The Cream Girls, three men dressed in sequined, ankle-length gowns and pancake makeup, climbed the bleachers of Ball Gym on Saturday night. The women's flashy act was the finale to a night filled with men and women singing and dancing while dressed as the opposite gender.
Spectrum had its free biannual drag show, themed "Legends," as the finale of "Legends in Gay History" Spring Week to raise money for the Damien Center in Indianapolis. It featured performers dancing and lipsynching while wearing drag in the gym, which was decorated with posters of famous performers.
The Damien Center does HIV and AIDS research and helps AIDS patients, Spectrum President Amber Michel said. Secretary Shannon Anderson said Spectrum began donating the proceeds of the show to the center two years ago because the organization supports the center's work.
Spectrum encouraged the crowd to tip performers it most enjoyed. Audience members approached the stage and gave cash to dancers as they worked the four catwalks.
Spectrum Vice President Tyler Crain became Stephanie Rayne for the show. Crain said the performers enjoyed the show because it was tons of fun and benefited a great cause. They liked the chance to look classy and nice, he said. Treasure Damon Clevenger performed as Princess Ana Crusis and said he had fun and was happy to support the Damien Center.
"It's really nice for all of us to come together as a group and see the support of the community," he said.
Anderson said the show rose more than $900. Michel called the show a huge success. The tips made up about $400, Michel said, and the rest of the donations came from a silent auction and a sale of Spectrum and show merchandise. In the silent auction, audience members bid on items such as buttons with performers' pictures and Barbie dolls dressed as the entertainers. Audience members could also buy buttons, T-shirts and bracelets at the back of the gym.
"We were trying to get ideas to make more money, and we came up with the idea of drag Barbie dolls," Anderson said.
The highest selling item was a gift certificate for a one-night stay at the Radisson Hotel Indianapolis Airport, which sold for $100, Crain said.
Money isn't the only reason Spectrum sponsors the show; the performers enjoy putting it on, Anderson said.
"We have a lot of fun doing it," she said. "How often do guys get to dress up like girls and not be harassed?"
The queens emphasized the difficulty of dressing in drag. Crain said they had to show up two hours early to start preparing their outfits. Clevenger added that he spent at least two hours shaving and it took hours to get his makeup right.
"Makeup is just a bitch," he said.
The performers danced and lipsynched hip hop, country, Motown, and rock'n'roll songs. Most of the show was singing and dancing because the skits Spectrum planned didn't work out, Michel said.
"We had some more skits planned to tie in the whole legends thing more, but they kind of got scrapped due to our technical difficulties," she said.
The crowd of more than 500 people was energetic, and some got up on the stage to participate in a crowd dance-off where they attempted to dance their way into one of the performer's acts. More than a dozen Ball State students dressed as elderly women in the Red Hat Society to show their support for the show. They wore big, red hats with tall, brightly colored flowers and purple dresses.
"I didn't know they were going to do that, but they were just some members of Spectrum and some of our supporters in the community." Michel said.
Anderson said Spectrum's next show will be in October.
This show was enough for one performer, Chelsea Nicole Parker, who wore a wedding dress in one act.
"I do this once a year," she said. "If I did it any more I would have PMS."
FundraiserSpectrum rose more than $900 to go to The Damien Center in Indianapolis. The Center does HIV and AIDS research and helps AIDS patients.
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