't fucking suck.”
Vik Venom’s collection of looks ranges from masculine, feminine, androgynous, and everything in between. “Vik Venom is kind of who I thought I would be when I grew up,” Nostramo said. “Growing up, I had no idea that what I was experiencing was gender dysphoria, being a trans man.” Nostramo drew inspiration from his childhood reverence for the scene-girls of the 2000s and conceived Vik Venom from the struggles of gender dysphoria.
Here at Purchase College, the drag collective FUNHAUS keeps the art of drag alive and pumping through Drag Nights. What started as a weekly watch-along of “RuPaul’s Drag Race”has turned into a space to perform in the Olde apartment of founders Madison DaCosta (Venus Love) and Sarah Barnett (April Absurd.) The two-story duplex becomes a makeshift theater with a different theme every Friday, accompanied by a matching movie.
The night of Friday, Sept. 25 featured “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and the theme “FREAK OUT!”
Ash Cestone, a new media alum and performance art devotee, attends Drag Night in support of his drag artist partner Bram Stroker. Cestone was the producer of the “Poor Choice Picture Show” and had worked with Nostramo through developing the Purchase “Rocky Horror Shadowcast.” “Whenever he's at a drag night, there is no one who is more dressed down to the nines.”
The thudding of three-inch platform boots can be heard echoing across the Olde, announcing Vik Venom’s arrival to the FUNHAUS. A chain hangs off his spike-studded collar, hitting against his bare chest that is strapped with leather belts in an X across his body. The bright pink dildo attached to his black shorts dangles as he climbs up the stairs to the living room where the rest of his family waits.
Raunchy lip-syncing and heated dances follow the movie as guests of the FUNHAUS sit captivated by every swing, twirl, and turn on the couches and floor. “Vik Venom dropped to his knees in a performance,” said Michela Distefano, a senior photography major who also photographs the artists during Drag Night. “He had a dildo that was whipping around, lots of moving,” she said.
Zoe Vega, senior new media major and Drag Night attendee, recounts the feverish night, “Vik hits some shit that I just can't comprehend, like on a spiritual and physical level. His moves awaken something in my soul.”
The joy and exhilaration of being in drag extend beyond just the performer. “In the brief moment you're walking outside, lovely,” Nostramo said. “People get so happy seeing you. It's almost like being in Disneyland.”
The night ends with the party-goers congregating at the picnic table outside the apartment, the performers' faces flushed from dancing. They mingle among one another, rambunctious laughter erupting from the table. Vik Venom poses alongside his fellow artists, with Amaya Chavez holding his chain above his head as he kneels on the concrete ground. The photographs by Distefano are edited and uploaded to the FUNHAUS Instagram and the artists’ respective pages.
“He posted this one thing from last Drag Night,” Cestone said. “The biggest backbend I've ever fucking seen from him, and the caption was: ‘Disabled people with chronic lifelong pain the second they feel an ounce better.’” The story post on his Instagram was updated the following week with a sequel where Vik Venom is pictured performing a handstand.
With chronic pain that affects his day-to-day life, Nostramo finds respite in his performance. “In my everyday life, I kind of dress a bit like a bum,” he said. “I'm not gonna lie, kind of like an emo bum. I get overstimulated really easily.” He uses a cane to aid in his walking and has to take breaks from most activities due to flare-ups.
In addition to his weekly drag performances, Nostramo has his plate full with his senior project (in collaboration with Sarah Barnett and Eva Howards), FUNHAUS Feature, and rehearsals for the “Rocky Horror Show”.
Drag, to Nostramo, is an outlet of expression beyond conventions. While it is historically rooted in gender expression, he views the make-up and extravagant outfits as a way to be fluid and unlimited in his art. “Contrary to popular belief, I'm not non-binary,” he said. “I identify as a binary man. I just kind of like doing feminine shit for fun and for art.”
“I was like, ‘one day I'm gonna grow up and be one of those cool scene girls, even though I don't want to be a girl,” he recounted. “But I don't have that choice, do I? Spoiler: they could do things about that.” Nostramo is now recovering from a gender-affirming, breast reduction procedure.
Being part of FUNHAUS has given Nostramo something incredibly valuable beyond performance. “It feels like we're family, like a chosen family,” he said. “A lot of people in FUNHAUS unfortunately don't have great relationships with my family– their family. Oh my god, projecting. My mother... I can't even say, she's lovely. My family is complex. I'm sure every queer person and their relationship with their family is complex and difficult.”
Vega, standing outside the duplex on the grass, shares the same sentiment as Nostramo. “Drag Night is really awesome, because before, I was just going to those shitty Stood parties,” she said. “But ever since last year, I have somewhere with people that I can socialize with normally and be open and normal without being worried that it makes me weird or whatever, you know?”
Drag, with its origins dating back to Ancient Greek and Roman theaters, has evolved from its foundations in theatrical cross-dressing to becoming a cultural phenomenon in its advocacy through performance for gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights. Drag performers use makeup, costumes and movement to explore and challenge ideas about gender.
The Royal House of LaBeija, founded by Drag Queen Crystal LaBeija in 1968, is credited as the first drag house of ballroom, a subculture of drag culture created by Black and Latino performers in response to the racism of integrated (non-segregated) drag balls. In modern times, drag houses have become a network of safety and chosen family for those in the LGBTQ+ community.
As college students, Nostramo and his siblings at FUNHAUS have learned to scrimp and save for their weekly looks. “One thing with drag is that with college students, we have to be thrifty,” he said while searching for his DIY bone earrings made with material from Dollar Tree. A belt chain from the past week could be refashioned into earrings, or a collar, or even a hairpiece.
The ability to be unabashedly himself, in the rawest and most vulgar self, has been a liberating journey.
Nostramo’s room in Alumni Village, unrecognizable from Purchase College’s dreary dorm rooms, oozes with his chaotic and creative touch. The back of his door is covered with neon green hazard tape and photographs of his past Vik Venom looks.
His walls feature screenshots of his favorite movies printed and cut out, photos of performances (FUNHAUS and “Rocky Horror Show”) and posters from CVS that were on sale (four for $20).A picture of the New York Dolls (an American rock band) with the caption “Would you let your son room with a Doll?” is taped next to a photograph of Vik Venom with Chavez and April Absurd.
His final form for the night is painstakingly curated with hours poured into his makeuppreparation and more hours in uncomfortable clothes and shoes. “Drag is more of a performance than half of the regular shows I do,” Nostramo said. “I'm already mentally preparing, wearing my second most painful pair of shoes tonight, because it goes with the look.”
The majority of the FUNHAUS family and friends are seniors, leaving Nostramo, who has one extra semester to complete before his graduation, stranded for the fall 2027 semester. He plans to carry on his drag even without the familiar support.
“I have a lot of trouble thinking about the future,” Nostramo admitted. “I try to think just each week what look I'm gonna put together, how I'm gonna build my persona, build my character, and where it goes from there.” For the far future post-graduation, he has dreams of working at an interactive theatre, like princess party companies but “for fucking freaks.”
Nostramo has played with the idea of starting a theatre company with his writer friends on campus where they write, and he performs. No matter what he decides, for Nostramo, one thing is for certain: “Honestly, I want to be doing drag forever.”
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