Reflecting on My Snatch
I regret to inform you all that I, Flaminia, am no longer a lovely second alternate… because I won the 2025 Chez Snatch Game!
Most of my readers already know what Snatch Game is, but in case you don’t it’s a parody of The Match Game. If you don’t know what the Match Game is it’s a game show that started in the 60’s. Celebrities try to match fill in the blank prompts. The point of Snatch Game is not to match the prompt, it’s to do a funny celebrity impersonation! It started as a challenge on RuPaul’s Drag Race, but since this is a club adaptation the rules are a little different.
Click here to watch this year’s Snatch Game (as soon as it gets uploaded, at the time of writing it is not online yet)
Today, I’m write a little retrospective on the show and to give my flaminiadvice on what makes a great impersonation. Which is even more valuable now, since I’ll be on the judges panel next year ;)
This was my second time doing Snatch Game. Last year I got top three doing Marilyn Monroe.
Choosing a celebrity is a big factor in being able to be funny in the Snatch Game. This is not about putting on a realistic likeness of someone. We’re not making a biopic; this is an improv game and a farce. The best choices are people you can boil down into over-the-top characters. If you can sprinkle in some reference’s fans will understand on top of that, even better. A person that’s funny isn’t necessarily a personality that can be made funny. The opposite can also be true. A person that isn’t funny could have attributes you can make funny.
Last year’s winner, Enigma Jones, played Eve as a cavewoman. Which is a great example of what I mean. She chose someone that’s basically universally known, and subverted audience expectations about that figure. Eve is not someone we think of as funny, but playing a biblical cavewoman is a funny spin on the idea of Eve.
I chose Marilyn Monroe, but in reality, I was playing “1960’s sex symbol with a pill problem”. I tried to stick to the parts of Marilyn that most people knew and that I could use to inform my answers. I should have done more research and rehearsal into performing Marilyn since she’s a staple for celebrity impersonators. I had a comedic take on her, but I didn’t have the vocal technique and mannerisms down that people expect to see from a Marilyn. Cher, Madonna, or Dolly Parton would be difficult to do for similar reasons. They get done a lot, and there are established methods to doing them well.
The fact that the average audience does not know who Brigitte Bardot is or only has a vague idea of her was an advantage. It gave me, Flaminia, more room to make my own version of her. I wasn’t really playing Brigitte, I was playing “1960’s sex symbol who is rude and French”. I am earnestly a fan of some of her work. I love 60’s French yé-yé pop music, and she’s a big fashion inspiration. I got my lips filled based on how hers are shaped (not in preparation for Snatch Game, I just wanted filler). I meant to watch some of her movies, but I have to be in a specific mood to watch vintage foreign films. I ultimately chose Brigitte the same reason I chose Marilyn, because there’s a lot of built in resemblance to me, Flaminia.
I stumbled upon an interview with Cole Escola that solidified this approach in my head. They wrote and starred in Oh Mary, a hysterical farce about Mary Todd Lincoln on Broadway. When asked about research for the role, Escola said they intentionally did none. They didn’t want the play to have references average audiences wouldn’t understand. It’s not actually about Mary Todd Lincoln; it’s about a comically violent woman in an intentionally ahistorical fever dream. Abraham Lincoln is gay and black in this production.
Did I physically resemble Brigitte? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A little.
We’re both hot and have big hair. According to google she’s 5’7 and not 7 feet tall like me, Flaminia.
I got one of my wigs touched up by my wigstress Jaqueline to try to match her a little better, but there was only so much we could do with the material. That wig had been stained with fake blood a few years ago, so I dyed the ends red. It looked kind of like Avril Lavigne, but I don’t think Avril could be made super funny.
I did my best to match Brigitte’s makeup, with one caveat… I had an eye infection. I still do. It’s not contagious, but I can’t put eye makeup on until it clears up. I opted for dark sunglasses, and honestly it was kind of a look. It added a certain… Jenny say Qwah to the performance.
For my outfit I was originally planning on wearing something with an off-shoulder neckline, which is signature Brigitte. But then I got the perfect shirt by pure coincidence. A gentleman friend bought it for me on a trip to Paris. A tight black fitted tee with “PARIS FRANCE” rhinestoned on the chest. I paired it with a black velvet mini skirt and heels. I painted my nails with French tips, really clever groundbreaking stuff here, I know.
I ended up looking like if Brigitte had been famous in 2009 instead of 1969, but it was a vibe. I got a few pictures, but I decided I’d rather recreate the look and do a proper shoot on a day I can wear eyeshadow and falsies.
Before the show I prepared by drinking some wine to get into an iconique chanteuse state of mind. Manischewitz and Diet Coke in a big gulp cup, an authentique Francais delicacy. I got to the Chez with a couple of my boyfriends and ordered pretzel sticks (basically small baguettes if you think about it) and a vodka diet coke. In the dressing room I got to see who everyone else was being this year! I had already gossiped enough to figure out who most of the cast was doing beforehand, but it was still fun to confirm.
