Drag Queens are ubiquitous in the GLBTQ community. One can hardly attend a function without tripping over some bouffanted, sequin-bedecked, stiletto-heeled vision with the voice of a baritone. What more can be done with drag that hasn’t (if you will pardon the pun) already been dragged out of the closet, shaken out, and turned loose on stage?
Now, take some red-blooded, heterosexual men and pair them up with one of those ubiquitous drag queens. Train these men who are used to sneakers to walk in heels, get them into gowns and a wig, and turn them loose in a Great Reveal on stage at The Calgary Eagle, Calgary’s only Leather bar…now that’s different!
Straight to Diva is a fundraising project for the HIV Support Group, a program of the Canadian Red Cross. Originally created to be a fun and unique way to involve all the elements of the communities affected by HIV, raise much-needed funds for the group, and tackle the issues surrounding HIV infection, the show has quickly become one of the most anticipated events within the community.
GayCalgary.com interviewed John Finlayson, one of the organizers of Straight to Diva who has stepped in to fill the space left empty by the death of Rob Julien last year. “We don’t see it as a ’Drag Show,’ rather we see it a night of transformation for a straight guy into the world of illusion. This is a one time opportunity for the men who have volunteered to push their own comfort and perspective levels in a safe and sane environment – each of the guys has commented on the challenge of doing this event and wanting to push their own envelopes.”
Thankfully, doing their own make-up, is not one of the challenges these men will have to face.
“The men are not required to do their make-up. This is the ‘Pride’ of the Mentors to make their protégés the picture perfect image of the illusion,” says Finlayson.
The concept originated in Edmonton with the support of the Prism Bar and Grill. The event has taken place in both cities for the last two years, with the Edmonton organizers putting on two other Straight to Diva events as well as a Dykes to Diva event in which lesbians get dolled up in the gowns, wigs, make-up and heels that are so often antithetical to being a dyke.
“The Calgary event is scheduled for one show per year and still gives Edmonton a run for their money on the fundraising side,” says Finlayson. “The famous competition between the cities keeps the energies up.”
When asked if a Leather bar isn’t a rather odd venue for this event, Finlayson replies, “The Calgary Eagle is definitely an odd place to hold a ‘drag show’. However, if one looks at it from the perspective of the most unlikely place to hold it, this formula works. The Leather community has, for a long time, supported events and charities to the daily living and fight against HIV/AIDS and the men of The Eagle, and the owners, readily embraced the idea as an ‘out-of-the-box’ way to raise awareness even further.”
“Ever since The Calgary Eagle first opened, they have been holding fundraising events for their charity of choice, Beswick House (operated by the SHARP Foundation – Society Housing AIDS Restricted Persons), and when approached about the Diva concept, immediately asked how they could help. The Calgary Eagle has invested incredible energy in the event including funds, in-kind services, staff and volunteer hours. Without their support the event would not have taken off as well as it has.”
Choosing contestants is not as difficult as one might think. Interviewed on Speak Sebastian last year, 2005’s Divas were clearly getting a kick out of doing the event with lots of good-natured ribbing back and forth. Suddenly they notice women’s footwear, or stop to study the dresses in the windows of Holt Renfrew with an eye to how the ensemble might look on themselves.
It was rather like having a studio filled with Dustin Hoffman’s character in Tootsie…only these boys ended up looking far more fabulous than Hoffman’s Dorothy Michaels could ever have hoped to.
“After last April’s event we held a DVD Launch Party to which many more straight men came. After watching the show, two of the three men who are this year’s Divas asked if they could be considered. A wife volunteered her husband, in absentia, for the third spot,” says Finlayson.
Casting bona fide straight guys as drag queens is something often seen in movies, but how did the HIV Peer Support Group come up with the idea of doing it in real life.
“Due to the ever-changing requirements of initial and sustainable funding, the HIV Peer Support Group has historically been faced with funding crises,” Finlayson points out. “During a brainstorming session there are always a multitude of ideas thrown around. One of the more off-the-wall ideas was to use straight men in an event and make them drag queens for an evening. A majority of people have seen both professional and amateur drag, but what about a drag show with guys doing it who have never donned a dress before in their lives?”
The idea was tossed around a bit more and people started to buy into it – it was novel, it would attract attention, it was fun, and what did they have to lose, apart from a little bit of their dignity?
This year’s Divas are Scott McTavish, Lawrence McTavish, and Will. The Drag Queen Mentors (or would that be Mentresses?) are Curtis aka Eli-Vator; Neil aka Twanda Dewitt, and Steve aka Stevie Huston-Makela.
Finlayson points out the funds raised through the Straight to Diva events are used to subsidize a paid consultant who guides the group in training, and in legal and ethical requirements for the volunteers. Money is also used for ongoing training, and to cover the cost of supplies, venues, speakers, transportation and other ongoing costs throughout the year for one-on-one meetings with individuals.
The HIV Peer Support Group, though housed at the Red Cross, provides peer support services to AIDS Service Organizations such as AIDS Calgary, the Central Alberta AIDS Awareness Network Society in Red Deer, and also to community-based organizations such as the Southern Alberta Clinic, Canadian Red Cross, Exit Community Outreach, and CUPS (Calgary Urban Project Society), to name a few. The HIV Peer Support Group also supports, through regional and local agencies, organizations in Rocky Mountain House, Edmonton, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.
“The group took their model of operation province wide about three years ago,” Finlayson points out, “and now can brag about the only province-wide based model of its’ kind.”
Individuals can access the group through one of the identified organizations listed above. These agencies will do their required in-take program and assess, along with the individual, whether meeting a volunteer worker from the group would be of benefit. Once the decision is made, the referring agency contacts the group by way of a paging system and a meeting is set up for the individual to meet a volunteer. As the HIV Peer Support Group is set up as a complement to existing programs and services, a referral is required.
Straight To Diva
March 25th, 2006
At The Calgary Eagle
424-a 8th Ave SE
(403) 263-5847
