by Winter Music

  It’s back to school at Froth with Arcata’s resident rebellious drag troupe, Renegade Revue! On Sat. 19 at 8 p.m. jocks, nerds, teachers and cheerleaders, or people dressed like them, assembled to create an 80s school burlesque fantasy. The sold-out show featured eight drag kings and queens, each with their own take on the school tropes we’ve all seen in movies. Nostalgia, mixed with hot and heavy burlesque, meant dollars and praise were thrown after each move made and each piece of clothing stripped.

So, what makes people go on stage with more makeup than clothes? Burlesque performer Alora Devora, a sixth year psychology and interdisciplinary dance studies major, took to the stage in her school girl costume. 

“The reason I do drag and burlesque is because it brings me back into my body,” Devora said. “It gives me confidence and I believe it also gives other people confidence seeing people do what is scary.”

The desire to inspire people in the audience was shared by many of the night’s performers, but that wasn’t the only reason people felt the need to put themselves out there. 

Cocky Muffington is a drag king and host of the King of Drag watch parties at The Summit. Depicting the classic jock with too much of daddy’s money — complete with a cigar and smoking jacket — he’s found what keeps bringing him back to the stage.

“I do drag for the gender euphoria. I didn’t really experience gender dysphoria before I started drag,” Cocky said. “Once I did drag, I never wanted to get out of the makeup right? I never wanted to take off the packer. I’m like, oh, this feels really good — like really it’s been missing from my life.”

 Renegade Revue seeks to provide performers and viewers alike with a safe space to express themselves and build confidence. While performers express their femininity, masculinity and sexuality as a whole without fear of judgment, viewers are encouraged to take inspiration and live their lives to the fullest.

“The most important thing you can do in your lifetime is become yourself,” Master of Ceremonies, Olivia Gambino, a Cal Poly Humboldt anthropology alumni and local burlesque queen said. 

As the night came to a close, performers and audience members reflected on the nature of what was just experienced. The radical nature of satirizing gender roles, embracing camp, thinking about the effort that those here and before us have put in to preserve this art and keep sharing it.

“Oh, we’re glamorous little cockroaches. We’ll just show up in any little corner. Sweetie, we would be jumping off of washing machines and dryers, doing the splits, doing a death drop at the Eastside Laundromat if we could,” Gambino said. “If you wanna get into it but you don’t know how, we’ll have you kitting, we’ll have you stage manage, we’ll put you somewhere. You belong with us. If you feel like you belong with us, you belong”

So don’t be scared, go out to that drag event, throw some cash when they dance, maybe even get involved. These spaces exist as a safe place to explore self expression, so try that new thing, wear that weird outfit; just do it with love, kindness and respect.

Winter is an English major and copy editor with an interest in covering local community events mostly focusing on music and art.