ERIKETA COST
Life & Arts Editor
Some people are arguing it’s Christmas time.
Others say the Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé tunes can wait until after Thanksgiving.
The Fredonia Fall Drag show says who cares, it’s every holiday wrapped into one glitzy night.
This year, you can expect a focus on different holidays celebrated through drag, a variety of demographic representation and more live singing.
“We have a cast of kings and queens performing lip syncs and dances to different holiday themes. It’s a chance for people to see drag in a more local form other than ‘Rupaul’s Drag Race,’” said Bradley Klemens, a sophomore psychology and LGBTQ gender studies major. Klemens’ drag name is Giselle Romain.
Along with Klemens, Yuwan Ilano will be hosting as well.
Ilano said that rather than having the fall show be a competition and the spring show a showcase of talents, the order will be flipped.
“We feel that this offers an open opportunity for students to partake and explore performance through gender expression without having the pressure of being in a competition,” said Ilano.
He is a theatre arts B.A., multi-ethnic studies and environmental science major, and his drag name is Fallon Angel. “Although it is a drag-based show, this semester, we have opened the event to performers focusing on the LGBTQ+ community through live singing, dancing or acting, going beyond lipsyncing,” he said.
For Klemens, he is excited to share his love with an eager audience.
“The opportunity for me to host became available, and I jumped at it because it was my chance to show my love of drag in a new form,” said Klemens. “I have performed before, but hosting is a huge difference because I am in charge of the tone of the audience.”
Both Ilano and Klemens have expressed their desire to inspire people with their passion for drag.
For Klemens, it’s all about the magic.
“I have never felt a passion for something in the way that I do for drag,” he said. “The second I found out what drag was, I knew it was something magical and that I wanted the world to feel that magic like I had.”
Klemens also uses drag to find solidarity in a community that has faced struggles.
“I see drag as an escape from the hardships our community has endured, while also recognizing the amazing progress we as LGBTQ people have made. I want people to fall in love with our art and be motivated to fight for the community,” he said.
“We currently have a Supreme Court case that will make the possibility of LGBTQ people being legally fired for being apart of a community of love. I want to show people that our community is about love, compassion and fun so they are influenced to fight against the injustices done onto us,” said Klemens.
For Ilano, his motive to inspire is all about being the demographic representation he did not have growing up.
“As a feminine gay Filipino male, I am a beautiful intersection of many identities and expressions, and I am still learning more about myself everyday,” said Ilano.
Ilano also uses activism through drag, emphasizing the use of talent to inspire change and progress in society.
“I want to show that I am more than just a pretty face; I am a person with a loving heart, intelligent mind, with an outspoken truth,” he said. “I have found many opportunities as Fallon Angel, and I have been the first of many here at Fredonia. I hope to continue being authentically true and unapologetically fierce, and I hope that attitude spreads to the rest of our community. It also doesn’t hurt to receive cash tips after my performances as well.”
Dragapalooza HoliSLAY is Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Williams Center MPR.
Tickets are $3 for students and $5 for general public with $1 of every ticket sale donated to the Breaking Binaries Fund, a scholarship for trans, non-binary and gender nonconforming students.
Cash tips for performers are welcomed.
If you are interested in joining the Pride Alliance community, they meet every Wednesday in Fenton 153 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
You can see what other activities are in store for them on their Instagram, @prideatfredonia.