Dressing drag for a cause

    The GCSU Pride Alliance, formerly known as the Gay-Straight Alliance, put on a drag show for a lively crowd in Magnolia Ballroom. Four drag kings and one drag queen came together to entertain for a good cause. One-third of the proceeds from admission went to raise money to have a battered women’s shelter in Milledgeville.
    There were music performances varying in styles including country music, rock n’ roll and hip-hop.
    Freshman Amber Weeks provided the country music entertainment, taking on the identity of “Kian O’Quinn.”
    “This was my second time performing, so I had a blast,” Weeks said.
    Some of the biggest hits of the evening were the performances of “Sebastian Wood,” the alter ego of sophomore A.J. Joiner, whose rock n’ roll energy was contagious. She performed to the songs “Animals” and Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer,” and succeeded in engaging the audience to sing along.
    Another drag king was “Dennis Chambers,” also known as Denise Chambers, who danced to Usher’s hit “Yeah” and the ubiquitous “Soulja Boy,” naturally doing the requisite dance.
    Accompanying Dennis was “Blaquan,” portrayed by Pride Alliance President Noelle Rose.
    The event was emceed by “Kiffani Amore,” also known as Ben Beutjer. He took on his character by wearing a black formal gown, glittery red lipstick and a platinum blonde wig.
    “I have always loved the aspect of dressing in drag,” Beutjer said.
    Beutjer had plenty of opportunity to dress up, having multiple outfit changes throughout the show. He performed several songs: one of the most popular being “Lipgloss.”
    Anyone could tell that Beutjer and the audience were enjoying his performance. Those who came received noisemakers to add to the applause. Another feature was a basket in front of the stage where people put money to cheer on their favorite performer. Those proceeds were added to the funds for the women’s shelter.
    The performers interacted with the audience, dancing with some of them and strutting down the aisles. The audience also had a chance to win door prizes of DVDs and an iTunes card.
    The performers spent plenty of time getting ready, practicing their lip-syncing and, most importantly, getting dressed up. The process of dressing in drag is rather time-consuming. Beutjer took almost four hours to get ready, from altering the dress to putting on his makeup.
    “It took two hours just for the facial hair,” Joiner said.
    Rose was pleased with the turnout for the show.
    “The audience was loving it. They had a great time,” she said.
    The audience’s cheers determined a winner for the night, and by applause audience members chose “Sebastian Wood.” As her prize, Joiner won an iPod Nano.
    The runner-up, “Dennis Chambers,” also won an iPod. Chambers was thrilled to be a part of the show.
    “It feels amazing being a part of the effort for a women’s shelter,” Chambers said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 4 2008. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry