Glitter, heels and costume pieces crowd the dressing room as Chico community members fill the seats inside Laxon Auditorium. The Gender and Sexuality Equity Coalition threw its annual Drag and Burlesque performance on Thursday.
The show started with Kenzie Teal, GSEC’s queer program director, introducing the audience to this legacy event.
Teal thanked the audience and introduced the Tip Kittiens. These were GSEC interns dressed up for the event, carrying baskets for the crowd to tip the queens.
There were nine performers for this show, from students joining the fun to local drag queens sashaying onstage.
One performer was a well-known student among GSEC, Rio Rexxx Perú, also known as Alex Almora Rios. Rios took the stage by storm with kicks and hair flips.
“I’m really inspired by women of the night when they make their money off of men,” Rios said.
There was one particular wildcard performer who took the stage. Associated Students Vice President Beatrix Teaney, also known as Sparkle Jumprope Queen.
“I’m inspired by the women that I’ve come into contact with, who were in the art of Burlesque, and I was like, this is extremely enthralling,” Teaney said.
With Teaney’s friends sparking their interest in the art of Burlesque, their background in clothing design had a huge impact on their drag journey.
“Any excuse to make costumes and wear flamboyant outfits? Sign me up,” Teaney said.
Hitting the stage with an orange wig and red lips was Miss Ruby.
Miss Ruby is a local drag queen coming from Oroville, California. She was sought out by Cass, CEO of Atlanta Productions, to perform for GSEC.
The origin of Miss Ruby’s drag name comes from their grandmother, Ruby Slimmick.
“She just looked so beautiful, and I wanted to embody that I wanted to do something in honor of her,” Miss Ruby said.
While the event did host Chico State drag queens, this particular show included future students coming to Chico State this fall. Sierra Hall, also known as IT Girl.
Their drag is very different from the rest, drawing heavily on the style of circus clowns.
“I’m just really obsessed with clowns at the moment. There is this troop from the Bay Area I’m really obsessed with. They’re called Fufu, Ha, and I’m very inspired by that kind of vibe,” Hall said.
As the closing act of the show, Hall did have some pressure to end on a high note. They decided to throw squeaky toys into the crowd to end the show on a squeaky note instead.
With the show coming to an end, Kenzie Teal arrives back on stage to thank the audience.
Teal made it very clear that this was not just a safe space for queer people, but for all people.
“We stand with immigrants!” Teal said at the beginning of the show.
Teal took the stage during the intermission, urging the audience to vote. They spoke about the recent ICE activity and new anti-trans legislation.
“Thank you for watching us perform on a stage that everyone is trying to burn,” Kenzie said. “I feel like a lot of people think that showing up to a drag show is enough to be considered an ally, but I wanted everyone in the audience to know that if they love what they see on stage, they gotta go out in our society and fight for us too.”
While GSEC threw a spectacular drag show that had roars of claps and cheers, they also gave the audience the harsh truth of queer culture being in danger in our current political climate.
Emilio Ceja Guzman can be reached at [email protected]
