Students dress in drag to entertain crowd

  Save your single bills for the spring drag show that will be hosted by the Gay Straight Alliance April (GSA) 24.

  “Last year we had about 15 people in the show. It turned out to be a real hit,” Willow Gallagher, co-chair of the organization and the lead organizer of the drag show, said.

  “The drag show itself allows those who don’t give a shit about societal assigned gender roles a chance to shout it. It also brings to our irritatingly conservative campus a bit of much needed diversity. This is why I participate in it,” Trevor Tomesh, a returning performer, said.

  There is one drag show each semester. This past fall’s drag show, held at the Falcon’s Nest, brought in approximately 100 people in the audience, according to Gallagher. 

  Tomesh performed last year to the song “Wig in a Box,” from the film “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”

  “He was the most popular one,” said Gallagher. “We’re hoping he will do the song ‘Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything’ from Veggie Tales this year.”

  Tomesh has yet to decide what songs he is doing for sure.

  “I’ve been tossing around songs and I think that I have at least settled on ‘I Will Survive’ by Gloria Gaynor,” Tomesh said.

  Among the other 10 participants lined up so far is Tom Friant, who will be a co-MC for the evening. Friant and his partner will be doing a duet of a Sonny and Cher song.

  Gallagher will be doing two group songs and a solo as well.

  “I’ll be performing ‘Take Me or Leave Me’ from Rent with my girlfriend, and the song ‘Gay Boyfriend’ in a four-person group,” Gallagher said. “I’ll be doing ‘In The Navy’ alone. I do both ‘king’ or ‘queen’ songs.”

  They were taking any interested participants until Wednesday.

  “All they need to do is e-mail me with a song they want to do and they can do anything they want,” Gallagher said. “We would also really like to get a couple of the faculty members involved.”

  GSA first started hosting the drag shows at UWRF two years ago for fundraising. Now it is more of a publicity event.

  “People should attend the event because they support the GSA. They should attend because they support their friends who struggle so very hard just to be who they are in a society that still won’t accept them,” Tomesh said. “And they should attend because it is a very entertaining time.”

  The show will start out the Day of Silence, April 25. The National Day of Silence brings attention to anti-Lesbian Gay Bi-sexual Transgender (LGBT) name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools across the country.

  GSA will also have a place in the upcoming Unity in the Community event on campus that is also held April 25.

  The organization promotes awareness for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgenders for hall programs on campus and acts as a resource for people who need aid or support with personal or social issues involving LGBT.

  They have done staff training for the staff members at the Career and Health Services on how to deal and be supportive with such issues with students.

  The organization will be hosting a speaker next fall and will be working together with Journey House to host films as well.