Sparing no expense for the love of the Drag Ball

With the entire Student Union staff away at a conference until Thursday, and head honcho coordinator, Assistant Director of the Student Union Chris Baymiller, sick with the flu for his biggest weekend of the year, the 1998 Drag Ball is a little more hectic than most years. But the annual LGBTU-sponsored event has been 10 months in the making, and even with the chaos of last-minute stress, the spectacle for the senses should still pull through and top last year.

In fact, as Baymiller put it, the steadfast goal for every Drag Ball is to out-do the previous year. "I don't think it would be interesting for students to come back each year otherwise," he said.

There are always plenty of rumors that accompany the Ball, the biggest of which was last year's supposed MTV coverage. Students were glued to the set during the evening that Oberlin was supposed to be granted its brief slot on "MTV News," but by that time, another rumor was circulating: coverage of Soundgarden's unexpected break up the same weekend replaced the alleged 30 seconds of Drag Ball footage.

MTV lost its chance. This year, the big invited guests are outrageous radio personality Howard Stern and his talk show sidekick. "We thought it might be fun to just alert them of what's going on," Baymiller explained, "so we invited them and sent them tickets." No telling yet if the pair will show up, but at the very least, Baymiller hopes Stern might find Drag Ball up his alley and mention it on air.

Tickets and the official Drag Ball Bible were also sent to several gay and lesbian publications around the country, as well as rock magazines including Rolling Stone, SPIN and Alternative Press. Baymiller also sent Bibles and invitations to HBO, specifically the cable network's "HBO Real Sex" segment, which thrives on events like the Ball.

Even if none of the celebrity hopefuls show up, the Oberlin-infested Drag Ball itself should be a handful. Saturday at 10 p.m., Wilder will no longer look like Wilder. sixteen-foot statues will welcome cross-dressers coming from the Wilder Bowl direction, while non-ticket-holders will enter from the 'Sco side. "Everything is essentially designed to make people forget where they are when they walk in," Baymiller said. "The idea is to forget the life of the student environment and enter into this theme park."

From the production side of the Ball, the 'Sco and LGBTU staff have been planning for months to outdo their previous work. Students have been prepping Wilder Main for the runway competition for the past week, and both the Rat and Snack Bar will be transformed come Saturday. The Tu Lipps cafe will take over the Rat as a femme butch bar, and pool tables will be moved in for those butches who dig billiards. The Snack Bar will be slightly tamer, featuring jazz music for students who wish to get away from the dance music upstairs in Wilder Lobby.

In addition to the largest dance floor in the lobby, the 'Sco and Wilder Main will also exist as club-like atmospheres, separately featuring early '80s hits, house, hip-hop and funk rotating throughout the four-hour event. The Sexual Assault Support Team is setting up a Tent of Consent, and for one evening only the Chaplain's office will be transformed to a fetish room.

On the technical side of the Ball, Student Union Equipment Technician Sean McFaul, the event's production coordinator, put it simply: "We're increasing the wattage." Twice the number of lighting fixtures from last year's Ball are being used to create what McFaul described as the "typical club lighting fare, dark and seedy." The Student Union staff has brought in lighting designer Chip Bullock and his production company, Eyegasm, to design the entire set-up. "We knew him from working with him on the Student Union Programming Committee (SUPC) rave last year," said McFaul, who dubbed Bullock as a renowned designer, especially for raves, all over the country.

Live video feed of the runway competition and everything from Japanamation and random drag movie clips will be projected on monitors throughout Wilder, including a 36-square-foot rear screen projection in the main lobby. In addition, McFaul is collaborating with Feve owners Matt and Jason Adelman on producing a documented video of the entire Ball that will be for sale after the event.

"There's really no profit made on [Drag Ball] at all," Baymiller said. Every year, the Student Union spends thousands of dollars on the gala event; Baymiller estimated $12,000 to $15,000 for 1998 Drag Ball production costs. But there is so much hype for the Ball and it is so well-attended, making money back is not really the point or purpose. The event serves as a tongue in cheek reminder of LGBTU's Transgender Awareness Week, even with Howard Stern in attendance.

"Whether or not any of those people show up, it's not crucial to the success of the program," Baymiller said. "You can't find this on any other campus in the country, and we think it's worth it."

McFaul said that it's up to the students themselves to make a successful Drag Ball: "The only way that this is really going to rock if people come dressed to the hilt and are really excited about it."

Baymiller, McFaul, the entire LGBTU and MRC have been anticipating April 4 since July of last year, and now the countdown begins. "Sean hasn't been able to sleep," said Baymiller. "We all just dream drag all the time."

The 1998 Drag Ball spectacle takes place Saturday, Apr. 4 from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets are $5, available at Wilder Desk and at the door.

Work it, girlfriend: A student struts a pose to figure out whether this is his drag ball calling. (photo by James Cochran)