Drag performances in Rapid City have been selling out some shows. The events feature performers who dress as characters, often swapping genders for an evening. Drag shows have been going on in Sioux Falls for years—but now organizations across the state are making them a hit in the Black Hills.
Persephone Shakers steps onto stage wearing a tall, teased out brown wig and floor length black robe. A spotlight follows her as she lip syncs lyrics and dances. When the music changes, she takes her robe off revealing a black bodysuit with flowing sleeves and small rhinestones.
Persephone Shakers is a character...played by Ricky Sheridan. He’s from Mason, Nebraska and lives on the Omaha Reservation. Sheridan made the six hour drive to emcee the Spring Fling Drag Show. This matinee performance is for ages 13 and up. Nearly 50 teenagers and adults cheer on the performers as they take turns doing original numbers, many dressed as Disney characters.
Sheridan performs in Nebraska regularly. He’s also performed Drag in Rapid City for three years at the annual Black Hills Pride Event that celebrates all gender identities. It used to be the only drag show in the Black Hills, then in November they started producing shows every month.
“I get to come here and help grow the drag community. You know I come with a big old suitcase full of extra wigs, costumes, shoes. If they need help with makeup, I’ll help them. I even bring extra lashes just in case somebody forgets”
Sheridan says he can’t be at every show in Rapid City but he’s excited to see the artform grow.
One of the organizations that’s supporting the local drag shows is the South Dakota chapter of the National Organization for Women, or NOW. Kyle Krebs is a member of the South Dakota chapter and focuses the LGBTQ issues. His parents were in the military, and stationed in the Black Hills for a while he was young. Krebs says he didn’t understand drag shows.
“I would probably say more afraid of it. I just saw how much time and effort went into it. I saw the amount of money that people were spending on it. And to me it was-why would you spend a couple hundred dollars for a six minute song where maybe all these people are going to tip you maybe twenty dollars.”
Krebs first experience in a gay bar was the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. That’s where 50 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a 2016 shooting.
“It hit pretty hard. There was a friend that I actually met in the college program who actually died in the shooting. So that was pretty emotional. It was kind of at the point where I was like I’m just going to be unapologetically gay. I was like if we can get shot at gay bars. I’m going to be gay in Rapid City.”
That’s part of the reason Krebs supports regular drag shows in Rapid City. He knows people who wanted a place to perform, and also heard many community members eager to bring in a new form of entertainment.
“Every single time we always find we sale out and there’s still another 40, 50 people that are still wanting to buy tickets.”
Some drag performers in Rapid City already have a fan following.
And after the show fans crowd around the stars waiting to meet them. Krebs says the performances are hard to resist.
“In my mind I was like there’s no way I would ever get involved into it. But then…”
Now he performs and hosts some shows as his character, Moira Feene.
Krebs says drag is a fun way to play with gender roles. The Rapid City shows include male and female stage personas called drag queens and kings. But a person’s gender doesn’t define their character. Men, women, transgender and non-binary people can play either role.
Sarah Keppen is the Board President for the Black Hills Center for Equality. It’s another organization supporting local drag shows. On stage, she plays a drag king named Holden Oliver Love. Keppen says she didn’t know what to expect at the first drag show last fall.
“We’re hoping there would be more people like me that just didn’t have an avenue to perform. And I was so excited to see that we had nine performers, including myself, that got up on stage and were willing to put themselves out there.”
Keppen’s organization is working closely with the Center for Equality in Sioux Falls. She says the Black Hills tends to be a more conservative part of the state, and working together helps bring drag shows to all of South Dakota.
“It seems like once you get east of the river, the scene is completely changed, but we’re trying as the two of us to try to bridge that gap to make sure that we are sort of one entity as a state.”
Keppen says drag is a big part of their community since performers recreate gender roles. She says the Black Hills Center for Equality wants to ensure that drag shows in Rapid City are a safe space.
“It’s really about community building. So I’m really excited that I get to be a part of this movement here in the Black Hills.”
Keppen says because of their popularity in Rapid City, organizers plan to continue holding drag shows every other month. The next performance is scheduled for June.