Theater Reviews + Features | Pittsburgh City Paper: Thanks to vehicles like RuPaul's Drag Race, drag has gotten pretty mainstream. But it wasn't always so. And audiences can witness living proof of Pittsburgh's rich, if largely hidden, drag heritage, especially its African-American incarnation, on Oct. 26. That's when "One More Time, An Old-School (Drag) Ball" reunites — perhaps for the last time — retired performers whose careers date back up to a half-century.
3 comments:
That the orchestrator of this memorial/reunion event is a Carnegie Mellon alum shows just how well rounded our university is. This event seems like such a wonderful idea, and relates incredibly well to my body politics class, in which we study self-expression and the freedom the body should be given without question. The family of drag performers is reuniting again - the mentors and the mentees will commemorate the past and look toward the future of drag and the freedom of self-identification. It is curious the way that drag shows have changed over the years. Decades ago, it was more of a beauty pageant with a wide range of talents expressed, yet in more recent years the focus has shifted toward lip syncing. I'm curious as to why this happened and how audiences at these performances have responded to this change.
I just started realizing how big of a scene Drag Queen shows were around the time I left home for Pittsburgh and it is interesting to learn about the history of it here. I admire all the drag queens who go out and confidently perform! I am glad that even when it was hard around the 70s people stuck with it and can get together again today. I am definitely curious as to how the show went earlier this week!
This will sound weird, but I love drag queens! When RuPaul's Drag Race came on air, I was so excited because it was an opportunity to watch the inside preparations into making such glamorous queens! The fantasy side of it all was so mesmerizing! I think it was also the idea that just a tuck here and some make up there could transform a person completely. I also love the outfits they wear! They're always so fierce and out there! Like there is no fear. I really admire the drag scene because there are a lot of people out there who make fun of them and who are just terrible towards them (there is a word that I am looking for but I can not find it...) and these men still do it, they are truly brave for expressing who they are as individuals and they don't give two patooties about what anyone else thinks. I am so happy that more and more people are becoming accepting of LGBT and drag! And I am so happy to be in Pittsburgh where there is such a large drag scene (though I haven't really seen anymore than back at home (NYC baby!)).
In the future, I really would love to design clothing for drag queens! At least one collection :D
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