Attention students walking through the student union tomorrow night: watch out for plump lips, foam breasts, and pencil mustaches. Pride is once again raising money for the LGBTQ scholarship by hosting a drag show from 8-11 p.m. Nov. 20 in the Mezz.
TJ Carpenter, junior public relations major, works as Pride’s large event chair. He is not only planning the show but also performing as one of the student performers. Both Carpenter and Seth Martin, first-year, will be performing female drag—males dressed as females. Other student performers will be Angie Renner, senior, who will be performing male drag—a female dressed as a male. Cierra Roberts, junior, will be performing as the famous drag queen Adore Delano. Ciarra Davis, senior, will be performing in drag for the show. These students will be competing in the talent show for a chance to win $100.
Last year’s winner, Katherine Bustos, junior, had a lot of fun performing male drag, as it’s something she doesn’t get to do very often.
“It was a lot of fun to dress like a dude and be able to go on stage and dance like a guy,” Bustos said. “You have a lot more freedom as a guy than a girl, so it was just a really fun experience. And it was great to have my sisters [from sorority Delta Phi Epsilon] come out and support.”
Students can also expect to see professionals such as Virginia West—the host of the evening—Eris Grey, Roxy Nikole, Sharon Snatch, and Dolly Spreadaparton.
“When I came to Capital and joined Pride, they were always asking ‘What can we do?’ and I was in the back saying ‘Drag show!’ So, finally, they told me if you want to do this, you have to plan it,” Carpenter said.
Through his connections with several local drag queens, Carpenter was able to put on the first ever drag show at Capital in the spring of 2014.
“The drag community is huge on charity events and loves coming in and performing. For them, it’s an honor to be asked because they know they are appreciated for what they do, and that is incentive enough to come in and perform for free.”
For students who have never been to a drag show, Carpenter said you’ll see things you’ve never seen before.
“If you go in with an open mind, you’re going to have a good time. There’s a wide range of experience among the performers, so you’ll get to see a wide variety of acts.”
One piece of advice both Carpenter and Bustos have for both veterans and novices of drag show performances was to tip.
“All the money goes to the scholarship. The queens don’t see any of the money that they receive. It all goes back to the scholarship, so it’s really important to tip!” Carpenter said.
In the first year, the drag show raised $250 for the LGBTQ scholarship. Carpenter hopes that this year’s drag show will either meet or exceed the $500 that was raised last year. Expect there to be free food, t-shirts for sale, and lots of queens.
