by Gaysha Starr - Special to the SGN

For the last 52 weeks, at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, I stand in front of my bathroom mirror and get in drag. Sometimes I like what I see and how it is all coming together, and other times I have to work around "certain things" and like any artist erase and start again. There are always my two pups, Maximus and Nina, laying on the bathroom floor and looking at me occasionally, and my iPod playing the same two songs on repeat until sometimes I don't hear the songs anymore. In my head, I go over any material that I can use for the night: current events (thank God for Lindsay Lohan), jokes (luckily, I can play the Asian card), and one-liners ("I'm vulnerable" and "It's for the children!") and by 10 I have transformed myself into my drag queen persona, Gaysha Starr, ready to host the Neighbours Legendary Lip Sync Contest.

To give you some history and to explain why a weekly drag show/lip sync contest is important to our community: Back in 1993, when drag was at its height - from RuPaul: Supermodel of the World to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - that was when I first started "getting in face." There were two lip sync contests for drag queens to compete, perform, and to be seen at in Seattle: The Brass Connection on Tuesdays with Crystal Lane and Neighbours on Wednesdays with Kahlua Ice. These shows were also great ways for the Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle and The Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence, along with other nonprofits, to do outreach at and quick fundraising.

I got my start at both of those shows, and over a period of time I learned how to do drag, developed my craft, and gained exposure to the public. Eventually I won several different drag titles, helped raised a lot of money for the community, wrote a weekly column for the Seattle Gay News under my drag name, started hosting shows, including the Neighbours Legendary Lip Sync Contest in 2000, and was able to get paid professionally to do drag.

Unfortunately, a downswing in Seattle's drag community occurred when certain bars closed and regular shows ended and for a few years it seemed as if the drag scene was nonexistent. It certainly was harder to get your start and be able to do drag, and not many businesses and people were booking drag performers. There were even a few years that drag pageants had no drag contestants, including our highest drag title in the city, The Empress, sponsored by the Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle.

During this time I took a break and performed drag less often, and so I concentrated on my career and personal life. But every now and then I would go out just to see what was out there and to test the waters. In 2009, I wanted to come back more regularly. RuPaul's Drag Race and documentaries like Pageant and Trantasia were being aired, and drag entertainers including Joey Arias, Lady Bunny, Hedda Lettuce, and Sherry Vine were touring nationally. Drag and Transgendered performers started to become mainstream once again.

Locally, drag shows had started to pop up at Julia's, Rebar, and R Place and I felt that the type of "old-school drag" that I learned was still important to share both in artistry and performance, as well as in fundraising principles. The quickest way to raise cash for charity was to get a group of talented queens with big names and advertise it well, and within a few hours $1,000 could easily be raised.

In July of last year, the man that gave me my first break and put me on his stage and developed me as one of his queens, Steve Tracy, came back to Neighbours as the general manager and made me an offer to come back and host the Wednesday Neighbours Legendary Lip Sync Contest starting in mid-July. During the show's first year back, Neighbours, along with AJAXX 63, a local T-shirt company, has awarded over $8,000 in prize money, has had seven successful cycles, and continues to be the only stage in Seattle that is open for any drag queen, king, Transgendered, or any lip sync act to compete and perform.

Some of the special guests and friends of the show - including Lily Armani, Penelope Diaz, GLAMAZONIA, Regina King-Queen, Jada Lumpia, Layla Cache Manila, and Roxy - have been exposed to the general public and have received professionally paid bookings at Neighbours and at other establishments. The most rewarding accomplishment is that the Wednesday-night show also has been able to serve as a fundraiser for nonprofit groups, including GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian, Straight, Education Network) and is also a great way to reach the community through public outreach to groups like the Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle, Seattle Out and Proud, HIV Vaccine Trials Network, and the Seattle Gay News.

To celebrate the show's first year back, eight fantastic contestants (six weekly winners and two wildcards) competed in front of an esteemed panel of judges including Dakita Harris from Lily Armani's Untucked, local singer Yee-Shin Huang, news editor from the SGN Shaun Knittel, and from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Abbey St. Joan, Sister Stella Standing. They offered critiques to the contestant a la American Idol. Guest spots from La Femme Magnifique, Lily Armani, and Sharon Huzbenz added to the event that about 200 people attended. At the end, the winner of the $250 cash prize was Tacoma's Athena Kiss for her-larger-than-life performance of Rihanna.

On a personal note, I am extremely fortunate to have a stage and a home like Neighbours that allows me to work professionally in drag anywhere I am asked to, but at the same time gives me a home base for me and my events. Under the production name of Gaysha Starr Presents, I have produced three fundraisers for GLSEN's Washington chapter (raising over $4,000), featured drag performers from all over the northwest, and in some way, I hope to continue to help make drag relevant to our community.

The Neighbours Legendary Lip Sync Contest is every Wednesday night at 10:30 p.m. The weekly winners win $100 and come back for a finals round to compete for $250 cash. Free admission and contestant sign-ups start at 9:30 p.m. This is a 21 and over event. For more information, please visit www.neighboursnightclub.com.

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