Wendy’s First Drag Show – 30 Things To Do Before You’re 30

My 30th birthday is looming close on the horizon, and it's started to occur to me that there are a lot of things in life that I haven't experienced yet.

I know that I still have many years ahead of me to do a lot of things, but I also feel like there are a lot of things that a person should probably do before they reach the age of 30.

Two of the things that I realized I hadn't done actually got rolled into one last Sunday night.

Last Friday night I was discussing the fact that I had never been to a gay bar with Janna and our friend Luke. Or a drag show. In the eyes of both of them, this was completely unacceptable, and something that I should do as soon as possible. Gay bars and drag shows are apparently some sort of twenty-something right of passage that I had missed out on.

Luke mentioned that every Sunday night, Rumors has a drag show. He also mentioned that he, conveniently, had Sunday night off, and would love to take me to both my first gay bar and first drag show all on the same night.

Sunday night came, and I had no idea what to expect. "What do I wear? Should there be sparkles? I feel like there should be sparkles. Probably sequins." All of these thoughts were rushing through my head (and through my fingers via text messages to Luke, the drag show expert). He informed me that it didn't matter what I wore.  Not just because they'd probably know I was straight from the second I walked in the door,  but because you really can wear whatever you want!  You can come in your favorite comfy jeans or dressed to the nines in your recently purchased bedazzled club dress from Charlotte Russe.  Either way, only the drag queens will be looking at your shoes.

After some pre-drinking at Rockwell's, Luke and I headed over to Rumor's to catch the show. He had reserved us a table, pretty much front and center, and we sat down to enjoy the show.

Well, little did I know, that there is such a thing as "drag show etiquette". Here are a few of the things that I learned:

1. She works hard for her money. So, tip your diva!
2. Do not strip or grip… the performer that is.  She is absolutely not impressed by some drunk straight chick stealing her act, thinking she's cute by dancing up on her. Never upstage a diva. She has heels. And she will use them.  A stiletto to the back of the head will put a damper on your evening.
3. If you are referring to a drag queen in conversation, you will refer to her as a “she.”  After all, her legs probably look better in that dress than yours do.
4. They love that you love them. Bask in the diva-ness and have a good time. Time-appropriate cheering and clapping is encouraged.

I also learned that there were different ways to give a tip that gauged how much you liked the act. Hold out a dollar bill while you're sitting in your seat? You like the show. Standing up at your seat to give said dollar? You really like the show. Stand up and walk towards the stage while holding your dollar? You really really like the show. And might want her number.

I mostly stayed seated, as I wasn't really made aware of the tipping hierarchy until towards the end of the night.

I did get a candy cane from one of the best performers of the night, Hershae Cholatae. Hershae was on "America's Got Talent" and really gave it to the judges and she incorporated back flips into her show, which was amazing considering the extra high heels she was wearing. I don't know of anyone else who could do that, ever. I can't even walk in heels half the time.

Overall, I would say that my first gay bar/drag show experience was both fun and educational. I'm pretty sure that Luke's going to get sick of me dragging him to the show after a while. And I don't care. They're fabulous!