Ball State University senior Nathan Smith sips a Den Pop as he frantically recounts the events of the past week.
After months of preparation for the Miss Gay Muncie pageant, Smith said pageant executives told him several aspects of his act needed to be changed.
"It's been sort of a trial by fire," he said laughing. "I never knew what it would be like competing in Miss Gay Muncie."
Regulations regarding costuming and the talent portion of the pageant surprised Smith, he said. Unforeseen rules prompted Smith and those assisting him to work at double speed to redo in a week what took months to create, he said.
Smith said he debuted Chelsea Nicole Parker at Spectrum's Fall 2006 Drag Show and has only participated in three drag shows to date.
MGM will be his first pageant.
Female impersonators from across the county and state will compete at 9 p.m. Saturday at Mark III Tap Room for the title of MGM and the right to compete in Miss Gay Indiana.
Doors open at 7 p.m., attendees must be 21 or older and there is a cover charge of $4.
David Keeley, president of Great Lakes Productions, the company in charge of Miss Gay Indiana, said Miss Gay Indiana and the five pageants that feed into it have existed for almost 30 years.
GLP began the pageant to showcase the art of female impersonation and acknowledge it as a valued aspect of the gay entertainment industry, Keeley said.
In 1986, GLP started a Mister Gay Indiana for gay men who are proud of their masculinity, he said.
Contestants go through a male interview, in which they must be dressed in a suit, a talent competition, an evening gown competition and a platform presentation along with many other typical pageant requirements.
Platform presentations were recently introduced into the competition, Keeley said. The platforms must incorporate involvement in HIV/AIDS outreach programs and services.
GLP works closely with the Indiana AIDS Fund because its money funds organizations that offer direct patient care and assistance with medical or utility bills if needed, Keeley said.
By participating in the pageant, Smith said he feels like he will have the opportunity to be a role model and help inform the public how to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS.
"I'm in it for HIV/AIDS awareness," Smith said. "I never wanted to be a person that wrote a blank check."
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