By STEVEN JUPITER
ANITA COCKTAIL AND HER CREW
You might know her as Tonya Durant, a longtime Brandon resident who works at the Junction Store & Deli in Forestdale. You might interact with her every day, maybe when you go into Junction to get milk or a half-pound of turkey breast, and never realize that to a large segment of Rutland County she’s better known as Anita Cocktail, the wisecracking leader of a troupe of drag performers who have been putting on shows all over Vermont for the last several years.
“It’s entertainment!” said Ms. Cocktail in a phone conversation. “Drag isn’t just putting on makeup and sequins. It’s not a glorified strip show. We’re performers. We tell a story. We sing. We dance. We do stand-up comedy.”
In fact, Anita Cocktail is a stand-up queen, whose specialty is comedy. The outlandish makeup and clothing are just part of the persona she’s been creating for the last six years.
“I love to interact with the audience, to get them to laugh,” she said. “I’m up close and personal. I get the crowd involved.”
Drag queens are conventionally understood to be men in flamboyant women’s clothing, playing with exaggerated notions of gender. But Anita Cocktail is a woman who simply likes to perform as an even more outrageous version of herself. As with drag performers generally, the costumes allow her to sink into the character she’s created for herself.
“I was always fascinated by drag queens when I was a kid,” she said. “I thought the transformation was amazing.”
Yet drag seemed like something reserved for men. Then, six years ago, she had an epiphany: anyone can do drag.
“My drag mother, Luci Furr-Matrix, told me ‘Girl, you can do anything you want to do,’” recalled Ms. Cocktail. “It gave me so much more confidence.” And thus was born Anita Cocktail. (A “drag mother,” in the community’s parlance, is an experienced drag performer who takes a newcomer under her wing and teaches her the ropes.)
The name “Anita Cocktail” came from a comment that Tonya made before her first onstage appearance in drag. She was so nervous, even to the point of shaking, that she said “I need a cocktail” and the name stuck. Like a drag performer’s costumes, their drag name is usually meant to say something about the character the performer is playing.
Anita Cocktail is now a drag mother herself, helping fledgling performers in Rutland County to find their voices, refine their acts, and get out in front of people.
The drag scene in Rutland is growing, she said. For the last 5 years, Ms. Cocktail and her crew have been performing on the second Saturday of every month at Merchants Hall in Rutland City. The owner of the venue, Jacob Patorti, was very open to the idea. Ms. Cocktail and her crew also perform in Burlington, Bennington, New York, Massachusetts. They’ve even performed several times here in Brandon: at the American Legion, the Brandon Town Hall, and the Brandon Inn.
“The community has really embraced us,” she said. Despite the harsh rhetoric lobbed at the drag community by some folks lately, Ms. Cocktail has no intention of slowing down or pulling back.
“Drag is not a crime,” she said. “It’s not going away. It’s been here for hundreds of years. Men did drag in Shakespeare’s plays. It’s not any different than Halloween or theater. It’s just a variety show, like Carol Burnett.”
Ms. Cocktail had been approached by the Brandon Independence Day Parade Committee for several years but 2023 was the first time that she was available to participate.
“They got us early,” Ms. Cocktail laughed. “We’re not going to have a float but we’re going to look gorgeous.”
Ms. Cocktail will be joined by Rita Cocktail, Mama Dukes, Mikey Flexx, Shenita Mocktail (a youth performer), and Lucky Linda (Anita/Tonya’s real-life wife, Linda Otto). Leading them off will be Emma Jean Hoops, a hula-hoop performer who is seen at events all around the area.
“We’re part of the community,” said Ms. Cocktail. “You’re safe in our space to be who you want to be. You’re loved.”
TIM SHORT AND THE 1ST VERMONT CAVALRY
Vermont isn’t necessarily the first state that comes to mind when we think of the Civil War, since most of the actual fighting took place much farther south. But Vermont sent a large percentage of its available population off to fight for the Union and the little state suffered heavy losses in major conflicts, such as the Battle of the Wilderness and Cedar Creek, both in Virginia. In fact, the Battle of Cedar Creek was considered so important in Vermont history that it was commemorated in a massive oil painting in the Statehouse in Montpelier.
It’s with that history in mind that Tim Short and his cohort formed the 1st Vermont Cavalry reenactment group. And they will be marching, on horseback, in the parade on July 1.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” said Short, who runs a surveying company and lives in Orwell. “I was always interested in history and collecting antique firearms. I visited Gettysburg as a kid and it made a lasting impression on me.”
The members of the group train their horses to perform intricate drills and to tolerate the sound of firearms. They also try to present as authentic a visual image as possible. Some members even carry original carbines (a type of musket) and sabers, and ride McClellan saddles, which were standard issue in the Civil War.
“My saddle has an original tree,” said Short, referring to the leather-covered wooden frame that sits on the horse’s back.
Some reenactors take on the personas of known Civil War soldiers, Short said, but there’s no requirement that a participant pretend to be anyone specific.
The group tries to practice once a month and often participates in reenactment events. A favorite event is the Cedar Creek reenactment in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, which takes place late in the year.
The real 1st Vermont Cavalry itself was involved in or present at 76 engagements during the Civil War, from the unit’s formation in 1861 until the end of the war in 1865. It fought at Gettysburg and Appomattox. It lost a total of 392 soldiers to injury and/or disease.
But the reenactment group is currently looking for new members, to restore its numbers after losing several soldiers and horses during the COVID years. Some people simply drifted away during the pandemic, and two participants’ horses died. The group is actively seeking recruits.
“You don’t need to be a history buff,” said Short. “You just have to like to ride horses and shoot guns.”
It helps, however, to have your own horse.
Short added, “We take baby steps with new horses. We try to bring them along from an equestrian standpoint. We take care of them and get them used to the drills.”
This year’s contingent will include Mr. Short on horse Slim, Jim Billado on Cinnamon, Jon Aberth on Hazel, Laura Hamilton on Ziggy, Dave Short on Alec, and Robin Severy on Binx.
Anyone interested in getting involved in the group can contact Mr. Short at ssi@sover.net or (802) 349-8412.
You can also follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/1stVTCavalry.
Whether you enjoy history or horses or both, keep an eye out for the group during the parade on July 1.
