Gallery: Drag kings and queens take the stage

By Athena Chrysanthou and Ellen Booth
October 29, 2017

Kara Belle, a drag queen from Champaign, performs Saturday Oct. 28, 2017, during the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. Kara Belle has been performing for fifteen years. “I try to tell a story with every performance and I try to make sure that every time I step on stage people understand who I am as an entertainer and what I try to present,” Belle said. “They understand I am not just about beauty, but the allure, the performance and just make sure they are having a good time.”
Jacob Hayes, also known by her stage name Veronica J. Belle preps her make-up Saturday Oct. 28, 2017, before the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. (Ellen Booth | @EllenBooth_DE)
Jae Schmidt, a senior from Champaign studying psychology gets ready for his performance Saturday Oct. 28, 2017, before the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. (Ellen Booth | @EllenBooth_DE)
Jacob Hayes, also known by her stage name Veronica, intercts with an audience member Saturday Oct. 28, 2017, during the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. (Athena Chrysanthou | @Chrysant1Athena)
Marcus Wilder, from Decatur, performs on stage as Ceduxion Saturday, Oct. 29, 2017, during the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. Ceduxion has been performing 19 years. “It [drag] allows me to be all the things that I have never accomplished in life. I wanted to be an artist. I draw and thats what the makeup is. I wanted to be a dance/choreographer, that’s what the performance is. I wanted to be an actor and, well I have to sell what I do,” Ceduxion said. “It allows an open stage for my creativity. If your going to get into the art of impersonation whether it is male or female, the number 1 thing is being true to yourself because not everybody should do it. You have to find whatever kind of entertainer you are or what makes you unique from everybody else.” (Athena Chrysanthou | @Chrysant1Athena)
Kara Belle, a drag queen from Champaign, applies makeup Saturday Oct. 28, 2017, before the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. (Athena Chrysanthou | @Chrysant1Athena)
Julie Baldwin performs as her stage presence Faim Lee Jewls Saturday Oct. 28, 2017, during the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. (Ellen Booth | @EllenBooth_DE)
Jacob Hayes, also known by her stage name Veronica J. Belle from Chicago performs Saturday Oct. 28, 2017, in the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. (Ellen Booth | @EllenBooth_DE)
Marcus Wilder, a drag queen from Decatur who goes by the stage name Ceduxion touched up her makeup Saturday Oct. 28, 2017, before the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. (Ellen Booth | @EllenBooth_DE)
Jacob Hayes, also known by her stage name Veronica, smokes a cigarette during a break Saturday Oct. 28, 2017, during the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. (Athena Chrysanthou | @Chrysant1Athena)
Jae Schmidt, a senior from Champaign studying psychology and her sister Sammi Schmidt, share a moment Saturday, Oct. 29, 2017 before the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. Jae Schmidt goes by the stage name Evan Cooler and has been doing drag for three years. (Athena Chrysanthou | @Chrysant1Athena)
Kara Belle a drag queen from Champaign, performs Saturday Oct. 28, 2017, in the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. (Ellen Booth | @EllenBooth_DE)
Kara Belle a drag queen from Champaign, performs Saturday Oct. 28, 2017, in the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. (Ellen Booth | @EllenBooth_DE)
A hair bush and wig are pictured Saturday, Oct. 29, 2017, in the changing rooms during the Steam Punk Drag Show in the Student Center. Athena Chrysanthou | @Chrysant1Athena)

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