Five drag performers will take the stage Friday for the WSU Drag Show, which features international and regional artists.
Last year was the first drag show the Student Entertainment Board hosted, and because it was a success, it will continue this year, said Katrina O’Dell, SEB Up All Night director.
One of the performers SEB is bringing to the show is Pangina Heals, who was on RuPaul’s Drag Race, O’Dell said.
Pangina Heals is someone they wanted to bring because it is such a big name, so if people heard who was headlining, they might be more likely to show up, O’Dell said.
Another performance will be from Tabikat Productions, who perform throughout the Pullman and Moscow area, she said.
Tabikat Productions co-founder Katherine Sprague manages the company with her wife and has been producing shows on the Palouse for 29 years; the Tabikat name comes from the first three letters of both of their names.
The company started when Sprague was working on a creative project with a friend who had a drag persona. Sprague said her friend had AIDS and passed away, and his funeral was on her 28th birthday. In honor of him, TabiKat Productions held their first performance on her 30th birthday.
Sprague said her favorite part about working in the drag industry is how unscripted it can be sometimes, and people never know what is going to happen.
During one show, the music went out while the king was performing, so the crowd started singing, she said. When the music came back on, the song and the crowd were synced.
“He was baffled. That was probably the most amazing moment of any of the shows,” she said.
Sprague said she is happy WSU invites local performers to be a part of shows like this because a lot of people forget about them sometimes.
“You’ve got to support your local drag, so I’m grateful that they support local drag and that we get to do this at WSU,” she said.
O’Dell said she has never been to a drag show before, so she is looking forward to having a drag event because she has not seen anything going on related to pride unless it is for the LGBTQ+ Center.
“I’m really excited for people to step out of their comfort zones and go,” she said. “I’m excited for other people to see what happens and have fun, and I’ve been told it gets loud and crazy and there’s lots of fun colors and a bunch of awesome things that should happen that night.”
The show will be at 8 p.m. Friday in the Compton Union Building Senior Ballroom. Tickets are free for students and general admission is $20; all tickets can be found on the SEB website.
