Nico Rivera

Features Editor

On Saturday Nov. 1, the Black Women’s Organization (BWO) and Queer + Trans People of Color (QTPOC) organization held the “Black Girl Magic” Drag Show in the Allen Commons. The top floor of Lowry was converted into a performance space, with seating set up in the main lounge and the conference room converted into a backstage green room. Wooster students got the chance to watch performances by professional drag queens represented by Drag Queen Entertainment, visiting from Philadelphia. The evening was led by drag mother VinChelle, who offered an energetic opening performance for the night. She then introduced her “drag daughter,” Demi Gawdess before she made her way to the stage. She came out strong, lip syncing and dancing as she weaved through rows of attendees. The last drag queen to come out was Samara Lanegrá, “New Jersey’s rising Drag Diva” in the words of the Drag Queen Entertainment website. The night came to a peak with the student lip sync contest, with four volunteers performing head-to-head, with wigs provided by the drag queens.

BWO President, Nwanne Eke ’26, spoke about conceptualizing and organizing the event in coordination with the QTPOC club. “It was over the summer that we were trying to think of new events we could bring on campus. Two years ago I took a class in the Theatre department called ‘Makeup for Performance,’ and we had a drag queen come from Cleveland. So it kind of came to my mind that we could have a drag event. So when I reached out to Julia [Zimmer] in Student Engagement, she sent me a list of different performers and Drag Queen Entertainment was one of the links that she had sent. I happened to see the ‘Black Girl Magic’ drag show, and I thought that it really fit in with the mission of BWO. And when I was thinking about other orgs that might find an interest in it, QTPOC came to mind, so I reached out to [QTPOC’s president] about organizing it together.”

QTPOC’s president also talked about the organization participating in the drag show. They explained, “BWO really took the lead on planning this one, and we’re so excited to have had the opportunity to work with them. There’s just a recognition that a lot of the time both of our priorities are very intertwined, a lot of our cultural contributions are very intertwined. So we’re just really grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of it.”

Before the drag show started, Madeline Eaton ’27 said, “I’ve gone to BWO and QTPOC events in the past, but I’m really excited for this one. I feel like this is a different vibe than they normally bring… it seems like a really fun event, and who doesn’t love some Black girl magic?”

For more information visit the Drag Queen Entertainment website: https://www.dragqueenentertainment.com/