Miss Gay IU show to take Auditorium stage

Hallelujah, it's raining men.\nMiss Gay IU 2001, OUT's 10th annual drag show competition, will take the Auditorium stage at 8 p.m. Friday.\nContestants will compete in several categories, including interviews, evening wear and talent, as they vie for this year's crown. \n"Picture the Miss America pageant and then substitute the beauty queen with drag queens," said OUT President Jason Jones, a senior. "It's almost the exact same thing."\nLocal and regional drag entertainment will perform during breaks. Jones said he is especially excited to see the B-Town Kings, the first drag king entertainment in the pageant's history.\n"The drag kings are going to be awesome," said Jones, who saw them in a preview show at Collins. \nSenior Sidney Bosley, OUT's Web master and one of the show's producers, said relocating the show to the Auditorium has allowed the show to expand technically, as well as seat a larger audience.\n "It's a huge convenience," Bosley said. "But we have the responsibility to fill seats and to put on a performance that is worthy of those seats."\n Whoever is crowned Miss Gay IU 2001 will have to fulfill certain duties during his reign, such as attending panels, being present at a certain number of OUT meetings and participating in the homecoming and Fourth of July parades. He is a "centerpiece of the GLBT community," Jones said. \nThe program is also the main fundraiser for OUT. \n"It's our biggest fundraiser, and it usually ends up being our only viable fundraiser," Jones said. "We use the funds to pay for the programming we provide throughout the regular year, as well as helping to fund the next year's pageant. Otherwise we would get no funding."\nTickets are available for $5 at the Auditorium box office and all Ticketmaster locations.