Dimension Magazine

Rex Haverberg used to get his eyebrows waxed. He used to shave his legs too, as well as have his nails professionally done. It was all part of the routine during his two-year stint participating in Eau Claire drag shows.

The four to five hour ritual would begin with friends coming over to Haverberg's house to help him get ready. Then the process of makeup, hair, and getting dressed would begin.

"I didn't really go for the glamorous style, like the beads and the sequins and everything," he says. "I'd usually wear more like, the dresses you'd see on girls in the mall."

Glamour, however, seems to be the key word on this particular Saturday night in the moments before the evening's drag show at Scooter's, 411 Galloway. The bar is filled with an expectant crowd that begins to whistle and shout as the lights are dimmed and the giant disco ball above the stage begins to revolve, sending thousands of light beams into the audience. The crowd grows louder as the show's emcee steps on to the stage.

"Well hello there, I'm Miss Stephanie Brooks," the hostess begins with a drawl, tossing her long brown hair and showing off her homemade dress, one of many which she sews herself. Introducing the evenings' 70's theme and welcoming everyone to the show, Brooks wastes little time in getting things underway.

"Alrighty then, let's get on with the show," she says to a loud roar of approval from the audience.

And so begins the event, one of many drag shows held at Scooter's. The Wolf's Den (Wolfies), 302 Madison, another locale for drag shows on a smaller scale, featuring a plywood-covered pool table as a stage and more crowd participation. Scooters schedules shows monthly, with bigger, more elaborate productions once every three months, says Brooks, while Wolfies has smaller shows on selected Sundays. The two bars cooperate by offering different types of shows rather than competing.

Brooks is involved in many local shows, both as a performer and a behind-the-scenes organizer in the Eau Claire drag scene. It all started twelve years ago with a Halloween costume that Brooks had so much fun with she decided to get involved in drag on a bigger level.

"It's something I'm good at, something I enjoy," she says, citing a love for performance and being on-stage.

For Haverberg, it also was the love of performing that got him started. Working at Wolfies had given him the opportunity to see how much fun the drag show participants were having, and after a friend's suggestion he decided to try it. He always had enjoyed his high school drama classes in Middleton, Wisconsin, and saw this as an extension of that creative outlet: it was simply another way to perform.

"You did get that high of performance, when you were done with a number and it went really well," he says.

But for Haverberg, the costs began to outweigh the benefits, and he stopped participating in the shows last September. He cites the growing costs of clothes and accessories as well as other factors that made him quit. Since the participants' only form of payment for the shows are tips from the audience, drag shows are not always a lucrative endeavor.

Brooks, a veteran of shows in ten states in both big and smaller markets, says that while wardrobe costs are significant, it is possible to make an income from drag shows. In her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, Brooks pulled in her record earnings of $600 in one evening. She maintains that after a good show she usually can make around $200, and she still supplements $5,000 to $10,000 of her yearly income with money from the shows. While drag is more of a lifestyle for Brooks, who goes out every weekend in full drag attire, she cites the smaller, less competitive atmosphere of Eau Claire's drag scene as a big advantage.

"It's more personable here, more close-knit," she says.
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