As one performer smoothed her fourth pair of pantyhose while she struggled to pull them over her calves as the smell of sweet, floral hairspray filled the air, another doused her teased, brown hair and twisted her curls.
Across the mirrored room, another performer touched up her eyeshadow and asked her friend "Does that look good?"
"Yes," the friend replied, "that looks natural."
In the far corner, a skinny performer in a black halter dress fidgeted with her straps and fretted "I'm worried my [balloon] boobs are just going to pop right out."
That concern was only too real for the dozen performers in Ball State University's biannual Spectrum free drag show and silent auction.
Almost everyone was actually male underneath the layers of makeup, clothes and diva attitude.
The months of preparation and hours of getting dressed were worth it, however, for the performers and organization members who earned $1,080 through the silent auction and tips for performers, Spectrum president Amber Michel said.
Spectrum's goal was to earn about $800, vice president Tyler Crain said.
The money goes to the Damien Center in Indianapolis, which helps HIV and AIDS patients and provides prevention education.
The drag show is part of a month of awareness events that includes National Coming Out and Matthew Shepard days.
Michel said the proceeds were the largest in three years, when Spectrum, Ball State's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight ally student organization, earned approximately $1,100.
Audience members might have given more than usual because Damien Center's representatives attended and spoke at the show, she said.
Ball State's Next Top Model was the perfect theme for the show, freshman audience member Taylor Pallatin said as she admired the 5-foot-tall posters of "America's Next Top Model" stars that were hung on the walls of Ball Gymnasium. She said it was her first show, but had heard what to expect from her friend Jacinta Yanders, who was one of the drag show's judges.
"'America's Next Top Model' is all about being confident in yourself, being a diva, and that's kind of what the drag show is all about," Pallatin said.
The performers buzzed around the dressing room before and during the show, excited to show their dance moves off on the stage.
Although most were drag queens, there was one planned drag king, Frost, and a surprise performance by Hunter Down.
Chelsea Nicole Parker announced the Saturday drag show was her last at Ball State. In September, she took sixth place in the Miss Gay Indiana pageant.
Puzzy Willow, a self-described "queen of ghetto-glam," returned to the stage after taking a performing hiatus during the spring drag show. Her enthusiasm got her called back to the stage after her song finished to collect money from still-eager fans.
"It's not about taking the show seriously," she said. "You have to go out there and have fun. I mean, how seriously can you take boys in dresses?"
The crowd favorite was the Spice Girls' show-ending performance, Michel said, and audience members who crowded the stage and performers donated an estimated $100 during the act.
Crowd participation made all the difference in the show, especially at the end, she said.
"They were up there," she said. "They were just coming up in waves. Sometimes you will just have a wave but they just kept coming."
Spectrum will hold its next drag show during the spring week of awareness events.
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