QuASA’s 14th annual drag show was a hit at Bovard Auditorium Sunday night.
On a dark and stormy Sunday night, hundreds of brave souls from the USC community made the muddy trek to Bovard Auditorium to watch the campy, glamorous and extravagant events of QuASA’s 14th Annual Drag Show: The Freak Show transpire.
In the Queer and Ally Student Assembly’s biggest event space to date, audience turnout did not disappoint despite the ongoing flash flood warning. Even before the student performers made their debuts onstage, returning host LØRELEI amped up the energy with a fiery lip-sync performance that was half-dancing, half-stripping, featuring HOLYCHILD’s provocative hit “Bathroom Bitch” and four backup dancers dressed as clowns.
Afterward, LØRELEI ceded the spotlight to the 12 drag kings and queens who performed, as well as the four drag performers who graced the runway but did not perform numbers. There was great diversity displayed among the performers’ outfit choices, with some opting for head-to-toe latex ensembles like Lavinia Vaudeville, while others kept it simple with casual menswear like Slim Slaydy.
Some of the kings and queens paid tribute to familiar pop culture moments of the past. Amelia Anthrax, for example, incorporated the “Succession” theme into her number while performing a relatively seamless outfit change onstage. She later cited Sarah Snook’s “Succession” character, Siobhan “Shiv” Roy, as the inspiration behind her outfit. Masc Mandate, on the other hand, did a faithful reenactment of Victoria Justice’s “Freak the Freak Out” transformation performance, which aired on “Victorious” many moons ago.
Other performers took inspiration from their own life experiences in crafting their drag personas for the night. Nate Riel, a senior majoring in theatre with an emphasis in acting who performed as Nancy, said “my dad used to call me [Nancy] when I would act too feminine, so it’s a sort of reclamation.”
Despite the hard work it took to open the drag show with minimal hitches, the performers enjoyed the time spent behind the scenes getting to know each other and making memories.
One of the runway performers, Paul Lazzari, a sophomore majoring in theatre as well as anthropology who portrayed Pestilence onstage, said “I had a really fun time putting together costumes, hanging out [and] meeting new queer people.”
Among the team who made the show happen were fearless leaders Jayna Dias, a senior majoring in art, and Saneel Sharma, a junior majoring in design. Dias, the assistant director of the show, and Sharma, the executive director of the show, also slayed the stage Sunday night. Dias performed as May Glove, with old-timey tunes and a bedazzled corset that took admirable inspiration from burlesque performance. Sharma took the stage as none other than the iconic Rae Oblivion, reprising the persona for the third year in a row at QuASA’s annual show.
The five months of work that went into preparing the show certainly paid off, though. Audience members enthusiastically cheered and interacted with the performers throughout the night even after the momentary pause for the fire alarm evacuation, and the performers valiantly upheld the “the show must go on” attitude.
“The energy was just very loving and supportive. This was such a loving environment, and you could tell that even among the performers,” said Aya Obeid, a senior majoring in international relations. “This is an incredible art form, and I genuinely just did not realize it was something that would strike a chord with me so much.”
After Rae Oblivion’s jaw-dropping finale performance, the drag show was wrapped up with a lip-sync battle, much to the audience’s delight. The queens Willconique, Miss Dacity and Nancy competed using Bonnie Tyler’s ’80s classic, “Holding Out for a Hero.” After LØRELEI gauged the noise levels of audience cheers for each candidate to determine the winner, Willconique was given a plastic crown and scepter with which to celebrate her victory.
Besides the tireless work that goes into putting on the annual drag show, QuASA holds weekly meetings in Tutor Campus Center for members and allies of the LGBTQIA+ community at USC. The other large event QuASA plans for students is the Second Chance Prom, also held during the spring semester. Ultimately, the organization aims to foster a welcoming environment for all students to feel like they can thrive at USC, which includes events such as “The Freak Show.”
“The queer community is continually growing at USC, and I think there has never been a better time to get involved and support in any way you can,” Riel said. “There are so many queer clubs and outlets for queer empowerment on campus … This is just one of many.”
