Correction Appended
Six drag queens from the D.C. area sit in a small room adjacent to the University Club, most of them shirtless with tights, busily preparing for the show that will take place in half an hour.
Queers and Allies along with AU Student Government put on the event in the University Club to raise money for the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the non-profit that specializes in HIV care.
Although she usually does it herself, a friend glues on Athena Ducockis’ eyelashes for her debut performance as she explains the getting-ready process.
“Usually with eyebrows we get a glue stick and glue our eyebrows down and put powder over it,” Ducockis, an AU student who participated in the yearly Drag Queen Race at Dupont Circle where the queens race in high-heels, said. “That way we can draw in our eyebrows later since girls have higher eyebrows than guys. Then we put foundation on, a little pan stick and powder that in together- blending it all in to make sure it’s even.”
Next Ducockis moves to the blush.
“We go on to the blush just making sure that our face is contoured to give more of an elegant, female look,” she said.
Akasha Cassadine, who performed in the group Diva League on “America’s Got Talent” in 2009 and appeared in an episode of “The Maury Povich Show” makes sure to blend her make-up for a smooth, sexy look.
“[You have to do a lot] of blending to make sure you don’t have too many harsh lines, but enough lines to give you some definition and then making sure that everything is smooth and blended,” Cassadine said. “It’s not that easy tonight because I left my contacts at home, so I can’t really see.”
Wearing her teddy-velvet-shade lipstick, Cassadine’s “diva” came through when asked about the process of getting dressed.
“Oh honey, that’s painful,” she said. “It’s hiding things, putting on a pair of spanks, putting my pads in. At least two pairs of tights: one darker, one lighter and then a complimentary of pantyhose to my actual skin tone. One girdle and all-in-one body suit for my breast forms to go into and them I’m ready — other than the lashes of course.”
The outfit and makeup are not only the physical part of the transformation, though.
“Inner transformation is when you’re sitting around talking to the people around you,” Mercedes Cassadine, Akasha’s drag daughter said. “It helps get you in the mood to do the show.”
Mercedes then explains this ritual further.
“A weird thing about the drag community is sometimes before they get ready they’ll sit around and they almost seem like they’re insulting one another, but they’re not,” she said. “It’s called reading. It’s not insulting per se, but you just sit there, talk and make fun of each other.”
After that, the queens perform. Ducockis, the host, comes up to the stage, winding the audience up with jokes that promise to please the audience, mentioning AU’s infamous nickname “gay-jew.”
One performance that received a lot of laughs came from Akasha Cassadine, who put on a show to the song “If I Can’t Sell It I’ll Sit On It” by Ruth Brown.
“It’s a comedy about an old woman who basically says she owns a secondhand furniture store and she’s talking about this chair, but in essence she’s talking about herself and her body,” she said.
Ducockis, in a teal, Mardi Gras leotard paired with metallic silver tights, raised the most money brought in by a single performance with “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga, a popular artist in the LGBT community.
“I think [Lady Gaga] is someone who just gets it. She is what we all wish we were-totally unapologetic about who we are,” School of International Service freshman Brett Atanasio said. “[She has] raw, unbridled passion. She doesn’t care who you are, you’re still beautiful, and, of course, she’s fabulous.”
Other performers include Ba’Naka Schaad, a beloved performer at Town Dance Boutique, Schuyler Whitney and Yoo-mei.
You can reach this writer at news@theeagleonline.com.
Correction: An earlier version of this story identified Athena Ducockis as an AU alumna. Ducockis is a current AU student. This version has been corrected.
