Queens and Kings strut down the stage to help raise money for charity on Mar. 20 in the Kanter Student center. The drag show is open to all students at Wayne State.

“Basically a drag show is where people will cross dress, which is dressing up as the gender that you do not identify personally as, but it’s just getting on stage lip-syncing and dancing,” said Allison Lambert, the president of PRIDE.

The drag show has been an event on campus, sponsored by PRIDE for 13 years. The production is put on in the spring semester with preparation during the fall semester.

“It usually takes months ahead for preparing,” Lambert said. “We start off with deciding the theme of the show and pick out a charity so they can go together. We then look for Kings and Queens that we would like in the show by going to other shows and look for performers.”

According to Lambert, she is looking forward to watching the performances and to seeing students that wouldn’t normally be there. She hopes students can have a positive experience from the drag show and looks forward to any type of feedback they may get.

“I understand that people have their biases against the community, I completely understand that,” Lambert said. “So to see people I wouldn’t necessarily expect to be at the drag show and taking a chance to go to a place that I know can be extremely uncomfortable for some people. I really enjoy seeing them take that opportunity.”

Students, like juniors Maddy Kraft and Kenzie Fredrickson, are looking forward to the upcoming program. They have attended the shows for the last two years.

“I think it’s a great way for students to come together in support of the LGBTQ community,” Fredrickson said.

Another thing Lambert is excited for is raising money for the charity they will be choosing. Money is raised by students tipping the entertainers and is then collected for donation. The performers don’t keep any of the proceeds whatsoever.

“I love that a lot of diverse people come together to experience something magical,” Kraft said. “One thing I really liked about last year was that the money raised went to the family of a professor who passed away at that time.”

The drag show is an event for Queens, Kings, and students alike to express themselves to those in attendance. The members of PRIDE will have more information about the performances in the upcoming months.