By Chelsea Zhao
(Feature image credit to MutualArt.com)
Glittering sequins, high heels, fluorescent hair reflecting upon the checkered floor of DU. Powdered faces. Flitting perfume. Sounds of excitement radiating from the crowd. As the music from 80s, 90s, and present escalates, one by one, figures of exceptional individuality emerge. This is Dominican University’s 1000 Ways To Drag.
“Drag is many different things, that is why I named it ‘1000 WTD.’… it was the most inclusive name that I could think of that covered everything I was going for” Andre Easton, a theater art major at Dominican University,said in an email reply. He is the organizer for the Drag show and is also a drag performer himself.
Easton started planning for the drag show in November of last year. After talking with Kate Schmidt, the associate director of Student Life, about this event, Easton asked Dominican students about their interest in the event. The response was positive and optimistic. Thus, the drag show went well underway and a space is found in the Social Hall.
As a drag performer himself, Easton reached out to his connections in the drag community. Easton started doing drag six months ago since Halloween. When he turned 20, he went to see his first drag show and ended up loving it. He became involved with This Free Life and befriended other drag performers.
“It was something about it just, I don’t know, just brought me so much joy and I felt like I have found my outlet, my creative outlet because I’ve done so much already in Dominican in terms of my theater background, and like stage managing shows, doing tech and stuff for that, but especially since me finding my identity in terms of my, especially my sexual identity, it was just something way more than, I don’t know if I have words for it right now, and it just opened my eyes to a lot of stuff” Easton said.
When asked to describe drag to someone who has never been to a drag show, he said: “Drag is pretty much, like, in that moment. It’s nothing like you really rehearsed, you know what songs you are going to do in advance. You practice the songs, you learn all the words, but like in the moment, you don’t really choreograph like dances or anything, you just go with the flow”.
Carlos Benitez, a co-sponsor for the drag show and the organizer for Men and Masculinity’s project, noted how important the show is. “A drag show is fantastic, you know, it’s exciting, people want to come to that. We need to have more events on campus that are exciting, that, you know, push the boundaries on what it is to be a Catholic university” Benitez said.
On the day of the drag show, audience filled up the entire social hall and waited with anticipation for the upcoming show. Many Common Ground members also expressed their reactions after the show. “I feel that the Drag Show helped LGBTQ+ representation at DU as it showed that people in the LGBTQ+ can be anyone and look like anything and that’s something to be celebrated. The Drag Show helped to show that everyone is deserving of love and respect” said Madison Rychtanek, a psychology major.
“While I was not able to attend the show, I was excited to know that it was happening. I am proud of those who put it together — it shows a lot of creativity, organization, hard work, and openness” Krista Hansen, the chair and associate professor of theater arts and music, wrote in an email reply.
Sapphire, one of the drag performers at the show, mentioned her experience. “What I enjoy most about drag is that I get to have fun and dance and be silly and interact with so many people and brighten up their lives”.
APoliticalGirl, another drag performer, said, “Imagination is what I love most about drag: seeing where and how performers take you on the journey with them”. She also reflected how positive the DU community was. “The support from the crowd was so strong that I was surprised this was the first drag show at the university! The energy was at a 10 for the entire night”.
But this drag show is special not because it is the first at Dominican University, but also because of the university’s Catholic identity.
“I must admit that I worried about being openly gay at a Catholic institution because I have heard that other schools are not as welcoming. However I find Dominican to be incredibly welcoming and caring place” Clinton Nichols, Assistant Professor in Sociology & Criminology Department, said in an email reply.
“I think what exceeded my expectations was that the perception from the Dominican community and how well it was received by the administration and the students. Just because, sometimes you, I think, me as an anxious person, obvious mean that something’s gonna go wrong and the administration was gonna stop you, but it was very nice to have a welcoming environment” Benitez said.
Alecx Hernandez, the publicity chair for Common Ground last year, advocated the use of inclusive language and pronouns during their time as a SOAR leader. One of the students who was impacted by this decision of the inclusive pronoun was freshman Joshua Shaeffer.
“I know when I came to the SOAR, they were asking like pronouns and I was like, pronouns? Like why are they asking us our pronouns but they didn’t like, I don’t recall them ever explaining it, which was ok, I ended up figuring it out why they did, and I thought that was really cool” Joshua Shaeffer, an incoming freshman at the time, recalled his reaction to the gender pronouns. He also shared an interesting anecdote during the drag show.
“So when I was coming out of the library to go to the drag show – I forget her name … she’s a nun or a sister…but she’s so funny, she was looking down through like, where like the dining hall is. She was looking down and she’s like ‘omigosh, it’s the drag show’ and she looked all excited. And I was like omigosh, I just thought that was so cute, because she’s like a Catholic sister… I was laughing and I was like this is adorable and then they all went to the drag show, it was her and two staff members, and they were like living it up in there because they were behind me and I was like ‘wow’ ” Joshua Schaeffer said.
