ERIKETA COST
Staff Writer
You can always expect people dancing to ABBA and lip-synching to Lady Gaga at Fredonia Pride Alliance’s semesterly drag shows.
However, some new and inclusive changes have been made this time around.
Participants no longer fall under “king” and “queen” categories.
This way, they do not alienate those who do not want to be gendered with the labels.
“We had a lot of nonbinary and gender nonconforming (GNC) people tell us they wanted to perform but weren’t comfortable being labelled a queen or a king, so this year it’s all about who the best performer is regardless of their gender on or off stage,” said Nicholas Williams, president of Fredonia Pride Alliance and senior BA theater and music education major.
Junior music therapy major and events coordinator of Pride Alliance Stephanie Pierre- Jacques has been on the frontlines of organizing the event.
Pierre-Jacques described the process of picking a date and reaching out to find judges and hosts.
“Hosts and judges can be alumnae, professional drag performers, or even faculty,” she said.
Pierre-Jacques said that she then had to find a DJ and reach out to Fredonia Sound Services to help run music.
“After a lot of paperwork, the event is essentially good to go. We started recruiting people to perform in the show from essentially the beginning of the semester. This year we have nine performers which I think is the most we’ve ever had,” said Pierre-Jacques.
This year Fredonia alumnus Jimmy Scamacca (drag name Claire Voyant) will be hosting the show, joined by Fredonia alumna Abigail Truax (drag name Aunt Lucifer) and student Victor Morales (drag name Ricky Rodrigo).
Although the contestants are mostly queer students, everyone is welcomed to participate in the show.
So, with all the innovation and progress in the LGBTQ community over time, how does it effect the definition of drag in 2018?
Perhaps the definition is one that is different for everyone.
“Drag is an art form, and just like any art form, everything it consists of and encapsulates has a different meaning for everyone who experiences it,” Williams said.
“For me, drag is about blowing gender so far out of proportion that you start to see it for what it really is. It’s performance caricature art. It’s about taking the deepest most personal parts of yourself and your identity and blowing them up into makeup and costume and personality and putting it on a stage for people to look at and clap and scream. It’s about showing off and being so unapologetically yourself that it inspires others to do the same,” they said.
The Drag show works to help bring the community together as well as educating them.
Junior BA music education major Ezra Pe Aguirre had participated in the drag show last spring.
“It’s definitely a great place to meet new people and bond over being queer,” said Pe Aguirre. “For the most part, last spring’s show was pretty educational on current and past events within the community (like Stonewall and queer icons that changed the path of the community).”
The ability for participants to express themselves freely in a safe space allows them to gain more confidence in the outside world.
“If it’s done thoughtfully and honestly, it really has this great power for the queer community that can draw us out and make us feel safe, proud and ready to go back out into the world after the show and let ourselves be known in new and authentic ways,” said Williams.
This semester, the Fall show will take place Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Williams Center Multi- Purpose Room (MPR).
Tickets are $3 for students, $5 for the general public and can be purchased in the ticket office.
If you have any questions, please contact Fredonia’s Pride Alliance.