Zelda Vox as Elmo
Chai as Trisha Paytas
Kiki Lucia as Miss Piggy
Me, Flaminia as Brigitte Bardot
Henna C. Johnson as Keke Palmer
Nicollette* as Lola from Big Mouth
*Who joined the cast on short notice after someone dropped.
Unlike Snatch Game on Drag Race, we’re allowed to choose fictional characters. Elmo, Miss Piggy, and Lola would have been off limits otherwise. I was personally considering going as the Green M&M but making a costume for her seemed out of scope… for now. Betty Boop was on my list of potential characters too. The best fictional character choices are broadly known and can be interpreted in original ways. Elmo was a great option for those reasons. I think classic fairy tale or literary characters could work well for future games.
It was time to play! I had a couple jokes preloaded, but I tried not to overprepare. This is an improv show, and being able to go with the moment is more important than anything else. I was improv club president in high school, and I play a lot of Quiplash (a video game that’s very similar to Snatch Game) with my friends. Saying funny things on the fly has become a reflex. Amethyst was hosting again. She’s such a delight to banter with. I knew it was going well when we had moments where I had to be careful not to break into laughter.
“Ideas can be very dangerous” I said in my terrible French accent. I don’t remember what prompted me to say this.
“Oh yeah, why is that?” Asked Amethyst.
“They can cause a revolution!” I shouted before continuing “It happened somewhere… I cannot remember what country…”
It was truly one of the stupidest things I had ever said. I leaned into the ridiculous French performance I was giving. I said “Si” and quickly corrected it to “Oui”. At one point I think I just said, “As they say in France… baguette wine Eiffel Tower oui oui.” There were moments where I refrained from doing things that the real Brigitte would do. Trisha Paytas brought a bucket of KFC. In my research I found out that Brigitte Bardot is a militant animal rights activist. I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of the show by making a fuss about the chicken though. It wouldn’t have been funny enough to justify doing, and most of the audience would not have understood the reference.
Speaking of understanding references, a lot of this year’s questions were about Chez Est performers. I made sure to give additional context in my answers, so even someone who’s never been to Connecticut’s premiere gay bar could understand the joke. One of the questions was about Chez Legends Season One of Them Winner Judah. “Judah is so outrageous she wore an outfit made entirely out of ________”. I said “Well I know thees Judah barely wears anything. I think it would be a shock to see her wearing fabrique” (I wrote fabric and then changed the spelling last second to make it look more faux-french).
Unlike regular Snatch Game, this one is a two parter. After we finished answering questions, we each got a five-minute performance slot. We could choose to stay as our part one celebs, or swap to anyone else. Kiki switched from Miss Piggy to Catherine O’Hara (as Moira Rose from Schitt’s Creek) in the span of 15 minutes. I paint fast, but taking off a pig nose prosthetic and totally changing eyeshadow and lipstick in 15 minutes is beyond my abilities. I didn’t change at all, since most of my talent portion was prerecorded. I buried the lead a little. I went out to ask the audience if they were ready to hear me sing, and then told them that’s too bad. I didn’t feel like it! Instead, I sat back and watched a scene from the soap opera Dynasty. Well, a recreation I acted in and edited a couple weeks before.
Before it came time to announce the winner, I already got everything I wanted out of this. A fun time! I got to make stupid jokes. I got to use my real voice… with a fake accent, but you know what I mean. I got to act and edit a video that I’ll have forever now. Screen work provides a whole new level of creative control. Everything I did for this was on my own terms. I still challenged myself, but I set a budget and goals that were practical to complete.
Finding out I won was a cherry on top of a wonderful night. In my last blog post I mentioned how I had felt insecure for being in the scene as long as I had and still not earning a title. I’m glad I was able to process those feelings and move past that before I actually won something at the Chez Est. I’m thrilled I won, but even more thrilled I did not compromise my wellbeing or creative integrity. That will get me much farther than any title will.
Amethyst asked me if I had anything I wanted to say, and since it was almost two in the morning, I did not. Now, with a few days to reflect and some more sleep, I want to say I am so grateful for everyone who made this possible. Thank you to Kevy of Connecticut Drag for organizing this event, Mr. John Pepe of the Chez Est for hosting, all my friends who helped put this together and came to support, beautiful Amethyst for being a lovely hostess, the Judges, and especially to my fellow Snatch Game costars.
The future’s looking bright. This Saturday I’ll have a booth at WeHa pride, come say hi and make a Flaminimi! In July I’m going to PTown, no plans to perform, but I’m looking forward to seeing some iconic drag queens there. August 15th I’ll be in a brand-new show at Trevi presented by Connecticut Drag. It’s an improv show, which is something I’ve wanted to be part of for years! Then August 30th I’ll be competing in Enigma’s Comedy Pageant also at the Chez.
Besides all of my scheduled in-person appearances, you can always find me, Flaminia, right here at www.Flaminia.me. I’ll be updating my digital magazina, FAGIOLINA, as regularly as I feel like it with all sorts of projects.
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