This week I had the pleasure of watching the Kent State University Women’s Rugby team take the spotlight off the field and to the stage.  On wednesday, september 21st the team hosted a drag show at the Interbelt in downtown Akron and several girls brushed up on their swagga and dance moves to help out.   The girls may not be used to playing anywhere else besides the mud but boy did they deliver!

The night started out in high anticipation and no one was really sure what to expect from the performance.  I was expecting a pretty typical drag performance, after all, most of the girls were inexperienced.  The bar was lively though and everyone was pretty loose with their spending cash.  A few members from the team were walking around selling jello shots, very strong jello shots I might add, and everyone seemed impatient for the show to begin.  As usual the bar was running on GST (gay standard time) but the music finally stopped and out stepped the impressive Ashley Adams, the wednesday night hostess.  She and the bars regular performers, Mr. Interbelt Teddy Michael and Ms. V, opened the show.  When it was finally time to watch our girls shine I was more than impressed.

Each of the three performances brought their own style to the stage and earned tips to donate to the rugby team at the same time. The first performer to kick off the show went by the alias B-Madd but is also known to all her friends as Brittany Madison.  Assisted by her friend Kelsey, B-madd showed off her mad rapping skills and sent everyone in the crowd into a frenzy. Next was T-Pain’s Entourage performing, not T-Pain, but LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem.  Lauren Rhoades dressed handsomely in drag was assisted by the gorgeous dancers, Jenna George and Jennifer Clark.  The three shuffled across stage hoping to rake in as many tips as they could and trust me, the crowd was infected.  Finally, the last performers went  by Court and Stoph, aka Courtney Norris and Amber “Stopher” Felter.  Their performance of My Chick Bad was the last thing anyone in the crowd expected because they performed the entire song in American Sign Language.  W are currently working on getting access to the performance so you guys can watch it.  I personally have never seen a drag king perform in ASL before and was very impressed, as I’m sure most of the crowd was.

The next day, at KSU’s weekly Pride meeting, the reports were in on the earnings from the show and the girls successfully raked in over $400!  Next to some stellar performances and some wicked jello shots (which I am definitely guilty of splurging on) the KSU Women’s Rugby Team definitely had a successful night!

Featured image used with permission by Gregory Allen Porter Design.