Drag queen overcomes bullying to become star

MIDDLETOWN — It’s been a long process for Matteo Lockwood, who has overcome bullying and stage fright, to become confident enough to get up on stage in drag.

Over the course of three years, Lockwood has done that — and much more.

Lockwood’s family owns Jerry’s Pizza, which hosts drag queen brunches, dubbed “Legs & Eggs,” on Sundays once a month at the South Main Street restaurant.

But the road has been a difficult one, according to Lockwood, saying bullying was an issue during the first two years of high school. And it had an effect on Lockwood’s self-esteem.

“I didn’t understand who I was,” Lockwood said.

Last year, Lockwood, 18, began wearing wigs and makeup every day.

Lockwood, whose stage name is Astra S’Lay, discovered “RuPaul’s Drag Race” on VH1 and things started to change.

“It all started clicking — being able to be Matteo and switching to Astra at night,” Lockwood said. “It was really cool for me.”

Eventually, Lockwood and Astra “merged” into one person.

“We’re anomalies,” said Gio Martinez, Lockwood’s close friend whose stage name is Ambrosia.

The duo’s acts are not traditional, compared with others who perform as Dolly Parton, Cher, Liza Minelli, Joan Rivers and others, Lockwood said.

“This is a whole different drag,” said Lockwood’s mother, Carmela Schiano, who owns Jerry’s. “This is drag for 2021.”

One time, Martinez incorporated laser gloves into an act with an alien theme.

“They lit up the walls,” Martinez said.

“For certain queens, it’s a character thing,” Martinez said. “We’re always doing something different. We’re chameleons in the sense that we try to pick from every pool. Some people are like, ‘I’m only a dancer, I only wear sequins, or beaded fringe, and I dance the house down.’”

After several years of perfecting the style and practicing at home, Lockwood landed a slot at the Chez LGBTQ restaurant in Hartford — at age 17.

In the first week, Lockwood was a finalist and then was runner-up in the second week.

“That was crazy for me,” Lockwood said. “I was super shocked.”

That’s when Lockwood began booking professional, paying gigs.

“I started getting known,” Lockwood said.

This year, Lockwood won the competition.

“I didn’t believe it at all. I didn’t think I was going to be in the top three,” Lockwood said.

When Schiano learned her child had won, she said a lot went through her head.

“All I could think of was the very first time you actually put everything on,” she told Lockwood.

She and a friend were watching a movie when Lockwood walked through a dark hallway into the living room.

“All the dogs went nuts,” she said, laughing at the memory of her child in full costume, makeup and heels. “Here is this 8-foot tall person standing in the doorway. Your drag has come so far,” she told Lockwood.

After winning the biggest competition in Connecticut, Lockwood started “stepping everything up.”

“A lot of it is self-taught,” Martinez said of how performers perfect their craft. “You experiment, you go on the internet, you watch videos of people who have done it.”

Before settling on Astra’s appearance, Lockwood would copy a drag queen’s eye makeup or cheek contouring — until coming up with a unique style with help from Martinez.

“Gio is an awesome support for Matteo,” Schiano said. Martinez has since become a close family friend.

“Ambrosia stuck up for me a lot,” Lockwood said.

Once monthly on Saturdays, Jerry’s holds an evening performance, which is more of a traditional drag show.

Before the shows, Schiano admitted she wasn’t sure what to expect from her regular customers.

“There were construction workers still here,” she said.

But, the act was a success. Customers who saw Lockwood every day in the restaurant traveled to the casino to see Astra, Schiano said.

“Something that would change my life is if I saw somebody’s aunt or father, or somebody’s uncle saw me, and then they saw the kid, and didn’t think of him as such a weirdo,” Lockwood said. “It would be so different and make my life a lot easier.

“I want to be that person’s gateway to be able to come out, and love the skin they’re in,” Lockwood said.

Cassandra Day / Hearst Connecticut Media Jerry’s Pizza of Middletown is hosting “Leggs & Eggs” drag queen brunches once a month on Sundays, with a portion of proceeds going to hormone therapy expenses for uninsured trans youth. From right are Jerry’s owner Carmela Schiano, her adult child Matteo Lockwood, and Gio Martinez, Lockwood’s drag “mother.” Both are professional drag queens.