Rachel ([info]vvildcat) wrote in [info]oberlin,
@ 2005-04-05 01:06:00
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would anyone mind giving me a brief run down of what drag ball actually is? and if its worth 12 bucks? thanks.

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[info]moonthink
2005-04-05 05:14 am UTC (link)
girls dress as boys
boys dress as girls
genderbending fun costumes
dance dance dance
much fun is had
you must go at least once...

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[info]kestrel127
2005-04-05 03:11 pm UTC (link)
Well, that's the way we'd like it to happen. In my experience (and I graduated '03, so what do I know?) it's boys dress as girls, girls dress as really slutty girls.

I only went in drag once, but one year I stayed on theme and the other two years I just dressed funny.

But then, I've got some boobage that cannot be bound.

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[info]shereminisces
2005-04-06 06:07 am UTC (link)
For serious. Boobage is quite the issue. I almost passed out the year I went and tried to bind decently. Did you manage when you tried? If so, what did you use?

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[info]kestrel127
2005-04-06 02:39 pm UTC (link)
I wore a sports bra, a built in bra tank and a very baggy shirt. It wasn't very convincing and I'm a b cup.

But then, I did the five o'clock shadow with burned wine cork, so what do you expect?

[info]rekling did a very convincing male drag by binding herself flat with lots of ace bandage and she was quite convincing. Also quite sore. 6 of one, half a doze of the other?

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[info]violabelle
2005-04-05 05:46 am UTC (link)
Is it worth 12$? No.

Should you go anyway and enjoy the insanity? Yes.

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Sorry. This is way too long.
[info]bradsabastard
2005-04-05 06:31 am UTC (link)
What I'm about to say is more than a little biased because I ran Drag Ball and worked in the Sco for two years, but I think Oberlin students complain too much about ticket prices in general. When you go to a regular Sco concert, you're seeing a show for a third of what you'd pay to see the same show elsewhere, and it's occurring at most a block away from where you live in a bar that serves drinks at a fraction of the cost of most other bars. Even when we booked big shows in the Sco, we were hesitant to put the ticket price above $3 or $5 for students because we knew they'd complain about the price if it inched towards the unspeakable ceiling of $7. When Clevelanders come in to Oberlin for concerts, plays, or other events like Drag Ball, they often express surprise at how cheap everything is.

Drag Ball is a 1200-person event that is an Oberlin legend, and it brings attention from all over the country. It's a once-a-year party that you can walk to and from, and it's put together over months and months by students. Its only financial source anymore is ticket sales because the college and its program funding sources are less and less willing to have anything to do with it. But they all, of course, want to talk it up when they're promoting diversity and tradition. If students hadn't worked their asses off over the last three years, there wouldn't have been (and almost weren't) a Drag Dall 14, 15, or 16. I devoted so much time to it last year in particular that I almost didn't graduate (as the rumor went, anyway). But I have my degree, turds, and I got it with a double major in the normal four years!

There are also about a million things that cost entirely too much that people don't really know or think about, like the fact that every bit of decoration costs about three times as much as you think it costs because it all has to be fireproofed and checked by the Oberlin fire chief before the show starts, or the incredibly high overtime (and sometimes holiday) pay that goes to the mandatory seven security officers posted around the building before, during, and after Drag Ball. Last year we were required to pay almost $70/hour per officer, totalling over $3000 for the event. $9500+ for lights, sound, etc. $4000+ for student workers to prepare, work during, and strike Drag Ball. Decorations, hardware, printings, etc., etc. It's almost $30,000 to make it happen the way people expect it to.

Believe me, the ticket prices are as low as they can be while keeping the budget in the black. If the Drag Ball committee could charge $3 per ticket and still present the same evening, they would. Though honestly, I don't think $12 is some ungodly amount for the type of event that it is. I think it's worth the price of admission just to see all of Wilder and the people inside of it transformed for a night, and you get a really fun show with professional drag acts and outside professional sound and lighting. And if students want Drag Ball to continue at Oberlin, I hope you'll show the administration that you're willing to pay for it because it means something to the vibe of the place.

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[info]user_undefined
2005-04-06 02:38 am UTC (link)
Wow. Damn. I had no idea it was so expensive to run. o_o

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Re: Sorry. This is way too long.
[info]xelegyseasonx
2005-04-06 02:08 pm UTC (link)
tru that.

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[info]josie_in_praha
2005-04-05 07:52 am UTC (link)
You pay 12 dollars to bind your boobs and be in pain all night long and pretend to grope your guy friends' fake boobs.

It is absolutely necessary to go once.

That said--
I haven't been back since since freshman year.

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[info]oratoriopiano
2005-04-05 11:15 pm UTC (link)
On this topic, what is the best way to bind one's boobs?

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[info]violabelle
2005-04-06 01:23 am UTC (link)
Ace bandage first, then lots of duct tape. It hurts, but it works.

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perhaps i just wasn't drunk enough?
[info]infidel
2005-04-05 12:08 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, I didn't really have a good time last year. Maybe there was stuff going on that I wasn't aware of, but for me, Dragball consisted of standing in a huge crowd in Wilder Main and trying to get a glimpse of really annoying professional drag queens. If you like drag queens, it might be your thing.

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[info]makoelf
2005-04-05 12:32 pm UTC (link)
it's $12 this year?! holy shit! well, whatever. i personally LOVE drag ball and i highly agree with what brad says. he is definitely right. for all that drag ball offers, the effort that's put into it (planning, manpower, etc.), the $12 isn't really much to ask. if you haven't gone, go just to see what it's like.
<3 ale

p.s. kudos to you for your work last year, brad! drag ball was AMAZING!

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[info]bluejaysfan4eva
2005-04-05 01:27 pm UTC (link)
I agree with the sentiment that you should go at least once. I went my freshman year, and I found that the experience of preparing for Drag Ball was much more fun than the actual Ball itself, as it (the preparation) involved cramming myself into my dorm's bathroom with a bunch of my friends and shaving for hours on end. This may/may not apply to you. In the end, I went, I didn't have a whole lot of fun, but I was glad that I went, at least once.

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[info]edify
2005-04-05 02:37 pm UTC (link)
there's supposed to be a workshop type thing this year titled "know thyself; know thy anus." if that's not initiative, i don't know what is.

plus really, what could be better than sticking all your male friends in sexy dresses?

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[info]vvildcat
2005-04-05 05:44 pm UTC (link)
thanks everyone! how about format, like how its set up? or should i just go and be surprised? thanks again.

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[info]limewald
2005-04-05 06:26 pm UTC (link)
Go and be overwhelmed. I think that's part of the experience.

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[info]arrestiigamberi
2005-04-06 12:10 am UTC (link)
Drag Ball was by far the best thing I went to last year. Wilder looked/felt like a completely different place. It's totally worth $12 dollars. You get to see the whole campus in drag, dance your bootay off, and watch people performance etc. It's an Oberlin tradition that is slowly fading, and the student body really needs to keep it going. So Everyone should totally come! Also, dressing in drag is a must...

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All true statements.
[info]khiaroscuro
2005-04-06 01:09 am UTC (link)
If you go, please go in drag and keep the sanctity of the event. It sucks that so many people see this is Safer Sex Night Part 2. It gets a bad rep because people come to the event and act like dumbass fools.

That being said, I went freshman year and had a blast, and the only reason I didn't go last year was because I was on RA duty.

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