PRIDE! Kent put on an amateur drag show for Kent State students Wednesday night in the Kiva. The show, showing pride for the LGBTQ+ community, consisted of four students dressed in drag singing and dancing to today’s most popular hits. 

According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, drag is a form of entertainment where people dress up and perform, often in highly stylized ways.

The show started out with hosts and participants Vera Fury and Marlin Debois (stage names) warming the crowd up with a few icebreakers. 

First, Vera Fury sang and danced to P!nk’s “Raise Your Glass.” She jumped off the stage and interacted with the crowd. Vera did a second performance to “This Is Me” by Keala Settle while waving the LGBTQ+ flag. 

Marquise Gaylord took the stage next, dressed in colonial-style clothing and amused the audience with beach balls and dancing to the musical “Hamilton.” 

Marquise Gaylord, otherwise known as freshman theater tech major Graham Callahan, has been a huge fan of drag for as long as they can remember. 

“I’ve always wanted to perform drag,” they said. “I’ve spent a lot of years in other forms of performance. I’ve always done makeup and costumes and drag is a great combination of both. You can be really expressive and do your own thing.”

After Marquise Gaylord, Emmanual took the stage dressed in a sheer black shirt and khaki pants. Emmanual took the stage and excited the crowd by singing a punk rock song. 

The last participant was co-host Marilyn Debois, also known as freshman fashion design major Luke Rathbone when she’s not on stage. Marilyn took the stage in a waist-cinching corset and thigh-high lace-up boots. She sang and danced to Ariana Grande’s song “Greedy.” 

Rathbone has been dedicated to drag for a long time.

“I’ve been doing drag since middle school so I’ve always loved it,” they said. “I saw on a flier that they were doing an amateur show so I DM’d them and asked if I can get involved. I’m just happy to be a part of anything with pride and Kent.”

Contact Kennedi Combs at [email protected].