Subscribe
To Our Newsletter!
.svg){kind=small}
mascara
If what you want is to perform, we can help that dream become reality. MASCARA is a monthly sober drag extravaganza showcasing community talent. The show is hosted by Miss CCC Linda Summers. Click the link to view some shows on our Vimeo page.
In 2010, a group of sober drag performers came together to create a monthly drag fundraiser for the Castro Country Club as part of the Keep The Steps in The Castro Campaign when the building was up for sale. With humble beginnings, the show was held in the front room of the CCC, with a handful of folding chairs, a collapsible wooden stage, and a CD-player boom box. The show was initially named "The LayBelline Show" after the show's inaugural hostess, producer and co-founding performer, LayBelline, who also co-founded and hosted the first Mr. and Miss Castro Country Club Pageant that same year.
In those early days of the show, attendance was often sparse and occasionally the performers just performed for each other. Practicing the principles of willingness, patience and service, the performers continued to show up no matter what, and eventually, one day at a time, the show began to draw a larger following. After over two years of hosting the monthly show, LayBelline stepped down as the monthly host and passed on the role to the reigning Miss Castro Country Club. U-Phoria, one of the show's original co-founding performers, became the new host and renamed the show Mascara in honor of this new chapter. Since then, the role of host and producer of Mascara rotates annually by each year's reigning Miss Castro Country Club.
The Mascara stage has been the first stage for many sober drag performers who may have never done drag otherwise, and has inspired many drag personas to be born. Mascara has also been a springboard for dozens of sober drag superstars, who’ve gone on to hold multiple drag titles and crowns in the Bay Area, while continuing to give back to the Castro Country Club. Over the past decade, The Mascara Show has been an pivotal, life-changing, and life-saving part of the San Francisco queer recovery community, offering newcomers and old-timers alike, a sober space for fun, fellowship, creative expression, and spiritual growth, while being an integral fundraiser for the Castro Country Club.
what people say
"It’s like Cheers without the booze. I mean, who doesn’t want to go where everyone knows your name?!”
Miss CCC 2020-2021
“The MASCARA show helped me find fun again in a time of darkness.....and of course that bright spotlight makes me look gorgeous too!"
Miss CCC 2021-2022
"I was ordering a latte when I saw a flyer sitting on the coffee counter. It said...MASCARA- a monthly drag extravaganza....I said what is this....The barista turned with a knowing look.....Honey, Buckle Up!!!...that's when i knew recovery was going to be lit."
Miss CCC 2019-2020
"At MASCARA we create community....and creating community through connection is at the core of my recovery"
Miss CCC 2017-2018
"My drag career began on the stage of MASCARA in 2012, so it holds a very special place in my heart. Being able to combine my love of creativity & recovery is simply magic"
Miss CCC 2014-2015
"MASCARA is recovery, service and gratitude in action. In 2010, we had a vision of creating a monthly drag show to help save the CCC. We put that vision into action and what has evolved is more than we ever dreamed possible. It's living proof that not only can you have fun in recovery, but you can be a rockstar, at least every third Saturday of the month!!"
"Mascara is community. Yes, It's a show. But it's one that exists solely to uplift and support those that make it happen, it's audience, and anyone who enters the doors of the Castro Country Club. It thrives because it helps us to thrive. There is no other show quite like it. Because of the funds it raises, lives continue to change. Lives are often saved. MASCARA helps to build community, and keep it alive."
Miss CCC 2016-2017
"Since there is a lack of safe spaces, I've always hoped that MASCARA continues to be a brave space. A place where you can come and be your authentic self while creating QUEER ideas of FUN!"
