So during this quarantine, we decided to resurrect our Chauncey Chat series and feature short and sassy interviews with nightlife personalities and local artists in the NYC area and beyond. Being a performer or an artist is especially trifling during a lockdown and we are here to find out what happens when you force a creative person to stay home. Let’s see what is happening with our very first specimen in our first installment of CHAUNCEY CHAT : ELEVEN QUESTIONS (QUARANTINE EDITION) on The House Of Dandridge!

STATE YOUR NAME AND OCCUPATION:
Marti Balloveras aka Ari Kiki

I am a Sales rep/shipping manager at a visual merchandising company during the day, drag queen and mother at night.

1. WHERE DO YOU ALL HOME AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SELF QUARANTINING?
I live in Inwood/Washington Heights for the past 10yrs. Been self quarantined for the since March 20th.

2. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN PASSING THE TIME SO FAR?   HAVE YOU BEEN CREATIVE?
Been catching up on my streaming apps, lots of shows I had saved and hadn’t watched yet. My newest conquest is to stream the entire series of Golden Girls in order. I’ve never seen it all. As for my creativity, I’ve been going live on Instagram every Monday and playing with makeup, trying to branch out of my usual beat. I’ve also have been using the time to update my nudes for the hookup apps.

3. HAVE YOU SET ANY GOALS FOR PROJECTS OR ARTISTIC ENDEAVORS WHILE YOU’RE IN QUARANTINE?  IF SO, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THEM OR ARE THEY A SECRET?
No artistic goals for now. Ideally wanted to learn some new songs to lipsynch, but who knows what will be popular by the time we passed this. I am fasting a bit, in an attempt to save money and lose weight. I’ve lost about 15-20lbs so far, and want to incorporate exercise, but I’ve not been that motivated yet.

4. DO YOU FIND YOURSELF DOING THINGS THAT YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU WOULD SINCE YOU HAVE SO MUCH FREE TIME?
Not exactly, I mean I spend most of my days on my phone, naked and flipping from various social media platforms to the content streaming apps. Though I will say, I was very anti-TikTok, and downloaded right at the start of this and have 6 videos up so far.

5. ARE THERE ANY FRIENDS OR PEERS THAT HAVE BEEN ACTIVE ONLINE WITH SOME SORT OF CREATIVE OUTPUT YOU’VE BEEN KEEPING AN EYE ON?   IF SO, TELL US ABOUT THEM AND WHAT YOU LIKE ABOUT THEM.

My drag daughter, Catrina LoveLace and my drag niece, Hibiscus have been doing a similar Instagram show to mine, and it’s at 7pm, whereas mine is at 5pm, so we pop into each other’s shows. Also, I’ve seen my drag son, MysterE Mel-Kiki has been getting a few opportunities to be part of drag shows featuring drag kings and I love that the drag king community is taking this opportunity to really unite and showcase itself.

AND NOW FOR THE MEATIER MORE PERSONAL QUESTIONS…

6. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR GOTO SNACK OR MEAL THAT YOU’VE BEEN ENJOYING SINCE YOU’VE BEEN ON LOCKDOWN?   ARE YOU A COOK OR ARE YOU DEPENDENT ON THE GRACE OF YOUR DELIVERY GUYS TO BRING YOU FOOD?
My living situation does not include a kitchen so that in part has led to the fasting. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth usually, but I have found myself enjoying a cookie or 2 most nights. I recently was introduced to Trader Joe’s cranberry and white chocolate oatmeal cookies which are really tasty, and I’ve also been enjoying the Girl Scout cookie Samoas knockoff by Keebler, fudge-covered coconut dreams. I’ve also have gotten into snacking on pistachios.

7. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SHOWERED AND GOT DRESSED?
I get dressed at least once a day to go pick up my main meal for the day, which usually keeps me out for 10-20mins depending where I choose to go. I’m showering every other day.

8. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU SENT NAKED SELFIES TO SINCE YOU’VE BEEN IN LOCKDOWN?
I’ve sent naked selfies maybe to 3 people officially, but I’ve been posting some of the classier options on my Instagram and Twitter.

9. IF THE QUARANTINE ENDED TOMORROW, WHERE WOULD BE THE FIRST PLACE YOU WOULD GO AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO THERE?
Hmmm, probably Gym Bar or Stonewall to meet with friends for drinks or to 1 of the 3 individuals I’ve sent nudes to for some long overdue sex.

10. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING GUILTY PLEASURE SO FAR?
Getting turned on by my musk. Before this I showered every day and wore antiperspirant, I haven’t been putting on the antiperspirant after I shower lately and my pores have been very scent-ually vocal since, lol.

11. A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE EXPRESSING THEIR ANXIETY AND FRUSTRATIONS AND SHARING LOTS OF BAD NEWS AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA.  ARE YOU FREAKING OUT LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE ARE OR ARE YOU COOL, CALM AND COLLECTED AND OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE?
I had a slight panic attack on March 17th while I was at work. I just kept going online to see the news and felt very hopeless and grim. I fell into a hole for a few hours and eventually shook myself out of it temporarily. I went online and looked up some steps to cope with that, which I posted on my social media, as I felt others would benefit from that as well. Since then, I have since kept my news intake to maybe once every 3-4 days, and maybe for 5-10 minutes tops. I’m also trying to only post content on social media that will bring humor or smiles. I’m a big believer in energy being put out into the universe, so I’m hoping it’s making a difference for someone out there.

FOLLOW ARI KIKI ON INSTAGRAM @arikiki_hotmess AND TWITTER @AriKiki_HotMess