When the music accompanied the entrance of the performers, the audience fell silent. This silence is broken by clips of music, chaining and mixing into each other by the DJ. In an instant, the Social Hall is echoing with sounds, rhythm, and distinct lyrics. Merging into the overflowing music, the performers become one with the message of the songs. They were Beyoncé, Bleeding House, Political Satire. They were Kings, Queens, and bass player. One by one the drag performers apply their gestures, movements, and intricate dance steps to showcase themselves, changing, expressing, metamorphosizing, and emerging as their heels danced the night away.
“Just giving us the opportunity to put on events like the Drag Show is a step in the right direction toward giving the LGBTQ+ community more recognition. I also feel like just looking at the rest of the audience and seeing faculty members enjoying the show gives us reassurance that our community is not only allowed, but accepted as well” Nayla Colon reflected.
Lia Coleman, the treasurer of Common Ground, also shared her past experience: “Pride week always brings some level of backlash. We’ve had trustees and other faculty questioning the resources (primarily planned parenthood) that we provide during the resource fair. Generally speaking, we have not had a real DU solution for the questions, but they have continued to allow us to have these resources”
John DeCostanza, Director of University Ministry and Adjunct Professor of Theology and Social Justice and Civic Engagement, pointed out the importance of collaboration between University Ministry and Common Ground.
“Partnerships like those Common Ground has been fostering between faculty, staff, and student leadership are instrumental in living into our Catholic Dominican heritage to, as Father Samuel wrote, ‘go where the work is great and difficult,’ and develop a learning community that is grounded in the love of God and the full inclusion of everyone” John DeCostanza observed.
LGBTQ+ identity goes along with faith and identity, as Hernandez and Hansen said in their interview response.
“I’ve always on this place where God is love, so that mean regardless of, pretty much who, what you identify as, or what religion you follow, God loves you regardless” Hernandez said.
“The LGBTQ part of me is just that–a part of me, and I feel people view me as a whole person. I think it’s helpful for younger people who are perhaps exploring their sexuality to see that it is just part of who you are as a person; it doesn’t need to define you as a human being” Krista Hansen reflected.
Dominican University have coordinated materials for the LGBTQ+ community, but further recognition come from the students themselves.
“I have suggested materials for the Library and Media Center and I am glad to see that these were acquired. I recall how important it was for me to see LGBTQI+ faculty when I was in college in the early to mid-1990s. The wider society was much more hostile” Nichols recalled.
More than the individuality a drag show symbolizes, preparing for one takes hard work as well. On average, it took Easton three and a half hour to prepare himself for the performance.
“Especially ‘cause I am such a perfectionist, and I don’t like there to be the slightest mess up in a line that I do on my face, or whether it be my contour or me putting on my foundation or doing my eyes.” Easton calculated.
The effort was well worth it. The audience of the DU community was completely awed by the performer’s outfits and starstruck by their unique performances. The Drag Show was one of its kind, in the way the performers mixed music with movie soundtracks, in the way of their expressive dance moves, and their neon colored wigs and fashionable clothes.
Easton also mentioned about the challenges people of minority background face in the queer community.
“In the majority of the time, being queer and people of color that do drag, which is not looked especially, even in the drag communities, it’s not even looked at like, as something amazing. It’s not looked at as a vital part of the drag community in some people’s eyes. I think they know the plight of how it feels to be rejected by people, especially in your own community, so I think being able to learn from that and being able to, push that to the side and still be welcoming and warming is such a great thing and I think many drag queens and kings have that personality trait pretty well” Easton reflected. This observation is also echoed in Lia Coleman’s plan for the future trajectories of Common Ground.
“As up and coming VP for next year, I hope that Common Ground can move focus to being more inclusive of not only genders and sexualities, but the LGTBQ+ intersectional minorities as well (such as queer people of color, of different religions, etc) than currently and in the past” Coleman said.
In addition to the recognition of colored people in the queer community, it is also worth noting the visibility of trans students, as Benitez shared an anecdote about a trans student on campus and what we could have done better to support her.
“… she’s a trans girl and you know, she was going around the university and people were giving her very weird looks, they were confused to why she was wearing lipstick, this assertion of trans people I think here at the university, I think they are invisible. I don’t think we are doing enough for our trans students, we don’t push for this inclusivity of trans bodiees and trans people and for using the right pronouns, we were not pushing towards that, it’s really simple to ask the class to state their pronouns and to be really heavy on that, a lot office on campus don’t do that enough, don’t really push and so there are some students and they have been for a couple of years and they are still being misgendered by the people around her, and it’s because the offices and the staff, and the spaces are not pushing for that acceptance” Benitez observed.
