On Sept. 19, the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Stonewall Center held its largest drag show yet at the Student Union — the fourth annual Say Gay! Drag Show.
Hosted in collaboration with drag artists from House of Hors, a western Massachusetts based queer events company, the show’s lineup included 12 performers, each with their own unique acts.
Many of the artists were UMass faculty and students, connecting a wider range of people within the Amherst and Hampshire County community. The crowd included over four hundred people, including attendees from the other Five Colleges.
“I love drag,” Bryce Merrill, a sophomore from Hampshire College, said. “I love seeing it whenever and wherever I can no matter what, it’s just so much fun and there’s so much to appreciate about it.”
Mx. Hors D’oeuvres, the show’s host, teased the audience with a mix of risqué jokes and lighthearted reminders about audience etiquette. As they introduced the opening act, a booming song by Tate McRae filled the room, and the first performer, Christiano, strutted on stage. Their long ponytail swung dramatically behind them as they dance through their routine and their sequined outfit glitters under the lighting. As their movements kept to the rhythm of the song, cheers continuously erupted from the audience.
Shortly after, the host introduced another artistic act, drag artist Pipeher, whose theme for the night revolved around fire. She performed to songs such as “Girl On Fire” by Alicia Keys with an outfit that could light up and a unique prop on stage with her: a bong.
An interesting drag performance came from drag artist Rasheed St. Paul, whose routine was inspired by the titular character from Tamsyn Muir’s science-fantasy book “Gideon the Ninth.” St. Paul explained that her inspiration came from her daughters’ excitement about the book, which in turn had convinced her to read it. The book contains queer themes and well-established character visuals, inspiring her to turn the book into an act.
It added an intergenerational connection to Paul’s performance, expanding beyond familial connections in drag culture such as drag mother or drag house, but to her own daughters.
St. Paul is also inspired to perform through “the crowd energy.”
“Especially this show, as a performer you really feed off the audience’s energy and this crowd has such good energy and it always makes me really grateful that Stonewall exists for UMass,” St. Paul said. “It’s something I wished I had when I was in college. Just really, really happy y’all are here.”
Her enthusiasm was clearly shared with the lively and passionate crowd, with the performers eliciting incredible responses.
“My favorite performer is Sophiiiiiya,” Jasmine, a UMass senior computer science major, said. “I love them so much, I see them perform so often at their place in Northampton.”
The final act to crown this spectacular showcase came from Ruby Monroe. A well-established drag queen in her own right, she also hosts and performs other shows across Massachusetts. With dance moves such as vogueing and death drops, she instantly captured everyone’s attention. Monroe’s extra-long hair and sharp makeup was evocative of looks found on RuPaul’s Drag Race and the way she twirled through the crowd had them shrieking with delight.
Genny Beemyn, the director of UMass Amherst’s Stonewall Center, encouraged everyone to check out other events that happening through the Stonewall Center.
“We have coming up karaoke night, friendship bracelet making,” Beemyn said. “We have a Peer Mentorship program, if you’re interested in getting to know someone who’s been around here, to show you around the queer community, it’s a great resource.”
Drag is more than a place to see a beautiful flashy show, it’s also a place to find belonging and solidarity within the queer community. said his favorite part must be “just seeing a lot of performers and being around a lot of gay people.”
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Valerie Zheng can be reached at [email protected].
