By Carlie Fox ~
What’s a better way to spend your Thursday night other than witnessing your favorite drag queens and kings perform and strut their stuff on stage? Let me tell you-nothing, nothing is better!
On October 12, Penn State’s LGBTQ Student Roundtable put on one of their beloved Penn State drag shows at the HUB Robinson Center. The packed room in Alumni Hall was filled with some drag queen super fans who could not hold back their excitement for the show to begin.
The show was for National Coming Out Week and provided both men and women the opportunity to come and be themselves for a night.
The art of drag made its way to the spotlight after the hit TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race became a worldwide guilty pleasure for many viewers. The term “drag,” however, was coined by William Shakespeare, in which he used it to describe cross-dressing. Drag is seen as a form of expression and vulnerability for those a part of the LGBTQ community; it is an environment where those performing and partaking in drag can express themselves through fashion, makeup, music and dance. The term drag usually is correlated with men who dress up as women in an exaggerated form and lip sync and dance to a song. However, drag kings have also come into the spotlight as women who dress up as men and do the same thing.
The first M.C for the night, Jose Queervo, gave the crowd Avatar vibes with her long hair and expressive makeup that blew the crowd away. Her commentary and jokes made the night and filled the room with cries of laughter and applause. She introduced the drag kings and queens one by one and encouraged the audience to tip, tip and tip!
There were many performers that night:Peaches, Laurel Charleston, Hexa, Absinthe and Papa John to name a few. With every hair flip and dance move, they each brought their own personality and flair to the stage.
One performer who stood out to me the most was Laurel Charleston, whose coined phrase is, “I have ten kids and hate them all!” With her long, blueish green hair she captivated the audience. Her baby doll prop was thrown high in the air and tossed around the auditorium. Her dance moves incorporated death drops, spins, twirls and jumps. With each move, she captivated the audience and provided them with plenty of opportunities to clap and tip. The strobe lights and loud music made Alumni Hall shake with excitement.
The night continued with drag king PaPa John. He stole the show while dancing and lip syncing with an empty pizza box while making his way through the crowd.
What struck me the most about the night was witnessing the Penn State community come together to support drag and how involved and supportive the audience was.
Learn more about the LGBTQA Roundtable and see the list of upcoming events hosted by the LGBTQA Roundtable.
See up close pictures from the fall 2017 drag show! To learn more about each of the drag queens, read this article published by Onward State this past spring.
I encourage everyone to go and see a drag show either here on campus or in your local city. It was truly a night to remember.
In the words of Jose Queervo, “Don’t forget to tip!”
