3rd annual Hoosier Daddy crowns new king

Though there wasn’t much competition to speak of at Hoosier Daddy 2009, graduate student Shannon Cameron couldn’t shake her nerves.

“It was still really nerve-racking, but it switched from worrying about my performance to worrying about the audience, about whether it’d be enough variety for everyone,” Cameron said.

The evening began when junior Joshua Sutton, president of OUT, the IU Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Student Union, delivered disappointing news that two participants registered in the competition were no-shows. The annual pageant, a competition for male impersonators – or drag kings – had only one competitor, but performers weren’t flustered.

“A show is a show,” said Britney Taylor, the reigning queen of Miss Gay IU, an annual pageant OUT holds for female impersonators. “We still have to do our jobs whether there’s no contestants or 17 contestants.”

Christina Sell admitted initial surprise at the turnout.

“At first I was a little disappointed just because we put a lot of our resources into getting people here and educating people,” Sell said. “But then I found out it was Cameron. ... He’s really involved, and I know he’ll be a great king to take my place.”

Despite the setback, Sell performed the opening act of the night, one of the last of her reign as Hoosier Daddy 2008. Sell won the competition last year and is active in the Bloomington GLBT community. She lip-synched to Toby Keith’s “Who’s Your Daddy,” lumbering about the stage in a well-rehearsed impersonation.

Performers throughout the night included Taylor, as well as Miss Gay IU ’95, Marissa Nichole. Both lip-synched and danced to pounding techno tunes while wearing brightly-colored dresses that swirled every which way as they moved.

Other highlights included Victor Victoria, a professional drag king. Audience members also had a good laugh at Whryne Reed, who mimicked Chef by performing his hit number “Chocolate Salty Balls,” a song on Comedy Central’s South Park.

Cameron’s performance also stood out, as she and a stage partner, Cory Pariseau, performed a duet called “A Stud and A Babe” from the musical “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.”

At the end of the night, Sell performed her final number after reiterating that any tips she garnered and all donations collected at the door would be contributed to the Middle Way House of Bloomington. Cameron was then brought out on stage and the crown placed on her head, making her the third king of Hoosier Daddy.

Vicki St. James, who credits the Bloomington community with helping her to come out and being so accepting of her, got involved in drag as a dresser for one of the competitors in Miss Gay IU and attended every Hoosier Daddy. She was one of the judges for the evening and felt the show had not lost a step with only one competitor.

“It can be horribly intimidating, you know, to be the only one out there,” St. James said. “I think Cameron did a wonderful job.”