Common Ground remains to be special and a source of strength and support to queer students.
“I think it starts with realizing that Common Ground is more than just some casual club – it represents a group of people that are still struggling to find representation in the world” Colon suggested.
“It would be great to see the same amount of support that other clubs, like CAB and CSA get. However, respecting pronouns, accepting LGBTQ+ identities and relationships, and remaining a safe space is all we can ask” Coleman said.
“Common Ground for me, freshman and sophomore year was this space that I can definitely be myself, completely, and not be afraid of being judged or being hated on” Hernandez reflected.
“You are not alone. Cultivate your gifts. Practice accountability with yourself and others, daily. Never sacrifice your spirit, joy, curiosity, or booty-shaking in life” APoliticalGirl advised during an email reply.
Mz. Rachel Slurrz, our DU’s very own Andre Eaton, also performed midway through the show. With a white dress reaching down to her ankle, Mz. Rachel Slurrz first danced freely and then proceeded to circle around the audience in Social Hall, stopping regularly to cheer, to dance, and to celebrate with the audience. Her hair, white from the roots to fanta orange highlights at the tips, resembled a small fire from afar, igniting the optimism and excitement from the animated crowds.
Well into the end of the show now, songs and music took a mainstream turn. From Queen’s iconic Bohemian Rhapsody to on-beat choreograph of Avril Lavigne’s Girlfriend to the final movie mixtape lip-sync, appreciative applauses carried on to the darkening night.
The tips that the performers collected during the show will contribute to Project Fierce Chicago, a grassroots response to LGBTQ youth homelessness (see the attached link if you are interested in contributing to their cause).
“All of these things should be carried out by students, but it’s very few students if you think about it, who are actively taking a part in engaging in these events and creating these organizations that propel the university in a progressive way, it’s very few of us, again, it’s because it’s not in the classes, it’s not explicitly out there that students need to be involved in the university because their voice matters, even though we know that students are the ones control the university, that is not carried out here”
“I think Dominican does a good job with making sure the students are feeling safe and they feel put in a place where they have the power, but it would be nice here and there for the school to makes it more and more explicit and more obvious it’s here to support” Benitez noted.
But how could we, as part of the Dominican University community, do to create a more affirming environment for everyone, including queer students? Carlos Benitez brought up some changes worthy of considering.
“Kind of going back to the classrooms, like, how often do you that queer topics LGBTQ topics are kind of brought up and meet the centerfold of what the class is about. You know, we don’t have queer studies, we don’t often read queer authors … and so it isn’t that present in the classroom, in academia” Benitez reflected.
The impacts of drag show carry on long after it has ended. During the show, Easton invited several other students to perform along with the drag performers, Kiasee Ray was one of them.
“When Andre was pulling people up and I was like he better pull me because I really want to get up there, but it was fun, like for one I am happy that we have a drag show, and hopefully it will continue annually for pride week. It was our first one and hopefully it won’t ever be our last, we did have the opportunity and I’m happy I was able to get in on it, ‘cause I do want actually do it next year, as a bio queen, and I think it will be, you know, this was a good practice for me” Kiasee responded.
Many other audience members also reflected in a positive way, Kaitlyn Castillo, a student worker for Student Life office, was one responded in an interview.
“They [the drag show performers] were amazing super genuine people. And their acts and their shows were amazing. All their makeup so well done, and they were all just genuine people brought great energy to Dominican that I think we need to see again on a yearly basis if not more often” Kaitlyn Castillo, an audience member at the drag show, said after the performance.
But will there be a future drag show performance? According to Andre Easton, there definitely will be.
“I want to keep this our first drag show here smaller in terms of like who’s performing here, so I see how it goes and then in the future, I want to narrow it down to a couple performances and then have one big name performer here. And then, in turn eventually make it bigger like, where we either in the Lund auditorium or like, maybe even in the quad if it’s warmer outside, just having a drag show out there I think it would be really fun” Easton projected about the future drag shows.
After the drag show, it is more important than ever to recognize the indispensable presence of queer students, minority students, and each and every one of us on campus. We are a community to be maintained and improved and we are striving to live out the best of our university’s goals and potentials. 1000 Ways to Drag is just a beginning.
Follow the drag performers from 1000 Ways to Drag:
@0fficially.lola @_auraglass @abigailbhillz @burningivory @Gayla.genda @jakki.love @luc.ami @missangelicagrace @Nena_dee_ @sapphire.feliciano @sir_androgynique @venus.fly.snatch @xxetc_
