Chrissy64_uk
19-04-2009, 12:39 PM
"Viewer Discretion is Advised" read the advertisement for this year's Drag Show. The event, which was held last Friday in the Mohr Student Center from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m., is famous for its play on gender and for pushing people to the limit of their sexual comfort.
Now in its seventh year running, the Drag Show was sponsored by PRIDE, Lake Forest College's student organization dedicated to enhancing on-campus diversity by providing support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and allied (GLBTQA) students.
Senior Jared Fox, president of PRIDE, believed this year's Drag Show to be the most successful yet from an attendance, setup, and organizational standpoint. "I think it was the best attended Drag Show I've seen, and also the most well run," he said. "We tried a different set-up this year, and I think it worked much better. We were also the first social event to use the new wireless microphone system, and I think that was a good thing as we got to see what worked and what didn't for future events."
Every year the Drag Show features performances from professional drag queens as well as acts done by student drag queens and kings. "The professional drag queens were flawless, and student performers were enthusiastic," said Fox. This year the event was emceed by Sister Porna Forna-Kayshun, founding member of the Abbey of the Windy City Sisters Canoness, and her cohort Sarib, a porn star with Raging Stallion Studios, the world's largest producer of gay pornography. Other professional drag queen performers included Chicago's #1 Female Impersonator Lady Vera Parker, Ms. Gay America 2008 Mikaila Kay, Halsted's Dancing Diva Dida Ritz, and the North Shore Latina Princess Audrianna Santi.
Student performers were evaluated on four criteria, each out of ten points: passing for a member of the opposite sex, performance/ crowd appeal, creativity, and overall. This year's judges included Secretary of PRIDE Kathryn Appelhans, Student Government President Mario Baldassari, President-elect of Latinos Unidos Jaime Perez, Miss Jimmy V Jemia Cunningham, and Associate Director of Residence Life for Staff Training and Development Jennifer Lindsay. Group performers and single performers were judged separately.
This year's group winners were the softball team, with their rousing rendition of Lil Jon's "Get Low." Taylor Tuscherer's impersonation of Celine Dion's "That's the Way it is" took the win for the single's category.
Drag Show attendees were encouraged to donate to Queers Against Cancer, PRIDE's Relay for Life team, during the course of the evening. A total of $90 was raised and was collected in donation bags and as "tips" for the student and professional performers.
The Drag Show is notoriously the most well attended part of PRIDE's annual Collegiate Fortnight of Pride (CFOP), a festival of events dedicated to educating the College community on various GLBTQA issues.
Now in its seventh year running, the Drag Show was sponsored by PRIDE, Lake Forest College's student organization dedicated to enhancing on-campus diversity by providing support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and allied (GLBTQA) students.
Senior Jared Fox, president of PRIDE, believed this year's Drag Show to be the most successful yet from an attendance, setup, and organizational standpoint. "I think it was the best attended Drag Show I've seen, and also the most well run," he said. "We tried a different set-up this year, and I think it worked much better. We were also the first social event to use the new wireless microphone system, and I think that was a good thing as we got to see what worked and what didn't for future events."
Every year the Drag Show features performances from professional drag queens as well as acts done by student drag queens and kings. "The professional drag queens were flawless, and student performers were enthusiastic," said Fox. This year the event was emceed by Sister Porna Forna-Kayshun, founding member of the Abbey of the Windy City Sisters Canoness, and her cohort Sarib, a porn star with Raging Stallion Studios, the world's largest producer of gay pornography. Other professional drag queen performers included Chicago's #1 Female Impersonator Lady Vera Parker, Ms. Gay America 2008 Mikaila Kay, Halsted's Dancing Diva Dida Ritz, and the North Shore Latina Princess Audrianna Santi.
Student performers were evaluated on four criteria, each out of ten points: passing for a member of the opposite sex, performance/ crowd appeal, creativity, and overall. This year's judges included Secretary of PRIDE Kathryn Appelhans, Student Government President Mario Baldassari, President-elect of Latinos Unidos Jaime Perez, Miss Jimmy V Jemia Cunningham, and Associate Director of Residence Life for Staff Training and Development Jennifer Lindsay. Group performers and single performers were judged separately.
This year's group winners were the softball team, with their rousing rendition of Lil Jon's "Get Low." Taylor Tuscherer's impersonation of Celine Dion's "That's the Way it is" took the win for the single's category.
Drag Show attendees were encouraged to donate to Queers Against Cancer, PRIDE's Relay for Life team, during the course of the evening. A total of $90 was raised and was collected in donation bags and as "tips" for the student and professional performers.
The Drag Show is notoriously the most well attended part of PRIDE's annual Collegiate Fortnight of Pride (CFOP), a festival of events dedicated to educating the College community on various GLBTQA issues.