To most people, the stereotypical image of a drag queen is a gay man dressed in a glittering feminine outfit, oversized wigs and heavy makeup. It’s that and more as St. Albert’s Outloud once more showcases the popular and eerie at the 2nd annual Halloqween Drag Show.
Thirteen larger-than-life personas will dance and lip-sync chart toppers at the musical extravaganza on Oct. 28 at the Arden Theatre. The event is a major fundraiser for St. Albert Outloud and will feature a silent auction, door prizes and a 50/50 raffle.
Returning to perform are members of the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose (ISCWR), an organization dedicated to supporting and raising funds to provide scholarships, bursaries and camps for youth as well as donating to HIV research.
Gabe Itch and Tilda Worldends, two of ISCWR’s darlings, are gearing up to perform a campy show with a special duet.
“They’re both very young. Gabe likes to be colourful with a blue beard or glittery eyebrows. He’s done a couple of couple of shows with us. He’s fun, gimmicky and silly, but he really knows how to get people engaged,” said Bekah Marcellus, Outloud’s community outreach worker.
“And Tilda has beautiful costumes and beautiful wigs. They trend toward the beautiful, but natural and are very engaging. They performed at Pride.”
Another ISCWR drag queen is Damien Ghoul, a dramatic artist who uses a great deal of black and white contouring makeup.
“He uses very black and white ghostly makeup with a black leather outfit, and he really rocks. He’s done the whole Bon Jovi thing where he gets the audience singing rock and metal.”
This year, performers from Party Queens, an Edmonton-based business that books drag performers for corporate and special events will add their juicy acts to the evening.
A performer from Party Queens, 17-year-old Fenta Spews, are making their debut performance. Inspired by British hammer horror films and 80’s slashers paired with a bizarre fashion sense, Fenta brings a fearful spin to their style of drag.
“I believe Fenta is doing a mashup of Halloween classics — something dramatic that goes into pop or rock.”
Indigenous drag artist Audrina Linn, known for outrageous wigs and sparkly costumes, has gained a must-see reputation.
“She is very captivating and beautiful. Sometimes she’s campy and fun. Other times she’s a character — whatever strikes her that night.”
One act straight out of the spooky Halloween universe is Abyss. The theatrical drag performer blends elements of horror with fantasy. Her signature style is coloured skin (green, purple, pink, blue, yellow) that whisks the viewer into a fantastical realm.
The evening’s host is GoGo Setch, a colourful, creative performer who brings out her inner witch.
“She’s put plastic eyes in her wig. She completely goes for whatever theme she’s doing. She leaves it all on the field."
Doors open at 7 p.m. Show begins at 7:30 p.m. Appropriate for 13 plus. Tickets are $50 by calling 780-459-1542 or online at tickets.stalbert.ca.
