A Conversation with an Undead Prom Queen

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Footlight Presents @ the Windjammer is a community supported art space providing a platform for emerging artists in Ridgewood Queens since 2016. This is our Substack where we share industry related interviews, essays, & encourage discourse

It is no secret that I come into my full power every year in October for spooky season. Nothing makes me happier than seeing pumpkins on stoops, spiders in webs, and skeletons posed in clever positions. I saw an upside down skeleton suspended by spider webs wearing a spider man mask the other day and it just made my whole week. We go hard for Halloween every year. Pumpkin Collaging, Ghoul-O-Rama, a Samhain ritual, Trick or Treat carnival, there are just so many fun themed events every year(which you can RSVP for on WITHFRIENDS) . My favorite, however, is UNDEAD PROM.

Undead Prom, 2023

Every year we gather and dance in our UNDEAD finest. Vampire, Ghouls, Zombies & more. Our prom court is announced around 9:45 and the competition is usually fierce especially if Sawyer Mitchell is competing for Prom Queen.

Undead Prom, Queen & King 2022

Laura Regan, Footlight Presents: Hey Sawyer, tell the people who the heck you are.

Sawyer Michell, Reigning Undead Prom Queen: My name is Sawyer, I’ve been living in Ridgewood for the last 6 years with my fiancée David and my two cats, Ham and Tomato. I’ve been in the service industry for 17 years and bartending for almost 10. If you’ve ever been to the Windjammer during Jeopardy you’ve seen me tensely try to answer clues. I love my Ridgewood community, my little family, and especially Halloween.

LBR: We do love our Jeopardy at the Jammer. Sawyer, you are the reigning undead prom queen 3 years running. How do you prepare yourself? How soon do you start working on your new concept?

Undead Prom, 2023

SM: I’m gonna be honest, the last three were real down to the wire “oh god what am I gonna do” moments, the idea just clicked a week or two beforehand, (once the day of). My plan for this year though I thought of right after last year’s win, so hopefully it works out! Really I think my tactic generally is just to go as all-out as I can, whether it’s body makeup or loads of fake blood— the fact that I have a shower nearby has been integral to my success. The last two years in a row involved an immediate shower post-voting— there was a blue handprint on our bathroom door for quite some time after last year.

Undead Prom, 2024

LBR: If you have put that much thought into this years’ look, I absolutely cannot wait to see it next week. It seems needless to say that spooky season is also your ultimate form, do you have a formative experience you can recall that lead you to develop your love of Halloween?

SM: There were a lot of fun Halloween things to do where I grew up on Long Island, very storybook-y stuff, so all around I’ve always loved it but I do have one really specific memory, and it’s doing ABBA karaoke at a Halloween party when I was about 9 years old. If you know me at all that explains kind of a lot.

LBR: C.U.T.E. You host an incredibly fun event every year, BYOP at Parkside Lounge in LES, when did you start that and what inspired you to do it?

SM: B.Y.O.P. stands for Bring Your Own Pumpkin, it’s a carving contest I host every year— there’s trophies for three different categories: funniest, most creative, and best in show. I provide candles, carving tools, candy and party favors— all you have to do is bring a pumpkin!

BYOP is truly a Covid baby, during 2020 when bars opened back up again I was picking up shifts all over the place (I think a lot of us were,) so the first year was at Ace Bar where I was working for a while. Basically a friend of mine and I were just depressed about having no Halloween, and we invited like 6 people to come sit outside the bar with masks on and carve pumpkins. I bought crappy dollar store kits and bags of candy on my way to work and people lit up their pumpkins with phone flashlights. We’ve gotten a little fancier over the years.

LBR: I gotta start thinking up my pumpkin design for this year. Can you give us any hints about this year’s prom look or is it super top secret?

SM: I’m trying to keep it secret, so I guess if you’re reading this and want to know you’ll just have to attend! I will say my sister Somerset is working on it with me this year, she’s a super talented hair and makeup artist and shares my pure love of Halloween. You can follow her work on instagram @makeupbysomerset!

LBR: Make sure to come vote for prom court or even try to compete with Sawyer on Thurs Oct. 16th. Where can these fine folks visit you at one of your bar shifts?

SM: My regular shifts are at International Bar in the East Village, where I’ve been tending for almost a decade. I’m there Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights from 8-4, come on down for a spell! I’m also likely to be covering a shift somewhere on other days, you may have even caught me behind the bar at Windjammer on occasion! You can follow me on instagram for updates, @mynameisawyer for bartending and @byop.nyc for pumpkin-ing!

THE ANNUAL UNDEAD PROM 2025

SparklePunk Glitter/Gore station available for Undead looks
Self Portrait Project available for free prom photos! (You can even print copies for $1.50)
Poster & Visuals by Preston Spurlock
Music by Dracula and his band the Draculas

Undead costumes are a must.

Prom court will be determined by the audience at 9:45PM

doors at 8
21+
$15 suggested donation
NOTAFLOF

There’s a link to Sawyer’s most excellent spooky scary playlist which is available for our magnanimous paid subscribers. You might also see my Pumpkin from Last year’s BYOP and a snippet of my post prom karaoke performance at the Avenue in Glendale.