Hundreds of students packed into the Cartwright Hall Auditorium on Oct. 29 to watch a drag show hosted by the Kent Interhall Council. The show, a now well know part of KIC’s annual Sex Week, had a large turnout, filling nearly every seat in the auditorium.
Headline performers in the show included well-known drag queens Mary-Kate Rockafeller and Erica Martinez. The hostess for the evening, Danyel Vasquez, has been performing for over twenty years and is nationally known.
Kent State students, both straight and gay, showed up to support the event. Martinez discussed how unbelievable the experience was.
“I had a fantastic time,” Martinez said. “The crowd was unbelievable. It felt like you were at a rock concert. It’s such a natural high.”
Vasquez also enjoyed performing for students.
“(The experience was) wonderful, amazing as usual,” she said. “It was fun. I do drag as a career … I travel all over the country, all over Ohio, so yes, I love it. I make all my costumes, do all the music, all the mixes you hear. I’ve done this for the last three years, and I’ve done a couple other shows. I know Avery and they asked me to do it a long time ago and we’ve just done it ever since.”
Students were invited after the show to the Interbelt Nite Club. The after party, starting around 11:30, showcased the Queens in a Halloween-themed performance with characters Cruella De Vil, the bride of Frankenstein, a devil and a witch.
Halfway thorough the performance, members of the crowd were given the chance to win prizes. Five people competed in a game of Strip Musical Chairs, each round leading to the loss of a participant and an article of clothing. The winner of the contest, a Kent State student, gained two tickets to the Carnival of Horrors at Blossom Music Center. CDs and posters were also handed out to the crowd.
Students interested in performances by Vasquez and Rockafeller can visit the Interbelt Nite Club in Akron on Thursday nights. Martinez also performs Saturday nights at the Bottoms Up bar and club in Lakewood.
– Christopher Clevenger
