This Friday, Terrance Smith will shed his college student veneer and transform into his alter ego: Jen Derbender, a 1950s housewife-inspired drag queen. It’s his way of showing support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.

‘Through my character, I will be telling people that it is OK to be who you are,’ said Smith, a senior communication and rhetorical studies major.

Smith is one of six performers appearing in the Totally Fabulous Drag Show finals this Friday at 8 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium. Sponsored by Pride Union, it will be hosted by professional drag queen Pandora Boxx, best known for her stint on the second season of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ on the Logochannel. The show will also feature drag king Windz.

The ninth annual Totally Fabulous Drag Show will be a night of entertainment. Nicholas Haas, the outreach coordinator and financial officer for Pride Union, said the show isa great way of showcasing drag, an integral part of the LGBTQ community.

‘A lot of students coming into college haven’t had the chance to see a drag show,’ Haas said. ‘So it will expose them to a form of expression, of cultural expression, that has been around for many years.’ 

In addition to providing entertainment, the drag show will benefit three local charities and LGBTQ organizations. Sixty to 75 percent of ticket proceeds and tips will go to the Q Center, Sage Upstate and the Queering Education Research Institute.

Contestants compete in one of three categories: Drag King, Queen of the Hill or troupe. The troupe category, initiated for the first time, will allow drag queens and kings to perform together. The contestants will be judged on lip-synched performances, coordination, charisma and overall ranking on a scale from one to 10 by three judges. The judges include Chi Cottoy, an SU alumna who participated in past shows as a drag king; Aaron Hudson,a senior information management and technology major; and a surprise judge who hasn’t been revealed.

Smith has prepared for the show since January 2010. For two hours, four days a week, he meets with his eight backup dancers to go over concepts and share their ideas. Smith has danced for the show since his freshman year, but this is the first time he’ll perform drag. Seeing his friends perform in past shows inspired him to conjure up his alter ago, Jen Derbender.

‘A lot of my friends did it, and I realized that I really like drag performances,but I didn’t see anything that really grasped my attention or that was really show-worthy,’ he said. ‘I really wanted to challenge the show and up the stakes. I wanted to deliver something over the top.’

If his group’s effort pays off, his routine will relay a convincing portrayal of a housewife to the audience and provide plenty of laughs, Smith says. He hopes to walk away with a win. Butto Smith, no matter the final outcome, the real victory is representing the art of drag.

‘I really want people to appreciate drag as an art form,’ Smith said. ‘I’ve taken all the steps to ensure that whatever we deliver onstage is worthy of being called art. That to me, right there, is winning.’

jmketchm@syr.edu

Published on March 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm