Queens will be sashaying in glamorous gowns and larger-than-life wigs with egos to fit for the 11th annual Diva Drag show at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Since the show is so close to Halloween, the show will also feature a costume contest, with registration beginning at 6:45 p.m. and judging starting at 7 p.m.

Joanna Stauder, the vice president of Pride, said she left the theme, “Dressed to Kill,” ambiguous for the eight queens so they could have the freedom dress any way they like.

“We figured ‘dressed to kill’ can be something scary or super gorgeous—they can do whatever they want with it,” Stauder said.

She said planning for the show began in August with talking to the queens and reserving the ballroom. Stauder said the hardest part of planning the show was getting a time, date and place—on top of juggling her schoolwork.

Stauder said when she finally returned to school after the summer, it was time to contact the queens with the top queen being “Ceduxion.”

Jason Haarmann, the president of Pride, said Ceduxion would be the MC for the night and run the show. Both Stauder and Haarmann agreed that Ceduxion was one of the founding members of the Diva Drag show and played a pivotal role in gathering the eight queens.

Haarman and Stauder both described Ceduxion as “fierce as hell” because of her comedic and sassy attitude.

“(She’s) all sorts of sass—you can’t even understand,” Stauder said with a laugh.

One of Ceduxion’s roles is also to help keep track of the other queens and encourage them the night of the show. Because drag has a bit of a family aspect, Ceduxion is seen as a “drag mother,” Haarmann said.

Haarmann said a drag mother is someone who helps others integrate into the drag culture and also coach them through the process, which is why all of the performers respect her.

“That’s the whole reason Pride exists—we want to educate people on this culture,” Stauder said.

Both Haarmann and Stauder said the event will showcase the queens lip-syncing and dancing in flashing outfits. During the show, Ceduxion will interrupt with a sassy remark for comedic relief to keep the audience pumped.

“It’s not sexual, but very sexy,” Stauder said.

One aspect about the show is to bend the notion of gender norms through performance and costumes, which has roots in Greece with men dressing as women during theater shows.

“Drag, in some ways, has always been a performance piece,” Haarmann said. “It’s not how to be (a) man/woman, it’s challenging your idea of gender.”

Aside from the show being a full entertainment performance, it is a fundraiser for the Sexual Assault Counseling and Information Services. All donations and ticket proceeds will go to SACIS.

Tickets for the show come in three types and prices, $10 for VIP front row, $8 VIP and $5 standard.

Roberto Hodge can be reached at 581-2812 or rlhodge@eiu.edu.