 "Photo: Jessica Beltman / The Gamecock")
A banker and a small business owner might have walked into P.T.'s Cabaret last night, but two fierce women walked out as Paris LeFeris and Patti O'Furniture headed to USC's "The Birdcage."
Pat Patterson, as he's known during the day, lives under five layers of makeup, five pairs of pantyhose and the persona of Patti O'Furniture.
Patterson began doing drag while at a conference.
"It was a dare," Patterson said. "When I worked at USC, I went to a conferment with other higher education professionals and ran into a bunch of grad school friends. For fun, we decided to put on a funny drag show and raised a lot of money."
That dare came back to the university as "The Birdcage," named after the famous 1998 movie and play.
Patterson has been performing drag for seven years, the last two at local P.T.'s Cabaret.
As he begins his third layer of makeup, he asks LeFeris if he brought him a birthday cake.
"It's my drag birthday," Patterson said.
Makeup, or getting painted, takes up to two hours although some performers, such as Samantha Hunter, only need 20 minutes.
"It takes a long time to look this ugly," Patterson said.
Patterson is sponsored by MAC Cosmetics, who donates money to AIDS charities. Patterson can use up to $500 in makeup a year.
Patterson performs "campy" drag that emphasizes a more comedic aspect of drag.
"Everything I do has a comedic slant," Patterson said. "Later tonight, I'll be doing Britney Spears' 'Toxic' and I'll be wearing a trash bag saying 'toxic waste.'"
LeFeris does a more feminine type of drag, with a full face of striking makeup and a black cat suit.
To cover his eyebrows, Patterson applies clown white.
Paris chimed in "I get mine done," while Patti added "in the dark by a monkey."
Patterson uses Atlanta drag group the Amorettes as his drag influence. He said it's important for new drags to have a "drag mother."
"When I first started doing drag, an entertainer gave me a step by step of what I was supposed to do," Patterson said. "I didn't use it. I can't follow directions. My makeup turned out horribly."
It took Patterson more than two years to learn how to apply his own makeup and tries to do something new every show.
"That's the whole part of drag-trying something new," said LeFeris, reigning Miss South Carolina Gay Pride.
"The Birdcage" has gotten bigger every year Patterson has participated. Year after year, students are turned away because of capacity limits.
Patterson said the biggest mistake young entertainers make is painting too light.
"Paint dark; the people in the back paid to see the show too," Patterson said.
Although drag is a lot of fun, not everything goes as planned.
"My worst experience was when I was performing in Washington D.C., and I got to the bar with a cassette tape and the bar didn't have a cassette player," Patterson said. "I didn't have anyone backstage to do my makeup. I went onstage with no eyelashes, no eyeliner and no mascara. I had to improvise my music and makeup."
Patterson said the biggest misconception people have of drag queens is that they're not entertainers.
"They think we all walk around in drag all day long, that we live our lives in women's clothing," Patterson said. "Only two entertainers wear women's clothing off the stage."
Patterson's outfits are donated or picked up from Kmart. He usually takes castoffs from other queens, earning the nickname "the yard sale with legs."
Other drag queens buy custom made clothes and from Nancy's Nook.
"This week of a year is a drag queens best friend," Patterson said. "You can get fishnets, fantasy eyelashes all on sale."
After five layers of pantyhose, LeFeris slips on a tight, black cat suit, a rhinestone "Paris" belt and a long black wig.
O'Furniture looks a little less refined in her boots, denim skirt and brown blouse, all from the Jaclyn Smith collection.
After making last adjustments to her wig and packing up her corset purse, O'Furniture is ready for the show.
Patti and Paris can be seen on the weekends at P.T.'s Cabaret at 10:30 p.m. Cover charge can be up to $10.
Be the first to comment on this article!