An angelic performer used wings to dramatic effect during the Drag Variety Extravaganza on Saturday, April 22, 2017, in Norman. (Doug Hill)
[dropcap]D[/dropcap]rag culture exhibits its own traditions and expectations of both performers and spectators. There’s a camaraderie among the performers that encourages sharing appearance and performance advice.
That camaraderie was on display during Drag Variety Extravaganza, hosted by transgender drag queen Marlene Schiedich and Norman drag troupe Haus Down Productions.
The audience response for the extravaganza was enthusiastic. Paper-money tips were forthcoming for performers, as is the custom.
Schiedich, which is the transgender drag-queen persona of Individual Artists of Oklahoma executive director Laurence Myers Reese, staged the Extravaganza on April 22 at Resonator Arts Space in Norman. The live performance was recorded to video as part of a documentary about “queer identity in pop culture,” according to a press release for the event.
Reese will screen the finished documentary during Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s Momentum film and new media festival May 19 to 20 in Ada, Oklahoma. Famed (and infamous) director John Waters is slated to be the featured guest speaker.
Extravaganza organizer Laurence Meyers Reese aka Marlene Schiedich hosted Drag Variety Extravaganza April 22 in Norman, Okla. (Doug Hill)
The drag tradition in theater goes back centuries and was even part of American vaudeville. (Doug Hill)
Hours of preparation time are generally required to achieve the desired look of a drag performer. (Doug Hill)
Stylized makeup and flamboyant hair are essential to the drag shtick. (Doug Hill)
It was the rare artist who didn’t go to the floor at some point during a drag performance April 22 in Norman. (Doug Hill)
A performer does a cartwheel during a drag show April 22 in Norman, Okla. (Doug Hill)
Lotta Fagina gestures while performing April 22 in Norman. (Doug Hill)
Audience members handed cash to performers during their performance, as is part of the drag tradition. (Doug Hill)
Fans met with performers between sets. (Doug Hill)
The extravaganza’s audience in Resonator Arts Space was large and enthusiastic April 22 in Norman. (Doug Hill)
Laurence Meyers Reese’s collaborator Keeva Lough caught the extravaganza on video. (Doug Hill)
Doug Hill earned a double-major undergraduate degree in English and East Asian Studies from the University of Kansas and a master's in human relations from the University of Oklahoma. He's been a freelance journalist and photographer in central Oklahoma since 1997.
