One of the best things about living in a city like Indianapolis is all the opportunities we have to experience different cultures. And one of my favorite cultures to experience that I'm also apart of, is the LGBTQ community. One of the staple events in the LGBTQ community besides Pride, are drag shows. Most major cities will have at least one bar or venue that hosts weekly or monthly drag shows.

Here in Indianapolis we have a local place called Zonie's Closet that does drag shows with local queens since Talbot Street closed back in June. Besides local queens though, we have a group in town called IndyProv that bring in more famous drag queens. Specifically they will bring in drag queens from the show RuPaul's Drag Race. Which is the most well known platform for drag queens and has brought drag into the mainstream.

This past week I went to my second drag show with a Drag Race queen headlining the show. After now going to a couple different drag shows I firmly believe that everyone should go to one at least once. It's a great time being at a drag show and I feel they should become far more mainstream as a form of entertainment. Because let me tell you, I have never had more fun than I have at a drag show. So let me explain why drag shows are so much fun and why you should go to one.

Here in Indy our RuPaul drag shows are hosted at the Athenaeum theatre downtown. It has about three different level of tables that you can sit at in a historic theatre. Now you may not think a venue like this would work for a drag show. But it's actually perfect because the sight lines work so well as almost everyone can see the performer on stage.

Of course it takes a little while for the show to actually get going. That is the perfect time to go grab a drink from the multiple bars set up in the theatre. There are two right outside the entrances to the actual performance space, but there is also one in the main lobby of the Athenaeum building, which is not just a theatre but a full blown organization. The theatre itself though works great for shows like this. So you should definitely head to the bar and get a drink if you are legal of course. Always stay safe friends.

But make sure that you get back to your seat before the show starts. As you will not want to miss a single moment of this show. The shows I have been to usually start off with an opening that includes all of the local queens that will be performing before the headliner. The first show I went to the queens did a lipsync to He Had it Coming from Chicago. This time there were fake plastic legs hanging from under the proscenium like the queens had gotten stuck in the rafters and there were voice recordings along with it. Which of course was very different but also hilarious.

From there at our shows the queen who is hosting the show will come out and make a few jokes and then do a lipsync number. Lipsyncs are of course a staple of drag shows, the bread and butter of the art form. The host will then talk about what you do with tips (either give it to a queen or put it in the bucket) and then will introduce the next performer.

Usually there are about four local queens that perform. Each one has her own style of performance and costume. Which is what makes it so much fun to watch the local queens. Everyone gets really excited and cheers along when the performer does anything great. It's a good time through the first round of performances. But then the headliner performer comes out. This time around for me I got to see the winner of RuPaul's All Stars Season 2, Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 from the planet Glamtron. As you may be able to tell by that name, she's an incredible performer.

The first performance from the headliner is usually a mix of a lipsync and then some stand up comedy. Most of Alaska's performance though was a performance of one of her songs. She started out with singing a little bit of God Bless America, probably trying to stick it to the current political administration. It then went into her song "Nails" where she yells about how if you are not wearing nails then you are not doing drag. It was hilarious because she goes in and out of her high feminine voice and this deep male bass. The transition just made the song.

After that you'll have another round of the local queens performing. The second round of performances is always a step above the first one. The queens push the envelope a little bit more and pull out the best dance moves. This is usually where you'll see multiple death drops and a popular song for the lipsync.

You then get the finale performance from the headliner. It will usually be their most iconic song as in Alaska's case it was the rap she performed in All Stars 2 to win the show. She also had an awesome costume change, pulling off her floor length dress to revel an iconic two piece outfit. The second performance is also usually longer, it'll mash up together a couple of songs and then some more crowd interaction.

At this point everyone will be cheering loudly and totally enjoying themselves. If you're close enough, you can even run up and give the performer money. It's a great time and ends on such a high note as you are there with everyone cheering along and enjoying the performance. It's such a great time.

Hopefully I have piqued your interest in going to a drag show. I haven't really done the experience justice with just words, so you should absolutely go to one yourself. It is absolutely worth it for the incredible experience. I'm for sure going to now support my local drag queens much more, as should you.